Cultural Memory in Afro-Cuban Possession: Problematizing Spiritual Categories, Resurfacing "Other" Histories
2007; Western States Folklore Society; Volume: 66; Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
2325-811X
Autores Tópico(s)Latin American and Latino Studies
ResumoIt should have been my last day in Santiago de Cuba, but I could not refuse a last minute invitation to attend a dia del medio ceremony.1 I delayed my return to Havana for a few more days and instead embarked on a rather long, hot journey to the countryside just outside of Cuba's largest eastern city to attend die presentation of a very young Ocha2 priest to the sacred batd drums. I was among the first to arrive, so the priestesses engaged me in conversation as they cooked enormous amounts of food for the ceremony. The kitchen emitted a melange of aromas: stewed goat and ram, chicken, congri, various sweets, and an impressive assortment of other dishes. The tiny apartment, which, despite its immense glassless windows seemed to trap the heat of the summer within its stucco walls, eventually swelled far beyond its capacity and a good number of participants were forced to sit on the stairwells or stand outside the door. After many hours of preparation, the tiny four-year-old novice emerged from the cuarto de santo (initiation room) dressed in immaculately clean white satin pants and tunic, his head crowned with a white satin coronet trimmed in silver sequins that circled the multi-colored rings painted on his shaved head. He was surrounded by his ritual elders, the eldest of whom chanted in Lucumi3 as she carried a jicara (gourd) filled with water, which was dripped onto the floor to cleanse the path of the iyawo (bride of the oricha, a term used to refer to a new initiate) as he entered the room. He carried a plate with white candles and a whole coconut as he approached the akpwon (ceremonial singer) and his band of omo-ana (sacred drummers), who belted out sacred rhythms on a lovely trio of velvet-and-cowrie-shell-covered consecrated bata drums. The elders escorted him as he circled several times in front of the drums. The group came to a halt in front of the musicians, where the boy bent to kiss each of the drums and then danced in honor of his oricha Obatala. Following his presentation to the bata, the iyawo prostrated himself in front of both his ritual elders and his parents, laying on the floor face down as they touched his shoulder blades and uttered blessings in the name of their respective guardian orichas. After a short break, the musicians proceeded to play with the intention of calling down the orichas, who often possess the bodies of their initiates in order to relay messages to the members of the Ocha community. On this particular occasion, none responded. As I was to discover on this afternoon, sometimes members of a distinct group of entities-the spirits of the dead, or muertos-do respond to such a call, arriving essentially uninvited to ceremonies for the orichas. On this particularly hot August day, an uninitiated neighbor woman at the ceremony became mounted by an unsolicited spirit.4 Her body began to tremble violendy, arms bent at the elbow in front of her with closed fists. People protested, and some of them screamed. She was quickly and unceremoniously removed from the sacred space to her apartment across the hall, from which she momentarily emerged to disturb the gathering yet again. Once more, she was taken to her home. This time, the eldest priestess, armed with the ritual knowledge necessary to mediate this conflict, accompanied her in order to attempt to rid her of the bozal spirit.5 As an outsider, this moment-which caused a great deal of panic among participants-sparked many questions in my mind. Why was this woman's possession performance unacceptable? What inspired such fear in the onlookers? Why was it important to contain her in a separate space? Those who were in attendance during this ceremony had little to say about the outburst; it was best forgotten and explained away as the inappropriate behavior of an uninitiated individual who had nearly passed a dark spirit (muerto oscuro) in the sacred space of the orichas. Perhaps it was not a topic worth discussing-after all, it was not so unlike the appearance of an uninvited guest to a private party. …
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