On the Orishas' Roads and Pathways:
Yemojá, Mother of the World
Miguel W. Ramos, Ilarí Obá, PhD
463 Pages, ISBN 978 1 877845 19 2
Published by Eleda.org, 2019
Miguel "Willie" Ramos, Ilarí Obá, Lukumí olorisha of Shangó and Obá Oriaté, was born
in Havana, Cuba, and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He has been an oriaté for over forty
years and also holds a PhD in History from Florida International University, where he has
taught Anthropology, Sociology, and History. Ramos has conducted fieldwork on Orisha
religion, primarily in Cuba and Brazil. Yemojá, Mother of the World is the third book
in the On the Orishas' Road and Pathways series, which attempts to connect
Lukumí Orisha religion with its African
progenitor and its diasporic siblings so
as to forster understanding of the historical
trajectory that affected them all. The
Diaspora, and the experiences of those
who were forcefully brought here, gave
rise to many distinct variants of the original
form, much like the churches that
grew out of the Lutheran Reformation.
While recognizing Yorubaland as the
source, we must also acknowledge the
significance of the historical processes
that provoked those differences. As
Orisha religion proceeds, let us praise
these differences that have enriched
our religious experience as examples
of an unyielding will to exist and thrive.
(The text above comes from the back of the book)
