Translating songs to summon spirits: Oxóssi - Mariene de Castro

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This article is a continuation of “Umbanda, an overview”. If this is your first Umbanda article please start with the overview first.

 
Today instead of writing an article exploring more content that may not be available in English I would like to bring an Umbanda ponto.

As mentioned in the overview article about Umbanda, pontos are songs sung by the members of a centre. The aim of pontos is to induce mediumistic trance in the mediums of the temple and honour orixás or guiding spirits.

I’m bringing this song Oxóssi, by Mariene de Castro (1978 - ), a famous samba singer. This is a perfect song to translate after the article about orixás and an article about caboclos because the lyrics of the song explore a lot of the basic attributes of Oxóssi.

I couldn’t find an official video to support the singer with the ads. The video below is a subtitled so you can follow up with the translation:


The lyrics in Portuguese and English side to side:

Eu vi chover, eu vi relampear - I saw it rain, I saw the lightning
Mas mesmo assim o céu estava azul - Yet the sky was clear
Samborê, pemba, é folha de jurema - Samborê, his pemba is a jurema leaf
Oxóssi reina de norte a sul - Oxóssi reigns from north to south

Oxóssi, filho de Iemanjá - Oxóssi, son of Iemanjá
Divindade do clã de Ogum - God from the clan of Ogum
É Ibualama, é Inlé - He is Ibualama, He is Inlé
Que Oxum levou pro rio e nasceu Logunedé - That Oxum took to the river and Logunedé was born

Sua natureza é da Lua - His nature is to work under the moonlight
Na Lua, Oxóssi é Odé - Under the moonlight, Oxóssi is an Odé (Yoruba for "hunter")

Odé, Odé, Odé, Odé - Odé, Odé, Odé, Odé (Hunter! Hunter! ...)
Rei de Ketu, caboclo da mata, Odé, Odé - King of Ketu (a region in Nigeria), caboclo of the woods, Odé, Odé
Odé, Odé, Odé, Odé - Odé, Odé, Odé, Odé (Hunter! Hunter! ...)
Rei de Ketu, caboclo da mata, Odé, Odé - King of Ketu, caboclo of the woods, Odé, Odé

Quinta-feira é seu ossé - Thursday is his ossé
Axoxó, feijão preto, camarão, amendoim - Axoxó, black beans, shrimp, and peanuts
Azul e verde, suas cores - Blue and green are his colours
Calça branca rendada, saia curta enfeitada - Laced white pants, adorned short skirt
Ojá e couraça prateada - Head covering and silver breastplate

Na mão, ofá, iluquerê - In his hands a bow and a shield
Okê, arô, Oxóssi, okê, okê - Hail the hunter, Oxóssi, hail, hail (Okê arô is a popular greeting to Oxóssi)
A jurema é a árvore sagrada - Jurema is the sacred tree
Okê, arô, Oxóssi, okê, okê - Hail the hunter, Oxóssi, hail, hail (Okê arô is a popular greeting to Oxóssi)

Na Bahia é São Jorge - In Bahia is Saint George
No Rio, São Sebastião - In Rio, Saint Sebastian
Oxóssi é quem manda - Oxóssi is the one who rules
Nas bandas do meu coração - My heart

Na Bahia é São Jorge - In Bahia is Saint George
No Rio, São Sebastião - In Rio, Saint Sebastian
Oxóssi é quem manda - Oxóssi is the one who rules
Nas bandas do meu coração - My heart

Quinta-feira é seu ossé - Thursday is his ossé
Axoxó, feijão preto, camarão, amendoim - Axoxó, black beans, shrimp, and peanuts
Azul e verde, suas cores - Blue and green are his colours
Calça branca rendada, saia curta enfeitada - Laced white pants, adorned short skirt
Ojá e couraça prateada - Head covering and silver breastplate

Na mão, ofá, iluquerê - In his hands a bow and a shield
Okê, arô, Oxóssi, okê, okê - Hail the hunter, Oxóssi, hail, hail (Okê arô is a popular greeting to Oxóssi)
A jurema é a árvore sagrada - Jurema is the sacred tree
Okê, arô, Oxóssi, okê, okê - Hail the hunter, Oxóssi, hail, hail (Okê arô is a popular greeting to Oxóssi)

Na Bahia é São Jorge - In Bahia is Saint George
No Rio, São Sebastião - In Rio, Saint Sebastian
Oxóssi é quem manda - Oxóssi is the one who rules
Nas bandas do meu coração - My heart

Na Bahia é São Jorge - In Bahia is Saint George
No Rio, São Sebastião - In Rio, Saint Sebastian
Oxóssi é quem manda - Oxóssi is the one who rules
Nas bandas do meu coração - My heart

Na Bahia é São Jorge - In Bahia is Saint George
No Rio, São Sebastião - In Rio, Saint Sebastian
Oxóssi é quem manda - Oxóssi is the one who rules
Nas bandas do meu coração - My heart

Na Bahia é São Jorge - In Bahia is Saint George
No Rio, São Sebastião - In Rio, Saint Sebastian
Oxóssi é quem manda - Oxóssi is the one who rules
Nas bandas do meu coração - My heart


Some of the words cannot be translated and we can explore it together one by one:

  • Axoxó: A ritualistic food, common to be offered to Oxossi. It’s prepared with black beans, shrimp and peanuts.
  • Odé: It’s another name for Oxossi.
  • Ossé: I could find Ossé asThursday. It’s an interesting result because Thursday in Yoruba is Ojobo.
  • Ofá: It’s a bow made of iron. A common weapon associated with the hunter god.
  • Iluquerê: I could only find it as a whip or a shield but couldn’t determine which one is it.
  • Ojá: It’s a piece of cloth, usually covering the head.

This article was written by Eduardo Guimarães and registered in the Brazilian National Library. The content is copyrighted. Reproduction for sale or profit is prohibited. With reproduction without a profit motive is allowed with the consent of the author.


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