Festivals and celebrations are regularly held
for the Orishas in Yoruba. A series of rituals
occur during these festivals and celebrations, with
possession trances as the typical culmination of
the ritual sequence. The Iyalorisha experiences
these ritualized possession trances, which serve
as the periodic retying of the bond between the
physical and spirit worlds. When Iyalorishas
become possessed during one of these ceremonies
with their Orishas, they act in traditional behav-
ior of the Orishas that possess them. The
Iyalorisha experiences, among most groups,
about a year-long and intricate initiation process,
which is described in this entry.
OverviewTo become an Iyalorisha, one must become a part
of the family, the Iyawo of the Orisha. Iyawo is a
word that has become important because of the
Cuban/Puerto Rican component of the Yoruba reli-
gion. It might be said that the Iyawo is literally an
initiate into the family of an Orisha. A ritual of 10
days must be performed. The Iyawo is labeled as
such usually after the initial 10-day ritual, but the
Iyawo cannot perform her duties until the entire
year of rituals and celebrations has occurred. The
beginning of that initiation process lasts between
8 and 10 days in the Santeria/Lukumi (this is
mainly from the Puerto Rican or Cuban region) tra-
dition of Orisha religion. On the first day of this
10-day ritual is the birth of the new Iyawo and her
Orisha, as the Iyawo receives the Orisha internally
and becomes linked for life.
For 7 of those 10 days, the Iyawo is sometimes in
seclusion. After these 10 days, the person becomes
an Iyawo, but her behavior is severely restricted for
3 months. Then another ritual is done, but this
ceremony takes only 1 day. Some of the restrictions
are lifted after this ritual, but the Iyawo still faces
some restrictions for the next 9 months.
Depending on the particular ethnic group, the
restrictions on the Iyawo will be lifted on the
1-year anniversary of the initiation, 7 days after
the 1-year anniversary, or a certain number of
days after the 1-year anniversary based on the rit-
ual number of the Iyawo’s Orisha. At this point,
when the restrictions are lifted, some of the
houses in the town may have a ceremony similar
to the 3-month ceremony.
The Initial Period
The Iyawo, after her 7- to 10-day initiation, is
believed to be a child and therefore must be
treated as such for the first 3 months. Therefore,
the heavy amount of restrictions during this
period stems from this belief. During this 3-month
period, the Iyawo is always supposed to be well
dressed, with her clothes always white and clean.
Women are supposed to wear baggy skirts and
blouses or dresses, but never pants, and they must
have something covering their heads—be it a hat
or scarf—at all times during this period except
when bathing or sleeping. A piece of cotton is
placed underneath their head covering throughout
these 3 months.
The Iyawo must not only be immaculately
dressed, but he or she must have immaculate
hygiene. However, the Iyawo is not allowed to use
perfumes or any sort of cosmetics except deodor-
ant. The medium must bathe religiously because it
is an abomination to attend a religious event with-
out bathing beforehand.
Although Iyawos are supposed to look pre-
sentable, they are not allowed to use razors to
keep up their hygiene until the entire year elapses.
Iyawos are also not allowed to cut or comb their
hair for the first 3 months. They cannot even dec-
orate their bodies with jewelry, particularly during
these first 3 months. They are only allowed to
wear the following special set of jewelry: the
bracelet on the left wrist that identifies the Iyawo’s
orisha and another bracelet, usually white or
silver, that identifies Obatala. Women Iyawo may
also wear bracelets that identify female Orishas.Ongoing Restrictions
The Iyawo can never eat at a table and must
instead eat on a mat. The Iyawo is given a plate,
cup, and spoon that he or she uses for the entire
year. The Iyawo is not allowed to look in a
mirror, even for dressing and hygiene. The
Iyawo may be allowed to use a mirror for
driving and her work.
These mediums are not supposed to expose
themselves to the sun at noon, and they must be
home before dusk. Also, around midnight and
noon, Iyawos are not supposed to be outside and
in some cases must stay indoors until 5 minutes350 Iyalorisha