Obaluaê
The Orixa of deep humility
Orixa Obaluaê brings the great gif;t of true healing through the understanding of the teaching, which comes with every illness. From his impulse a development accrues. He is the Lord of life and death and the many rebirths that can meet us in our lives. Thanks to his endurance he overcomes all suffering. He gives, at the edges of everything, the will to live. On the 16th of August is the names day of Saint Roch, the patron of the sick, the victims of plagues and of surgeons. That is why, in Umbanda, we even celebrate Obaluaê, who is likened to him.
Orixa Obaluaê is connected to the element of earth. His name itself means “Lord of the Earth.” His principle teaches us through the descent into the depths of the earth, into the tangible sufferings of illness, into the lesson of the densest matter all the way to the brink of death, to find in the darkness a point of a turnover – light, that is eternal, which is always present under matter. Obaluaê directs the rebirth from tangible form to the spiritual.
Someone’s in Umbanda we can meet the term Omulu. He represents the older and calmer aspect of Obaluaê. Obaluaê dynamically transforms. Omulu calms all the way to a full physical death.
Obaluaê is the patron of the poor and sickly. He is the Orixá of inner beauty, which is real and independent of illusions of physical appearance. He alone is depicted hidden from head to toe in straw, which hides his bruises and scars after ulcers from the world but which also protects others against the blinding, clear light of Obaluaê.
People turn to Obaluaê with the plea for healing, for support in difficult moments, but also for protection against epidemics. He is one of the most powerful and the most feared of all orixás. It is not advised to tamper with his energy. Obaluaê is able to cure a sickness just as much as bring one. He is the guardian of the spiritual worlds, lord of spirits, the wonder of epidemics. If a beginner wants to work with his energy, it is appropriate to do so with an honest prayer or the singing of pontos for this Orixa. The best day for this is Monday.