Axé — right hand

Making and transmitting ritual force

The right hand stands for the handling of offerings, sacred objects, foods, and gestures through which axé is materially cared for and transmitted. The bilateral pair is a drawing convention; no doctrine of right-hand superiority is intended.

Orí — inner headOrixá presence — crown descentAxé — chest and vital presenceBoca — cantos and sacred wordsAxé — right handAxé — right handAxé — left handPés — feet of the terreiroErê — navel child-state locus

Point 5 of 8 in Brazilian Candomblé — Orixá Body Sites

Cross-tradition overlaps

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Sources

Mikelle S. Omari-Tunkara, Manipulating the Sacred (scholarly_modern)

Analysis of sacred art, objects, and ritual handling supports the hands as material and gestural sites of Candomblé practice.

Roger Bastide, The African Religions of Brazil (scholarly_modern)

Descriptions of offerings, ritual objects, and priestly work support the hand as a practice locus.

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