Bóveda
The place at home where the ancestors are remembered.
A bóveda is a table or place where the egun, the ancestors, are honoured. Often with water, light and photographs of the dead.
It is among the most common practices within Santería and related espiritismo traditions, and one of the few requiring no initiation.
Dreams of the deceased are sometimes connected within the tradition to whether the egun are receiving enough attention. What the answer is belongs to a conversation with someone knowledgeable.
Related terms
- Orisha The forces in Santería, each with their own domain and imagery.
- Aché The force that makes things happen: life force, capacity and passage.
- Egun The ancestors, continually present and often visible in dreams.
- Orí The head as the seat of consciousness and destiny.
- Diloggún Divination with cowrie shells; how the tradition answers questions.
- Padrino en madrina The initiated godparent who guides you within a house.
- Regla de Ocha The name the tradition uses for itself, alongside Santería.
- Yemayá The Orisha of the sea and motherhood.
- Ochún The Orisha of sweet water, love and self-worth.
- Changó The Orisha of thunder, fire and dance.
- Oyá The Orisha of wind, storm and change, and gatekeeper of the cemetery.
- Ogún The Orisha of iron, work and clearing the way.
- Elegguá The Orisha of the crossroads, roads and beginnings: he opens and closes paths.