Thursday, 30 December 2010 00:00
.jpg "Babawos in the preparation of the Letter of the year")
Babawos in the preparation of the Letter of the year
Since the beginning of time, the need to know, to apprehend what the future brings, is deeply rooted in many human beings on every continent, whether they be favorable or unfavorable signs. For example, the Roman Empire prophets who were dedicated to interpreting divine will and predicting what would happen; today, the astrologers´ horoscopes attract countless followers.
Cuba is one of the countries where the Yoruba religion´s rituals, coming from our African ancestors and within, have been preserved. The "Letter of the Year" Ceremony preformed by Babalawos every 1 January is considered one of the most important religious events, and is done to determine what is to come in the country for the following year, which is meant to alert, minimize or eliminate negative events for both the nation and its habitants. Basically, the "Letter of the Year," is a divinatory system of probabilities that determine the period´s regency of the different Orichás and Odus (signs).
In the Babalawos´ religious exercise, they show absolute respect for the truth, so that their predictions will be equal to their goodwill. They interpret the Ifa Oracle´s signs in parables, where they ponder the significance in the country´s circumstances and focus on confronting negative situations (Osogbos) and live --or try to-- in Iré.
The truth is that in Cuba, many people, believers or not, look to the "Letter of the Year" in the first days of January to know how to "sow" and "harvest," not only as a better guide for economic development, but also to take into account the recommendations for cardinal issues such as health, phenomena and natural disasters.
See too:
|
|
