The figure of the Sailor in Umbanda

Umbanda is an Afro-Brazilian religion based on the "incorporation of spirits to practice charity". Organized in lines of work, these spirits incorporate into their mediums to give consultations and passes to those who seek them.

One of these lines of work is the Sailors, which brings evolved spirits who disincarnated and who in their past life had a deep affinity with the sea, such as fishermen, sailors, rafters, captains and even pirates.

Known by their irreverent way, their peculiar language and a funny way of behaving, sometimes appearing to be drunk, these entities are extremely important and respected within Umbanda. Understand more about how this line of work works and how it can help you.

Gira of seafarers, what they are required for and other information

Consultations in Umbanda are done through a ritualistic ceremony called gira. In these giras, songs and prayers are sung to salute the orixás and prepare the environment for the incorporation of entities by the mediums of the current.

The gira alternates from entity to entity, and may vary the songs, colors of candles and clothes, lighting, all with the purpose following the line of work that will be called that day. Check below.

The Gira of sailors

The Sailors bring with them the lightness and fluidity of the sea. They are spirits of great evolutionary degree and when requested in the terreiro is to bring wisdom and emotional healing.

They talk loud and seem constantly in party, the drink they use in the giras can vary, but in general is usually white Rum. Another element used by them is the filter cigarette. These elements are not used for "fun" of the entities, they use as a working tool, extracting the energy of the drink and the smoke of the cigarette to help the consulters and mediums.

The Sailors' line is ruled by Mother Iemanjá so it is common to see the incorporation of this orixá before the guides come on land, thus asking permission to the ruling orixá and energetic support during the works.

What are they required for

The Sailors come in the line of Umbanda as true golds of feelings, acting mainly in emotional healing. Always using metaphors related to the sea, helps the consulter to have a different view on your life or problem thus delivering a new perspective in order to promote healing.

But make no mistake, sailors do not only promote good dialogue, but they are also powerful dissolvers of negative energies, for bringing the force of the waters with them, they have the power to discharge and direct even the densest energies, and all this by talking and bringing lightness.

Powerful spiritual doctors, the Sailors are also responsible for physical cures, because healing the mental they have the ability to heal the spiritual, emotional and physical. Since many of the diseases are generated by the emotional state that the consulter is in.

Fame and behavior of the Sailor of Umbanda

The Sailors in Umbanda talk loudly, joke around, they almost always have a bottle of rum in their hand. At first, for people who are a little more withdrawn or conservative, they may appear to be troublemakers.

For a long time, for lack of knowledge, this was how they were portrayed. However, with more foundation and knowledge within religion, it is clear that this was not the truth, after all, a drunken spirit could not be of light and bring wisdom and direction to the consulters.

The staggering way the Sailors walk has nothing to do with drinking, but with the balance inside a boat in high sea, shaking with the waves, to one side and to the other.

When these guides come on land it seems that the whole environment fills with water, and it is common to see even people who are not incorporated feeling this influence of the rocking sea, to the point of having difficulties to balance and feeling slight dizziness.

This is the fame of the sailors, who bring with them the waters of Yemanja, to wash and purify environments and people. Taking away from the mind, the negative thoughts that attract all the evils to life, disease, fights, lack of money and the weight of not knowing what to do.

How do you connect to the spirits

The Sailors are spirits of light, evolved, who transit in the positive vibrational range of the universe, incorporate into their mediums for work in the center, but not only that. They are also doctors on the spiritual side, helping less evolved spirits to raise their consciousness range, often accepting death, or cleaning energies and negative feelings and corrosive to the spirit.

Like a guide in the midst of fog or a great storm, the sailors assist in this moment of distress and despair.

The Sailor in the Umbanda terreiros

The Sailors' line in Umbanda is part of the various lines that were added to the religion by affinity. Currently it is difficult to find a Umbanda terreiro that does not work with the Sailors' line, even having centers with its name as the head entity of the terreiro.

It is worth mentioning that when we talk about the Sailors' line we are not only talking about soldiers in uniform. Within these lines there are several sub-lines of spirits that had in their last or last channelings a lot of affinity with the sea, river, lake and the like, among them, ribeirinhos, fishermen, jangadeiros, sailors, pirates and many other people who live from the waters and for the waters.

How does the communication occur between sailor and consulter

Mediumship is the ability to interact with the world of spirits. Mediums are the people who develop mediumship in several ways, either seeing or talking to spirits, writing a message received from beyond, feeling and interacting with energies, or incorporating spirits in order to help the earthly world.

The main mediumship developed and practiced in Umbanda is the incorporation, being used as an important pillar of the religion: "Umbanda is the incorporation of the spirit to practice charity. And so the sailors manifest themselves in Umbanda to meet their consulters.

In a medium already developed and prepared, during a ritual within a terreiro, the Sailors incorporate and come to assist both the mediumistic current as the consulers of the terreiro, always very communicative and with great teachings, with a strong energy and the lightness of the sea, with a fluid and resistant way he assists in the evolution and healing of the spirit.

The origin, names and offerings to the Mariner of Umbanda

Umbanda has its own fundamentals, rites and doctrines. The Sailors are entities that have been gaining their space within the Umbanda ritual, ruled by Yemanja, they bring with them the lightness of the waters and the strength of the tides.

They tend to talk a lot and give advice for life, in gira de marinheiro the teaching is guaranteed. Powerful spiritual cleaners, they are excellent to purify and balance the medium. Next we will know a little more about this entity of umbanda and how they present themselves.

The origin of the sailor in Umbanda

Umbanda is an aggregative religion that already in its announcement, brought one of its main foundations, which is "with the most evolved we will learn, to the less evolved we will teach, but to nobody we will turn our backs".

At the same time that Umbanda was founded, 5 lines of work were presented, being: Caboclo, Preto Velho, Erê, Exu and Pomba Gira. However as the years went by, many spirits that worked in the astral had affinity with the works of Umbanda and began to work helping within this ritual.

Thus, in an organized and representative way, other lines of work appeared, which in the beginning were called auxiliary lines, and soon became main and fundamental to the terreiro works.

One of these lines are the Sailors, who brought to Umbanda a rich culture and doctrine that today is extremely widespread and respected within the terreiros, and for a long time is no longer called an "auxiliary" line because it has become one of the main lines of work within the Umbanda ritual.

The names by which the sailor can be called in Umbanda

The names of entities in Umbanda have a special meaning, they do not serve to identify an individual but a phalanx of work. When an evolved spirit decides to work in Umbanda he will be directed to the line that has more affinity, for example, Baianos, Marinheiros, Boiadeiros and etc.

After being selected for this line of work, he will be part of a phalanx in which all the spirits answer by the same name, for example "Martin Pescador", and this name brings the symbolism of how he works, and in the strength of which orixá he works. Below we will see some names of Sailors in Umbanda:

Martin Pescador;

Martin Negreiro;

Sailor of the Seven Beaches;

Sailor Merchant;

Manoel Marujo;

Manoel da Praia;

João da Praia;

João do Rio;

John of the Lighthouse;

João Marujo;

Zé do Mar;

Zé da Jangada;

Zé do Bote;

Zé do Cais;

Joe Fisherman;

Bowman's Mate;

Your Atenor;

Your Seven Waves;

Your Seven Pier.

Offerings to the Sailor of Umbanda

Offering place: beaches, sanctuaries and rivers.

Offerings: Towel or white cloth; white and light blue candles; white and light blue ribbons; white and light blue threads; white and light blue pembas; flowers (white carnation, white palms); fruits (various with white interior); food (fish, shrimp, seafood, farofa with dried meat); drinks (rum, brandy, beer).

Sailor's day and its colours

Day of commemoration: December 13

Day of the week: Saturday

Colors: Blue and white

Prayer to the sailors of Umbanda

Hail to the Sailors, hail to all the People of the sea, I ask the lords and ladies of the waters for your blessing.

I ask that you intercede for me at this moment and that my body, my mind and my spirit be emancipated by your sacred and divine power.

May I be able to receive your balance and may any negative thoughts be removed from my mind.

May I have the fluidity of the waters to overcome my obstacles and the resilience of a fisherman in the midst of the storm.

May your light be like a lighthouse, guiding me through the darkness and bringing me safely to solid ground.

Let it be so in the name of Olorum, Amen.

The other guides of Umbanda

Caboclos, Preto Velho and Erês, for a long time were the only lines of work in Umbanda, besides the left one. However, throughout the years other lines of work and guides were incorporated by the astral to this religion. Umbanda is a new religion, with a little more than 100 years, it can be said that it is still in its formative stage.

Even though it is a new religion, the practices of Umbanda are millenary, it can be said that Umbanda introduced into Brazil the practice of various cultures and religions unknown or long forgotten.

Everything is due to spirits of high degree of evolution, initiated in this religion, which were organizing themselves within Umbanda, thus creating new hierarchies and lines of work such as: Sailors, Cattlemen, Rascals, Gypsies, etc.

What are the Umbanda Guides

In Umbanda, the lines of spiritual work, formed by incorporating spirits, have symbolic names. The incorporating guides do not present themselves with other names, and are only identified by symbolic names.

All of them are consummate magicians and have in magic a powerful resource, to which they resort to help people who go to Umbanda temples in search of help.

An Umbandist medium receives in his works, several spiritual guides whose manifestations or incorporations are so characteristic that just by them we know which line of work belongs to the incorporated spirit.

The lines are very well defined and the spirits belonging to a line speak with the same accent, dance and gesticulate almost identically, besides performing magical works with elements defined by them.

Cablocos

Caboclos are spirits connected to the jungle, are the representation of Brazilian Indians. They bring the mystery of willpower, strength and cunning. They are ruled by the Orixá Oxóssi who is the Lord of the Woods. They are profound connoisseurs of herbs and act in healing, in works for prosperity, in spiritual evolution and in search of knowledge.

Colour: Green and White.

Salutation: Okê Caboclo.

Offering: green towel or cloth; sell and white candles; green and white ribbons; green and white threads; green and white pembas; fruits (all); food (cooked strawberry, cooked green corn on the cob, cooked apple and watered with honey, candied sweets); drinks (red wine and white beer); cornmeal (to circulate and close the offering).

Old Black Men

The Pretos Velhos represent the ancestry, calm, tranquility and wisdom. They are spirits who have reached a very high degree of evolution, assume the archetype of grandfather and grandmother, are loving beings and extreme wisdom, a conversation with these entities brings the feeling of support, love and tranquility that everything will work out in the end.

They are manipulators of various types of spells, used to bless and cure their consulters, all with much serenity and humility, love is always present in the rituals of this line.

Colour: White and white.

Salutation: Hail to the souls.

Offering: white and black towel or cloth; white and black candles; white and black ribbons; white and black threads; white and black pembas; fruits (all); food (sweet rice, canjica, cornmeal cake, pumpkin jam and coconut jam); drinks (coffee, red wine, black beer and coconut water).

Children

This line is for sure the most enchanting of Umbanda, it is a line that represents childhood, ingenuity, brightness in the eyes and the ability to solve problems in a simple way.

Unlike all the other umbanda lines these spirits have never incarnated on earth, and have chosen this archetype of child to show us or remind us how powerful a sweeter, more naive and hopeful look at the world can be.

Colour: Light blue and pink.

Greeting: Hail to the children

Offering: towel or light blue and pink; light blue and pink candles; light blue and pink ribbons; light blue and pink lines; light blue and pink pembas; fruits (grapes, peaches, pears, guava, apples, strawberries, cherries, plums); food (sweets, rice pudding, coconut pudding, candies, quindim); drinks (juices, soda).

Exus

One of the most well known and misrepresented by many, the Exus are the guardians of the divine mystery. Many people give this line a negative reputation of being the "devil", of doing evil, etc. But in Umbanda Exu is nothing of the sort, Exu is the law in Umbanda, he never does evil.

Exu in a phrase spoken by the religion of Umbanda: Exu is the point of light in the midst of darkness, is he who gives vitality and protection against negative energy, Exu helps the consulters to evolve and think about how they impact the world. Helps to be a better person, without vice, without evil, without preconceptions.

Color: Black.

Salutation: Laróyè Exu.

Offering: towel or black cloth; black candles; black ribbons; black Clinhas; black pembas; fruits (mango, papaya and lemon); food (farofa with beef or chicken offal, liver steak fried in dendê oil with onion and pepper); drinks (brandy, whiskey and wine).

Turtle doves

Pomba Gira represents the female empowerment, the strong and independent woman, owner of her own path and choices. Precisely because she presents herself this way, she was soon called a "vagabond" by those who did not accept this strength coming from a woman.

Pomba Gira helps you to understand your feelings and deal with how the world affects you. She brings understanding and self-control, that big sister look and advice on your problems.

Colour: Black and red.

Greeting: Laróyè Pomba Gira.

Offering: black and red towel or cloth; black and red candles; black and red ribbons; black and red threads; black and red pembas; fruits (strawberry, apple, cherry, plum and blackberry); drinks (apple champagne, grape, cider and liqueurs).

Naughty

Jorge Ben Jor said a phrase that defines this line perfectly: "If malandro knew how good it was to be honest, he would be honest just for malandragem (rascality)".

This line brings faith, honesty and loyalty as main factors, bringing to the consulant the responsibility for his life and the resolution of his problems in a light and creative way.

Colour: White and red.

Greeting: Save the Rascals.

Offering: towel or cloth White and red; candles White and red; ribbons White and red; lines White and red; pembas White and red; fruits (Apple, persimmon, nectarine and strawberry); food (pumpkin with dried meat, fried cassava, fried sausage with onions); drinks (beer and brandy).

Cattlemen

Cattlemen, cowboys, backwoods travelers, brings the strong man and woman, fearless and accustomed to adversity. Powerful cleaners of energies and negative spirits, lassoing these forces as oxen and taking them to their place of merit.

This line brings simplicity and strength in the look, helps to fulfill those difficult and exhausting missions. It shows that life can be more than complaining, and that even if a problem is challenging it can be pleasurable.

Color: Brown, red and yellow.

Greeting: Jetuá, Boaideiro.

Offering: brown, red and yellow towel or cloth; brown, red and yellow candles; brown, red and yellow ribbons; brown, red and yellow threads; brown, red and yellow pembas; fruits (all); food (well-cooked charque, feijoada, cakes, dried meat, fried cassava); drinks (cognac, dry wine, shakes, liquors, brandy).

Gypsies

One of the youngest lines constituted within Umbanda brings mysteries and a unique culture of people who have lived many things during their wanderings along the road, always with much light, faith and knowledge.

The gypsies and gypsies have always been present in Umbanda by affinity, but presented themselves in other lines, according to the knowledge of these entities was instituted a line for them, with rites, songs and fundamentals of their own.

Color: multiple vibrant colors.

Greeting: Alê Arriba.

Offering: towel or cloth of multiple vibrant colors; candles of multiple vibrant colors; ribbons of multiple vibrant colors; threads of multiple vibrant colors; pembas of multiple vibrant colors; fruits (all); flowers (all); elements (gold or silver coins, playing cards, cinnamon and clove); beverages (wines and liquors).

Baianos

Baianos is a line where joy and relaxation take over. It represents not only spirits that lived in Bahia but also immigrants. With a good chat they are strong demand cutters, working in a serious and creepy way, they make the consulants feel better without even knowing how.

The Baianos and the Baianas are extremely friendly and possess great knowledge, being transmitted in a way that everyone can understand.

Colour: Yellow and white.

Greeting: Sarava a Bahia.

Offering: yellow and white towel or cloth; yellow and white candles; yellow and white ribbons; yellow and white threads; yellow and white pembas; fruits (coconut, persimmon, pineapple, grapes, pears, oranges and mangoes); flowers (field flower, carnation and palms); foods (acarajé, corn cake, farofa, boiled dried meat and onions); drinks (coconut and peanut drinks).

Oguns

Also known as Caboclos of Ogum, are entities of very high evolutionary degree that come to specific work of breaking demand. In some shrines of umbanda is not done the incorporation of Orixá, then is incorporated the Caboclo of Orixá, as a kind and emissary at that moment.

Colour: Dark blue, red and white.

Salutation: patacori ogum.

Offering: towel or cloth dark blue and red; candles dark blue and red; ribbons of dark blue and red; lines dark blue and red; pembas dark blue and red; fruits (watermelon, orange, pear, red guava); flowers (red and white carnation); food (feijoada); drinks (white beer).

People of the East

The Orient line does not refer to spirits of the geographical Orient, but to a spiritual temple called the Great Orient, which is where all existing religions meet. In this line we will have Hindu, Mayan, Aztec and spirits of a much higher elevated degree.

Generally they are used in specific healing works, this line does not give consultations or speak, but its energy can be felt by everyone in the terreiro.

Colour: White, Gold and Silver.

Salutation: Hail the Great East.

Offering: towel or cloth White, Golden and Silver; candles White, Golden and Silver; ribbons of White, Golden and Silver; lines White, Golden and Silver; pembas White, Golden and Silver; trace a circle on the ground, with nine orange candles, place chopped smoke and corn inside the circle.

Exus-mirins

The Exus Mirim have never incarnated on earth, they are found beings who have taken on this archetype because they are depleters of negative energy. Exu Mirim helps to understand the deepest feelings within the being, he works inside the medium and the consulter, bringing to the surface what is hidden so that it can be overcome and worked on.

Color: Black and Red.

Salutation: Laroyè Exu-Mirim.

Offering: towel or cloth Black and Red; candles Black and Red; ribbons Black and Red; lines Black and Red; pembas Black and Red; fruits (mango, lemon, orange, pear, papaya); flowers (carnations); food (fried liver in palm oil with onions and pepper); drinks (pinga with honey or currant).

How can the Mariner of Umbanda help me?

Purifiers, balancers, dissolvers, emanators of positive energy, these are some of the attributes of the Sailors' line in Umbanda, and even if you do not know this mystery in depth, it can be activated in a simple way for your benefit, your home and your fellows. And how to activate the mystery of the Sailors?

Materials:

- Deep plate

- 2 light blue candles

- 1 white candle

- Water

If your goal is spiritual cleansing: place the candles standing inside the plate, in the shape of an inverted triangle (the white one at the bottom, a blue one in the upper right corner and the other blue one in the upper left corner), then add the water in the plate, light the candles and focus on the energy of the sailors.

"Hail all the people of the sea, hail the Sailors. I ask at this moment that like the waters, these candles have the power to cleanse my body, my mind and my spirit. I ask that all and any negative energy be removed from me, according to my merit.

I also ask that all the purifying energies, aggregate my home, cleaning the environment and who inhabits it. I thank all the people of the waters for this divine blessing, save their forces".

Do a meditation and feel the power of the sailors purifying you and your home.

Remember that Sailors are beings of light so no harm can be asked of them, of any kind or to anyone. This power can only be used for the purpose of doing good.