Orishas for Sale

As an initiate of Candomblé, I have often been asked if I could give orishas such as Osumare and Logun Ede in exchange for payment. From a traditional Candomblé perspective, this is unthinkable. It is true that some individuals have travelled to Brazil to reclaim Osumare and Logun Ede, but what was brought to the United States has changed and become generic. In Candomblé, each and every orisha comes with a specific road or camino. This road defines the orisha’s exact nature, taboos, offerings, and the way it is called. It is also always linked to the person's head-orisha. The practice of preserving and transmitting these roads has been lost in the United States for Osumare and Logun Ede. Claims of other orishas having been received from Brazil are questionable at best and preposterous at most.

In Santería there is a practice known as giving or receiving an adimú orisha. This refers to an orisha that is received outside of initiation, usually following a prescription from divination. The diviner may see that the presence of a certain orisha will solve a problem, remove an obstacle, or protect the person from a specific danger. The ritual of receiving creates a formal link, placing the orisha in the person’s spiritual life so it can act directly on their behalf.

Candomblé does not have this practice. Orishas are not given outside of the initiation cycle, or without the transmission of their road. The idea of handing over Osumare, Logun Ede, or any other orisha to someone who is not part of Candomble is completely alien to the tradition. Even initiates do not simply receive an orisha because they ask. The process follows the precise order and obligations of the house, rooted in lineage and maintained by the mãe or pai de santo. Those who do hand over orishas without proper initiation are quietly, and sometimes not so quietly, looked down on. They are seen as people who have broken trust with the spirits and with their communities.

In the United States, some orishas have been transplanted without their roads. Without this knowledge, much of their songs, foods, ritual movements, and taboos are lost or replaced with generic substitutes. Over time the orisha becomes a symbol rather than a living presence tied to a lineage. The loss is subtle but deep. What was once a specific, rooted spirit becomes an abstract figure that can be received in the same way by anyone, anywhere, regardless of their place in the tradition.

The adimú orisha practice in Santería is legitimate in its own context, but it has no place in traditional Candomblé. In Candomblé, each orisha comes with a road, and that road comes with obligations. To give an orisha outside of the initiation cycle is frowned upon, and tends to have a negative impact on the reputation of the priest who does is. This is why, in Brazil, such requests are usually refused no matter how much payment is offered.

In THE HOUSE OF ASÉ I provide more details about the history and practices of Candomblé, and touch upon how it differs from traditions like Santeria.