Festa de Iemanja

I begin with a hilarious story before launching into the ridiculous display that was Festa de Iemanja...A good group of us went to this beach about 45 minutes away called Itapua, and we set down in a cool barraca - basically a bar with food and music. They had some great music, we had some tasty oysters and shrimp, as well as some ballin' queijo (fried cheese on a stick is just so genius, and with some of that oregano, it's on point! Don't know about that syrup though, I only go so far with the experimenting haha). It was so hot I was melting in my chair, but it wasn't bad after a dip in the ocean. Anyway, on the bus ride on the way back, we were all doing different things. One friend was sleeping, another was reading, and then the couple we were with (two cool kids from Berkeley) were snuggling, and then there was me listening to my iPod and watching the coming sunset. Little did I know, the party never stopped. To my right and a seat or two up were two 40 something ladies drinking up a storm, just getting drunk on the bus with no shame. They were laughing at everything. Anyway, I noticed them giggling and glancing at me, and in my head I knew something awkward happening was a high possibility. I tried to ignore it, but eventually I looked in their direction (curiosity is a dangerous thing sometimes) and realized they were saying something to me. I pretended at first not to hear them, but then clearly I did. So I asked them to repeat what they said. As I often do (when I'm feeling lazy in understanding exactly what people are saying), I didn't listen to a word they said. I thought I heard the word "beijo," but I ignored that and just said "ta bom" which basically means OK. Then when one lady got out of her seat, lookin like she was about to tip over, and apparently making her way towards me, I realized that I was about 95% sure I was asked for a kiss. I abruptly said "NO!" after I realized this and wagged my finger, haha. They drank and giggled a little more, then got off the bus...I'm learning that avoiding eye contact sometimes is just so important.

So anyway, yesterday was Festa de Iemanja, an annual celebration of Iemanja, the Candomble goddess of the sea. My friend Rachel and I headed over to Rio Vermelho in the morning, and there were thousands and thousands of people. During the day I think I sweat off like 5 pounds. So the first thing we did is buy some roses.  Most people buy roses as an offering to Iemanja, and they send it through boats far into the ocean.  This is more of a day to thank her for all that she does for Salvador, and the thinking is that the more you sacrifice for her, the more she will continue to provide. People not only sent flowers, but important mementos and other gifts. There was a huge line of people waiting, but we just went onto the beach and put our flowers in one of the boats. I think people were waiting to be taking out to the ocean to personally give their gifts to Iemanja, but we decided to skip this part. Anyway, the scene on the beach was awesome. A huge number of the different Candomble churches were there represented. Most of them had music and dancing going on. But what was so interesting were the rituals on display! People kept passing out after what looked like a priest or priestess would lay his/her hands on them, even kids were doing that. It was cool to see what I've been reading about for awhile on display. As we were walking up the steps to the street, this priest type guy was blessing people. He at first blessed Rachel and so I was like sure I'll get blessed too! It was interesting, he threw rice on me, threw oil at me (some of which got in my eye), threw water at me, put some powder on my throat and my wrists, and said a few words. I said thank you and I was about to keep it moving, but this man was basically like "that'll be 5 reais each." I looked at him puzzled like "did you JUST charge me for a blessing?" especially after you got some oil in my eye and put baby powder all over me (clearly ignorant, but justified thoughts in the moment...). I didn't have small bills so I dropped like a dollar in coins after he got distracted by someone he knew, and we quickly left. It was later explained to me that it was all for Iemanja, but still, can I decide how much I wanna give Iemanja? I just met her, dang...

The rest of the day was so fun. We met up with Tiago, Rachel's boyfriend, who plays for Olodum. Olodum was playing with Psirico, an MPB (pop-ish) band. Psirico had this truck and played on top of it, and Olodum led the truck, rolling like 40 deep with all sorts of percussion, all dressed in light blue. Olodum's director was real cool too, a very commanding guy (I was sad to hear later that he always cheats on his wife, gossip always makes its way into the conversation). The music and the beats were just amazing. And there were people everywhere, dancing and celebrating. We basically walked with the giant crowd and the bands as they played, how intense! My euphoria was temporarily broken when this police officer slapped the spirit out of this guy standing right next to me as we were walking. He slapped that kid so hard, I felt the wind. And then another cop hit him with his baton for good measure. The police here are on way too much of a power trip - and after seeing Tropa de Elite, they really concern me actually. So Olodum/Psirico played for over an hour, after which we sat down to some drinks and espetinhos (shishkebob). I was so tired (and mindful of my money) that I skipped the all-you-can-drink beach party that night, which maybe I'll regret, but to be honest, with Carnaval coming so soon, I'm just trying to keep up with these Brazilians, who have more stamina than I have ever seen. There must be something in the water...(props to Iemanja!)