Celebration of Iemanja

This work of art aims to celebrate Iemanjá and the Bahian culture that has a strong connection with African cultures. Iemanjá is an Afro-Brazilian deity who was born from the union of heaven (Obatalá) and earth (Odudua). While her brother Aganju was the deity responsible for controlling the land, Iemanjá is the representation of the waters, responsible for life, she also gave life to the orixás, other deities of the Candomblé religion practiced by descendants of African peoples enslaved by the Portuguese. In Brazil, the divinity is much celebrated in the northeast region, especially in Bahia, which was the cradle of colonization and where the first capital of Brazil, Salvador, was located. It is in this region that the largest number of Afro-descendants are concentrated, many of whom are practitioners of this religion. Still on Iemanjá, she can be compared with other deities of the indigenous and Catholic religion, the latter through the process of religious syncretism - a practice carried out by slaves to be able to worship their gods without the censorship of the church during the colonization process. Axé!* (*from Candomblé, it means "energy", "power", "strength")