Tucked away in the City section of today's NY Times is a wonderful account of the work of Iya Nirvana, a prominent Greenwich Village Santeria priestess. Among the article's gems--her initiation ritual.
I was initiated in 1986. An initiation lasts a year and seven days. The first night is river night. They took me to a river blindfolded. I don’t know what river it was, but let me tell you, I know I was washed in the river. The next day all the songs are sung, all the waters poured. The next day a group of people come and dress you for breakfast and you sit on your throne, which is a stump of wood built by your godparents and consecrated for your seven-day stay.
The next day they dress you in beautiful clothing with pearls and gold and things your orisha likes, and there are big parties with drums and singing, with prayers, prayers and more prayers. Then you spend the rest of that week on that mat.
For the next year, you wear white every day and you eat on a certain plate with a certain cup and spoon. You cannot wear clothes with sleeves that cover less than three-quarters of your arms. You cannot look into mirrors or let people touch you. You’re not supposed to be out after dark. You sleep on the floor on a mat. You’re like a newborn.
These days, I’m an Internet service between here and the worldwide cosmos. It’s not hocus-pocus. It’s a higher form of science.
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