Orisha Obaluaê: history, qualities, children, offerings and more!

The orixá Obalauê is one of the seven main orixás of the Afro-Brazilian religions Umbanda and Candomblé and is considered the deity of health and healing. It may also be known as Xapanã, Omolu, Obaluaiê or Omulu.

Regarding the Catholic roots, there is a syncretism of Obalauaiê with São Lázaro and of Omulu with São Roque. This divinity is considered the most feared of all, for having control over fire, earth and death, since it can start an epidemic or stop all the malaise that is affecting someone.

Therefore, it is the orixá who sees everything, seeing even the smallest details of people’s lives, and nothing can be hidden from him. In addition, it mediates between the spiritual and physical worlds, being proof that everything is overcome, as long as you want to live.

In this article, we will show the main aspects of this orixá so highly regarded in African-based religions. Follow!

Obaluaê is an important deity that carries an interesting history and has peculiar characteristics, which made it the focus of many scientific studies and the central theme of doctoral theses at renowned universities. To learn more about its history, characteristics and powers, read on!

The orixá Obaluaê has a history of much suffering, due to illnesses that left horrendous scars on his body throughout his life. Brother of Oxumaré, son of Nanã and Oxalá, he was born with complications characteristic of smallpox, due to an argument that his parents had during pregnancy.

His physique, at birth, was so repulsive that Nanã abandoned Obaluaê by the sea to die. Some time later, Iemanjá found Obaluaê all deformed by the sea, in a deplorable situation of being eaten alive by crabs, and decided to adopt him, teaching him to cure evils and to have compassion for the sick.

Obaluaê, as a result of all this history in childhood, grew up withdrawn and ashamed of his body, marked by the scars of the past, which reflected in his difficulty in socialization. As for the clothing, there are two stories: one points to the making of his straw clothes by Obaluaê himself and the other says that Ogun made the straw hood to encourage the orixá’s socialization.

Therefore, the first story says that Obaluaê himself, tired of his sickly appearance, went to the bush and made a straw garment that covered him completely, leaving only his arms and legs partially exposed.

The other historical aspect states that, during a feast of the deities, Ogun noticed the absence of Obaluaê, who had once attended, even if timidly, and, when he discovered that the orixá did not appear due to his appearance and shame, he looked for him and He took him to the bush, where he made a long straw hood to cover his body so he could participate in the festivities without shyness.

This same strand claims that, during the party, Obaluaê remained still, without dancing and that Iansã went to him. Recognizing all his suffering and his history, he breathed on his shoulders and the scars became past, revealing the beautiful figure of a captive man, healthy and radiant as the sun.

Obaluaê has a very characteristic garment, with straw covering the body for the most part, leaving only arms and legs in sight.

This garment has two parts: the upper part, which covers the head like a hood, all braided and called “filà”, and the lower part, which covers the intimate and forbidden region of the entity, functioning as a skirt, called “azé”. .

In some cases, there may also be the presence of “xokotô”, which would be pants involved with the meaning of rebirth and death. There may also be small pockets in this piece, for carrying the medicines he uses in his cures.

Obaluaê’s clothes can be made with fabrics in shades of red, black and white, plus beads and cowrie shells that promote a magic dissipating the ills of those who approach to ask for blessings.

Pierre Verger, a great scholar of African religions, in his book Orixás, states the following:

“The people who are consecrated to him wear two types of necklaces: the lagidiba, made of tiny black discs strung together, or the necklace of brown beads with black stripes. Their iaôs dance entirely covered in coastal straw. The head is also covered by a hood. of the same straw, whose fringes cover his face.

Together, they look like small mounds of straw, on the lower part of which legs covered in lace pants appear and, at waist height, hands brandishing a xaxará, a kind of broom made from ribs of palm leaves, decorated with whelks, beads and small gourds that are supposed to contain medicine.”

Asking the orixá for health can be considered disrespectful, as Omulu or Obaluaê do not have health to give, they are only capable of taking the disease away.

According to babalorixá Sidnei Barreto Nogueira, a scholar at the University of São Paulo (USP), Obaluaê is the disease itself, the inflammation, the fever, the pain, the plague, the allergy, because it is necessary for the deity to have illnesses, so that can empathize with those who seek to get rid of them.

In this way, Obaluaê traveled the world and this baggage of knowledge about the illnesses that permeate him brought great empathy, as he suffered with humanity the core of his illnesses. As a result of this experience, the orixá decided to always remain more silent in front of the others, since he observes what is happening to the detriment of participation.

The orixá Obaluâe or Omulu can make the disease go away, through his spiritual help and faith in his image. Having suffered intensely from smallpox in the past, they have a lot of empathy for those who seek to get rid of some illness and demonstrate the will to live and be healthy in their hearts in a purely true way.

Vicente Galvão Parizi, in “The Book of Orixás”, already states:

“Obaluaiê is the Orixá who guards us from all illnesses. By illness we mean human suffering in its broadest sense: physical, mental, psychic, emotional. In general, help is asked of Obaluaiê in matters of physical illness, but it is to him that we must turn in case of psychoses, neuroses, anxiety, depression, anguish and despair.

He can help not only because he is the lord of medicine – his intercession can help doctors discover the right medicine – but also because most illnesses have a spiritual origin.”

Obaluaê is a very shy and sometimes withdrawn orixá. However, we know that this attitude occurs because it is an entity that observes more than it acts, and may give the impression of being antisocial.

He is highly respected among the orixás, for being considered the god of healing and for working directly with the themes of death and rebirth. He is also feared, as he is the disease itself and, while he can cure them, he can start an epidemic that wipes out an entire population.

Obaluaê has a lot to do with Xangô and Exú, being feared for his punishments. In his reports, he often refers to Xangô, in a joking way, as the one who promotes fanfare by killing one person, while he reaps the lives of thousands, in a completely silent way.

The orixá Obaluaê is an entity present in several religions, through similar reports. There is great syncretism between this divinity and those of other religions, such as Catholicism and Santería. Check each one out below!

Both in Candomblé and Umbanda, Obaluaê is a feared entity, for having in his hands the power of healing, when he sympathizes with the poor sick, or the power of death, for those who deserve punishment. He is considered the all-seeing orixá. Within these religions, believers believe that the entity has the gifts of spiritual healing, which they resort to in a situation of illness.

Obaluaê is also known as the entity of the sick poor. Having spent a long period of his life affected by the devastation of smallpox, Obaluaê has great empathy for those who get sick and who would like to live, fearing death.

It is an entity that governs the earth and everything that is born or dies from it, being associated with the earth in its hot state, represented by fever and sweat. Fever is the sign of the disease that devastates the organism and sweat has the meaning of the cure that comes to alleviate or cure the disease.

These religions believe that Omulu, or Obaluaê, carries his wooden spear, lagidibá and Xaxará, as energetic tools of good will. The straw garment should not be removed, as the intense glow that Obaluaê has, acquired after the breath of Iansã, would kill any human being.

Those who receive the entity, in addition to wearing traditional clothes made from coastal straw, tend to present themselves bent over, with physical characteristics that express suffering and pain.

Afro-Brazilian religions show great syncretism with saints of the Roman Catholic Apostolic religion. Syncretism is nothing more than the absorption of one religion by another, having the same precepts in theory, but with different appointments. It is known that umbanda and candomblé have multiple Catholic traits, since, in their origin, there is a root of this religion.

In this way, Obaluaê has syncretism with two saints of the Catholic Church, considering that, although Obaluaê is considered an entity, it can take the form of two at different times.

It is considered that Obaluaê is the youngest form of the entity, being known as the lord of the evolution of beings, from a material to spiritual life, and has syncretism with São Roque, since both protect the sick who are in poverty. Within Catholicism, São Roque is always sought after for the blessing of surgeons, as it is known as the saint of infirmities, as well as the orixá.

Omulu, in turn, is considered the most mature and centered entity and has syncretism with São Lázaro, who is acclaimed for the protection he offers to lepers and beggars. Like Omulu, Lazarus also faced a major illness during his earthly life: leprosy. It helped him to have faith and find healing.

The Santería religion has roots in the indigenous peoples of America, Christianity and Yoruba, having aspects similar to African and Afro-Brazilian religions. In Santería, Obaluaê is known as Babaluaiê.

Within the religion, the image of Babaluaiê is associated with the forest, the road and the absence of stagnation, contrasting with dynamism, and, during the services, one can observe the change of place of objects. In this sense, the image is associated with herbs with healing effects and the magic of wizards. When associated…