O R I H A T E                                       M A N U A L

AUTOBIOGRAPHY

In the smiling aurora of day 16 of December of the year l901, comes to the world with a marked destiny from the evolution and course from the African religion, in the American hemisphere; son of Rosalina Angarica and Ramon Rubio .

In " Central Spain ", located in the province of Matanzas, Municipal of Perico, was the seat of my birth and lapse of my first years. At 8 years of age, already worked as an 'arriero' to the wishes of the parents which raised me, Fabian Lanz and Bernarda Uiacia, this recent daughter of Dadda', exerted great influence in the first passages of my learning of the Lucumi' language; since they had been bred by lucumi's, which they were direct descendants. My late mother also was for me an opened book, with the knowledge of this much discussed dialect; she as well, taught by her godmother Josefa, a genuine African , who had by name in the Lucumi', the qualifying one of Amina'; whose meaning is " Is mine ". My mother took the name of Allo'bo, whose meaning is " Princess ", for this reason alone, my knowledge of the Lucumi' are not improvised.

My life in the first years, as I said before, was the one of carrier; later, assistant of water end in the days of zafra. My eagerness for progress did not stop in the humble workings of the field, and I decided to learn and became a bricklayer and, later I dedicated myself to the construction of houses in great scale.

The politcal field was paved with my better efforts and in more than an occasion, the success touched happilly the doors of my life becoming a Delegate to the Municipal Assembly, in different occasions by the Cuban Popular Party; also Delegate to the Republican Action Party; Delegate to the Realistic Party and Member of the Executive Municipal of this Party.

In spite of my restlessness and effort to improve my conditions of life, struggling from different angles, destiny took to me to fulfill a mission in the time and the space, marking this way the definitive course of my consecration like Babba loichsa, today Oriate' in the African Religion of Cuba.

With a deep conviction of causes and effects, I gave myself into the hands of Obbadimelli, that was my Padrino, and the formidable orientation of Ocha, and in the exercise of this religion.

Who did not know Obbadimelli in Cuba, and the extraordinary fame that so justly he had in the field of the Afro-Cuban Religion?

With this consecrated initiation , my life linked in concert with men that came to give the religion an emotion and character to the Afro-Cuban Religious testament, that to us our predecessors bequeathed, today long gone.

My deep desires to orient the public opinion in the field of the Religion, took to me to write my first Afro-Cuban text " El LUCUMI Al Alcance de Todos ", of which it pleases to me to say that it is the most recent at the moment between the treaties that have been written until the present, on matter of Lucumi' Religion. Between my books given to the publicity, they stand out, among others, " OBRAS MAGICAS ", " DIALECTO YORUBA-ARATACO " and the " MANUAL OF ORIHATE ", which is the fruit of many years of experience and witness, that I put to the disposition of the Afro-Cuban Religious field.

I request my numerous readers and critics, to be indulgent when judging me through my different books published at the present, since my literary knowledge is very little, to raise questions of competitions in the vast field of the markings, or letras, because my single and last aim is to present what I learned of the Afro-Cuban religion and my Lucumi' predecessors.

My parents, humble and devoid people of all the resources, were themselves forced to remove me from school when I only counted on ten years of age; this is, I began to attend the school, from 8 years and to ten years of age, as before I said, I no longer knew what itwas to study.

Hoping that my books, and very specially this, " MANUAL OF ORIHATE ", is well accepted and for benefit of all those that want to enter completely in the field of the Lucumi' religion.

Many thanks to all, from the author.