Interview with Stuart Myers Ocha' ni Lele

There is a spiritually rich and enlightened Santeria presence on the web. I first became aware of this in 2006, with my first website mystickuan/com. The name of my site was derived from my knowledge of the I Ching. I owed much of my spiritual enlightenment to the I Ching in regards to a divination system. It was during my early twenties and up until my mid thirties that I practiced it. I thought what better way to express my religious concepts then by way of a commonly or very well known worldwide divination system. Yet, the I Ching was just a base system in comparison to Ifá. And, soon I found myself incorporating Ifism to what I was writing about at the time. This was my practice site. In that, I learned about web advertising. And, I wrote some of my first articles here. I had a small adwords advertising campaign. And, I guess through the ad link is how I met Stuart Myers.

It was in January of 2007, as I recall receiving an email asking if I was a Babalawo. And, if so would I mind contributing with some unique information relative to the oracle of Ordi Roso. And, so we swapped information. Little did I know at the time, that this gentleman was compiling information from as many sources & resources which he could find. He studied and at the same time accumulated knowledge. Funny how time goes by and today I'm writing an interview on this highly motivated, courageous, and young orisha priest. I say young because he was initiated in 2000. Yet, elder & wise because since his exposure to the religion in the late 80's. His falling in love with the religion has lead him to accomplish what few that have not been involved longer, have been able too. The compilation, documentation, re-organization, and printing of the most comprehensive English version of the cowrie shell divination system within the Yoruba Lucumí Regla Ocha Religion.

His book, "The Diloggún: The Orishas, Proverbs, Sacrifices, and Prohibitions of Cuban Santeria," has been met with praise as well as criticism. Well, as long as one can express what one desires. We can all expect to be met with some kind of indifference. Here is what some have to say about what he has expressed in his books so far.

“There is no more magical way to feel close to the orishas than through the patakís. It is there that one is transported to one’s imagination. Ócháni Lele has a very spiritual manner in elevating my imagination through his writing, which reveals a special touch. ¡Maferefún orichas! What is seen is not questioned! This is a special book for those of us who go forth from the heart, without malice. Ócháni Lele, my dear, I congratulate you!” Ivy Queen, vocalist, musician, and Queen of Reggaeton

“This book is a page turner. Ócháni Lele relates these sacred stories with the ease of a knowledgeable narrator while drawing clarity and meaning out of the religion’s complex chorus of voices. This book moves the deep spirituality of the religion away from ethnography and connects the sacred to religious studies where it is well overdue.” Oba Ernesto Pichardo, Church of the Lukumí Babalu Aye

"Undoubtedly, a very well put organized and rich in content Diloggún reference manual. Today's and future generation of English literate Santeria Priest/tesses, can now put to use, and value the contribution of our slave ancestors. For what better way to honor them, then through such a production." Rolando Esteves Artist/Painter/Omo Shango/Palo Mayombe Priest, Naranjito, Puerto Rico

I have been so engulfed and still am, in my Ifá work as a traveling Babalawo. That if it weren't for a friendly hello from olorisha Stuart on hubpages, I would not have known of how busy he had been with his writing. He is author to the following books as well: The Secrets of Afro-Cuban Divination, Obi: Oracle of Cuban Santeria. And, his newly released book titled "Teachings of the Santeria Gods."

He had checked out my writing and apparently trusted me enough to ask for my opinion on an earlier interview blog that he had done in another forum. It was too lengthy and I lost interest after four questions. So, of course I jumped on the opportunity to do a hubpage interview article, for him. And, here are the questions I asked.

BabaSixto: What do you most love about our religion?

Ócháni: The stories we know as patakís. This is a religion of stories and storytelling, and from my earliest exposure to the faith I immersed myself in these. They are as magical as the mythology of the Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, or Celts, and they are as vast as the Vedas of the Hindu faith. They are unique – and they are deeply spiritual.

BabaSixto: When did you decide to write about the religion and why?

Ócháni: It snuck up on me! I was an avid note taker. I wrote down everything that I overheard and everything I was told. I organized everything I could according to the 256 odu of the diloggún. Before I knew what I was doing, I was writing a book. It was a natural, almost organic process.

BabaSixto: What was the motivation behind your first book?

Ócháni: Honestly? It was love. I was so in love with this faith and so honored to be trusted with so much by the orishas (especially Oyá) that I felt I had to do it. Knowledge is not meant to be locked up in one head. It is meant to be shared and taught.

BabaSixto: What motivated you to write Diloggún book?

Ócháni: I wasn’t satisfied with my work in “The Secrets of Afro-Cuban Divination.” It was a simple primer on diloggún divination, written within the industry’s guidelines for length and content. And after writing “Obi, Oracle of Cuban Santería” I was overwhelmed with emails and phone calls for more information about the diloggún. It was a natural evolution of the work I’d already done. The motivation behind it was to share and educate. Thankfully, even though I threw all word-length guidelines to the wind and wrote recklessly, the publisher realized its importance and published it.

BabaSixto: What criticism have you had to endure relative to your writing?

Ócháni: I’ve had two criticisms in regards to my work. One is that I revealed too much. But I don’t think there are any real secrets there in any of my books. Anyone who pays attention to the process of divination while having divination will learn the process. The second criticism is that I published while I was too young. But how old is old enough? Should I have waited until now to start? Twenty years? Thirty years? Oyá gave me this work to do, and I did it. Thankfully, the praise and support I receive from my readers far outweighs the criticism.

BabaSixto: What have you learned as a result of this criticism?

Ócháni: I have learned that not everyone will like everything that I do, and that’s okay. Strangely enough, I’ve discovered that everyone who has criticized me at some point has not only read my work but also bought my work. The ultimate goal of an author is to find an audience and be read. So even my harshest critics have helped me accomplish that.

BabaSixto: What is or was the motivation behind writing this new book?

Ócháni: The stories were my motivation. We are a faith of stories and story tellers – it is how we come to know about our orishas. Unfortunately story telling among our ranks is a dying art, and as a result the knowledge of the stories is not being passed to successive generations. I love the patakís – which made this book yet another labor of love.

BabaSixto: How happy and accomplished do you feel as a result of sharing your knowledge wisdom on Orisha Worship?

Ócháni: This seems to be my ashé and the focus of my priesthood – teaching. To be able to fulfill that in such a huge way, through books that thousands and thousands of people have read and studied . . . that makes me feel very happy and accomplished. I’m fulfilling the work that the orishas gave me to do.

BabaSixto: What advices do you have for future generations of Aborisha, Olorisha, & Babalawos?

Ócháni: To me, the orishas are all about love: love for God, love for self, love for family, love for others, and love for the world. My advice is to fill yourself with that love and extend it freely to others. If we’re not doing that, then why are we here?

In closing, I would like to thank Stuart for showing up on hubpages. Also for being courageous and sincere in his writing about such a tough subject matter. To become involved in the Yoruba Religious traditional ways is something that one has to definitely have a calling for. It is no easy task taking the wisdom of ancient indigence peoples ideology and adapting it to todays age and society. This is something the Yoruba Lucumi Religious community of today has to definitely be proud of. And, authors like Stuart and many others are a testament of this knowledge.