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Definition
A “patakí” is a short story used in Santería (an esoteric Afro-Cuban religion. Although practiced heavily in Cuba Santeria is a worldwide religion. Its origins are with the Lucumi people of present day West Nigeria (Yorubaland.) “Oral narratives of the Lucumí faith, religious stories [are] known to practitioners as patakís” (Lele,viii). A patakí can be likened to Christian parables. Santería initiates use the short fables to teach and illustrate a moral lesson to followers. The patakí is passed down orally through generations of Santería initiates. These stories explain how the orishas (Santería gods) came to be honored in the religion. “Some patakis narrate the birth or death of an oricha in human form, such as the story of how Changó left earth and became an oricha because he was annoyed with his human wives who nagged him all the time. Others deal with relationships between orichas, such as the one that explains how Ochún seduced Ogún by bathing naked in a river.” (Duncan) These stories offer advice to followers on how to deal with life’s issues. The patakís also serve as creation stories on how the natural world came into being. The moral lessons of the patakí have a range of themes like respecting your elders, how to be humble and greatful for what you have, not underestimating your enemy, knowing who is your friend and who is not, etc;. Patakís are written in an artful narrative way and are usually based on a time when the Orishas were still in human form (ancient times) and many are set in Africa. Patakí comes from a Yoruba word, there are several words used in the Santería religion that originate from Yoruba language. Patakí are “part of this enormous mine of oral lucumí literature” (Dianteill,7). Like many arts in Cuba this literature is public and collective, but among scholars there has been some controversy on how they have been translated, especially in regard to non-initiates of the religion. Santería (also known as Regla de Ocha/Ifa) like other Afro-Cuban religions is an esoteric religion with aspects unknown to outsiders. However, “The Lucumi believe knowledge is power, and to give away knowledge to people who don't understand it is a mistake. Those who practice the religion understand it, they don't find the religion esoteric at all.” (Duncan)

Example of Patakí: Obatala
Olofi came to the earth and told Obatala that it was needed for some type of life form to be on the earth. Olofi said that he wanted mankind to walk the earth but did not want them to have the ashe (life force, power) that the orishas have. Obatala agreed and told Olofi that he would help him create mankind. Olofi told Obatala that he would give him that task as he had other things to create within the heavens and space. Obatala bowed his head and agreed to create mankind. Obatala asked how should he create mankind and Olofi told him to make them in human form just as the orishas. Olofi told Obatala to form them and when he was ready to call him and he would come down and breathe life into them. Obatala agreed and with the sands of the earth he started to form and mold what we are today. After a few hundred of molds Obatala called Olofi to come breath air and life into the molds. Olofi came and saw miles upon miles of human molds lying on the sands of the earth and proceeded to blow life into them. Once life was blown, these humans stood up and were told to make prosperous and humble lives praising Olodumare as the creator. They went in different directions and started to live their lives…

Who knows Patakís?
“Most babalawos are experts on the patakis and memorize a large corpus of them, although it is impossible to say how many patakis exist in an oral tradition that spans centuries. Some santeros/as are also familiar with the patakis, but it is not a requirement for santeros/as to memorize the stories in order to practice the religion. Non-initiates may consult a Babalawo or Santero/a for guidance and be told a pataki during the consultation, but generally the stories are reserved for persons who are serious about the religion and can benefit from the teachings of the patakis.” (Duncan) “The best estimates suggest that perhaps eight percent of Cubans have been initiated as santeros (priests), although a much greater percentage of the population participate in ceremonies or seek consultations with initiated santeros”(Wirtz, 109). The religion seems to have a public and more sacred private sector. Where the patakí fits into this system is unique, because they are taught in Iles (Houses) and depending on the Ile the same patakí might have slight variation .For non-initiates to unravel the lesson of the story or some of the symbols in the fables requires a deeper understanding of Regla de Ocha/Ifa. Afro-Cuban religions originated in Africa but they became a source of power and strength for people who faced the subjugation of slavery in the new world. Santería and patakís are woven into the traditions that different groups of slaves brought with them from the diverse parts of Africa. The narrative and collective stories that are the outline for the patakí and religious practices became blended as slaves from different traditions made their cultural contributions. Newly initiated Babalawos are taught patakis and other secrets of the religion by godparents and for their first years study quite intensely. Aside from libretas which are private religious notebooks used for passing down Santería rituals and traditions there is a slight distrust for things written in a book. There are books about the religion in Cuba, but many traditional practitioners of the religion prefer to learn orally from their religious elders. Increasingly in the United States and for ethnographers in Cuba there is an effort to treat the patakí as literature. There has been an effort by authors like Ochan’í Lele to provide an introductory framework for Santería and the patakí. “In spite of the complexity and beauty of the divination system, books, [in English] studying it are all but nonexistent” (Lele, 1).

Understanding the Patakí
Interpretation and use of patakí text by Babalawo is based on a system of Odu (numbers). Their use in contemporary Cuba may differ from the original context in which they were created. The original oral literature is kept intact but was applied to the marginality the Afro-Cuban faced in the New World (Lele). The esoteric nature in which the patakí is situated also allows for hidden meaning in the ‘writings’. Patakís may be written in libretas but many are memorized from oral transmission. The patakís associated with specific Orishas are often allegorical and represent concepts and ideas like honesty, trustworthiness, loyalty, etc;. There are many discrepancies on pronunciations, and written forms of some of the Yoruba words in Santería and other Lucumí literature. Many words are the ‘Hispanization’ of the original African words, this is also evident in the transculturated (mix of cultures to create a wholly new culture that is greater than the sum of multiple cultural influences) Cuban culture as a whole. Because there is no standard format, many versions of words and some variation on the practices exist. For this reason, many elements, words and practices cannot be completely traced back to Spain or Africa (the two major places that influence Cuban culture. ” the existence of the word as something usable in utterances presupposes a collective understanding of its existence.”(Agha, 245) The entire religious community has acknowledged the practices, traditions and words of Regla de Ocha and other divination elements such as the patakí and therefore it has become legitimate collective knowledge. The transculturation that created Santería and many other Afro-Cuban traditions has become a part of national identity. What is most important about the patakí is that the original idea, or moral of the story remain intact through translation and interpretation.

Divination
The patakí is told during divination. Divination is a religious ceremony conducted by initiated priests of Ocha/ Ifa to communicate with the orichas and guide the client toward a more harmonious existence. To open a divination session, a priest of Ocha throws cowrie shells and a priest of Ifa throws the opuele chain (covered in bits of coconut). In most religious houses in Cuba, Santeros/as deal only with odus 1-12, leaving the higher numbers 13-16 to Babalawos. The initial composite odu, known as the entoyale, consists of two odu, and each will have patakis associated with them. With the various possible combinations of numbers, 256 different patterns can fall, and each one has at least one pataki associated with it. During a consultation, a Babalawo or Santero may tell a pataki, but it is possible to give a reading to a client without reciting any. During the week-long initiation of a new santero or babalawo, the initiate receives a complex series of consultations known as Itá (the story of one's life, or the final judgment). During ita, it is common for experienced elders of the religion to tell many patakis, and some of these are recorded in the initiate's libreta, which he will use for the rest of his life (Duncan)