File:Santa Barbara Orisha with Aquarela (53748331155).jpg

Click “Shango-Aquarela” under “tags” below to access a video clip of this Shango portrayal near 21st & Mission Streets as well as a deeper exploration of this very powerful Orisha or the energy metaphor of Shango.

Xoxoxoxoxox

December 4th marks the religious celebration of Saint Barbara, in the Catholic Church, Shango in religious syncretism.

In Cuba the National Sanctuary of Saint Barbara can be found in the Arroyo Naranjo municipality. The building has an eclectic style and was built in just a year with the local community’s help and funded by the Archbishop of Havana, Manuel Arteaga Betancourt and first lady Martha Fernandez (Fulgencio Batista’s wife), and it was inaugurated on the day that commemorates her, in 1953.

The City of Santa Barbara got its name from the early Spanish navigator Juan Cabrillo (1497 –1543). On December 4th, the pivotal first European explorer of the West Coast stopped at a particularly lovely place on the California coast. He chose to name the spot after the patron of that day, Saint Barbara. The island and channel of the same name also got their designations on this occasion.

Navigating along the coast of California in 1542–1543, Cabrillo is the most likely person to have named California after the mythical island of gold ruled by the Black Amazon Queen Calafia as described by the most popular author of the day in Spain and Portugal [Garci Rodriguez de Montalvo for his book The Adventures of Esplandian, c. 1500]

A Roman Catholic missionary church, the Mission Santa Barbara, was founded there on her feast day in 1786, and is one of the twenty-one such churches that were operated by the Franciscan Order and collectively known as the California missions. This Carnaval San Francisco parade image was taken in the Mission District named after 1 of the 21 California Missions, or Mission Dolores at 16th & Dolores Streets. 

Mission Dolores, officially known as Mission San Francisco de Asís, was named after Saint Francis of Assisi. The term "Dolores" comes from a nearby creek named "Arroyo de los Dolores," which means "Creek of Sorrows." This creek inspired the popular name "Mission Dolores."

The religious syncretism of Saint Barbara and Shango is linked to the lithurgy, as written sources indicate that Shango hid in Oya’s house to hide from his enemies. In order to protect him, Oya cut her plaited hair and put it on Shango, dressing him in her clothes and accessories, so that when he walked out, his enemies confused Shango with Oya and let him pass.

In the Afro-Cuban religion of Santería, Saint Barbara is syncretized with Chango, the deity of fire, lightning, and thunder. In Afro-Brazilian religions of Candomblé and Umbanda, she is often identified as Yansan, the orisha of wind and storms

Saint Barbara is venerated by believers who face the danger of sudden and violent death at work. She is invoked against thunder and lightning and all accidents arising from explosions of gunpowder. As such, she is well known to Mariners and Miners as their patron saint.

Life serves up plenty of opposition to maintaining an inner life, yet the vitality of our souls is linked to maintaining a strong vision. If we follow the Orisha energy of Santa Barbara we will have been strong and loyal to what we find to be good, true and beautiful. We will be blessed with life as a mythic journey.

Sources:

<a href="https://havanatimes.org/features/santa-barbara-shango-doorstep-of-religions/" rel="noreferrer nofollow">havanatimes.org/features/santa-barbara-shango-doorstep-of...</a>

<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Barbara" rel="noreferrer nofollow">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Barbara</a>