Identidades in English No 1, February 2014 | Page 67

or religious scholars know that mariners could not see
the shore because it was filled with trees. We who
were on the shore could not see the horizon, and it was
necessary to come to an agreement with Oggún, who
symbolizes work, so he would clear the trees on the
shore so the ones here could see over there, and those
there could see over here. It is always Oggún’s job to
clear the shoreline trees; it is a form of communication, since communication is not only verbal, but also
happens through sight and thought. And when there is
a wall of any sort that keeps people from seeing, there
is undeniably no communication.
Oggún, intelligently uses Orula’s works to mark and
clear the shoreline with his prodigious machete. Then
it was possible for the ships to see the shore, and the

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people on the shore to see the ships, which from what
we understand of the document, meant that those of us
here and those there could have communication with
each other.
Yet, Cuba is no longer the sacred lagoon of Lydia
Cabrera, Teodoro Díaz Fabelo and Rómulo Lachatañere. It is also the sacred lagoon of Ifá celebrity
priests and santeros like Facundo Sevilla, Remigio
Herrera Adechina, Nicolás Angarica, Félix Palucha,
Femina Gómez, Consuelo Chancleter, Aida la Dulce
and Isidra Virola.
Many Cubans have faith that the island is on the verge
of new dawns and that the fresh waters of Yemayá offer a bit of hope and tranquility.