Interpretation by Lis Haddid
Presente de Iemanjá na Praia do Rio Vermelho, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil (Creative Commons)
The festival of Yemanjá, queen of the waters, is the largest public religious manifestation of Umbanda and Candomblé, Brazilian religions of African origin.The celebration brings together millions of people every year, the boats are adorned with white flowers and the followers make offerings to the sea while the image of the saint, which for a long time was white, crosses the city and reaches the sea. The ritual is involved in songs, prayers and many aesthetic and visual manifestations that make up the history of the tradition, its struggles and transformations over time.