{"id":4871,"date":"2026-01-10T12:58:17","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T15:58:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.djamilaribeiro.com.br\/?p=4871"},"modified":"2026-01-10T13:06:39","modified_gmt":"2026-01-10T16:06:39","slug":"mae-ana-was-a-woman-who-opened-many-paths-djamila-ribeiro-pays-tribute-to-ialorixa-mae-ana-de-ogum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.djamilaribeiro.com.br\/en\/mae-ana-was-a-woman-who-opened-many-paths-djamila-ribeiro-pays-tribute-to-ialorixa-mae-ana-de-ogum\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cM\u00e3e Ana was a woman who opened many paths\u201d: Djamila Ribeiro pays tribute to Ialorix\u00e1 M\u00e3e Ana de Ogum"},"content":{"rendered":"

M\u00e3e Ana de Ogum passed away last Thursday, January 8, in S\u00e3o Paulo. On her social media, Djamila Ribeiro paid tribute to the woman who inspired so many people through her teachings.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, one of the greatest Ialorix\u00e1s in Brazil, the remarkable M\u00e3e Ana de Ogum, departed for Orun,\u201d the Brazilian philosopher wrote, recalling the importance of the priestess to her personal journey and to the preservation of Candombl\u00e9 in the country. (Orun refers to the spiritual realm in Yoruba cosmology.)<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cM\u00e3e Ana was a woman who opened many paths. She leaves behind an immense legacy of commitment to the sacred. She sustained a religious house, formed generations, welcomed people, and kept an ancestral tradition alive, even at a time when professing Candombl\u00e9 meant facing even greater intolerance and persecution.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was through M\u00e3e Ana that Djamila reconnected with Candombl\u00e9 \u2014 a spiritual journey she recounts in the book Cartas para minha av\u00f3<\/em> (Letters to My Grandmother<\/em>). \u201cIt was through the ax\u00e9 of Ogum that Ox\u00f3ssi could return home. M\u00e3e Ana\u2019s hands were a portal, care, and foundation for me and for so many other people.\u201d (Ax\u00e9 refers to sacred life force; Ogum and Ox\u00f3ssi are orix\u00e1s.)<\/em><\/p>\n

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Born in Valen\u00e7a, in the state of Bahia, on January 7, 1944, Ana Maria Ara\u00fajo Santos moved to Salvador at the age of nine and, in the 1970s, began living in S\u00e3o Paulo. A filha de santo (initiated devotee) of M\u00e3e Simpl\u00edcia de Ogum, from the Casa de Oxumar\u00ea in Salvador, M\u00e3e Ana lived alongside Candombl\u00e9 from childhood and was initiated into the worship of the orix\u00e1s on May 24, 1960, at the age of 16.<\/p>\n

Matriarch of the Oj\u00fa On\u00edr\u00e8 terreiro and initiated at Il\u00ea Ax\u00e9 Oxumar\u00ea \u2014 where she became a reference \u2014 M\u00e3e Ana worked for decades, in Djamila\u2019s words, \u201cwith firmness and discretion, like so many Black and religious leaders who keep traditions alive while facing erasure.\u201d<\/p>\n

In her tribute, Djamila made a point of sending her embrace to the Oj\u00fa On\u00edr\u00e8 family, especially her friend Fl\u00e1via Monteiro, as well as to the Il\u00ea Ax\u00e9 Oxumar\u00ea community. She also recalled that she honored M\u00e3e Ana in her column in Folha de S. Paulo<\/em> in 2023, noting that the artwork featured in the social media post was created by Aline Bispo, originally for the newspaper publication.<\/p>\n

The farewell was accompanied by a sentence that summarizes the strength and trajectory of the Ialorix\u00e1: \u201cOgum opened the road, and M\u00e3e Ana walked it with honor.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Um post compartilhado por Djamila Ribeiro (@djamilaribeiro1)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n