A Necessary Clarification

I have been sitting with this for a long time. A number of years in fact. I kept postponing it because it felt awkward, and because it is not something I particularly enjoy having to clarify. My godmother used to say: never react out of impulse. If something upsets you, drink seven glasses of water. If you’re still upset, drink seven more.

At a certain point, though, things become strange. I had lots of water since this issue first emerged. But it’s no longer about me, it’s about other people now.

I have been involved with Kimbanda for about a quarter of a century. During that time I had three teachers. Two were Brazilian. One was a Scandinavia man living in Brazil. Most people know how I feel about the latter, so no point repeated this here. And that's not the point of this post anyway.

Anyhow. I have always had an affinity with Miami. Some of my closest friends live there, and I escape London for the Sunshine State whenever I can. Around 2014 I met a young santero who knew about my initiations and involvement with Brazilian religions. He asked me to give him Exu and Pomba Gira, and I gladly obliged.

My goddaughter and I did the ceremonies in his house in Miami. I gave him Exu and Pomba Gira the way I was taught. He now lives further north, but still in Florida.

In 2017 an email arrived from someone in the southern United States asking whether I had initiated this same man into Kimbanda. I clarified the situation. I had given him Exu and Pomba Gira, but I had not initiated him, nor had I given him the authority, licence, or knowledge required to make Exu and Pomba Gira for other people. At the time I did not think much of it. I was largely offline, concerned with ordinary life, and my PhD.

Not long after that, my goddaughter began hearing about what this man was doing. She called me, clearly upset. But there is no central authority in Kimbanda. There is no high council to appeal to, no governing body where misconduct can be reported or corrected. No official revocation of a license - not that one was ever granted! Responsibility moves along personal lines. A gentle nudge from an elder should always be understood as an opportunity to reflect and, where necessary, adjust behaviour.

I reached out to him directly and asked what was going on. I told him that I was glad he was working with Exu and Pomba Gira. That was never the issue. What I cautioned him about was presentation. Do not claim what you are not. Do not pretend to hold authority you have not received.

I also told him that if he genuinely wanted initiation, that could be made available to him, but only in its proper time. There are thresholds that matter, and some of them are not symbolic. At the time, he had not yet reached his Saturn return, and until that point, I felt certain things simply were not on the table. He declined, saying it was not something he desired.

That was the last time we spoke.

Fast forward to 2025. I finally decided to bring several long running manuscripts to completion. I launched a new website. I published new books. And then the emails began to arrive.

Some people told me they had been initiated into Kimbanda by this same man and wanted to know more about their lineage, which they traced back to me. Others said they had been working with him for years but felt uneasy and could not quite articulate why. Some were told they could use Wicca, Santería and Palo Mayombe prayers and songs in their work with Exu and Pomba Gira but were looking for something more grounded. Others had fallen out with him but still felt affection for the spirits and unsure what to do next. Anything from Nsala Maleko to Bendicion and Blessed Be arrived in my mailbox.

Reading these messages, I was unsure whether to laugh or cry.

Somehow my name had become embedded in a supposed Kimbanda lineage, both within the United States and beyond. People genuinely believed they stood in a line of transmission that ran through me. The difficulty is simple. The person who created all these Tata Exu and Yaya Exu, and who made and distributed all these Exus and Pomba Giras, was never initiated by me. I have initiated godchildren. But he is not one of them. He was never given license, authority or even the knowledge to prepare Exu and Pomba Gira for others, let alone initiate anyone.

I do not wish this person harm. He is, in reality, not my problem. He is Oshun's. And any troubles related to this man should always be left at her feet.

What upsets me is the number of people who were misled, often in good faith, into believing they were entering a tradition with structure and continuity. Instead, they entered something he made up. Many of them have since approached me without demands, but with genuine confusion, disappointment and curiosity.

I should probably not be surprised. The same individual has published a rather dubious book on Santería in which he invents “rare” Orishas - fictional lineages included - that now circulate in some corners of the Santeria community. The pattern is familiar.

In traditions like Kimbanda, authority is not symbolic. Being given Exu and Pomba Gira does not carry an implied right to initiate others. Initiation is not a loose term, and licence is not assumed. Transmission has limits, and those limits exist to protect both the continuity of the tradition, and the people who approach it.

For those who come from Santería, the comparison is straightforward. Giving warriors to an aleyo does not make that person an initiator. Without kariocha, without permission, and without the necessary knowledge, the chain breaks. They can’t give warriors to others, even if they are initiated into something else. Other religions and traditions have similar limitations.

I have no knowledge of what is inside these pots. I do not know what these ceremonies look like. I do not know what has been passed on, if anything, or how. I only know that people are being told they belong to a lineage that runs through me.

They do not.

If you are one of the people affected by this, I am genuinely sorry. Please feel free to reach out if you want to talk.

Many people came to this tradition in good faith, with sincerity and respect. Traditions like Kimbanda are not sustained by enthusiasm alone, but by limits, responsibility, mentoring, and an understanding of when one must stop.

First posted on 24 December 2025.

Update (25 Dec 2025): This post has been up for less than 24 hours, and I have now learned that around 20 people or so have been put through this bogus Kimbanda initiation by the santero from Florida, and by someone in Texas. Nobody knows yet how far this fraudulent network stretches. People have received Yaya and Tata titles, at around $3,000(!) per "initiation", and spent hundreds in readings before and after. All very transactional. Most of the people affected were vulnerable. Alternative lifestyles, young, impressionable, some of them substance-dependant, detached from their families, looking for connections and acceptance. Low earners hoping for a better future, take for a rid. Quite predatory practices really, preying on the vulnerable.

To make matters worse, the santero from Florida claims it was Exu himself who gave him "license to create.” Exu made me do it! You really couldn't make this shit up! How god damned preposterous!

Another update (27 Dec 2025): The guy from Texas has reached out. He already knows by now that the person who "initiated" him was never initiated, but made this whole thing up. He was taken for a ride. Some of his "Kimbanda initiates" have also reached out, as has a prospect (*sigh*) initiate who found out that this whole thing is just a scam created by someone in Florida. I would have expected the guy from Texas to set the record straight. He was mislead, the people he initiated were mislead. It's all a scam and it has to stop. But, surprisingly, despite now being aware of the situation, he seams to have scheduled further initiations, allowing the same fake practices to continue and more people to be taken for a ride.

Further update (29 Dec 2025): More people have reached out. Some have asked to speak with me “to find the truth” of what happened, or to relay how the santero from Florida and the man from Texas are trying to argue their way out of this situation. I am genuinely sorry that people have been misled, but there is no middle ground here. The guy from Texas is continuing the scam, even though he knows it is a scam. There is no need for negotiation, mediation, or further “truth finding”. The facts are clear. The santero from Florida invented initiations and titles. That is a lie, plain and simple. It's a scam. There is no halfway position. The earth is round, not flat. We are not going to pretend it is a banana simply because it is uncomfortable to accept that people were taken for a ride. Any claims of "Exu himself gave me permission" are unbelievably naïve and preposterous! I struggling to find the words to express how hard it is for me to believe that anyone might still believe these two scammers and their made up steaming pile of horse shit!

I have also been asked several times whether I would be willing to “fix the lineage problem” by re-initiating people. I have declined. In time, I do not want anyone to claim that I exposed this fraud for personal gain. A tree born crooked will never straighten itself out. This is a sad truth. And it is also the sign of this "creation". My advice to those who have fallen for this scam is to cleanse their lives of this mess, and to leave it at the feet of Oshun.

Asiel Baes, James Alexander Oaks