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The oru del eya aranla consists of dances and singing accompanied by bata drumming, in a traditional liturgical order. The chants are led by the akpuon, the chief vocalist. Each piece is repeated at the akpuon's discretion, and he will establish a call and response pattern with the chorus (see the discography).When a person is possessed by an Orisha, a circle of dancers surrounds the individual and imitate his or her movements. Those Orishas who do not "come down" have dances performed in their honor. Evey performance is slightily different. The last piece to be played "belongs" to the Orisha to whom the ceremony is dedicated.
When possessed, a person will remove all clothing that is not congruent with ancestral African culture: shoes, socks, garters, hair ornaments, ear rings and everyday dress. He or she will then be dressed in a special costume. This costume will "belong" to the Orisha that has "come down". The Orisha's collars, jewelry and power objects will also be given to the possessed individual.
The male Orishas wear a vest or short coat, pants and hats or crowns. The females wear very wide dresses, and adorn themselves with collars, bracelets and ribbons. A male Orisha may possess a woman and a female Orisha may possess a man. If a female Orisha takes possession of a man, he keeps his pants, but puts on the rest of the female costume. If a woman is possessed by a male Orisha, she will wear the costume's pants.
The costumes are made out of the most expensive material that the worshippers can afford, preferrably silk. It is hand embroidered with images of the ornaments and power objects that "belong" to the Orisha that is going to wear it.
The chants are presented phonetically, as sung by someone who speaks Spanish. The transcriptions are not grammatical lukumi. They are the performance of an orally transmitted liturgy by everyday practitioners. When sung, they are understandable as lukumi.
The translations are only meant to convey the sense of the phrase. They are not a word for word translation. Those wishing a more traditional approach to transcription and translation should consult Orin Orisa by John Mason.
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