Odù

Odù is a photo essay that belongs to my long-running project entitled The Island about Cuban society, its culture and its changes in the last decades.

Odù belongs to the chapter entitled The Long Journey, which reflects on the weight and great importance of Africanness in the shaping of Cuban identity. Cuba cannot be understood without the heritage of its slaves. Their beliefs and legacy permeate Cuban society at all levels.

Odù is the force of origins, the great mother of àjé (feminine force). It is the primary jar or the womb of creation.

Odù is a photographic work that explores the magical universe of ancestral beliefs that connect with the earth and the natural elements.