IEMANJÀ,
Mother of those who are fish
/ 02.2023 / BY MELODY SANDERSON
A warm, exotic and enticing floral scent trickles down the streets of Salvador as innumerable flowers drift from the shores of the Rio Vermelho bairro in Bahia. Every February countless believers make their way to the beach, throwing coins in the warm waters of the Brazilian east coast, carrying baskets of offerings for the goddess of the sea, Iemanjá. A procession of thousands of people dressed in white clap their hands in unison as they sing and dance in circles and worshippers say goodbye to miniature wooden boats built for the occasion, slowly disappearing into the dark blue horizons holding pictures of the Afro-Brazilian deity. Held in absolute secret for centuries until slavery was abolished, this celebration is now the largest religious manifestation in Bahia and embraced by individuals of all faiths.
Iemanjá, Guardian of sailors and fishermen, is the most worshipped orixá (spirit) in the Afro-Brazilian, slave-trade-born Candomblé religion. Her name comes from the old Yoruba expression meaning “Mother whose children are fish”. She is always depicted as a beautiful, voluptuous black mermaid. This creation deity is a symbol of protection, health, fertility and abundance. Not only does she symbolise a guardian angel shielding her people, Iemanjá incarnates the origin and source of the world. As her story is told, her womb spilled open the 14 Yoruba gods and goddesses, the first mortal man and woman, and the breaking of her water caused a great flood creating our oceans and seas.
Her tale blurs the boundary between the spirit and natural worlds, forging a gateway from the sacred to the mundane. Seated opposite the vast Atlantic, we’re inclined to pay respects to this mythological mother. Seeking her guidance, may we place in her waters, each February, a flower in her favour.
Photos from Marcel Gautherot and Maureen Bisilliat, taken on Iemanjá Day on the Rio Vermelho beach in Bahia and Praia Grande in São Paulo in the early 1950s and in 1962. Exhibition from the Instituto Moreira Salles, Rio de Janeiro.