Mãe-de-santo

A mãe-de-santo or mãe de santo (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈmɐ̃j d(ʒi) ˈsɐ̃tu] is a priestess of Candomblé, Umbanda and Quimbanda, the Afro-Brazilian religions. In Portuguese those words translate as "mother of [the] saint[s]", which is an adaption of the Yoruba language word iyalorisha, a title given to priest women in African religions. Iya means "mother", and the contraction l'orisha means "of orisha". As a product of the syncretism, the word orisha (elevated or ancestral spirit) was adapted into Portuguese as "saint".^[1]

The priestesses mães-de-santo are more venerated in African-Brazilian religions than the male priests, the pais-de-santo. In the Afro-Brazilian religions, the priestesses and priests are the owners of the tradition, knowledge and culture and the ones responsible to pass it on to the new generations because there are no sacred written books.^{[citation needed]}

• Pai-de-santo

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