CLBA
JOURNAL 2000-05
Oba
Ernesto Pichardo
HOLY
BAPTISM
A LUKUMI EXAMINATION
When the African Yoruba’s
became enslaved and taken to Cuba they encounter three basic situations. First,
those that survived the long journey faced a foreign land with different
language, customs, laws, and were bought as slaves. Second, they were
transported in bondage to their respective new plantation home, its rules, and
its mixed population. Third, all enslaved people had to face the imposition of
a foreign religion being Spain’s Catholicism in the island of Cuba. However,
the focus here is to highlight the religious implications caused by Catholic
influence emanating from cultural contact under unique circumstances.
Therefore, the examination centers on how the Lukumi attempted to balance the
new influence.
Removed from their
homeland, their customs and traditions suffered in many respects an irreparable
harm. The survivors of the journey to the New World faced a forced baptism
which became the gateway to psychological reprogramming. Submissive imitation
or death was the only choice. In today’s Catholic views their past would be in
direct violation to universal religious freedom, being free of psychological
coercion and imposed dogma or conversion scheme. How could the enslaved adapt
to the new religion in the midst of physical survival
concerns? What was similar enough in their indigenous religion to make the psychological
connection with the newly imposed religion? An example of the similarities can
be found in the Catholic sacrament of baptism which is what the enslaved first
encountered. However, to avoid the usual academic reference to the Catholic
Church of Spain that governed in Cuba, the examination is made with the Liberal
Catholic Church used in the USA. The Liturgy book was given to me by a Bishop
of the Liberal Catholic Church, which later got baptized in Lukumi.
The Liberal Catholic
Church
St. Alban Press fifth
edition 1983
The
Liturgy according to the use of the Liberal Catholic Church.
HOLY BAPTISM: Baptism is
a sacrament by which the recipient is solemnly admitted to membership of
Christ’s holy church and “grafted into his mystical body”.
The exorcism is intended
to deaden the germs of evil in infants, or to effect a preliminary purification
in those more advanced in years.
The first anointing is,
as indicated, for the strengthening and safeguarding of the candidate and is
followed immediately by baptism in the name of the Trinity and then by the
second anointing with holy chrism, still further to strengthen him.
Where there is doubt
about the validity or completeness of a former baptism, the sacrament is
re-administered conditionally.
The pouring of the water
symbolizes both the washing away of the sin and the down pouring of power from
on high. The font us usually placed near the entrance
of the church to show that by baptism we gain admission to the church of God.
So far as is convenient,
holy baptism should be administered publicly in the presence of a congregation.
Form to be used for
Infants: Instructions to parents
The head of the child
should be uncovered and the dress so arranged that the oil of catechumens can
be applied on the neck or breast before and at the nape of the neck behind.
It is customary that the
‘white vesture’ shall be a white silk handkerchief, presented by the
godparents. This is to be blessed by the priest and is retained by the child in
memory of his baptism.
For each child to be
baptized there should be a godfather and godmother, who say the words of
presentation respectively, according to whether the child be
male or female.
...........Continued by
the priest invocation and the presentation of the child.
The Exorcism: The Priest says--
In the name which is
above every name, in the power of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost, I
exorcize all influences and seeds of evil; I lay upon them the spell of
Christ’s holy church, that they trouble not this servant of God; for he who is
the Lord of love and compassion hath designed to call him to his holy grace and
blessings and to the font of baptism.
Ephphatha:
that is, be thou open. Here the priest makes the sign of the cross over the
brow, the throat, the heart and the navel of the child. The priest continues
with other procedures.
First Anointing: The priest takes upon his right thumb a little
of the oil of catechumens. At the first two crosses the priest touches
respectively the child’s breast or throat and the nape of his neck, making a
small cross at each with the oil; he then, without touching the body, makes two
crosses respectively before and behind the child, reaching to the entire length
of the body.
The Baptism: While the godparents hold the child over the font,
the priest pours some of the consecrated baptismal water over the head and
forehead of the child thrice.
Anointing With Chrism: The priest takes upon his thumb some of the sacred
chrism and, anointing the child on the top of the head in the form of a cross.
Reception: With his thumb, still moist with chrism, the priest
makes a cross upon the child’s brow; at the last clause he lays his hand upon
the infant’s head.
Priest says: I receive
this child into the fellowship of Christ’s holy church and do sign him with the
sign of the cross in token that hereafter he shall not be ashamed to confess
the faith of Christ our Lord, to acknowledge him when he shall come and
manfully to fight under his banner against sin and selfishness and that he shall
continue Christ’s faithful soldier and servant throughout the ages of ages.
Amen.
A white silk
handkerchief is brought and the priest, having blessed it, places it upon the
shoulders of the child, saying: Receive from the holy church this white vesture
as a pattern of spotless purity and brightness of him whose service thou hast
entered and for a token of thy fellowship with Christ and his holy angels, that
thy life may be filled with peace.
Delivering a lighted
candle to the child, the priest says: Take this burning light, enkindled from
the fire of God’s holy altar, for a sign of the ever-burning light of thy
spirit. God grant that hereafter his love shall so shine through thy heart that
thou mayest continually enlighten the lives of the
fellow-men.
The priest places his
hand on the head of the child, saying: go in peace and may the Lord be with
thee.
The Charge to
Sponsors
Priest: Ye who have
brought this child here to be baptized, seeing that now he is regenerate of
water and the Holy Spirit and grafted into the mystical body of Christ’s
church, remember that there lies upon you a duty not lightly to be cast aside.
It is your part to see that so soon as he is old enough to understand, he is
taught God’s holy will and commandment, as it was spoken by our Lord himself
when he said: ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with
all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind and with all thy
strength. This is the first and great commandment; and the second is like unto
it: Thou shalt love thy neighbour
as thyself.
There are three important
ritual items that are use during baptism and other functions; the Holy Water,
the oil of catechumens, and chrism which consists of balsam and oil. These
items are consecrated in differing ways specific to the intended use: exorcism,
the sick, and sacraments such as baptism or confirmation.
Exorcism and Blessing
of the Salt:
The priest prepares the
salt as follows:
Priest—I exorcise thee,
creature of salt, by the living God, by the holy God, by the omnipotent God,
that thou mayest be purified from all evil influence,
in the name of him who is Lord of angels and of men, who filleth
the whole earth with his majesty and glory.....Amen.
We pray thee, O god, in
thy boundless loving-kindness to stretch forth the right hand of thy power open
this creature of salt which we bless and hallow in thy holy name. Grant that
this salt may make for health of mind and body to all who partake thereof and
that there may be banished from the place where it is used every power of
adversity and every illusion or artifice of evil; through Christ our
Lord....Amen
Exorcism and Blessing
of the Water: The priest
prepares the water as follows.
Priest--I exorcise thee,
creature of water, by the living God, by the holy God, by the omnipotent God,
that thou mayest be purified from all evil influence,
in the name of him who is Lord of angels and of men, who filleth
the whole earth with his majesty and glory....Amen
O God, who for the helping
and safeguarding of men dost hallow the water set apart for the service of thy
holy church, send forth thy light and thy power upon this element of water
which we bless and hallow in thy faithfulness of spirit may be strengthen in
all goodness and that everything sprinkled with it may be made holy and pure
and guarded from all assaults of evil; through Christ our Lord....Amen
The priest casts the salt
thrice into the water in the form of a crosses he says the following--- Let
salt and water mingle together in the name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Ghost....Amen.
O God, the giver of
invincible strength and King of irresistible power, whose splendour
shines throughout the whole of creation, we pray thee to look upon this thy
creature of salt and water, to pour down upon it the radiance of thy blessings
and to hallow it with the dew of thy holy name shall be invoked in prayer,
every noble aspiration may be strengthen, every good resolve made firm and
fellowship of the Holy Spirit vouchsafed to us who place our trust in thee; thou
who with the Son livest and reignest
in the unity of the same Holy Spirit, God throughout all ages....Amen
Blessing of Holy Water
for Baptism: The priest takes
the holy water and says over it the following blessing.
O Lord Christ, who in
the mystery of thy boundless love didst take upon thyself the limitations of
human form and in thy gracious compassion didst gather little children into thine arms; stretch forth, we pray thee, the right hand of
thy power over this holy water and fill it with thy heavenly grace and
blessings, that those to be baptized therewith may receive the fullness of thy
love and ever remain in the number of thy faithful children...Amen.
Consecration of the oil
of Catechumens: The
Bishop blesses this oil as follows.
In the name of our Lord
Christ, I consecrate and hallow this oil that it may serve for the cleansing
and safeguarding of those who receive the holy rite of baptism or consecration
to the order of the priesthood.
The newly consecrated oil
is carried in procession to the sacristy.
Consecration of the Holy
Chrism: The
Bishop blesses the balsam and oil respectively as follows.
Balsam—In the name of our Lord, I consecrate and hallow
this balsam that everything touched therewith may burn with his purity, before
whose splendour the angels
veil their faces.
Consecration of the Oil:
In the name of our Lord
Christ, I consecrate and hallow this oil, now set apart for the making of holy chrism, that it may bestow upon those who receive it of the
fullness of spiritual strength.
The balsam and the oil
are now mixed and the bishop, extending both hands over the oil, continues.....
O Lord Christ, the
fountain of all goodness, who dost pour down thy gifts abundantly upon men and,
for their strengthening, dost hallow and set apart these earthly things as a
channel of thy marvellous power, send forth, we pray
thee, thy blessing upon this holy chrism, that whatsoever persons or things
shall be anointed therewith may receive the fullness of spiritual consecration.
Let thy heavenly blessing descend upon those who are signed by this chrism with
the sign of thy holy service that, guarding well their spiritual heritage, they
may shed around them the fragrance of a godly life, O thou great shepherd and
ruler of the souls of men, to whom be honour and
glory for evermore.
The Bishop breathes
three times in the form of a cross over the chrism. Each priest present also
breathes over it in form of a cross and it is then carried in procession to the
sacristy. The Bishop proceeds with the Holy Eucharist.
Contemporary Lukumi
Considerations:
The contemporary use of
Catholic holy water by some olosha’s [Lukumi
priest] has some identifiable features that are inherited from the colonial
period. The slavery era managed to sufficiently influence in ways that it
became a custom by some to use the holy water. How widespread may the
use be is not exactly known. There is not exact data on when its use originated
and which lineage incorporated it becoming customary. However, there seems to
be contradictory opinions on the validity and contemporary need of its use.
Those that hold to the habitual use make the limited argument of inherited
custom free from Lukumi religious authority. The opposing view argues that its
fundamental use is in contradiction with the contextual meaning of Lukumi
ceremonies.
First we should understand
the meaning and contextual use of the Catholic holy water, especially in
cases where the water is added to Lukumi omiero
[consecrated herbal water]. Omiero is consecrated by
an Oriate priest and used for the purpose of baptism.
The holy water for baptism is used for exorcism and strengthening ----it
is intended to deaden the germs of evil or to effect a preliminary
purification.....I exorcise thee, creature of water, by the living
God......Mayest be purified from all evil influence; ......Faithfulness of spirit may be
strengthen in all goodness and that everything sprinkled with it may be holy
and pure and guarded from all assaults of evil, through Christ our Lord.
There is a fundamentally
profound meaning to the consecration of the water that should not be confused.
In order for the water to become holy the mystical influence of their Lord
Christ must take place........Giver of invisible strength and King of
irresistible power. Here we must take into consideration that so called
paganism as a whole is contrary to their first commandment and
reconciliation cannot occur. Therefore, the effects of its use can be
measured in two forms—Catholic holy water is intended to include the exorcism
of pagan or idolatry spirits that are considered evil and contrary to Catholic
new testament authority. The polar effect would be if the omiero
is added to their holy water but only the opposite actually occurs at
the consecration of omiero. The water is
always used as an additive. In either possibility the logical spiritual
conflict would be present.
Salt is also used and goes
through the process of exorcism and blessing, and it’s added to their holy
water.......I exorcise thee, creature of salt.....Be purified of all
evil influence, in the name of him who is Lord.......May make health of mind
and body to all who partake thereof and that there may be banished from the
place where it is used every power of adversity and every illusion or artifice
of evil --- through Christ our Lord. Here it can be said that: A purpose is to
block; Preserve and/or strengthen. Again the emphasis of adversity, illusion
or artifice of evil......through Christ , alludes to all idolatry or pagan
forms that are in conflict with their first commandment. The same results in
the oil of Catechumens and balsam consecrated for......Cleansing and
safeguarding........Fullness of spiritual strength......Whatsoever persons or
things shall be anointed therewith may receive the fullness of spiritual
consecration.
Overall the use of water,
oil [palm oil], salt, and several other ingredients are not foreign to Lukumi.
There is enough similarity to make the psychological connection. What differs
is the contextual meaning of use resulting in a conflict of spiritual purpose.
Baptism as a ceremonial
performance ........is a sacrament by which the recipient is solemnly
admitted to the membership of Christ’s holy church and grafted into his
mystical body......Intended to deaden the germs of evil......Or effect a
preliminary purification. In juxtaposition the Lukumi have the eleke ceremony [baptism] that is a sacrament of
admission to membership, grafted into the mystical body of the divinities, and
follows the same intent and spiritual effect of purification. Although both
appear to be close in concept they differ in realities.
Slaves experienced forced
Catholic baptism and were not expected to understand or reject its intended
centric reasons. As new generations came about, it is logical to expect that
some submitted to a habitual use of holy water and voluntary Catholic
baptism. The white population entering the religion may have been a factor of
influence as well. Most people initially prefer to hold unto their old notions
and comfortable habit in ways that reject change of custom.
Lukumi baptism [eleke ceremony] has similarity to the Catholic baptism. The
infant or older has two godparents that must be priests. The ceremony consists
of an exorcism of evils, purification, is grafted into the mystical body of the
orishas and acquires admission to the religion. In many instances baptism takes
place in group form and the baptized person wears white garment. Some priests
holding to colonial habit require the person to be baptized in the Catholic
form prior to the Lukumi. They take the erroneous position that the odu ofun meji,
in the Lukumi version, mandates such baptism. The interpretation in ofun meji is similar to the
needed elimination of the original sin concept found in Catholic
authority which calls for baptism. However, the African religion precedes
Christianity. A required Catholic baptism attempts to accommodate a foreign
cultural and religious custom that is spiritually conflictive. From a
sacramental viewpoint both religious forms would achieve the same meaningful
goal. Conflict arises in the Catholic fundamental spiritual contextual meaning
of the sacrament and the use of consecrated water, salt, and oil. The entire
language used for exorcism and blessing rejects and depicts
idolatry or paganism as evil, and it is intended to deaden and/or
block such spiritual influences. Aside from duplicity of sacrament the result
is spiritual conflict. A belief in spiritual reconciliation is not possible to
achieve. Moreover, an idea that justifies duplicity as a ‘harmless or neutral’
action would fail to accept the conflictive spiritual reality.
We can argue that Lukumi
tenets found in the odu ogbe-odi
establishes a call to religious tolerance but this cannot be confused with
issues of sacraments. Tolerance is not a blanket call to duplicity on well
established conflictive spiritual realities. In this case, the Lukumi is
depicted as an abomination to their church and Lord. Although the Lukumi may
assume there is no conflict from a cultural diplomatic concept there is
spiritual conflict. It is plainly acceptable that the enslaved Yoruba did not
understand the conflict. Even if they did, they had no other alternative than
to accept and be submitted to Catholic baptism. The rule of past circumstances
cannot degenerate the ‘truth’ and continue to propagate in contemporary time.
The odu
obara meji calls to seek
‘truth’ and to follow that ‘truth’ when found. The odu
odi meji calls for a
‘rebirth’ meaning -- to leave the evils of the past behind and embracing a new
future of goodness and light. It is understandable that to recoil from such
habitual custom may cause a feeling of rejection to change from a comfortable
position. It may not be surprising that some people, even though they might
acknowledge the truth, may feel uncomfortable with the idea of abolishing the
habit of required Catholic baptism. However, if they begin to understand what
it means to be a real Catholic, they would abandon the use of holy water and
the rule of Catholic baptism. Moreover, they can begin to understand that
Lukumi demands a positive action on their part. The orishas and Catholic Lord
expect commitment. Both demand that we come out of confusion. The orishas are
showing us the way to freedom from that which is fraudulent or conflictive. As
they begin to recoil from duplicity they will see what it is ---- a hollow
imposed counterfeit that is in conflict with the real Lukumi.