Overview

Sacred myths from Santería centered on nature and the natural world • Includes more than 40 myths, stories, and histories from the Lucumí tradition • Reassembles the oral fragments from the African diaspora into coherent stories • Demonstrates that the African peoples, specifically the Yoruba, had deep philosophies and metaphysics involving nature and the natural world Since ancient times the Yoruba of West Africa created sacred stories--patakís--to make sense of the world around them. Upon arrival in the New World, the Yoruba religion began to incorporate elements from Catholic and Native traditions, evolving into Santería, and new patakís were born, adding to the many chapters already found in the odu of the diloggun--the sacred oral teachings and divination system of the Yoruba, or Lucumí, faith. Comparable to the myths of ancient Greece and Rome and rich with jewels of wisdom like the I Ching, these Santería stories are as vast as the Hindu Vedas and as culturally significant as the parables in the Torah, Talmud, and Christian Bible. Diloggun Tales of the Natural World presents more than 40 patakís that shed light upon the worldview of Santería. Each story in this collection, reassembled from the oral tradition of the African diaspora, is centered on a spiritual principle in nature: the waxing and waning of the moon, solar and lunar eclipses, the phenomenon of shooting stars, the separation of sky and earth, and the origins of the animals and birds who play key roles in Santería symbology. Revealing the metaphysics, theology, and philosophy of the Yoruba people, this volume shows these stories to be as powerful and relevant today as they were to the ancient Yoruba who once safeguarded them.

Full Product Details

Author:   Ócha'ni Lele (Ócha'ni Lele )
Publisher:   Inner Traditions Bear and Company
Imprint:   Destiny Books,U.S.
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 1.90cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.001kg
ISBN:  

9781594774195

ISBN 10:   1594774196
Pages:   224
Publication Date:   15 November 2011
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

Preface Acknowledgments Introduction: The Importance of Patakís 1 Patakís from the Composites of Okana The Separation of Heaven and Earth The Separation of Sky and Earth The Story of the Maja Obatalá’s Favorite Dove, or, How the Cat Lost His Dinner The Birth of the Dead Sea How Osain Became an Herbalist 2 Patakís from the Composites of Eji Oko The Story of Rain and Drought The Birth of Rain The Sickness of the Swamp 3 Patakís from the Composites of Ogundá Why the Cat Is Chased But Not Caught How the Cat and the Ferret Became Enemies Where the Goat Was First Sacrificed 4 Patakís from the Composites of Irosun The Sun, the Moon, the Fire, and the Water The War between Fire and Water The Cat, the Rat, and the Fish 5 Patakís from the Composites of Oché Poverty and Hunger The Birth of Menstruation How the Hummingbird Was Born Even a Woman Can Hunt 6 Patakís from the Composites of Obara The Mountain Money Is Trouble, and Trouble Is Death How the Rosary Bead Plant Got Its Ashé The Kingdom of Earth, the Kingdom of Heaven 7 Patakís from the Composites of Odí Iroko, the Tree of Life How the Birds Got Their Wings How the Maraca Was Born The Pact of the Hand and the Anus 8 Patakís from the Composites of Unle The Rock and the Cactus How the Moon Fooled the Sun and Saved the Earth The Waxing and Waning of the Moon Ekún Fails to Make Ebó The Tale of Cotton The Calabash of Ashé 9 Patakís from the Composites of Osá How the Frog Got Its Poison The Birth of Red Blood Cells How the Turtle Won the Race Why Butterflies Stay in the Country Why the Sea Is Salty 10 Patakís from the Composites of Ofún How the Pigeon Was First Sacrificed Why Orúnmila Eats Hens, and Not Roosters Ananagú: How Osogbo Was Freed in the World 11 Patakís from the Composites of Owani The Old Woman and the Leopard The Osogbos (Misfortunes) and the Àkùko (Rooster) The Earth and the Wind 12 Patakís from the Composites of Ejila Shebora The Lands of Lesa and Mogue The Hunter and the Leopard The Tale of the Spiders Glossary Index

Reviews

Diloggun Tales of the Natural World is essential reading for anyone interested in the myths and superstitions of Cuba and the Caribbean. This book is entertaining and extremely informative, especially when explaining the role religion played during and after the African slave trade. --Xaviant Haze, author of The Suppressed History of America

Diloggun Tales of the Natural World is essential reading for anyone interested in the myths and superstitions of Cuba and the Caribbean. This book is entertaining and extremely informative, especially when explaining the role religion played during and after the African slave trade.

ocha'ni Lele gives both the initiated and the layperson a true sense of the marvel and mystery within the pataki, the sacred stories of Afro-Cuban Santeria. As with previous works, reading Diloggun Tales of the Natural World is like sitting at the feet of an elder while dramatic stories filled with vibrant characters are woven together to reveal universal truths of human existence. These stories, committed to the page, are an invaluable gift to those of us living long distances from our godparents and spiritual homes. ocha'ni Lele is turning a vast and rich oral tradition--one book at a time--into an eloquently written one. We give thanks to the orisha themselves for choosing him as their messenger. ocha'ni Lele writes in the lyrical style of the storyteller. The collection is a string of pearls, seemingly simple, but each has its own luminous beauty. The book is of value to practitioners of Santeria, but also highly recommended to anyone who enjoys folktales from around the world. It's a goldmine for storytellers and for those who include storytelling in rituals or at campfires. Read silently or aloud, this is a marvelous story collection. ocha'ni Lele's Diloggun Tales of the Natural World is a historic glimpse into the beauty and power of the Lukumi religion. Readers will not only find this book educational and inspirational but deeply transformative. . . . a wonderful and long-overdue addition to the world's mythology and cultural history. Diloggun Tales of the Natural World is essential reading for anyone interested in the myths and superstitions of Cuba and the Caribbean. This book is entertaining and extremely informative, especially when explaining the role religion played during and after the African slave trade. A must-read for any student of spirituality. Like paintings of the wall of a cave, these stories illuminate a rich history of oral traditions with thought provoking tales of faith and humanity. Ochani's parables invoke another world... Anyone interested in the folk tales and oral traditions of other cultures should snap up this book. Contained within are charming stories of personified natural forces, foolish mortals and gods of all levels of power and wisdom. Think Aesops's fables with a Yoruban twist. At the heart of Ifa, Lukumi, Santeria, and various other Yoruba-influenced traditions in the African diaspora is the diloggun, the complex cowrie-divination ritual by which devotees ascertain the will of the orishas. At the heart of the diloggun are the patakis, stories that elaborate upon and explain the various figures formed by the falling shells. ocha'ni Lele has put much of this oral tradition in print, offering us an invaluable view into the complexity and beauty of Yoruba mythology and culture. Like most fairy tales, these legends are simple but carry deep and profound truths: Diloggun Tales of the Natural World is a book that has something to offer adherents, scholars, and curious neophytes alike. This is a major scholarly achievement, which also happens to have great appeal as a unique consumer product. With brilliant and beautiful narratives, ocha'ni Lele skillfully navigates the complex stories of the ancient Yoruba people. The myths presented in Diloggun Tales of the Natural World are eternal; equally as profound as those of the Greeks and Romans. With a compelling power akin to the I Ching, this work is well overdue. Finally, we have an author willing to serve up the spiritual beauty of ancient Africa at the table of the modern world. Clearly, there is a legacy beginning to unfold. What a blessing!

Author Information

Ócha’ni Lele (1966-2019) was immersed in the underground culture of Orisha worship in 1989. He made Ocha in 2000 and was crowned a priest of Oya. His other books include Teachings of the Santería Gods, The Secrets of Afro-Cuban Divination, Obí: Oracle of Cuban Santería, and The Diloggún: The Orishas, Proverbs, Sacrifices, and Prohibitions of Cuban Santería.

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