The Beauty of a Iyawo’s Initiation in Candomblé – A Translation

Oh, if you knew how beautiful it is to watch your gestation in the uterus (honko) of the ile, in your simplicity of white, seeing your initiation and being born into the religion.  Giving you food, your bath, everything at the right time, sleeping with you to protect you during the night.  Oh, iyawo, if you knew

Iyawo for 7 years…what?!?!?

by Melissa I’ve been meeting more and more people lately who have been asking about our period of Iyawo in Candomblé. More often than not people already have the mind frame of Lukumi when they think “Iyawo,” and say things like they could never be a Iyawo for 7 years. There are lots of differences between a

The Importance of Language

I took my first trip to Brazil knowing how to say less than 10 phrases in Portuguese. I relied totally on the translations of a then-friend to help me get around. I’m fluent in Spanish, and that helped a bit, but it was definitely no substitute. This trip had nothing to do with Candomblé; although

Initiation Period in Candomblé

The initial Candomblé initiation period lasts at least 21 days for an elegun (person who gets possessed). The Iyawo spends at least 21 days in the Terreiro for the initiation(and usually more); traditional Candomblé initiations do not last 7 days. It is also not uncommon for the iyawo to spend months in the terreiro after