Hattie Cobb's List: macumba

• Upon the death of an ialorixá, the successor is chosen, usually among her "filhas-de-santo", usually by means of divination using consecrated cowrie shells that are considered to be the mouthpieces of the Orixa cowrie shell. However the succession may be very disputed or may fail to find a successor, and often leads to splitting or closing down of the house. In some terreiros (like Gantois, Alaketu, Terreiro do Cobre and now, the Oxumarê), the leadership is inherited by a late ialorixá's female blood relative (usually one of her own daughters). Only a handful of houses in Brazil have seen their 100th anniversary. Among the oldest that are still existent are Ilé Axé Iyá Nassô Oká (literally, "White House at the Old Sugarmill"), in Salvador, Bahia, and the Casa das Minas in São Luís, Maranhão (ca. 1796).

• • Aluvaiá, Bombojira, Pambu Njila: intermediary between humans and the other Inkices (cf. Exu). In his female manifestation, it is called Vangira.
   
  • Nkosi Mukumbe, Roxi Mukumbe: Inkice of war and roads.
   
  • Kabila, Mutalambô, Lambaranguange: hunter, lives in forests and mountains; god of plentiful food.
   
  • Gongobira: young hunter and fisherman.
   
  • Katendê: knows the secrets of medicinal herbs.
   
  • Zaze, Loango: delivers justice to humans.
   
  • Kaviungo or Kavungo, Kafungê, Kingongo: god of health and death.
   
  • Angorô (male form) and Angoroméa (female): assist the communication between humans and deities.
   
  • Kitembo ou Inkice Tempo: god of weather and seasons.
   
  • Matamba (f), Bamburussenda (f), Nunvurucemavula (f): warrior, commands the dead.
   
  • Kisimbi, Inkice Samba: the great mother; goddess of fertility, of lakes and rivers.
   
  • Kaitumbá, Mikaiá, Kokueto: goddess of the sea.
   
  • Zumbarandá: the eldest of the gods, connected to death.
   
  • Wunje: the youngest of the Inkice, represents the happiness of youth.
   
  • Lembá Dilê, Lembarenganga, Jakatamba, Kassuté Lembá, Gangaiobanda: connected to the creation of the world.
   
   

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• Southwestern Nigeria and adjoining parts of Benin
• before their encounter with Islam and Christianity
• Lucumí in Cuba and Umbanda and Candomblé in Brazil
• itan...the total complex of songs, histories, stories and other cultural concepts which make up Yorùbá society
• all humans have the Ayanmo (destiny, fate)
• thoughts and actions of each person in Ayé (the physical realm) interact with all other living things, including the Earth itself
• become one in spirit with Olódùmarè (Olòrún, the divine creator and source of all energy)
• Life and death are cycles of existence in a physical body
• Those who stop growing spiritually are destined for Òrún-Apadi (the realm of the forsaken)
• spirit evolves toward transcendence
• Olódùmarè sends Obatala to bring forth land. Obatala descended from above on a long chain, bringing with him a rooster, some earth, and some iron. He stacked the iron in the water, the earth on the iron, and the chicken atop the earth. The chicken kicked and scattered the earth, creating land. Some of the lesser gods descended upon it to live with Obatala. One of them, Chameleon, came first to judge if the earth was dry. When it was, Olódùmarè called the land Ife for "wide". Obatala then created humans out of earth and called Olódùmarè to blow life into them. Some say Obatala was jealous and wished to be the only giver of life, but Olódùmarè put him to sleep as he worked. But it is also said that it is Obatala who shapes life while it is still in the womb.^[1]
• In the beginning there is only water
• Olódùmarè gave the emi, or breath of life, to humans

• The irunmole were spirits sent by Olódùmarè to complete various tasks, often acting as liaisons between Orun (the invisible realm) and Aiye (the physical realm). Some were acknowledged as Orisha for their accomplishments. The orishas help to create and maintain order on earth.

   

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• They sometimes name children Babatunde ("Father returns") and Yetunde ("Mother returns")

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• he Yoruba civilization remains one of the most technologically and artistically advanced in West Africa to this time

• she in turn personifies female beauty, sexuality, and desire. Pomba Gira is viewed as a beautiful woman who is insatiable. She is venerated with great respect and care, as her worshippers concede that her wrath can be firm and strong. Pomba Gira is often invoked by those who seek aid in matters of the heart and love
• Some Pomba Giras do display the characteristics of being promiscuous, talkative and vulgar

• the protector of travelers, deity of roads, particularly crossroads, the deity with the power over fortune and misfortune, and the personification of death
• Eshu was and is still sometimes identified with Saint Anthony of Padua, Saint Michael ^[1] or Santo Niño de Atocha, depending on the situation or location. He is often identified by the number three, and the colours red & black or white & black
• Eshu is a spirit of Chaos and Trickery, and plays frequently by leading mortals to temptation and possible tribulation in the hopes that the experience will lead ultimately to their maturation.
• Eshu was walking down a road one day, wearing a hat that was red on one side and black on the other. Sometime after he entered a village which the road went through, the villagers who had seen him began arguing about whether the stranger's hat was black or red. The villagers on one side of the road had only been capable of seeing the black side, and the villagers on the other side had only been capable of seeing the red one. They soon came to blows over the disagreement which caused him to turn back and rebuke them, revealing to them how one's perspective can be as correct as another person's even when they appear to be diametrically opposed to eachother. He then left them with a stern warning about how closed-mindedness can cause one to be made a fool. In other versions of this tale, the two halves of the village were not stopped short of extreme violence; they actually annihilated each other, and Eshu laughed at the result, saying "Bringing strife is my greatest joy".
• In Brazil, the female counterpart of Exus are called Pomba Gira

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