mãe-de-santo

mãe-de-santo

English

Etymology

From Portuguese mãe-de-santo, translating Yoruba ìyálórìṣà.

Pronunciation

•(UK) IPA^(key): /ˌmʌɪ dʒi ˈsantuː/

Noun

mãe-de-santo (plural mães-de-santo or mãe-de-santos)

1. A priestess of an Afro-Brazilian religion.
   • 1988, Gregory Rabassa, translating Jorge Amado, Captains of the Sands, Penguin 2013, p. 87:

     The imprecations of the mãe-de-santo filled the night more than the sound of the different drums that were soothing Ogun.

   • 2011, Mattijs van de Port, Ecstatic Encounters, p. 197:

     His mãe-de-santo, however, insisted that this was the spirit who was taking possession of his body.

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Portuguese

Etymology

Calque of Yoruba ìyálórìṣà.

Noun

mãe-de-santo f (plural mães-de-santo)

1. Synonym of iyalorixá (“priestess in Candomblé”)

Coordinate terms

• pai-de-santo