In West Africa, Yemọja is worshipped as a high-ranking river deity, but in Brazil and Cuba she is worshipped mainly as a sea/ocean deity.
Brazil , Brazil. In
Candomblé and
Umbanda, Yemanjá is one of the seven
Orixás. White roses are used as a ritual offering. • In
Pelotas,
Rio Grande do Sul State, on February 2, the image of Nossa Senhora dos Navegantes is carried to the port of Pelotas. Before the closing of the Catholic feast, the boats stop and host the Umbanda followers that carry the image of Iemanjá, in a syncretic meeting that is watched by thousand of people on the shore. • Iemanjá is also celebrated every December 8 in
Salvador, Bahia. The Festa da Conceição da Praia (Feast to Our Lady of Conception of the church at the beach) is a city holiday dedicated to the Catholic saint and also to Iemanjá. Another feast occurs on this day in the Pedra Furada, Monte Serrat in
Salvador, Bahia, called the
Gift to Iemanjá, when fishermen celebrate their devotion to the Queen of the Ocean. • In
São Paulo State, Iemanjá is celebrated in the two first weekends of December on the shores of
Praia Grande city. During these days many vehicles garnished with Iemanjá icons and colors (white and blue) roam from the São Paulo mountains to the sea littoral, some of them traveling hundreds of miles. Thousands of people rally near Iemanjá's statue in Praia Grande beach. (Iemanjá Pier),
Vitória, Espírito Santo, Brazil • On
New Year's Eve in Brazil, millions of Brazilians, of all religions, dressed in white gather on the beaches to greet the New Year, watch fireworks, and throw white flowers and other offerings into the sea for the goddess in the hopes that she will grant them their requests for the coming year. Some send their gifts to lemanjá in wooden toy boats. Jumping seven waves is also common. Paintings of lemanjá are sold in Rio shops next to paintings of Jesus and Catholic saints. They portray her as a woman rising out of the sea. Small offerings of flowers and floating candles are left in the sea on many nights at Copacabana.
Cuba . In
Santería or regla de ocha, Yemayá is the mother of all living things as well as the owner of the oceans and seas. • It is common for regla de ocha initiated priests and priestess to keep a vigil for Yemayá on September 6 which is called
vísperas.
Uruguay , Uruguay. In
Montevideo, worshippers gather on Ramírez Beach in the
Parque Rodó neighborhood every February 2 to celebrate Iemanjá Day. Hundreds of thousands sit waiting for the sunset before they launch small boats with offerings into the ocean. In 2015, the Uruguayan government estimated that 100,000 people had visited the beach for the celebrations. == In popular culture ==