First of all, I want to wish you a very Happy and Prosperous New Year. We all could probably use a bit of joy and prosperity in our lives this year. Today I was going to blog about the differences between various sects of Brazilian folk religions. However, I see that the calendar has made it to December 31, which in Rio de Janeiro is Yemanjá Day. She is one of the two “saints of my head” (I’ll explain that in forthcoming blogs), so to honor this incredibly beautiful and powerful orixá, in this blog I will describe her day.

 

If you need to get to the beach by taxi in Rio on the night of December 31, you’ll have a hard time finding a conveyance because the entire city throngs there. Among other entertainment, fireworks are set off at midnight atop the tallest hotels, and the sparkling color and popping sound dazzle the senses. At the same time, entire terreiros (temples of worship of the orixás) pick up stakes and more to the beach to perform rituals (with drumming) in honor of Yemanjá. They even plant palms in the sand and set up little tents. The public lines up to have their fortunes told (for a price). These rituals are more of the commercial type with lots of glitz and show, but they do give the tourist, who otherwise would never be able to find a terreiro, let alone participate in a rite, a very general idea of what goes on.

 

On other areas of the beach, families and friends gather and carve holes in the sand, which they fill with lighted candles and flowers. They also construct miniature wooden boats and decorate them with flowers, combs, bars of soap, mirrors, tiny perfume bottles, and even jewelry, especially necklaces made from shells. At midnight during the explosion of fireworks, followers of Yemanjá, the Orixá of the Vibratory Force of the Sea and Mother of Pearls, murmur prayers and launch their candlelit crafts into the sea. The observer can see myriads of little lights as the “boatlets” take off on their journeys, bobbing on the waves. Then the practitioner may immerse him or herself into the foaming surf for a purification bath.

 

I know I am reaching my word limit, so I will make this anecdote brief about how ingrained the worship of this Lady is in people’s psyche. One year a few days before the 31st, I was lounging on the beach with a group of friends. One guy—I’ll call him Marcos—took two pails and filled one with sea water and the other with sand. When I asked what he was doing this for, he answered, “For Yemanjá Day.” But Marcos, I said, “I thought you were a Marxist.” “I am,” he replied. “But you see, for the first time in my life I am going to be away from Rio in another city on New Year’s Eve. I always take a purification bath on that eve. So I thought what I might do instead is to pour the sand and water over my head at midnight.” So much for Marxism.

 

You may have noticed that in this blog I did not describe Yemanjá. I shall do so next time around because there’s too much to say for one post. Tchau!

 UNFORTUNATELY THERE SEEMS TO BE NO WAY FOR ME TO UPLOAD IMAGES TO MY BLOG POSTS. TOO BAD111