Santería Elekes (Collares): Meaning, Colors and How to Care for Them

For many people, the first real step into Cuban Santería is not a crowning or a big ceremony. It is a morning dressed in white, sitting in a chair at the padrino's house, while five beaded necklaces are placed one by one around the neck. These are the elekes, called collares in Cuba, and receiving them is the moment a person formally enters a religious family. This guide explains what elekes are, the meaning of the five basic collares, the colors of each orisha, how the ceremony works, the difference between an eleke and a collar de mazo, and the rules for wearing and caring for them.

What Is an Eleke?

An eleke (also written ileke) is a necklace of glass beads strung in the colors and number of an orisha. In Cuba it is simply called a collar. Once it has been consecrated, it is a sign of the orisha's protection and of the person's bond with their religious house. Practitioners often describe the collares as banners of the orishas, worn close to the heart.

A necklace that has not been consecrated is only beads. What makes a collar sacred is the ceremony: it is prepared and washed by a santero or santera, prayed over, and given to the person by their padrino or madrina.

The Five Basic Collares

In most Cuban houses, a person receives five collares for the orishas who guide the beginning of religious life:

• Elegguá: red and black, the owner of the roads, who opens the way.
• Obatalá: white, the father of the orishas and owner of all heads.
• Yemayá: blue and crystal or white, the mother of life and the sea.
• Changó: red and white, the king, owner of fire, thunder and the drum.
• Oshún: yellow or amber, owner of rivers, love and sweetness.

Some houses add other collares according to the person's reading or path, and Ifá houses give the green and yellow collar of Orula together with Mano de Orula.

Colors and Patterns of Each Orisha

Each orisha has colors and a number, and the beads are strung in patterns that follow them. These are the patterns most commonly recognized in Cuba. Details change by camino and by house, so your padrino or madrina has the final word:

• Elegguá: red and black, often alternating in threes. Some caminos use white and black. Learn more in our article on Elegguá.
• Obatalá: white. Many houses add a few beads of another color according to the camino, such as red or coral for Ayágguna or purple for Obamoró.
• Yemayá: dark blue and crystal or white, often in groups of seven, her number.
• Oshún: yellow or amber, often with a touch of coral or green depending on the camino; her number is five.
• Changó: red and white, often six and six, his number.
• Ogún: green and black.
• Ochosi: blue and amber in many houses.
• Oyá: brown or maroon, often with black and white stripes, or nine colors.
• Babalú Ayé: white beads with blue stripes, often with cowrie shells.
• Orula: green and yellow.

How the Collares Are Received

Receiving the collares is usually one of the first ceremonies in Santería, often after a consultation with the diloggún. Customs vary, but the ceremony commonly includes:

1. Preparation of the collares. The padrino or madrina, or an experienced santera, strings the beads and consecrates the collares, washing them in omiero, the sacred herbal water.
2. A cleansing of the person. The person dresses in white and is cleansed and washed, with special care given to the head.
3. The collares are placed. One by one, with prayers and songs, the collares are put around the person's neck. Elegguá always goes first.
4. Instructions. The padrino explains the rules for wearing and caring for them.

From that day on, the person has a padrino or madrina, and a relationship with the house that will guide the next steps, such as receiving the Guerreros and, one day, perhaps making santo.

Eleke vs. Collar de Mazo

A collar de mazo is not the same as an eleke. It is a large, heavy necklace made of many strands of beads, used in the kariocha (the crowning ceremony). It is placed on the iyawó during the initiation, and later it is draped over the orisha's sopera, especially on santo birthdays. A collar de mazo for Changó, for example, is far bigger and more elaborate than his everyday eleke. Mazos are ceremonial pieces, not for daily wear.

How to Wear and Care for Your Collares

Every house has its own rules, and your padrino's word comes first. These are the most common customs in Cuban houses:

• Wear them with discretion, usually under your shirt. They are religious objects, not jewelry to show off.
• Take them off to bathe, to sleep and before intimate relations. Many houses also ask women to remove them during menstruation.
• Don't let other people touch or wear them. They were consecrated for you.
• Keep them in a clean place when you take them off, such as a white cloth, a jícara or a dish near your orishas, never thrown on a dresser or mixed with jewelry.
• Many houses ask you to remove them before going to a funeral or a cemetery. Ask yours.
• If a collar breaks, don't throw it away and don't restring it yourself. Gather all the beads you can and take them to your padrino or madrina. Many people believe a broken collar has protected them from something, and the house will tell you what to do.
• Refreshing collares in omiero is done by your padrino or madrina, not by the person who wears them.

Can I Buy Elekes and Wear Them?

You can buy elekes, but buying is not receiving. A necklace from a botanica is the material. It becomes a consecrated collar only when it is prepared and given in ceremony by a santero or santera. Many santeros buy ready-made elekes from botanicas and then consecrate them, and many others buy loose beads by the pound and string them themselves.

If you are not in the religion, wearing a store-bought eleke as fashion is seen by many practitioners as disrespectful. If you feel called to the orishas, the right way is to visit a santero, get a consultation and receive your collares properly.

Final Thoughts

The collares are often the first thing a person receives in Santería, and the most personal. They carry the colors of the orishas, the prayers of the padrino and the protection of the house. Wear them with respect, care for them as your elders teach you, and they will accompany you on every road your religious life opens.

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