contribution by Pedro Bonetti
This remains one of the liveliest of the roundtables. All the panelists seemed relaxed, and though they claimed they were nervous, they all seemed to want to talk about their experiences with Yemojá.
The panelists were Valerie Forbes, Bárbara Gutiérrez, Ezequiel González, Poppy Cioffi and his godson Reinol Montes De Oca. Ms. Forbes is originally from Jamaica, while the remainder of the panel were either Cuban-born or Cuban-Americans.
Mr. González was the eldest of the olorishas on the panel, having been ordained in Cuba over 40 years ago; Ms. Forbes was the youngest, with two years or so of initiation, and made in Miami, Florida. Each panelist discussed how they were introduced to the orishas and their subsequent ordination to Yemojá. Mr. González opened the discussion. He mentioned that his path to the orishas was through his involvement with spiritism. To some extent the spirits led him to the mother figure that would accept him wholly. This mother, he said, was Yemojá.
Obá Cioffi recounted an almost similar tale of having problems with his mother and his self identity. His path towards crowning Yemojá was initiated by his association with spiritism, as well as a search for a cure for a psychological problem that the doctors at the time could not diagnose properly.
Ms. Gutiérrez spoke of being introduced through her mother who was ordained to Yemojá; of how her madrina first thought that she was a child of Obatala. She later learned of Orunmilá and asked a babalawo to divine her tutelary orisha who said she was a child of Yemojá. The connection to Yemojá for her was clear, as she related to a near drowning accident she had.
Mr. Montes de Oca also recounted a truly amazing experience with Yemojá. In his early adolescent years, he suffered massive injuries during a boating accident in which the boat’s propeller chopped him up very badly. After that event he met someone that he considered a sort of mentor, who gave him an image of the “Virgen de Regla” that he still has to this day. Eventually he met up with Orisha and was initiated to Yemojá and is very happy she is his mother.
Ms. Forbe’s story is not so different from the others, simply because she was introduced to the orishas through her involvement with a man that practiced Palo, the Kongo/Bantú religious tradition of Cuba. This involvement brought her in contact with the orishas, and she forged a bond with Shangó, the orisha that she wanted to be initiated to. Much to her chagrin she was to be crowned to Yemojá. She recalled that the day she was told that Yemojá was her crown, and not Shango, she was livid, furious, and angry. Eventually she came to understand that Yemojá had come to her life at the precise moment, because Ms. Forbes was in need of a mother figure, and Yemojá took over that responsibility in full. Ms. Forbes was eventually initiated by the renowned Oriate, Miguel “Willie” Ramos, Ilari Oba.
A recurring theme throughout the roundtable was everyone’s connection with spiritism. The panelists’ experiences with Yemojá all included the themes of “mother,” “friend,” “spirit,” over and over again. They stressed Yemojá’s role as the “universal mother;” font of orishas and humans as well. Obá Cioffi equated her to the biblical “Eve.” They saw Yemojá as that orisha that understands the idiosyncrasies of her children and consoles her offspring when they most need the kind of motherly support and nurturing that only she can offer. Albeit, she could be very strict with one child, yet sweet with another. And it was this shift in personality that all the panelists seem to agree on wholeheartedly. Yemojá, like the ocean that she controls, can shift temperament at the spur of the moment, as the situation merits.
This ability to shift and adapt is key to understanding Yemojá and her children. This theme of adaptability also brought some comments from the audience, especially about some of the archetypal characteristics that are commonly associated with the children of Yemojá: moodiness, mercurial in temper, and sometimes distracted. The evening ended with the panelists agreeing that if they were to be crowned again, they would crown Yemojá with their eyes closed!
To see pictures from this roundtable, click here.