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| Offerings to Iemanjß in Leblon. | Champagne for Iemanjß in Leblon |
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| Offerings to Iemanjß in Leblon. | Champagne for Iemanjß in Leblon |
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| A boat of offerings for Iemanjß. |
Members of the Umbanda Afro-Brazilian religion in Rio de Janeiro celebrate Iemanjß, mother of the waters and all Orixßs (gods and goddesses), on the night of December 31. Offerings of flowers and perfume are brought to the beaches and thrown into the sea. The ritual celebrations, accompanied by drumming and singing, start at midnight and go on until dawn. In recent years, it has become commonplace and even fashionable, for people to dress in Iemanjß's colors - white and blue - and join the celebrants, and tens of thousands come to the beaches to wish for good things in the new year. I must say that walking into the sea with a white bouquet in my hands at midnight was the best way to celebrate New Year's Eve for me ever, and I hope to do it again someday.
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| Cigars for Iemanjß in Leblon. | Flowers for Iemanjß in Leblon. |
Well, I did it. December 31, 1996, and there I was on the beach...with 2.5 million people and tons of fireworks exploding right above my head...Not sure I want to do this again, but people seemed to have a wonderful time. Even kids were drinking champagne and toasting the New Year on the beach...lovely walk afterwards in Ipanema. The next day the papers reported that no one got burned on the beaches, and that there were no muggings and no arrests. I read that the same was true of the 1997 party.
Siren, clay image, Salvador, Bahia Iemanjß, sirens and Iara, the Indian myth, are sometimes all one in Brazilian popular mythology, so she may be depicted as a beautiful siren holding a mirror. Click on this thumbnail to see a large JPEG of Iemanjß.
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