Skip to main content

Babalú-Ayé and the Coronavirus Pandemic: Reflections on Humility in a Difficult Moment



“Babalú-Ayé wants everyone to place his altar directly in front of the main door of the house,” a friend texts from Perico, Cuba.

“He wants everybody to place seven gourds in front of him, each with a different kind of grain, a red onion, and cigar. And most importantly, he wants everyone to light two candles and pray to Him to scare away the pandemic.”

This admonition is followed by another prescription for a cleaning at the foot of the Old Man.

In this moment, the coronavirus pandemic has killed thousands of people, paralyzed whole countries, and quarantined millions. So oricha communities around the world are naming ways to acknowledge his impact and pray that he go easy on us. As one traditional praise song says:

Ason kuele, Ason kuele, Ason kuele, Ason ño
Sickness, be gentle with us

Babalú is sometimes said to “rule” infectious disease, but in fact, he is infectious disease and its antidote. So at this moment, we are becoming intimately acquainted with his effect on the world. He is killing people, paralyzing countries, and sending us all inside for isolation. He is also providing knowledge to manage this situation, the brave dedication and care given by thousands of health care workers and first responders, and the vaccine that we are all waiting for.

Like the pandemic, Babalú reminds us of all those things over which we do not have direct power or influence. He reminds us that we are not fully in charge of our destinies.

Key to coping with this realization is humility, an attitude that pervades the worship of Babalú. While we greet other riches standing up, we always prostrate ourselves when speaking to Babalú. We kneel, place our foreheads on the ground before him, and clap our hands against the earth. The devout do in a weekly ceremony to tend him. Oricha communities bow down before him in the awán each year at this feast in December. And pilgrims crawl or drag themselves in a procession in his honor each year.

While we dress other orichas in rich fabrics like brocade, satin, and silk, Babalú always wears sackcloth, even when he is on a ritual throne. This reflects his history as a beggar who dressed in discarded burlap bags used to store rice, sugar, and beans. He knows what it means to live in a precarious situation and make do with what you have. 

Babalú reminds us to humble ourselves and give thanks for the blessings we have. 

And he reminds us to always—always!—pray for health and long life.

Maferefun Babalú-Ayé. Sofalú Asojano.
Labels:

Comments

  1. ArthurBarlowApril 21, 2020 at 10:56 PM

    Thank you for posting this. I work in a hospital providing the equipment needed for all discharging patients and clean myself off with Baba's ja every night when I return home from work. I thoroughly enjoy your posts about Baba. There is something truly special about this oricha. My path of Asojano is Alua and I wanted to know if you could tell me what you've learned from your elders about this particular road.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Michael Atwood MasonApril 24, 2020 at 4:02 PM

      Upon reflection, I realize that I have little information about Aluá. My elders suggest that he takes black beads and his necklace has two strands. He is thought of as a companion to the leader, but little else is said about him.

      Delete
  2. Michael Atwood MasonApril 22, 2020 at 10:59 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

MOST READ

Nanú, the Mother of Babalú-Ayé

So little is known about Nanú that many elders refer to her simply as “the mother of Babalú-Ayé,” “the mysterious one,” or “the stronghold” or “strength.” She is related to the other roads of Babalú-Ayé and has many of the same functions. She comes to remove obstacles to health and well-being, and she is treated in much the same way as other manifestations of Babalú: she is treated with great respect because of her awesome power. She is feared because death is always with her, and she too rules infectious disease. She is secretive, but provides important revelations. She is wealthy beyond our understanding. She lives in the wilds and wanders on the road. She struggles with how to express moral ideals in an imperfect world. She seems to be dead, only to rise again. Nevertheless, her iconography and ceremonies are slightly different from the other Babalú-Ayés. Nanú has a broom, which is received by her devotees the first time she eats goat. The já points to her work as cleans...
5 comments
Read more

Echú Afrá, the Messenger and Guardian of Babalú-Ayé

The odu Obara-Irozo contains both references to how Babalú-Aye made his way to the land of the Arará and to the role of cundeamor. Changó was returning from war and passed a garbage dump on the edge of the town of Osá-Yekú. There, he found a ragged, sick, old man. Changó sent his lieutenant to bring food and water to the old man. After installing his enormous army at the town of Obara-Koso (a nickname for Obara-Irozo), Changó returned to the place where he left the old man, who was none other than Asojano, and directed him toward a narrow pass. Changó told him to go through the pass and put on a cape made of tiger skin (some say leopard skin) that Asojano would find at the other end. Changó also told him that he would find a boy who would give him water and point out certain herbs that Asojano could use to heal sores and other illnesses. The boy was none other than Elegguá Echú Afrá, and he pointed out  cundeamor , aguedita , zarzafrán , mangle rojo , and hierba de sangre , am...
2 comments
Read more

The Many Roads of Babalú-Ayé: Afimaye

Dasoyí , the father of all the Babalús, is the most common road of this oricha today, but the next most popular is Afimaye.  His white beads with blue stripes are perhaps the most commonly used for Babalú-Ayé . This path of the oricha is said to be the youngest of the Asojanos, and some say he lives in a pumpkin plant and works as a lawyer. Some say he also comes to find the initiates to Arará deities at the hour of their passing. Afimaye’s youth evokes a physical strength and vitality for which he is renowned. When worshipped, he is famous for reinvigorating his devotees.  In the house of Magdalena Fernández in Havana, I once participated in giving Afimaye to an 84 year-old woman. At the beginning of the ceremony, she sat speechless and inert, slumped over in a chair watching the ritual.  After she was cleaned, Afimaye ate and then mounted her. After contorting for a few minutes, she rose and danced with great power for half an hour. Later she was a different w...
Post a Comment
Read more

Working with Substances: Cundeamor

Perhaps no other plant is more closely associated with Babalú-Ayé than cundeamor . Not only do many people cover his vessel with this herb, some houses wrap cundeamor around the horns of the goats they offer to Babalú. In fact, as part of the awán , everyone present must place a strand of this climbing vine around their neck. At the end of the ceremony, these necklaces are cast off and into the basket. Cundeamor grows aggressively at the end of the rainy season, fruits near Babalú’s feast day on December 17th, and then dries up and disappears completely. The fruits have a distinctive brilliant yellow-orange color and bright red seeds. Cundeamor  acts just like the deity: emerging at the beginning of the dry season, he grows toward his feast only to disappear again. Not only does its growing habit mimic Babalú, both the leaves and fruits of the cundeamor have a long and well-documented history as a medicinal herb. In Cuba, both Momordica charantia and Momordica ba...
2 comments
Read more

Babalú-Ayé Basics

The elders say that Babalú-Ayé stalks the night accompanied by his dogs and the spirits of his children. He is immediately linked to the world of the spirits. During the day they rest in shade, leaning against the shade of large trees. He is especially fond of the yamao, the jaguey, the flamboyán, and the ceiba, and all are used in ceremonies of the oricha. They say Babalú lives in the heart of the forest during the rainy season, but in the dry season he enters the city, bringing epidemics. In fact, some people say when there are epidemics, you should not play for him, you should not call him. Instead, you should placate him with food and simple offerings. People also link him to epidemics of every kind: bubonic plague, yellow fever, the Spanish influence, AIDS. Historically, though, he was thought to control smallpox. By extension he has dominion over all skin sores and diseases. Since smallpox leaves visible scars, any transfiguring disease comes under his purview. Man...
Post a Comment
Read more

Pedro Abreu—Asonyanye, Son of Asojano-Afimaye

I first met Pedro Abreu in 2001. David Brown had been telling me about him for a few years at that point and when David introduced us, I immediately understood David’s fascination. The first time we met, Abreu outlined his whole history in the religion. He was born in Los Sitios in Centro Havana. He had a prenda from the African-inspired Regla de Congo from a young age, but he had not really believed in religion. In 1975, he received Asojano-Afimaye in Havana from Matilde Sotomayor—Asoninque, the famous Asojano priestess who worked with Pilar Fresneda—Asonsíperaco . The famous Ñica Fernández—Onojome and Victor—Quemafo were also there. On February 20, 1992, Abreu made Asojano- Afimaye at the Cabildo Arará Sabalú Nonjó in Matanzas City. It had been 36 years since anyone had made Asojano there, but his godmother María Isabel Reyes—Asonsímeneco did have Asojano made direct as tradition required. At itá he given the oricha name Asonyanye, after the famous Havana priest know...
2 comments
Read more