Remembering Mother Olga de Alaketu on Black Women´s July
The month of July became a time of remembrances for
black Afro-Latino communities all over the Latin America. We call this month “Julho
das Pretas” (July of the Black Ladies).
The “Julho
das Pretas,” is a period of celebration created in 2013 by black women's
rights groups across the country under the auspices of a prominent activist
group named ODARA.
On July 25th, black Afro-Latin American,
Afro-Caribbean and African-brazilian women are jointly honored.
The event's objective is to bring together agencies
and groups that work to defend the rights of black women, enabling them to
develop their position in Brazilian society as a whole.
It is very important to show respect for all women,
especially black women, and especially those who carry out their tasks and
duties with determination, despite adverse conditions.
Therefore, we are going to pay homage to Dona Olga
de Alaketu.
Her civil name is Olga Francisca Régis, however,
she became known throughout the country as Olga de Alaketu (Salvador, September
9, 1925 - September 29, 2005).
Her name Nagô name or the name given by Orisa
is Oyafunmi.
This Bahia-born black woman was a leading priestess
of our traditional Afro-Brazilian religion known as Candomblé. Olga de
Alaketu was Iyalorixá of the Ilê Maroiá Laji terreiro (Temple), located in the Matatu
de Brotas neighborhood, in Salvador, capital of the State of Bahia.
During her years of priestly leadership, the Terreiro
Maroilaji became known throughout the country.
According to tradition, at the end of the 18th
century, during the invasion of the Empire of Dahomey to the kingdom of Queto,
in the reign of Akibiorru, two of his granddaughters were kidnapped and
taken as slaves to the “City of Bahia” (City of Salvador), in Brazil .
The story also tells us that one of these two
princesses whose name was Otampe Ojarô, after nine years working as a
domestic servant, she won her freedom and founded the Terreiro Maroiá Laji.
Olga is the daughter of Dionísia Francisca Régis, granddaughter
of Otampe Ojarô, thus , a member of the Arô family, heir to the throne
of the Quetu kingdom, today a traditional city in the territory of the Republic
of Benin, in West Africa.
Her children and other relatives, both in blood line and Orissa’s
linage say that she will always be remembered as a generous, affectionate and
welcoming mother. She was always available to attend to her children. She had
two essential qualities that a good spiritual leader must exercise : patience
and a good heart.
Olga de Alaketu is a spiritual daughter of the Orisa
Oya, considered by the Yoruba of Nigeria as the last among the seven most known
and worshiped African Yoruba deities in the world (Exu, Ogun, Obatala, Iemanja,
Oxum, Sango, Oya)
In 1997, she received a special award from the federal
government of Brazil for her hard work.
Since Ilê Maroiá Láji is a terreiro whose leadership succession obeys the female bloodline, after her death, Olga was replaced by her own daughter, Jocelina Barbosa Bispo.
References:
1. Àworan ti Iya Olga do Alaketu; https://www.facebook.com/alaketumaroialaji13/ (10/07/2021)
2.
Dona Olga do Alaketu; http://www.museuafrobrasil.org.br/pesquisa/hist%C3%B3ria-e-mem%C3%B3ria/historia-e-memoria/2014/07/17/dona-olga-do-alaketu (10/07/2021)
3.
As mina na história: resgatando a memória e o protagonismo das
mulheres que trnasformaram o mundo; https://asminanahistoria.wordpress.com/2018/10/17/olga-do-alaketo/ (10/07/2021)
4.
BBC Yoruba News; Yoruba gods: Wo àwọn òrìṣà méje ìṣẹ̀mbáyé tó di
ilẹ̀ gbogbo àgbáyé mú; https://www.bbc.com/yoruba/56995564
(10/07/2021)
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