Filhos de Gandhy – Presente de Oxum 2024 (Offering for Oshun 2024).
Salvador, Bahia, Brasil.
Photos: Filipe Leal

Oshun is the orisha of the rivers and waterfalls, an Afro-Yoruban goddess. She represents feminine power, fertility, prosperity and beauty. She is associated with the colours gold and yellow.

Filhos de Gandhy is a Brazilian afoxé music group founded by port dockworkers from Salvador in February 1949. With approximately 10 thousand members, it became the largest afoxé group of the Carnival in Salvador, the municipality and capital of the state of Bahia. Made up exclusively of men and inspired by the principles of non-violence and peace of the Indian activist Mahatma Gandhi, the group brings the tradition of African-based religion to the rhythm of agogô in its ijexá chants in the Yoruba language.

Traditionally, the “costume” contains, in addition to the turban and clothing, a lavender perfume and blue and white necklaces. The necklaces are traditionally known as “Filhos de Gandhy’s necklaces”, which are offered to admirers as a way of wishing them peace during Carnival and throughout the year. The colors of the necklaces are a reference to peace and the afoxé focuses on Oxalá, which is the greatest orisha. The interspersed white and blue is the string of beads of the boy Oxalá, Oxaguiã, which corresponds: the white to Oxalufã his father and the blue to Ogun from whom he is inseparable.