Category Archives: Cuba,Santeria,Havana,Orishas,Babalawo,Santeros

A Close Encounter of a Special Kind/Santeria

2 Replies
img_4271

Elegua

“My husband is a Babalawo (Santeria priest) and if you want a consultation with him, it costs $10.  He is in the middle of doing a healing ceremony to Elegua for a visiting Cuban American woman from Miami. You are welcome to watch.” And so my adventure began.

I had been winding my way through the streets and alleyways of Havana on the lookout for stores selling “Religious Articles”.   My mission was to find a Santeria ritual.  In Colonial times the Yoruba people, who were brought to the New World as slaves, were not allowed to build temples or reproduce images of their gods, or “Orishas”.  They had no choice but to syncretize their gods with those of the Catholic Church.  Santeria is practiced throughout the Caribbean, and in Cuba its influence is strongly felt. Elegua is the most important Orisha, because he is the one who communicates with the other gods, and is the pathway to the past and the future.

Initiates, or Iyawo, are dressed in white and are a familiar presence on the streets of Cuba. In order to become a Santero (priest or holy one),  a one year commitment is made to be  symbolically born again into a new life.  There are prohibitions and restrictions on behavior, food, dress and contact with others, making it a year of purification and rejuvenation. Although religion was not forbidden in Fidel’s Cuba, practitioners could not join the Communist party or practice openly until recently. While many of the ceremonies are secretive,  it became my good fortune that strangers are often welcomed to observe or participate.

We took a ferry to the Inglesia  de Nuestra Señora de Regla, across the bay from Havana, which was purported to be a center of Santeria .  Outside the church, fortune tellers and Santeros were selling shells and other objects to be used as offerings for La Santissima Virgen de Regla , the Black Madonna, or Yemaya  in Santeria(Goddess of the Sea, and patron saint of the sailors). Back in Habana Vieja  a young woman who was the proprietress of a Yoruba shop gave me my first introduction and invitation. “My husband is a Babalawo (Santeria priest) and if you want a consultation with him, it costs $10.  He is in the middle of doing a healing ceremony to Elegua for a visiting Cuban American woman from Miami. You are welcome to watch.”

Santeria Bodega
Yoruba Santeria Supplies
The Babalawo’s Store
Santeria Bodega

We walked down narrow streets until we came to a dark hallway with stairs leading up to a row of apartments.  Were we crazy to be following a stranger to an unknown destination?  It felt right and I was excited. When we arrived at the doorway, a middle-aged woman was standing outside, and the Babalawo (Priest) had a chicken in his hand and was twisting its neck.  Blood was streaming on the ground, next to cracked-open coconuts, and a bottle with liquid in it (which I later found out was honey). “Mom, don’t look.  I’ll tell you when it’s okay.” My daughter Naomi was being protective of me, knowing that I hate the sight of blood. The Babalawo was chanting prayers as he poured blood, honey,and the juice from the coconuts, first on the ground and then over the bowed head of the woman.  He was a slim man of about thirty years old, and wore a knitted skullcap.  My heart was in my mouth, and I couldn’t speak other than to nod to Naomi that I  was alright. I opened one eye now and then to see the heart of the chicken being plucked out and placed on the head of the woman.  She was in her late forties and had purple streaks in her short hair.  As the blood dripped down, a kerchief was tied to her head to hold the heart in place.   She told me that she would have to remain like this for about four hours until she could remove the kerchief and the heart.  More prayers were chanted and then we all went inside.

An altar for the dead ancestors and the Orishas

I explained that I did not want to go through the ceremony to become an initiate and that I was only in Havana for a few days, but was  interested in learning more about Santeria.   I  told him that in my extensive travels around the world I have always been seeking out ritual and ceremonies, to deepen my understanding of people and their spirituality . Norberto (the Babalawo) showed me around and  patiently explained all the figures and objects in the house, letting me know that he made the religious objects himself. It was made clear that everything was sacred and that I was not permitted to take pictures, not even of him or Yanara, (the woman being healed) although she told me I could.   The conversation was conducted in Spanish- with Norberto talking so quickly in his heavy Cuban accent that I only understood fifty percent of what he was saying.  Yanara didn’t speak English, although she had been living in Miami for twenty years, but somehow she understood my fractured Spanish and would relay my questions to Norberto in a manner that he understood. “I’ve been coming down here almost every year, and Norby is like my son.  I always come for a cleansing and healing, to keep my equilibrium”. 

offerings to the Orishas

When we left I was touched that he refused to accept any money from me.  “I did not give you a consultation.  Explanations are no charge.”

I was numb for many hours afterwards.  The power of what had just transpired was palpable. My body felt as if it had been placed in a netherworld, thoughts and feelings were swirling around.  This was the Cuba I had been searching for.  This was the meaning that had evaded me the past week.  Joseph Campbell,the noted writer on Mythology and Religion explained the function of mythology this way:

Awakening a sense of awe before the mystery of being
Explaining the shape of the universe
Validate and support the existing social order
Guide the individual through the stages of life
p1090695

Yemaya

 

 

 

Cuba on My Mind

5 Replies

 

P1090645.jpg

Plaza de la Revolucion

Delta Airlines flight 488 from New York touched down in Havana at noon on January 7, 2017, carrying myself,my daughter,Naomi, and a few dozen other tourists who were taking advantage  of the recent opening of flights between the USA and Cuba. The airport was small and dingy and the heaviness of the humid air permeated my skin.  Off came our down jackets and scarves. We looked around for a sign with our name, hoping that the pre-arranged taxi driver was there to pick us up. Nothing.  Meanwhile, I  searched anxiously for something resembling a toilet.  The tired-looking woman attendant at the entrance had a small dish with coins, and motioned for me to drop some in, but I had no Cuban money yet, so I  timidly slinked inside.  The toilet had no seat,there was no toilet paper,the flusher didn’t work, and it was obvious I wasn’t the first person to use it that day. It didn’t take long for me to realize that this was going to be an eye-opening experience.

A solidly built man in his forties, with dark skin and a big grin, dressed casually in long  tan pants and a  loose shirt, waved a piece of paper with “Deborah” written on it.  As he ushered us to his 1950’s era taxi, painted red, and upholstered with the Cuban flag, he whisked out a bottle of  Havana Club rum, took a few swigs, and offered us a drink.  When we politely refused, he looked at us incredulously and said “Are you sure you don’t want some? Bienvenidos”. Welcome to Havana!

img_4315

Our Taxi

On the way in from the airport we passed signs and Billboards with political slogans and pictures of Fidel or Che Guevara.The city itself looked like a mix of  magnificent deteriorating colonial buildings and a war zone.  In each doorway people were either chatting with passersby, or sat at a small table selling bits and pieces of fruits, vegetables or other essential items.The streets were alive with animated conversation, whistles,  loud music, and the mood was definitely upbeat.

But what were those lines everywhere? Cubans earn between $15-$20 a month, with top salaries of $40 for doctors, engineers or other professionals.  Health care and education is free and each person receives a ration book for food supplies. There are two types of stores,  ration stores and CUC stores (where you can try to buy whatever you cannot get with rations). and two currencies –  Cuban pesos for locals, and CUC (Convertibles pesos) for use by tourists, and in non-ration locales. When the bakery had bread, for example,- a big line would form. Nobody  goes hungry, but the choices of food available are meager, and both ration and CUC bodegas, or supermarkets, have  mostly bare shelves.  It became obvious to me that there are two realities of life here- one for locals and another for tourists.

I hired a private tour guide for three days to help me navigate my way through Havana and get as much out of the short visit as possible. Mila was 34 years old, recently married,had a Masters Degree and had been teaching Spanish to Chinese exchange students at Havana University.  Although university education is free, the government decides what you may study.

“When I got married,the government gave us a free night in a hotel, a case of beer and a photographer to record the marraige. That’s the closest a Cuban will get to going on a vacation.  But’s it’s not like that anymore, they cut it out.  

When the contract ended with the Chinese government I lost my job at the university. I’m happy to be working as a tour guide now because I want to save money to have a child.  It’s hard convincing my brother that he should go to university because he feels it’s pointless.”

The US embargo, called “El Bloqueo”, the blockade, in Cuba, has definitely had an enormous impact on the country but that can’t account for  all the problems and poverty I saw. Many people loved Fidel, but resented their limited opportunities for advancement. I came with an open mind and few expectations, only wanting to experience the vibrant culture of arts, music and dance, but left with a feeling of disappointment.   I see a two  tier system evolving, not unlike the situation before Fidel took power fifty years ago.  The cruise ships have returned,and students on Spring Break can find a cheap vacation.

List of available goods in a ration store
Cuban Ration sSupermarket

It’s been difficult for me to digest and understand my feelings about Cuba.  As a western traveler I am obviously wealthier than the locals. But the feeling of optimism I have encountered over my many journeys these last twelve years in Asia, is conspicuously lacking in Cuba.  In those countries (particularly India) the knowledge that education and family planning can enable one to rise out of poverty, gives people a greater sense of hope.  That’s why my focus has been with nurturing and supporting educational opportunities for girls. I realize my observations are colored by the disappointments I experienced due to the short period time I spent there, the difficulty in establishing meaningful contacts with people in the arts as I had hoped, and the lack of decent infrastructure.

 

 

I know many Americans will be flocking down to Cuba to see a country that has been forbidden to visit legally for fifty years. Sadly, I feel that this influx is too much, too soon and will destroy the beauty of Cuba’s identity and culture.  My advice is to be sensitive to the culture, enjoy the music and the outgoing, warm, friendly people and try to understand the history.