Prayers to the Orishas of Santeria
Within the Yoruba religion, as well as in all Afro-American practices descended from that culture, such as the Osha-Ifa rule (also known as Cuban Santeria), prayers have great importance and liturgical symbolism. Praying an Oríkì (prayer), transcends beyond words and reaches a much deeper level of spiritual communication, which becomes a fundamental link between human beings and the Orishas. The objective of these invocations can be very varied.
At first, prayer is a basic tool during rituals, because it guarantees the connection between the devotee and the invoked deity, but it can also be used to express our needs, requests, gratitude, adoration, or raise our spiritual awareness, strengthening the bond with the divine and nourishing our soul on its journey towards self-realization and balance, both earthly and spiritual.