What does Yemaya represent?
Yemonja, also spelled Yemoja or Yemaja, Yoruban deity celebrated as the giver of life and as the metaphysical mother of all orisha (deities) within the Yoruba spiritual pantheon.
What Virgin is Yemaya?
Abstract: Every September, thousands of Cubans gather to pay homage to the local Virgin of Regla, a black Virgin who also embodies the oricha Yemayá. I trace the transformation of this Spanish Virgin into an icon of Afro-Cuban religious identity in movement through transatlantic and colonial spaces.
How do you worship Yemaya?
OFFERINGS TO YEMAYA Stand with the water just covering your feet; don’t venture deeper into the water than that. Hold the flowers close to your heart and pray to the goddess. Count seven waves from the end of the prayer, then toss the flowers out into the sea.
How many Orishas does Yemaya have?
The daughter of Oddudua and Obatala, Yemaya is mother to 14 Orishas, as well as Obafulom and Lyaa, the first human male and female and the ancestors of all humans. Glowing with the radiance of the sun, Yemaya appears in flowing robes of vibrant blue and white.
Who are the Santeria Orishas?
The Orishas: Yemaya. Known as the goddess of the ocean, the mother of all living things and the guardian of mothers and children, Yemaya is one of the most powerful Orishas worshiped in Santeria. She is a nurturing caretaker who watches over all things with a keen eye. The source of and controller of all waters, she is the quintessential mother.
How many paths of the Orishas are there?
The elders say that the more progress is made in religion, the more paths of the Orishas can be known, because wisdom and spiritual growth are acquired. De Yemaya Mother of the World, 26 paths are known. She is one of the greatest deities of the Yoruba pantheon, since all things on this Earth are born from her power and life is born.
How do I pray to an Orisha?
When calling on this Orisha for guidance, set some cowrie shells and aquamarine tumbled stones on your altar as offerings and anoint a Yemaya 7 day Orisha candle with Yemaya oil. Light some Yemaya incense in an abalone shell incense burner and repeat the following prayer: Yemaya, Blessed Mother of the Seas,Let Your Sacred Waters wash over me.