The patron saint of Habanera Bay and the powerful Orisha share one day in the celebrations of thousands of Cuban faithful and devotees.
Lima, Peru – every September 7 in Cuba, one of the most important religious festivities of the popular calendar are celebrated: the commemoration of the Virgin of Rule, patron saint of the Havana Bay, venerated in its sanctuary of the municipality of the same name.
This Catholic invocation is syncretized in Afro -Cuban religion With Yemayá, Orisha del Mar, universal mother and protector of the family, which makes this day a meeting point between the Catholic faith and the Yoruba tradition.
From early hours, thousands of faithful and devotees habaneros (along with visitors from all over the island) come in procession to pay tribute, thank favors or ask for protection, carrying offerings of flowers, candles and prayers, in an environment where songs, drums and expressions of popular religiosity are deeply rooted in Cuban cultural identity.
The Virgin of Rule: Veneration and History
At the time of Spanish colonization in Cuba, when slave masters tried to impose Catholicism on their slaves, the syncretism and transculturation process that still continues began.
The testimonies transmitted during generations ensure that the Bay of Nepa, in the east of Cuba, found in the Virgin of Charity (Oshún) To his heavenly queen, while Havana’s bay found her protector in the Virgin of Rule.
The cult of the Virgin of Rule began in 1867 in a mother’s hermitage in the then people of rule fishermen.
Later, in 1708 the Virgin of Rule was declared by the Cabildo of the Villa of Patroness Rule of the Fishermen and the Population, of the Port and the Bay of Havana.
Every September 7, the virgin protective of the waters, Our Lady of Rule, to be honored by her devotees habaneros. The celebration recalls that on September 8, 1696, the current image of the Virgin of Rule was located in the sanctuary.
The current sanctuary dedicated to the veneration of the Virgin of Rule and Yemayá was built in 1811 and declared a national monument in 1965.
Yemayá: Powerful Orisha de las Aguas
Female Orisha of motherhood. Deity of salty waters. Guard of all wealth. The waste is his treasure. What is lost can be obtained again with the help of Yemayá.
According to Afro -Cuban syncretismto find Yemayá in nature, you must look at sea, on the ridges of the waves against the coasts and rocks. It is in this way that Yemayá takes offers and sacrifices, builds and/or destroys, offering blessings or taking them away.
Yemayá was the first Orisha of the Universe. He was born when Olofi (the son of the Supreme God) decided to create the world, after turning off with water the fire that wrapped the planet.
Her children usually summon her with white roses on the seashore and offer her eighty yemayá made based on shrimp, capers, lettuce, hard eggs, tomato and chard, among other delicacies.
Due to its relevance and cultural influence, Yemayá appears in innumerable themes of Afro Caribbean music. She has sung or touched Celia CruzIndia, Héctor Lavoe, Tito Puente, Celina and Reutilio, Orchestra Dee Jay, Willie Colón and Sonora Ponceña among others.
