Cuba Santeria Orisha Doll Oshun

The Yoruba people from West Africa were once brought as slaves to the Americas. In Yoruba religion there are spirits called Orisha. Orisha play an important role in the Santeria religion of Cuba. Santeria is a blend of Yoruba religion, Roman Catholicism and Spiritism and developed during the late 19th century.

This doll is an Orisha called Oshun (also spelled as Ochún). In Cuban Santeria Oshun is worshipped as queen of the rivers. She is the Orisha of love and has seductive and sensual powers. The color of her satin garment is always yellow. She is closely related to Yemaya, read more about it here.

The doll is made without legs, there’s just a wooden stick covered with fabric under her skirt. She is holding a basket filled with her favorite foods and treats.

Folklore is in the air… uhm… ear!

Details

Object Orisha doll
Origin Cuba
Culture Afro-Cuban
Medium Fabric, clay (or composition?), plastic, wood, wire
Mark or Tag None
Made by Unknown
Size H 28 cm
Dated Not dated
Acquired Online 2020's

Postcard

No postcard available. There should be a nice postcard here that matches this doll, to show you how the people living in Cuba are dressed in their traditional costume.

There is nothing suitable in our postcard books at the moment, too bad!

Happy collecting,