Offerings and feeding the unseen
Candomblé ebo offering
An offering made in a Candomblé house of worship to feed the orixas and ask for a change in fortune.
Presented by ClearTrust Customs described as customs, free to read.
Candomblé is an Afro-Brazilian religion developed from Yoruba, Fon and Bantu traditions in Bahia. An ebo, from the Yoruba ebo, offering, is a gift to an orixa, a deity, or to a spirit, made on the advice of a diviner and often involving food, drink, flowers or an animal. It is made for a stated purpose, such as asking for health, work or peace.
This is an outline of a custom, said as belief and practice. It is not instruction, it does not say that the rite works, and it is not medical advice.
What goes into it
- Food, drink and flowersOfferingChosen for the orixa.
- Sacred leavesPlantUsed in cleansing.
- Cowrie shellsToolUsed in the diviner's reading.
- Songs and drumsWordCall the orixa.
- TerreiroSpaceThe house of worship.
- Offering
- Plant
- Tool
- Word
- Space
Each part has an equal wedge. The ring shows what goes into the rite, not how much. Colour is the part's role.
The steps, drawn
Each drawing shows the kind of act in that step. Details differ from place to place, family to family and practitioner to practitioner.
Step 1: Gather The person asks the house for a reading with cowrie shells. Step 2: Read The reading names the orixa and the offering needed. Step 3: Cleanse The offering and the place are prepared. Step 4: Offer The offering is given, with prayer and song. Step 5: Close Food is shared and the matter is left with the orixa.
Who and where
The offering is guided by the mother or father of the house, the ialorixa or babalorixa. The terreiro, the house of worship, is led by them. Candomblé houses are often open on festival days to the public, but private rites are not.
Living faith under pressure
Candomblé was criminalised in Brazil until the 1970s and its houses were raided. Evangelical groups have in recent years attacked houses and the religion remains the target of intolerance. Brazil's law protects freedom of belief.
Sacrifice and food
In some offerings an animal is sacrificed by trained members, and the food is then prepared and eaten. Practitioners see it as a form of feeding the orixas and the community.
What it is for
- Renewing a bond with an orixa
- Health and work
- Peace in the household
Who does it
Related entries
Also part of it, and being written: Cowrie-shell divination (The reading.).
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Sources and further reading
Original text and drawings by the EveryJaadu desk, written with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Closed or sacred detail is left out. If we have something wrong, tell us.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Orisha: Turismo Bahia, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Candomblé: André Koehne, CC BY-SA 3.0, source