Flowers thrown to the sea during the celebration of Yemanjá, the goddess of the sea, in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.

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Flowers thrown to the sea during the celebration of Yemanjá, the goddess of the sea, in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, 2 February 2012. Yemanjá, originally from the ancient Yoruba mythology, is one of the most popular ‘orixás’, the deities from the Afro-Brazilian religion of Candomblé. Every year on February 2nd, thousands of Yemanjá devotees participate in a colorful celebration in her honor. Faithful, usually dressed in the traditional white, gather on the beach at dawn to leave offerings for their goddess. Gifts for Yemanjá include flowers, perfumes or jewelry. Dancing in the circle and singing ancestral Yoruba prayers, sometimes the followers enter into a trance and become possessed by the spirits. Although Yemanjá is widely worshipped throughout Latin America, including south of Brazil, Uruguay, Cuba or Haiti, the most popular cult is maintained in Bahia, Brazil.

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Size: 5316px × 3544px
Location: Salvador, Bahia, Brazil
Photo credit: © Jan Sochor / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: african, afro-brazilian, america, animism, bahia, brazil, candomble, catholic, celebration, christian, cliffs, cult, culture, festival, flowers, goddess, iemanja, latin, latino, offerings, orixa, reefs, religion, religious, rio, ritual, rocks, salvador, sea, spiritual, syncretism, throw, tradition, vermelho, worship, yemanja