A Celebration of Saint Barbara/Iansã Opens the Cycle of Popular Feasts in Salvador
The blend of Catholicism, Candomblé, and secular joy which so represents life in Bahia reaches a peak of festive activity at the turn of the year. In early December, a great celebration for Santa Barbara and her corresponding orisha, Iansã, opens a series of festas populares which draw thousands of people to the streets, churches, and terreiros, or Candomblé temples, of Salvador.
Red is the color which represents Saint Barbara/Iansã, both associated with a warrior aspect, and Salvador turns brighter as crimson flowers and clothes fill the processions and places of worship.
The saint is locally revered as the patron of firefighters and markets.
An experience not to be missed is the procession in the Historic Center, which goes through Pelourinho and has stops at the fire station in the district of Baixa dos Sapateiros and at Mercado de Santa Barbara. The food of the day is caruru, which is served to the participants at both stops.
In 2008, the December 4 feast in Salvador was listed as Intangible Heritage by IPAC - Instituto do Patrimônio Artístico e Cultural da Bahia (Institute for the Artistic and Cultural Heritage of Bahia).
Woman Power
Barbara and Iansã: two numinous female figures travel across eras and oceans and converge on the shores of Bahia in the 17th century.
There is no historical proof of the existence of Barbara of Nicomedia - under that allegation, the Catholic church took her feast day off the liturgical calendar in 1969. However, the legend telling of her martyrdom (which would have taken place in the 4th century) is said to have emerged around the 7th century.
According to the myth, the virgin martyr had a vicious oppressor in her own father, pagan emperor Dioscorus, who imprisoned her in a tower to keep her from marrying and later had her tortured and beheaded for refusing to give up her Christian faith - but was himself killed by a lightning bolt right after she died.
Saint Barbara is often invoked for protection during storms. She is also the patron saint of many workers around the world who deal with fire, and in German-speaking countries she has inspired a Christmas tradition involving a blossoming cherry branch - read more.
According to Festa de Santa Bárbara (IPAC, 2010), the devotion to the saint in Salvador can be traced back to 1641, the year when a property called Morgado de Santa Bárbara (which had a chapel) was established in the area at the foot of current-day Ladeira da Montanha, a steep street connecting Lower and Upper Salvador. The morgado later became a market and was destroyed by fire. The image of Saint Barbara was transferred to the Church of Nossa Senhora do Rosário dos Homens Pretos, in Pelourinho.
The mid-17th century is also when the devotion to Iansã arrives in Brazil, brought by African slaves. According to journalist Carla Bahia in "Iansã: Mãe Nove Vezes" ("Iansã: Nine Times a Mother"), an article in Festa de Santa Bárbara, Africans from different nations had varying versions for the myths involving Iansã, a deity whose attributes can be linked to Neith and who, in the Baba Egun tradition, is also known as Oya (written Oiá in Brazil).
No matter what the origin of the worship, Iansã is a figure of great strength and vitality, often associated with wind, thunder, and lightning. In one of the stories, her husband asks her to go fetch a secret potion for him; before delivering the recipient, she opens it and finds cotton balls soaked in dende oil. She eats one and thus becomes the ruler of akara, (in Brazil, acarajé), in Candomblé a sacred food associated with fire and storms.
In another story, Iansã, unable to conceive a child, consults a babalaô who advises her about offerings, including red cloth, and she becomes the mother of nine children - that is the Yoruba origin of her name.
Festas Populares
The cycle of folk feasts has its apex in the Washing of Bonfim (Lavagem do Bonfim), in January. Other best-loved celebrations in the cycle are the feast for the patron saint of Bahia, Nossa Senhora da Conceição da Praia (December 8), Saint Lucia (Santa Luzia, December 13); Bom Jesus dos Navegantes (January 1, with a great boat procession), the Washing of the Church of Nossa Senhora da Conceição da Praia de Itapuã (January 31), and the famous Feast of Yemanjá (February 2, in Rio Vermelho).
Red is the color which represents Saint Barbara/Iansã, both associated with a warrior aspect, and Salvador turns brighter as crimson flowers and clothes fill the processions and places of worship.
The saint is locally revered as the patron of firefighters and markets.
An experience not to be missed is the procession in the Historic Center, which goes through Pelourinho and has stops at the fire station in the district of Baixa dos Sapateiros and at Mercado de Santa Barbara. The food of the day is caruru, which is served to the participants at both stops.
In 2008, the December 4 feast in Salvador was listed as Intangible Heritage by IPAC - Instituto do Patrimônio Artístico e Cultural da Bahia (Institute for the Artistic and Cultural Heritage of Bahia).
Woman Power
Barbara and Iansã: two numinous female figures travel across eras and oceans and converge on the shores of Bahia in the 17th century.
There is no historical proof of the existence of Barbara of Nicomedia - under that allegation, the Catholic church took her feast day off the liturgical calendar in 1969. However, the legend telling of her martyrdom (which would have taken place in the 4th century) is said to have emerged around the 7th century.
According to the myth, the virgin martyr had a vicious oppressor in her own father, pagan emperor Dioscorus, who imprisoned her in a tower to keep her from marrying and later had her tortured and beheaded for refusing to give up her Christian faith - but was himself killed by a lightning bolt right after she died.
Saint Barbara is often invoked for protection during storms. She is also the patron saint of many workers around the world who deal with fire, and in German-speaking countries she has inspired a Christmas tradition involving a blossoming cherry branch - read more.
According to Festa de Santa Bárbara (IPAC, 2010), the devotion to the saint in Salvador can be traced back to 1641, the year when a property called Morgado de Santa Bárbara (which had a chapel) was established in the area at the foot of current-day Ladeira da Montanha, a steep street connecting Lower and Upper Salvador. The morgado later became a market and was destroyed by fire. The image of Saint Barbara was transferred to the Church of Nossa Senhora do Rosário dos Homens Pretos, in Pelourinho.
The mid-17th century is also when the devotion to Iansã arrives in Brazil, brought by African slaves. According to journalist Carla Bahia in "Iansã: Mãe Nove Vezes" ("Iansã: Nine Times a Mother"), an article in Festa de Santa Bárbara, Africans from different nations had varying versions for the myths involving Iansã, a deity whose attributes can be linked to Neith and who, in the Baba Egun tradition, is also known as Oya (written Oiá in Brazil).
No matter what the origin of the worship, Iansã is a figure of great strength and vitality, often associated with wind, thunder, and lightning. In one of the stories, her husband asks her to go fetch a secret potion for him; before delivering the recipient, she opens it and finds cotton balls soaked in dende oil. She eats one and thus becomes the ruler of akara, (in Brazil, acarajé), in Candomblé a sacred food associated with fire and storms.
In another story, Iansã, unable to conceive a child, consults a babalaô who advises her about offerings, including red cloth, and she becomes the mother of nine children - that is the Yoruba origin of her name.
Festas Populares
The cycle of folk feasts has its apex in the Washing of Bonfim (Lavagem do Bonfim), in January. Other best-loved celebrations in the cycle are the feast for the patron saint of Bahia, Nossa Senhora da Conceição da Praia (December 8), Saint Lucia (Santa Luzia, December 13); Bom Jesus dos Navegantes (January 1, with a great boat procession), the Washing of the Church of Nossa Senhora da Conceição da Praia de Itapuã (January 31), and the famous Feast of Yemanjá (February 2, in Rio Vermelho).
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