The Starry Cave

Palo Mayombe The Garden Of Blood And Bones "As mentioned in an earlier post, this past weekend I received my copies of both Palo Mayombe and Pomba Gira by Nicholaj De Mattos Frisvold. I havent yet begun Pomba gira, simply because Palo Mayombe has had me engrossed and will require at least a couple more read throughs to begin to grasp, and so it is Palo Mayombe alone that I will speak of in this post. Although I am usually skeptical about books touching on the subject of Palo, since it is a highly guarded tradition and one previously spoken on only in exalted circles of those lucky enough to be initiates, I has quite hopeful that this book would be something special simply because Nicholaj is an author with whom I am familiar and I know first hand that Scarlet Imprint releases only the best of the best. "... Red more of this Book Review in The Lion's Den

 San Luis Beltran has a special role in the kimbiza order, which is evident from his iconography. He can assume several roles, in concord with his role as prophet, linguist, miracle-worker and clairvoyant. In many ways we can say that San Luis Beltrán represents the perfection of the mystical dimensions of the kimbizeiro and is given a particular importance in presentation of the kimbiza mystery. He is the healer and exorcist – the saintly ideal of the kimbizeiro carrying the gunpowder draped cross in one hand and the Dragon`s secret in the other.  A Kongo water made under his auspicious will for sure generate a temple where spirits will vibrate in union and communication with the Tata or Yaya – and will also help the stout piño Nuevo to connect better with spirit in a temple properly fortified with spiritual fumes and attractors. Take blessed and equal portions of jasmine flowers, bay laurel leaves, orange leaves and rose petals, add three ...

Last month a mother was charged and indicted on charges of cruelty and neglect of a child she tried to rescue from death threatening illness. For her the solution was found in the traditional faith Palo Mayombe where body, soul and spirit were made subject for healing. As the sensationalist reportage tells, the mother ‘exposed her daughter to the bloody rituals of the Palo Mayombe faith’. The nature of these bloody rites consisted in receiving some cuts to the body where medicine was placed and to consume the heart of a chicken that had been offered to the spirit of healing. The child also witnessed ‘the decapitation of a goat’. When the police went to the paleros house they found the following horrors:     “Dolls, a shrine, religious statues, bones, machetes and bundles of sticks bearing numbers and names were among artifacts found at the home. The items, some of which had blood and animal hair on them” The defence was of course one of re...