Palo (religion)

# Palo (religion)

## Abstract

Palo, also known as Las Reglas de Congo, is an African diasporic religion that developed in Cuba during the late 19th or early 20th century. It draws heavily upon the traditional Kongo religion of Central Africa, with additional influences taken from the Roman Catholic branch of Christianity and from Spiritism. An initiatory religion practised by paleros (male) and paleras (female), Palo is organised through small autonomous groups called munanso congo, each led by a tata (father) or yayi (mother).

Although teaching the existence of a creator divinity, commonly called Nsambi, Palo regards this entity as being uninvolved in human affairs and thus focuses its attention on the spirits of the dead. Central to Palo is the nganga, a vessel usually made from an iron cauldron. Many nganga are regarded as material manifestations of ancestral or nature deities known as mpungu. The nganga will typically contain a wide range of objects, among the most important being sticks and human remains, the latter called nfumbe. In Palo, the presence of the nfumbe means that the spirit of that dead person inhabits the nganga and serves the palero or palera who possesses it. The Palo practitioner commands the nganga to do their bidding, typically to heal but also to cause harm. Those nganga primarily designed for benevolent acts are baptised; those largely designed for malevolent acts are left unbaptised. The nganga is "fed" with the blood of sacrificed animals and other offerings, while its will and advice is interpreted through divination. Group rituals often involve singing, drumming, and dancing to facilitate possession by spirits of the dead.

Palo developed among Afro-Cuban communities following the Atlantic slave trade of the 16th to 19th centuries. It emerged largely from the traditional religions brought to Cuba by enslaved Bakongo people from Central Africa, but also incorporated ideas from Roman Catholicism, the only religion legally permitted on the island by the Spanish colonial government. The minkisi, spirit-vessels that were key to various Bakongo healing societies, provided the basis for the nganga of Palo. The religion took its distinct form around the late 19th or early 20th century, about the same time that Yoruba religious traditions merged with Roman Catholic and Spiritist ideas in Cuba to produce Santería. After the Cuban War of Independence resulted in an independent republic in 1898, the country's new constitution enshrined freedom of religion. Palo nevertheless remained marginalized by Cuba's Roman Catholic, Euro-Cuban establishment, which typically viewed it as brujería (witchcraft), an identity that many Palo practitioners have since embraced. In the 1960s, growing emigration following the Cuban Revolution spread Palo abroad.

Palo is divided into multiple traditions or ramas, including Mayombe, Monte, Briyumba, and Kimbisa, each with their own approaches to the religion. Many practitioners also identify as Roman Catholics and practice additional Afro-Cuban traditions such as Santería or Abakuá. Palo is most heavily practiced in eastern Cuba although it is found throughout the island and abroad, including in other parts of the Americas such as Venezuela, Mexico, and the United States. In many of these countries, Palo practitioners have faced problems with law enforcement for engaging in grave robbery to procure human bones for their nganga.

## Definitions

Palo is an Afro-Cuban religion, and more broadly an Afro-American religion. Its name derives from palo, a Spanish term for sticks, referencing the important role that these items play in the religion's practices. Another term for the religion is La Regla de Congo ("Kongo Rule" or "Law of Kongo") or Regla Congo, a reference to its origins among the traditional Kongo religion of Central Africa's Bakongo people. Palo is also sometimes referred to as brujería (witchcraft), both by outsiders and by some practitioners themselves.

Although its beliefs and practices come principally from the Kongo religion, Palo also draws upon the traditional religions of other African peoples who were brought to Cuba, such as the West African Yoruba. These African elements combined with influences from Roman Catholicism and also from Spiritism, a French variant of Spiritualism. Palo's African heritage is important to practitioners, who often refer to their religious homeland as Ngola; this indicates a belief in the historical Kingdom of Kongo as Palo's place of origin, a place where the spirits are more powerful.

There is no central authority in control of Palo, but separate groups of practitioners who operate autonomously. It is largely transmitted orally, and has no sacred text, nor any systematized doctrine. There is thus no overarching orthodoxy, and no strict ritual protocol, giving its practitioners scope for innovation and change. Different practitioners often interpret the religion differently, resulting in highly variable practices. Several distinct traditions or denominations of Palo exist, called ramas ("branches"), with the main ramas being Mayombe, Briyumba, Monte, and Kimbisa.

Practitioners are usually termed paleros if male, paleras if female, terms which can be translated as "one who handles tree branches". An alternative term for adherents is mayomberos. Another term applied to Palo practitioners in Cuba is ngangulero and ngangulera, meaning "a person who works a nganga ", the latter being the spirit-vessel central to the religion. The term carries pejorative connotations in Cuban society although some practitioners adopt it as a term of pride. A similarly pejorative term embraced by some adherents is brujo (witch), with Palo being one of several African-derived religions in the Americas whose practitioners adopt the identity of the witch as a form of reappropriation.

### Relationship to Afro-Cuban religions

Palo is one of three major Afro-Cuban religions present on Cuba, the other two being Santería, which derives largely from the Yoruba religion of West Africa, and Abakuá, which has its origins in the Ekpe society of West Africa's Efik-Ibibio peoples. Many Palo initiates are also involved in Santería, Abakuá, Spiritism, or Roman Catholicism; some Palo practitioners believe that only baptised Roman Catholics should be initiated into the tradition. Practitioners often see these various religions as offering complementary skills and mechanisms to solve people's issues, or alternatively as each being best suited to resolving different problems.

" Cruzar palo con cha " ("cross Palo with Ocha") is a phrase used to indicate that an individual practises both Palo and Santería, ocha being one of the terms used for Santería's deities. Those following both will usually keep the rituals of the two traditions separate, with some Palo initiates objecting to the introduction of elements from Santería into their religion. If someone is to be initiated into both, generally they will be initiated into Palo first; some claim that this is because moving from Santería to Palo represents a spiritual regression, while others maintain that the oricha spirit placed within the adherent's body during Santería initiation would not tolerate the flesh-cutting process required for initiation into Palo.

Comparisons have also been drawn between Palo and other African-derived traditions in the Americas. Certain similarities in practice have for instance been identified between Palo and Haitian Vodou. Palo also has commonalities with Obeah, a practice found in Jamaica, and it is possible that Palo and Obeah cross-fertilised via Jamaican migration to Cuba from 1925 onward.

## Beliefs

### Deities and spirits

Although Palo lacks a full mythology, its worldview includes a supreme creator divinity, Nsambi or Sambia. In the religion's mythology, Nsambi is believed responsible for creating the world and the first man and woman. This entity is regarded as being remote and inaccessible from humanity, and thus no prayers or sacrifices are directed towards it. The anthropologist Todd Ramón Ochoa, an initiate of Palo Briyumba, describes Nsambi as "the power in matter that pushes back against human manipulation and imposes itself against a person's will". In the context of Afro-Cuban religion, Nsambi has been compared to Olofi in Santería and Abasí in Abakuá.

In Palo, veneration is directed towards both ancestors and to spirits of the natural world, both of which are called mpungus. According to the anthropologist Katerina Kerestetzi, a mpungu represents "a sort of minor divinity". Each mpungu commonly has its own names and epithets, and may display multiple aspects or manifestations, each with their own specific names. Among the most prominent of these mpungu, at least in Havana, are Lucero, Sarabanda, Siete Rayos, Ma' Kalunga, Mama Chola, Centella Ndoki, and Tiembla Tierra. Others include Nsasi, Madre de Agua, Brazo Fuerte, Lufo Kuyo, Mama canata, Bután, and Baluandé. Each mpungu may have its own particular associations; Lucero for instance opens and closes paths while Sarabanda is seen as being strong and wild. The mpungus of nature are deemed to live in rivers and the sea, as well as in trees, with uncultivated areas of forest regarded as being especially potent locations of spiritual power. Practitioners are expected to make agreements with these nature spirits.

Particular mpungus are often equated with specific oricha spirits from Santería, as well as with saints from Roman Catholicism. Sarabanda, for example, is associated with the oricha Oggun and with Saint Peter, while Lufo Kuyo is connected to the oricha Ochosi and to Saint Norbert. However, mpungus play a less important role in Palo than the oricha do in Santería. There is also a difference in how the relationship between these entities is established; in Santería it is believed that the oricha call people to their worship, pressuring them to do so by inflicting sickness or misfortune, whereas in Palo it is the human practitioner who desires and instigates the relationship with the spirit. In Cuba, Palo is often regarded as being cruder, wilder, and more violent than Santería, with its spirits being fierce and unruly. Those initiates who work with both the oricha and the Palo spirits are akin to those practitioners of Haitian Vodou who conduct rituals for both the Rada and Petwo branches of the lwa spirits; the oricha, like the Rada, are even-tempered, while the Palo spirits, like the Petwo, are more chaotic and unpredictable.

#### Spirits of the dead

The spirits of the dead play a prominent role in Palo, with Kerestetzi observing that one of Palo's central features is its belief that "the spirits of the dead mediate and organize human action and rituals." In Palo, the spirit of a dead person is referred to as a nfumbe (or nfumbi), a term deriving from the Kikongo word for a deceased individual, mvumbi. Alternative terms used for the dead in Palo include the Yoruba term eggun, or Spanish words like el muerto ("the dead") or, more rarely, espíritu ("spirit"). Practitioners will sometimes refer to themselves, as living persons, as the "walking dead". In Palo, the dead are often viewed as what Ochoa called "a dense and indistinguishable mass" rather than as discrete individuals, and in this collective sense they are often termed Kalunga.

Palo teaches that the individual comprises both a physical body and a spirit termed the sombra ("shade"), which are connected via a cordón de plata ("silver cord"). This conception reflects a combination of the Bakongo notion of the spirit "shadow" with the Spiritist notion of the perisperm, a spirit-vapor surrounding the human body. Once a person dies they are thought to gain additional powers and knowledge such as prescience. They can contact and assist the living, but also cause them problems such as anxiety and sleeplessness.

Paleros / paleras venerate the souls of their ancestors; when a group feast is held, the ancestors of the house will typically be invoked and their approval to proceed requested. To ascertain the consent of the dead, Palo's practitioners will often employ divination or forms of spirit mediumship from Spiritism. Some practitioners claim an innate capacity to sense the presence of spirits of the dead, and initiates are often expected to interact with these spirits and to try and influence them for their own personal benefit. In communicating with the dead, paleros and paleras are sometimes termed muerteros ("mediums of the dead").

The dead are also believed capable of existing within physical matter. They can for instance be represented by small assemblages of material, often discarded or everyday household objects, which are placed together, typically in the corner of the patio or an outhouse. They are often called a rinconcito ("little corner"). Offerings of food and drink are often placed at the rinconcito and allowed to decay. This is a practice also maintained by many followers of Santería, although this emphasis placed on the material presence of the dead differs from the Spiritist views of deceased spirits.

### The Nganga

A key role in Palo is played by a spirit-vessel called the nganga, a term which in Central Africa referred not to an object but to a man who oversaw religious rituals. This spirit-vessel is also commonly known as the prenda, a Spanish term meaning "treasure" or "jewel". Alternative terms that are sometimes used for it are el brujo (the sorcerer), the caldero (cauldron), or the cazuela (pot), while a small, portable version is termed the nkuto. On rare occasions, a practitioner may also refer to the nganga as a nkisi (plural minkisi). The minkisi are Bakongo ritual objects believed to possess an indwelling spirit and are the basis of the Palo nganga tradition, the latter being a "uniquely Cuban" development.

The nganga comprises either a clay pot, gourd, or an iron pot or cauldron. This is often wrapped tightly in heavy chains. Every nganga is physically unique, bearing its own individual name; some are deemed male, others female. It is custom that the nganga should not stand directly on either a wooden or tile base, and for that reason the area beneath it is often packed with bricks and earth. The nganga is kept in a domestic sanctum, the munanso, or cuarto de fundamento. This may be a cupboard, a room in a practitioner's house, or a structure in their backyard. This may be decorated in a way that alludes to the forest, for instance with the remains of animal species that live in forest areas, as the latter are deemed abodes of the spirits. When an individual practices both Palo and Santería, they typically keep the spirit-vessels of the respective traditions separate, in different rooms.

Terms like nganga and prenda designate not only the physical vessel but also the spirit believed to inhabit it. For many practitioners, the nganga is regarded as a material manifestation of a mpungu deity. Different mpungu will lend different traits to the nganga; Sarabanda for instance imbues it with his warrior skills. The mpungu involved may dictate the choice of vessel used for the nganga, as well as the stone placed in it and the symbol, the firma, which is drawn onto it. The name of the nganga may refer to the indwelling mpungu; an example would be a nganga called the "Sarabanda Noche Oscura" because it contains the mpungu Sarabanda. The nganga is deemed to be alive; Ochoa commented that, in the view of Palo's followers, the ngangas are not static objects, but "agents, entities, or actors" with an active role in society. They are believed to express their will to Palo's practitioners both through divination and through spirit possession.

Palo revolves around service and submission to the nganga. Kerestetzi observed that in Palo, "the nganga is not an intermediary of the divine, it is the divine itself It is a god in its own right." Those who keep ngangas are termed the perros (dogs) or criados (servants) of the spirit-vessel, which in turn is deemed to protect them. The relationship that a Palo practitioner develops with their nganga is supposed to be lifelong, and a common notion is that the keeper becomes like their nganga. A practitioner may receive their own nganga only once they have reached a certain level of seniority in the tradition, and the highest-ranking members may have multiple ngangas, some of which they have inherited from their own teachers. Some practitioners will consult a nganga to help them make decisions in life, deeming it omniscient. The nganga desires its keeper's attention; initiates believe that they often become jealous and possessive of their keepers. Ochoa characterised the relationship between the palero / palera and their nganga as a "struggle of wills", with the Palo practitioner looking upon the nganga with "respect based on fear".

The nganga is regarded as the source of a palero or palera's supernatural power. Within the religion's beliefs, it can both heal and harm, and in the latter capacity is thought capable of causing misfortune, illness, and death. Practitioners believe that the better a nganga is cared for, the stronger it is and the better it can protect its keeper, but at the same time the more it is thought capable of dominating its keeper, potentially even killing them. Various stories circulating the Palo community tell of practitioners driven to disastrous accidents, madness, or destitution. Tales of a particular nganga' s rebelliousness and stubbornness contribute to the prestige of its keeper, as it indicates that their nganga is powerful.

#### Fundamentos

The contents of the nganga are termed the fundamentos, and are believed to contribute to its power. Sticks, called palos, are key ingredients; palos are selected from certain species of tree. The choice of tree selected indicates the branch of Palo involved, with the sticks believed to embody the properties and powers of the trees from which they came. Soil may be added from various locations, for instance from a graveyard, hospital, prison, and a market, as may water taken from a river, a well, and the sea. A matari stone, representing the specific mpungu linked to that nganga, may be incorporated. Other material added can include animal remains, feathers, shells, plants, gemstones, coins, razorblades, knives, padlocks, horseshoes, railway spikes, blood, wax, aguardiente liquor, wine, quicksilver, and spices. Objects that are precious to the owner, or which have been obtained from far away, may be added, and the harder that these objects are to obtain, the more significant they are often considered to be. This varied selection of material can result in the nganga being characterised as a microcosm of the world.

The precise form of the nganga, such as its size, can reflect the customs of the different Palo traditions. Ngangas in the Briyumba tradition are for instance characterised by a ring of sticks extending beyond their rim. Objects may also be selected for their connection with the indwelling mpungu. A nganga of Sarabanda for instance may feature many metal objects, reflecting his association with metals and war. As more objects are added over time, typically as offerings, the quantity of material will often spill out from the vessel itself and be arranged around it, sometimes taking up a whole room. The mix of items produces a strong, putrid odour and attracts insects, with Ochoa describing the ngangas as being "viscerally intimidating to confront".

#### The Nfumbe

Human bones are also typically included in the nganga. Some traditions, like Briyumba, consider this an essential component of the spirit-vessel; other initiates feel that soil or a piece of clothing from a grave may suffice. Practitioners will often claim that their nganga contains human remains even if it does not. The most important body part for this purpose is the skull, called the kiyumba. The human bones are termed the nfumbe, a Palo Kikongo word meaning "dead one"; it characterises both the bones themselves and the dead person they belonged to.

Bones are selected judiciously; the sex of the nfumbe is typically chosen to match the gender of the nganga it is being incorporated into. According to Palo tradition, an initiate should exhume the bones from a graveyard themselves, although in urban areas this is often impractical and practitioners instead obtain them through black market agreements with the groundskeepers and administrators responsible for maintaining cemeteries. Elsewhere, they may purchase humans remains through botánicas or obtain anatomical teaching specimens.

By tradition, a Palo practitioner travels to a graveyard at night. There, they focus on a specific grave and seek to communicate with the spirit of the person buried there, typically through divination. Following negotiations, they create a trata (pact) with the spirit, whereby the latter agrees to serve the practitioner in exchange for promises of offerings. Once they believe that they have the spirit's consent, the palero / palera will dig up their bones, or at least collect soil from their grave, and take it home. After being removed from their grave, the bones of the nfumbe may undergo attempts to "cool" and settle them, being aspirated with white wine and aguardiente and fumigated with cigar smoke. Placing the bones in the spirit-vessel is perceived as sealing the pact between the practitioner and the nfumbe. A paper note on which the nfumbe' s name is written may also be added.

Palo teaches that the nfumbe spirit then resides in the nganga. This becomes the owner's slave, making the relationship between the palero / palera and their nfumbe quite different from the reciprocal relationship that the santero / santera has with their oricha in Santería. The keeper of the nganga promises to feed the nfumbe, for instance with animal blood, rum, and cigars. In turn, the nfumbe offers services called trabajos, protects its keeper, and carries out their commands. Practitioners will sometimes talk of their nfumbe having a distinct personality, displaying traits such as stubbornness or jealousy. The nfumbe will rule over other spirits in the nganga, including those of plants and animals. Specific animal parts added are believed to enhance the skills of the nfumbe in the nganga; a bat's skeleton for instance might give the nfumbe the ability to fly at night, a turtle would give it a ferocious bite, and a dog's head would give it a powerful sense of smell.

#### Ngangas cristiana and judía

The nganga generally divide into two categories, the cristiana (Christian) and the judía (Jewish). The terms cristiana and judía in this context reflect the influence of 19th-century Spanish Catholic ideas about good and evil, with the word judía connoting something being non-Christian rather than being specifically associated with Judaism. Nganga cristianas are deemed "baptised" because holy water from a Roman Catholic church is included as one of their ingredients; they may also include a crucifix. The human remains included in them are also expected to be that of a Christian. While nganga cristianas can be used to counter-strike against attackers, they are prohibited from killing. Conversely, nganga judías are used for trabajos malignos, or harmful work, and are capable of murder. Human remains included in nganga judías are typically those of a non-Christian, although not necessarily of a Jew. Sometimes, the bones of a criminal or mad person are deliberately sought. Those observing Palo during the 1990s, including Ochoa and the medical anthropologist Johann Wedel, noted that judía ngangas were then rare.

Many practitioners maintain that the two types of nganga should be kept separate to stop them fighting. Unlike ngangas cristianas, which only receive their keeper's blood at the latter's initiation, ngangas judías are fed their keeper's blood more often; they are feared capable of betraying their keeper to drain more of their blood. Palo teaches that although nganga judías are more powerful, they are less effective. This is because nganga judías are scared of the nganga cristianas and thus vulnerable to them on every day of the year except Good Friday. In Christianity, Good Friday marks the day on which Jesus Christ was crucified, and thus paleros and paleras believe that the powers of nganga cristianas are temporarily nullified, allowing the nganga judías to be used. On Good Friday, a white sheet will often be placed over nganga cristianas to keep them "cool" and protect them during this vulnerable period.

#### Creating a nganga

The nganga does not merely transcend different ontological categories, it also blurs common oppositions, for example between living and dead, material and immaterial, sacred and profane. It is a living being but its main component is a dead man; it overflows with materiality but its body represents an invisible being; its word is infallible but its personality is drawn from the history of an ordinary person.

— Anthropologist Katerina Kerestetzi

The making of a nganga is a complex procedure. It can take several days, with its components occurring at specific times during the day and month. The process of creating a new nganga is often kept secret, amid concerns that if a rival Palo practitioner learns the exact ingredients of the particular nganga, it will leave the latter vulnerable to supernatural attacks.

When a new nganga is created for a practitioner, it is said to nacer ("spring forth" or "be born") from the "mother" nganga which rules the house. Elements may be removed from this parent nganga for incorporation into the new creation. The first nganga of a tradition, from which all others ultimately stem, is called the tronco ("trunk"). The senior practitioner creating the nganga may ask a high-ranking initiate to assist them, something considered a great privilege.

The new cauldron or vessel will be washed in agua ngongoro, a mix of water and various herbs; the purpose of this is to "cool" the vessel, for the dead are considered "hot". After this, markings known as firmas may be drawn onto the new vessel. During the process of constructing the nganga, an experienced Palo practitioner will divine to ensure that everything is going well. Corn husk packets called masangó may be added to establish the capacities of that nganga. The creator may also add some of their own blood, providing the new nganga with an infusion of vital force. Within a day of its creation, Palo custom holds that it must be fed with animal blood. Some practitioners will then bury the nganga, either in a cemetery or natural area, before recovering it for use in their rituals.

#### Maintaining a nganga

mediates and concretizes a mystical relationship between the spirit and its human counterpart, a relationship often described as a pact or bargain entered into (pacto, trata) and surrounded not by images of domestic nurturance, reciprocal exchange, and beneficial dependence, but by symbols of wage labor and payment, dominance and subalternity, enslavement and revolt.

— Historian Stefan Palmié

The nganga is "fed" with blood from sacrificed male animals, including dogs, pigs, goats, and cockerels. This blood is poured into the nganga, over time blackening it. Practitioners believe that the blood maintains the nganga's power and vitality and ensures ongoing reciprocity with its keeper.

Human blood is typically only given to the nganga when the latter is created, so as to animate it, and later when a neophyte is being initiated, to help seal the pact between them. It is feared that a nganga that develops a taste for human blood will continually demand it, ultimately killing its keeper. As well as blood, the nganga will be offered food and tobacco, fumigated with cigar smoke and aspirated with cane liquor, often sprayed onto it by mouth.

Initiates follow a specific etiquette when engaging with the nganga. They typically wear white, go barefoot, and draw marks on their body to keep them "cool" and protect from the tumult of the dead. Practitioners kneel before the ngangas in greeting; they may greet them with the Arabic -derived phrase " Salaam alaakem, malkem salaam." The nganga likes to be addressed in song and each nganga has particular songs that "belong" to it. Candles will often be burned while the keeper seeks to work with the vessel. A glass of water may be placed nearby, intended to "cool" the presence of the dead, and to assist their crossing to the human world. Objects like necklaces, small packages, and dolls may be placed around the nganga so as to be vitalized with power, allowing them to be used in other rites. To ensure that a nganga does its keeper's bidding, the latter sometimes threatens it, sometimes insulting it or hitting it with a broom or whip.

When a practitioner dies, their nganga may be disassembled if it is believed that the inhabiting nfumbi refuses to serve anyone else and wishes to be set free. The nganga may then be buried beneath a tree, placed into a river or the sea, or buried with the deceased initiate. Alternatively, Palo teaches that the nganga may desire a new keeper, thus being inherited by another practitioner.

### Morality, ethics, and gender roles

Palo teaches deference to teachers, elders, and the dead. According to Ochoa, the religion maintains that "speed, strength, and clever decisiveness" are positive traits for practitioners, while also exulting the values of "revolt, risk and change". The religion has not adopted the Christian notion of sin, and does not present a particular model of ethical perfection for its practitioners to strive towards. The focus of the practice is thus not perfection, but power. It has been characterised as a world-embracing religion, rather than a world-renouncing one.

Both men and women are allowed to practice Palo. While women can hold the religion's most senior positions, most praise houses in Havana are run by men, and an attitude of machismo is common among Palo groups. Ochoa thought that Palo could be described as patriarchal, and the scholar of religion Mary Ann Clark encountered many women who deemed the community of practitioners to be too masculinist. Many Palo initiates maintain that women should not be given a nganga while they are still capable of menstruating; the religion teaches that a menstruating woman's presence would weaken the nganga and that the nganga's thirst for blood would cause the woman to bleed excessively, potentially killing her. For this reason, many female practitioners only receive a nganga once they are passed the age of menopause, decades after their male contemporaries. Gay men are often excluded from Palo, and observers have reported high levels of homophobia within the tradition, in contrast to the large numbers of gay men involved in Santería.

## Practices

Palo is an initiatory religion. Rather than being practised openly, its practices are typically secretive, but revolve around the nganga, which is central to its ceremonies, trabajos ("works"), and divination. The language used in Palo ceremonies, as in its songs, is often called Palo Kikongo; a "Creole speech" based on both Kikingo and Spanish, it Hispanicizes the spelling of many Kikongo words and gives them new meanings. Practitioners greet one another with the phrase nsala malekum. They also acknowledge each other with a special handshake in which their right thumbs are locked together and the palms meet.

### Praise houses

Palo is organized around autonomous initiatory groups. Each of these groups is called a munanso congo ("Kongo House"), or sometimes a casa templo ("temple house"). Ochoa rendered this as "praise house". Their gatherings for ceremonies are supposed to be kept secret. Practitioners sometimes seek to protect the praise house by placing small packets, termed makutos (sing. nkuto), at each corner of the block around the building; these packets contain dirt from four corners and material from the nganga.

Munanso congo form familias de religión ("religious families"). Each is led by a man or woman regarded as a symbolic parent of their initiates; this senior palero is called a tata nganga ("father nganga "), while the senior palera is a yayi nganga ("mother nganga "). This person must have their own nganga and the requisite knowledge of ritual to lead others. This figure is referred to as the padrino ("godfather") or madrina ("godmother") of their initiates; their pupil is the ahijado ("godchild").

A person's rank within the house depends on the length of their involvement and the depth of their knowledge about Palo. Below the tata and yayi are initiates of long-standing, referred to as a padre nganga if male and a madre nganga if female. The initiation of people to this level are rare. At their initiation ceremony to the level of padre or madre, a palero / palera will often be given their own nganga. The tata or yayi may choose not to tell the padre / madre the contents of the new nganga or instructions regarding how to use it, thus ensuring that the teacher maintains control in their relationship with the student.

A tata or yayi may be reluctant to teach their padres and madres too much about Palo, fearing that if they do so the student will break from their praise house to establish their own. A padre or madre will not have initiates of their own. A particular padre (but not a madre) might be selected as a special assistant of the tata or yayi; if they serve the former then they are called a bakofula, if they serve the latter they are a mayordomo ("butler", "steward"). The madrinas and padrinas are often considered possessive of their student initiates. Experienced practitioners who run their own praise houses often vie with one another for prospective initiates and will sometimes try to steal members from each other.

An individual seeking initiation into a praise house is usually someone who has previously consulted a palero or palera to request their aid, for instance in the area of health, love, property, or money, or in the fear that they have been bewitched. The Palo practitioner may suggest that the client's misfortunes result from their bad relationship with the spirits of the dead, and that this can be improved by receiving initiation into Palo. New initiates are called ngueyos, a term meaning "child" in the Palo Kikongo language. In the Briyumba and Monte traditions, new initiates are also known as pinos nuevos ("saplings"). Ngueyos may attend feasts for the praise house's nganga, to which they are expected to contribute, and may seek advice from it, but they will not receive their own personal nganga nor attend initiation ceremonies for the higher grades. Many practitioners are content to remain at this level and do not pursue further initiation to reach the status of padre or madre.

When the tata or yayi of a house is close to death, they are expected to announce a successor, who will then be ritually accepted as the new tata or yayi by the house members. The new leader may adopt the nganga of their predecessor, resulting in them having multiple nganga to care for. Alternatively, at a leader's death, the senior initiates of the house may leave to join another or establish their own. This results in some Palo practitioners being members of multiple familias de religion.

### Firmas

Drawings called firmas, their name taken from the Spanish for "signature", play an important role in Palo ritual. They are alternatively referred to as tratados ("pacts" or "deals"). The firmas often incorporate lines, arrows, circles, and crosses, as well as skulls, suns, and moons. They allow the mpungu to enter the ceremonial space, with a sign corresponding to the mpungu that is being invoked drawn at any given ceremony.

As they facilitate contact between the worlds, the firmas are deemed to be caminos ("roads"). They also help to establish the will of the living over the dead, directing the action of both the human and spirit participants in a ritual. The firmas are akin to the vèvè employed in Haitian Vodou and the anaforuana used by Abakuá members.

Firmas may derive from the sigils employed in European ceremonial magic traditions. However, some of the designs commonly found in firmas, such as that of the sun circling the Earth and of a horizon line dividing the worlds, are probably borrowed from traditional Kongo cosmology. There are many different designs; some are specific to the mpungu it invokes, others to a particular munanso congo or to an individual practitioner. As they are deemed very powerful, knowledge of the firmas' meanings are often kept secret, even from new initiates. Some practitioners have a notebook in which they have drawn the firmas that they use, and from which they may teach others.

Before a ceremony, the firmas are drawn around the room, including on the floor, on the walls, and on ritual objects. They are often placed at locations suggesting a direction of movement, such as a window or a door. They may also be drawn on handkerchiefs worn by participants on their head or chest. The creation of these drawings is accompanied by chants called mambos. Gunpowder piles at specific points of the firma may then be lit, with the explosion deemed to attract the mpungu. Firmas are also cut into the bodies of new initiates, and drawn onto the nganga as it is being created.

### Offerings and animal sacrifice

While offerings to the nganga are often given privately, it is also expected that the nganga receives sacrifices on its cumplimiento ("birthday"), the anniversary of its creation. Sacrifices will similarly often be given on the feast day of the Roman Catholic saint thought to have most in common with the mpungu manifested in the nganga in question. The mpungu spirit Sarabanda is for instance feasted on June 29, the feast day of Saint Peter (San Pedro), who in Cuban tradition is associated with Sarabanda.

Among the offerings given to the nganga are food, aguardiente, cigars, candles, flowers, money, but especially blood, which the nganga feeds on to grow and gain power. Animal sacrifice is thus a key part of Palo ritual, where it is known by the Spanish language term matanza ("slaughter"). The choice of animal to be sacrificed depends on the reason for the offerings. Typically a rooster or two will be killed, but for more important issues a four-legged animal will usually be chosen. The head of the munanso congo is typically responsible for determining what sacrifice is appropriate for the situation. Animal blood is deemed very "hot", although the levels of heat depend on the species in question; human blood is thought "hottest", followed by that of turtles, sheep, ducks, and goats, while the blood of other birds, such as chickens and pigeons, is "cooler". Animals deemed to have "hotter" blood are usually killed first.

Where the killing is to take place, a firma will be drawn on the floor. There will often be singing, chanting, and sometimes drumming while the sacrificial animal is brought before the nganga; the victim's feet may be washed and it is given water to drink. The animal's throat will then typically be cut, usually by a senior figure in the munanso congo. The blood may be spilled over the ngangas and onto the floor. The animal will be butchered, its severed head often placed upon the nganga. Several organs will be removed, sautéed, and placed before the nganga, where they will often be left to decompose, producing a strong odor and attracting maggots. Other body parts will be prepared for the consumption of the attendees; attempts are often made to ensure that everyone attending the ritual consumes some of the sacrificed flesh. The sacrifice will often be followed by more generalized celebration involving singing, drumming, and dancing.

### Music, dancing, and possession

Music is an important part of Palo ceremonies, with practitioners putting on performances for the nganga that involve singing, drumming and dancing. These will be performed at initiations, feast days, or on occasions when the nganga is being asked to do something. The songs employed are typically simpler than those found in Santería, consisting of repeating short melodies. The lyrics often invoke supernatural entities or are focused on making a talisman work. The songs are also antiphonal, with the soloist and chorus alternating, as is common in various African diasporic traditions.

The main style of drum used in Palo is the three-headed tumbadoras; this is distinct from the batá drum used in Santería. These drums are often played in groups of three. As tumbadoras are not always available, Palo's adherents sometimes use plywood boxes as drums. Various styles of drumming have been transmitted within Palo, including the ritmas congos ("Congo rhythms") and influencias bantu ("Bantu influences"). Each rama or Palo tradition also has its own ritual drumming style; the drumming rhythms favored in Mayombe and Briyumba are faster than those in Monte or Kimbisa. While performing, the drummers may vie against one another to display their skills.

The anthropologist Miguel Barnet observed a "striking element of pantomime" in Palo dances, during which dancers will often work themselves into an "absolute frenzy". A typical dance style used in Palo involves the dancer being slightly bent at the waist, swinging their arms and kicking their legs back at the knee. Another Palo dance style is the garabato, in which dancers wield sticks, usually taken from a guava tree, and bang them against each other. Unlike in Santería, dancers at Palo ceremonies do not proceed in a fixed line during the dance.

In Palo, it is believed that during the dancing, one of the dancers may be possessed by the dead. This individual will be known as the perro de prenda (possessed dog); they may drop to the floor at the start of the possession, reflecting a belief that the possessing spirit has come up from the ground. Practitioners believe that the spirit will control the body of the host for a time, during which the possessed person will adopt the traits of this entity. The possessed individual will often give advice, reveal secrets, predict the future, and cleanse attendees of negative influences.

### Initiation and rites of passage

The initiation ceremony into a Palo praise house is known as a rayamiento ("cutting"). The ceremony is usually timed to occur on the night of a waxing moon, performed when the moon reaches its fullest light, due to a belief that the moon's potential grows in tandem with that of the dead. It will take place in el cuarto de religión ("the room of religion"), sometimes simply known as el cuarto ("the room"). The rayamiento ceremony involves an animal sacrifice; two cockerels are required, although sometimes additional animals will be killed to feed the nganga.

Prior to the initiatory ritual, the initiate will be washed in agua ngongoro, water mixed with various herbs, in a procedure called the limpieza; this is done to "cool" them. The initiate will then be brought into the ritual space blindfolded and wearing white; trousers may be rolled up to the knees, a towel over the shoulders, and a bandana on the head. The torso and feet are left unclothed. They may be guided to stand atop a firma drawn on the floor. They make promises to commit to the nganga of the praise house, bringing it offerings at its birthday feasts in return for its protection.

The initiate will then be cut; instruments used have included a razor blade, rooster's spur, or yúa thorn. Cuttings may be made on the chest, shoulders, back, hands, legs, or tongue. Some of the cuts will be straight lines, others may be crosses or more elaborate designs, forming firmas. The cuts are believed to open the initiate up to the spirits of the dead, thus enabling possession. A common belief in Palo is that the dead may possess the initiate at the moment of cutting, and thus it is not thought uncommon if they faint during it. The blood produced is then collected and given to the nganga, something practitioners believe enhances the cauldron's power to either heal or harm the initiate. Strands of the initiate's hair may also be placed in the nganga. Parts of the contents of the nganga may be rubbed into the initiate's wounds, sometimes including bone dust scraped from the nfumbe. These wounds will then be packed with candle wax and chamba, the latter a mix of powdered human bone, rum, chili, and garlic. The cuts sometimes leave scars.

Once the cutting has been done, the blindfold will be removed. The new initiate will then head outside to greet the moon before visiting a nearby cemetery. The suffering endured during the initiation rite is regarded as a test to determine if the neophyte has the qualities required of a palero or palera. New initiates must then learn the correct manner in which to approach the nganga and how to perform a sacrifice to it. Students are instructed in Palo through stories, songs, and the recollections of elders; they will also watch their elders and seek to decipher their riddles.

A practitioner may later experience a second rayamiento, enabling them to become a full-ranking initiate of the praise house, a padre or madre, and thus create their own nganga. At an initiate's funeral, a rooster may be sacrificed and its blood poured onto the coffin containing the deceased, thus completing the identification of the dead practitioner with the spirits of the dead. As at the initiation, a firma will often be painted onto the body.

### Divination

Palo's practitioners communicate with their spirits via divination. The style of divination employed is determined by the nature of the question that the palero or palera wants answered. Two of the divinatory styles employed are the ndungui, which entails divining with pieces of coconut shell, and the chamalongos, which uses mollusc shells. Both of these divinatory styles are also employed, albeit with different names, by Santería's followers.

Fula is a form of divination using gunpowder. It entails small piles of gunpowder being placed over a board or on the floor. A question is asked and then one of the piles is set alight. If all the piles explode simultaneously, that is taken as an affirmative answer to the question. Another form of divination used in Palo is vititi mensu. This involves a small mirror placed at the opening of an animal horn decorated with beadwork, the mpaka. The mirror is then covered with smoke soot and the palero or palera interprets meanings from the shapes formed by the soot. The mpaka is sometimes called the "eyes of the nganga " and is often kept atop the nganga itself. Both fula and vititi mensu are forms of divination that Palo does not share with Santería.

### Healing and hexing

Palo's practitioners often claim their rituals will immediately remedy a problem, and thus clients regularly approach a palero or palera when they want a rapid solution to an issue. The nature of the issue varies; it can involve dealing with state bureaucracy or emigration issues, relationship problems, or because they fear that they are plagued by a harmful spirit. On occasion, a client may request that the Palo initiate kill someone for them using their nganga. The fee paid to a Palo practitioner for their services is called a derecho. Ochoa noted that "common wisdom" in Cuba held that the fees charged by Palo initiates were less than those charged by Santería practitioners. Indeed, in many cases clients approach Palo practitioners for aid after having already sought help, unsuccessfully, from a Santería initiate.

Practitioners engage in healing through the use of charms, formulas, and spells, often drawing on an advanced knowledge of Cuba's plants and herbs. The first steps that a palero or palera will take to assist someone may be a limpieza or despojo ("clearing") in which the harmful dead are brushed off from an afflicted person. The limpieza will involve a combination of herbs bundled together that are wiped over the body and then burned or buried. Practitioners believe that the effect of these herbs is to "cool" the person to counter the turbulent "heat" of the dead that are around them. The limpieza is also employed in Santería.

Another healing procedure involves creating resguardos, charms that may incorporate tiny pieces of nfumbe, shavings from the palo sticks, earth from a grave and anthill, kimbansa grass, and animal body parts. These will typically be tied into little bundles and inserted into corn husks before being sewn into cloth packets that can be carried by the afflicted person. Songs will often be sung while creating the resguardo, while blood will be offered to vitalise it. The resguardo may be placed by the nganga for a time to absorb its influence. A Palo practitioner may also turn to the cambio de vida, or life switch, whereby the illness of the terminal patient is transmitted to another, usually a non-human animal but sometimes a doll or a human being, thus saving the client.

A concoction or package made for a client may be called a tratado ("treaty") and contain many of the same elements that go into a nganga. These packages are deemed to gain their power both from the material included within them and the prayers and songs that were performed while they were being created. This may be placed on the nganga to transmit its message to the spirit vessel. Parts of the nganga may also be selected and used to create a guardiero ("guardian"), a vessel designed for a particular purpose; once that purpose is completed, the guardiero may be disassembled and its parts returned to the nganga. If the client's problem persists, the palero / palera will often recommend that the former undergoes an initiation into Palo to secure the protection and assistance of a nganga.

#### Bilongos

In Cuba, it is widely believed that illness may be caused by a malevolent spirit sent against the sick person by a palero or palera. Some Palo practitioners will identify the muertos oscuros ("dark dead"), entities that have been sent against an afflicted person by enemies, regarding such entities as hiding in plants, materialised in clothes or furniture, concealed in the walls, or taking animal form. If techniques like the limpieza or resguardos fail to deal with a client's problems, a Palo practitioner will often adopt more aggressive methods to assist the afflicted person. They will use divination to identify who it is that has cursed their client; they may then obtain traces of that alleged perpetrator's blood, sweat, or soil that they have walked over, so as to ritually manipulate them.

Palo counter-attacks are termed bilongos. Often housed inside a jar or bottle, these concoctions contain soils and powders, as well as dried toads, lizards, insects, spiders, human hair, or fish bones. For the bilongo to be effective, practitioners believe, it must be bound in blood to a particular nganga. Most bilongo will be buried close to the home of their victim, ideally in the latter's backyard or close to their front door. In Palo belief, the bilongo then draws the nfumbe spirit from out of the keeper's nganga to go and attack the intended victim. The spirit sent to attack may be called a muerto oscuro or enviación. This may be regarded not as the spirit of a dead individual but rather an entity specifically created for the purpose, a sort of "animate or living automaton". An attack of this nature is called a kindiambazo (" prenda hit") or a cazuelazo ("cauldron blow"). This in turn may result in a series of strikes and counter-strikes by different paleros or paleras acting for different clients. In embracing aggressive counter-attacks against perceived malefactors, Palo differs from Santería.

## History

### Background

I know of two African religions in the barracoons: the Lucumi and the Congolese... The Congolese used the dead and snakes for their religious rites. They called the dead nkise and the snakes emboba. They prepared big pots called nganga which would walk about and all, and that was where the secret of their spells lay. All the Congolese had these pots for mayombe.

— Esteban Montejo, a slave during the late 19th century

After the Spanish Empire conquered Cuba, the island's Arawak and Ciboney populations dramatically declined. The Spanish then turned to slaves sold at West African ports as a labor source for Cuba's sugar, tobacco, and coffee plantations. Slavery was widespread in West Africa, where prisoners of war and certain criminals were enslaved. Between 702,000 and 1 million enslaved Africans were brought to Cuba, the earliest in 1511, although the majority came in the 19th century. In Cuba, slaves were divided into groups termed naciones (nations), often based on their port of embarkation rather than their own ethno-cultural background.

Between 1760 and 1790 the largest nación in Cuba was the Bakongo, who then comprised over 30 percent of enslaved Africans on the island: at that time they were commonly referred to as Congos. Although all largely part of the same linguistic family, these Bakongo slaves spoke different languages and were not a uniform people. They came largely from in and around the Kingdom of Kongo, which covered an area encompassing what is now northern Angola, Cabinda, the Republic of Congo, and parts of both Gabon and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Many of the enslaved Bakongo people who arrived in Cuba would have brought their traditional religions with them.

Key to many Bakongo traditions were objects containing spirit power, the minkisi, from which the Palo nganga derives. Minkisi could take various forms but were often baskets or bags, with some of the earliest recorded Cuban ngangas also being bags. The earliest unambiguous evidence for such a spirit-vessel on Cuba comes from 1875, when a Spanish periodical described an anthropomorphic wooden statue with a cavity in which medicines had been placed. Another account was that provided in the autobiography of the slave Esteban Montejo, who lived during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

When the nganga emerged in its current form among Bakongo-descended peoples in Cuba is not known. The sociologist Jualynne E. Dodson suggested a possible link between the iron cauldrons used for nganga and those used to process sugar cane on the island. In the period of slavery, the nganga would probably have been one of the very few weapons that the enslaved could use against their owners. It is also possible that ritual roles centering around minkisi or nganga vessels "generated forms of social power" and thus some form of authority among enslaved Afro-Cuban populations.

In Spanish Cuba, Roman Catholicism was the only religion that could be legally practiced. Cuba's Roman Catholic Church made efforts to convert the enslaved Africans, but the instruction in Roman Catholicism provided to the latter was typically perfunctory and sporadic. Traditional African rituals might have continued among some of the enslaved people who escaped the plantations to form independent colonies, or palenques. Others joined African mutual aid societies, called cabildos or cofradías, some of which were Bakongo-led and in which traditional rites could also be clandestinely held. Over time, Afro-Cubans of Bakongo ancestry would have lost the ability to speak Kikongo fluently and instead developed a hybrid lexicon combining Spanish with select Kikongo words, the latter often retaining a sense of mystery for their users.

### Formation and early history

The chronological development of Palo is less clear than that of Santería. Taking earlier influences and fusing them into a new form, Palo developed as a distinct religion in the late 19th or early 20th century. It may have arisen in Havana, for by the turn of the 20th century it was being transmitted from the Matanzas area in the west of the island to the Oriente Province of the east.

Ochoa described Palo's formation as occurring "in conjunction with, or perhaps in response to", the formation of Santería, a Yoruba-based tradition which emerged in urban parts of western Cuba during the late 19th century. The historian Stephan Palmié commented that Palo showed "considerable influence" from Yoruba-derived religions and argued that, as Santería spread across Cuba in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it influenced existing Kongo-derived traditions on the island. Ochoa argued that Santería was nevertheless able to become dominant over Palo because Yoruba understandings of theology were closer to those of Catholicism and could more easily adapt to it. Palo would also take influence from Spiritism, a religion based on the ideas of the French writer Allan Kardec that was of growing interest among the white peasantry, the Creole class, and the small urban middle class of late 19th-century Cuba.

Following the Cuban War of Independence, the island became an independent republic in 1898. In the republic, Afro-Cubans remained largely excluded from economic and political power, and negative stereotypes about them remained pervasive throughout the Euro-Cuban population. Although the republic's new constitution enshrined freedom of religion, campaigns were still launched against Afro-Cuban traditions. From the late 19th century, both Palo and Santería houses faced repeated police raids, with this harassment continuing through the middle of the 20th century. The turn of the 20th century saw repeated instances of Afro-Cubans being accused of sacrificing white Christian children to their ngangas. In 1904, a trial was held of Afro-Cubans accused of ritually murdering a toddler, Zoyla Díaz, to cure one of their members of sterility; two of the accused were found guilty and executed. References to the case passed down in Palo songs through subsequent generations, with later scholarly assessments suggesting that the accusations relied on "trumped up charges, rumour masquerading as evidence, racism and public hysteria".

The 1920s saw efforts to incorporate Afro-Cuban elements into a wider understanding of Cuban culture, as in the Afrocubanismo literary and artistic movement. These often drew upon Afro-Cuban music, dance, and mythology, but typically rejected African-derived ritual. During the 1940s, the Cuban anthropologist Lydia Cabrera studied Palo; writings by her and other scholars would later interest various initiates, who hoped that studying them could enrich the tradition.

### After the Cuban Revolution

The Cuban Revolution of 1959 resulted in the island becoming a Marxist–Leninist state governed by Fidel Castro 's Communist Party of Cuba. Committed to state atheism, Castro's government took a negative view of Afro-Cuban religions. However, following the Soviet Union 's collapse in the 1990s, Castro's administration declared that Cuba was entering a " Special Period " in which new economic measures would be necessary. As part of this, priests of Santería, Ifá, and Palo all took part in government-sponsored tours for foreigners desiring initiation into such traditions. Ochoa noted that Palo "blossomed" amid these liberalising reforms of the mid-1990s.

The decades after the Cuban Revolution saw hundreds of thousands of Cubans emigrate, including Palo practitioners. The 1960s saw Cuban emigres arrive in Venezuela, probably bringing Palo with them, something bolstered by further Cuban arrivals in the early 21st century. In the 2000s, residents reported that many of the graves at Caracas ' Cementerio General del Sur had been pried open to have their contents removed for Palo ceremonies. Palo also appeared in Mexico: in 1989, the Cuban-American narcotrafficker Adolfo Constanzo and his gang were found to have killed at least 14 people on their ranch outside Matamoros, Tamaulipas before placing their victims' bones in Palo cauldrons. Constanzo's group had combined Palo with elements from Mexican religions and a statue of the Mexican folk saint Santa Muerte was found on the property. Much media coverage incorrectly labelled these practices " Satanism ".

Palo also established a presence in the United States. In 1995, the US Fish and Wildlife Service arrested a Palo initiate in Miami, Florida who was in possession of human skulls and exotic animal remains. In Newark, New Jersey in 2002, a Palo practitioner was found with the remains of at least two individuals in his nganga. A Palo follower was arrested in 2015 for allegedly stealing bones from mausoleums in Worcester, Massachusetts, while in 2021 two Florida practitioners were arrested for robbing the graves of military veterans. In several parts of the US, archaeologists and forensic anthropologists have frequently encountered nganga remains, often referring to them as "Santería skulls", a term that mistakes Santería for Palo; one example was recovered during the draining of a Massachusetts canal in 2012. The American rapper Azealia Banks has also been public about her practice of Palo Mayombe, discussing it and other African diasporic religions on social media from at least 2016.

## Denominations

Palo divides into different denominations or traditions called ramas, each forming a ritual lineage. The main four are Briyumba, Kimbisa, Mayombe, and Monte; other ramas include Musunde, Quirimbya, and Vrillumba. Some practitioners maintain that Mayombe and Monte are the same tradition, whereas elsewhere they have been regarded as separate. Because Palo Monte—the name of which means "sticks of the forest" —was one of the dominant ramas in late 20th-century Havana, many academic and popular sources mistakenly adopted the term "Palo Monte" for the whole religion.

Many initiates believe that the names of the ramas derive from different ethnic groups from in and around the Kingdom of Kongo. Conversely, Barnet noted that these names cannot be identified with known ethnic groups in Central Africa and that "they may simply be randomly chosen names of Bantu etymology that became adulterated in Cuba". Palo's followers are often critical of rival ramas, believing that their own tradition maintains the correct procedure inherited from the past.

Especially syncretic in its approach to Palo is Kimbisa, the rama founded in the 19th century by Andrés Facundo Cristo de los Dolores Petit. Petit merged Palo with elements from Santería, Spiritism, and Roman Catholicism, with the tradition operating on the principles of Christian charity. In Kimbisa praise houses, it is common to find images of the Virgin Mary, the saints, the crucifix, and an altar to San Luis Beltrán, the patron saint of the tradition. Unlike other ramas, Kimbisa has a supreme leader and a written constitution. Certain members of other Palo traditions look critically upon Kimbisa, believing that it deviates too far from traditional Bakongo practices. The Palo nganga has also been incorporated into a Cuban variant of Spiritism, El Espiritismo Cruzao, elsewhere termed Palo Cruzado, or Muertería.

## Demographics

Palo is found all over Cuba, although it is particularly strong in the island's eastern provinces. Describing the situation in the 2000s, Ochoa noted that there were "hundreds if not more" Palo praise houses active in Cuba, and in 2015 Kerestetzi commented that the religion is "widespread" on the island. Although emerging from Bakongo traditions, Palo has also been practiced by Afro-Cubans of other ethnic heritages, as well as by Euro-Cubans, criollos, and people outside Cuba. In the United States, for example, Palo has gained popularity among young people in various urban areas.

In Cuba, people are sometimes willing to travel considerable distances to consult with a particular palero or palera about their problems. People first approach the religion because they seek practical help in resolving their issues, not because they wish to worship its deities. In cases like this, Palo is often favoured over other religions because it claims to provide quicker results, with Palo sometimes deemed more powerful, if less ethical, in its approach than Santería.

## Reception

In Cuban society, Palo is both valued and feared. Ochoa described a "considerable air of dread" surrounding it in Cuban society, while Kerestetzi noted that Cubans usually regard paleros and paleras as "dangerous and unscrupulous witches". This is often linked to the stereotype that paleros and paleras might kill children for inclusion in their nganga; Ochoa noted that in the 1990s he heard Cuban parents warn their children that a "black man with a sack" would carry them off to feed his cauldron.

Palo has also become associated with criminal practice, in part due to the illegal nature of obtaining buried human remains; in Cuba, a conviction for grave desecration can result in a prison sentence of up to 30 years. The existence of Palo has impacted the burial of various individuals in Cuba. Remigio Herrera, the last surviving African-born babalawo, or priest of Ifá, was for instance buried in an unidentified grave to prevent paleros / paleras digging his corpse up for incorporation in their nganga.

Palo has also been incorporated in popular culture, as in Leonardo Padura Fuentes ' 2001 novel Adiós Hemingway. By the start of the 21st century, various Cuban artists were incorporating Palo imagery into their work; one example was José Bedia Valdés, who received the mpungu Sarabanda at his initiation into Palo. In other cases, artists and graphic artists have used Palo firmas in their work without being initiates of the religion.


Yanni

# Yanni

## Abstract

Yiannis Chryssomallis (Greek: Γιάννης Χρυσομάλλης; born November 14, 1954), known professionally as Yanni (/ ˈ j ɑː n i / YAH -nee), is a Greek composer, keyboardist, pianist, and music producer.

Yanni continues to use the musical shorthand that he developed as a child, blending jazz, classical, soft rock, and world music to create predominantly instrumental works. Although this genre of music was not well suited for commercial pop radio and music television, Yanni received international recognition by producing concerts at historic monuments and by producing videos that were broadcast on public television. His breakthrough concert, Live at the Acropolis, yielded the second best-selling music concert video of all time. Additional historic sites for Yanni's concerts have included India's Taj Mahal, China's Forbidden City, the United Arab Emirates' Burj Khalifa, Russia's Kremlin, Puerto Rico's El Morro castle, Lebanon's ancient city of Byblos, Tunisia's Roman Theatre of Carthage, India's Laxmi Vilas Palace, the Egyptian pyramids and Great Sphinx of Giza, and the Amman Citadel.

At least sixteen of Yanni's albums have peaked at No. 1 in Billboard's "Top New Age Album" category, and two albums (Dare to Dream and In My Time) received Grammy Award nominations. Yanni has performed in more than 30 countries on five continents, and through late 2015 had performed live in concert before more than 5 million people and had accumulated more than 40 platinum and gold albums globally, with sales totaling over 25 million copies. A longtime fundraiser for public television, Yanni's compositions have been used on commercial television programs, especially for sporting events. He has written film scores and the music for an award-winning British Airways television commercial.

Yanni popularized the combination of electronic music synthesizers with a full symphony orchestra. He has employed musicians of various nationalities and has incorporated a variety of exotic instruments to create music that has been called an eclectic fusion of ethnic sounds. Influenced by his encounters with cultures around the world, Yanni has been called a "true global artist" and his music is said to reflect his "one world, one people" philosophy.

## Early life

Yanni was born November 14, 1954, in Kalamata, Greece, the son of a banker, Sotiri Chryssomallis, and a homemaker, Felitsa (short for Triandafelitsa, which means "rose"). He displayed musical talent at a young age, playing the piano at the age of 6. His parents encouraged him to learn at his own pace and in his own way, without formal music training. The self-taught musician continues to use the "musical shorthand" that he developed as a child, rather than employ traditional musical notation.

Yanni set a Greek national record in the 50-meter freestyle swimming competition at age 14.

In November 1972, Yanni moved from Greece to the United States to attend the University of Minnesota beginning in January 1973, majoring in psychology. For a time he earned money by washing dishes at the student union. Yanni later explained that learning English forced him to read each paragraph several times in what he called a slow and frustrating process, but which helped him memorize the material and do well on tests. He received a B.A. degree in psychology in 1976.

During his time as a student, Yanni played in a local rock band and continued to study piano and other keyboard instruments. Upon graduating, when he dedicated himself exclusively to music for one full year and found he was the happiest he had ever been, he said he decided music would be his life's work.

## Music career

In 1977, Yanni joined the Minneapolis-based rock group Chameleon, performing with its founder, drummer Charlie Adams, with whom he would work into the 2010s. While in Minneapolis, Yanni also worked with choreographer Loyce Houlton to provide music for dance works produced by the Minnesota Dance Theatre. After touring with Chameleon from 1980 to 1984, Yanni moved to Los Angeles in pursuit of movie soundtrack work.

### 1980s to early 1990s: Emergence and recognition

In 1980, Yanni recorded and produced his first album Optimystique, which Atlantic Records re-released in 1984 and Private Music re-released in 1989.

Yanni formed a band in 1987 and began to tour in 1988 with an ensemble including pianist/singer John Tesh and drummer Charlie Adams, promoting his early albums Keys to Imagination, Out of Silence, and Chameleon Days. A highlight of the tour was a performance with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra that elicited a positive review, considered seminal to Yanni's public recognition, from a Dallas Times Herald critic. Yanni's emergence was said to be "timed perfectly" with the growing popularity of contemporary instrumental music. In this time frame, Yanni wrote motion picture soundtracks for Steal the Sky (1988), Heart of Midnight (1988), I Love You Perfect (1989), She'll Take Romance (1990), When You Remember Me (1990), Children of the Bride (1990), and Hua qi Shao Lin (1994).

Yanni gained visibility as the result of his November 1990 appearances in People magazine and on The Oprah Winfrey Show with actress Linda Evans, with whom he had been in a relationship since 1989. However, high-visibility appearances on public television, best-selling records and videos, and overflow concerts earned him recognition beyond his relationship with Evans.

Dare to Dream, released in 1992, was Yanni's first Grammy -nominated album. It included "Aria," a song based on Léo Delibes' The Flower Duet (Lakmé, 1883) and popularized by an award-winning British Airways commercial. A second Grammy-nominated album, In My Time, followed in 1993.

### 1990s: Acropolis, world concerts, exhaustion and renewal

Yanni's breakthrough concert, Live at the Acropolis, was filmed in September 1993 at the 2,000-year-old Herodes Atticus Theater at the Acropolis of Athens, an album, VHS and Laserdisc being released in 1994. Acropolis was Yanni's first live album, and used his core band with a full sixty piece orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra which was arranged and conducted by Iranian-American musician Shahrdad Rohani.

Without financial backing, Yanni risked $2 million of his personal fortune in the Acropolis production in a strategy to boost his artistic profile and open new markets for his music. The resulting video was broadcast on PBS and became one of its most popular programs ever, seen in 65 countries by half a billion people. It became the second best-selling music concert video of all time (after Michael Jackson's Thriller), selling more than 7 million copies worldwide.

In March 1997, Yanni became one of the few Western artists permitted to perform and record at the Taj Mahal in India. Yanni followed in May 1997 with performances at the Forbidden City in Beijing, China, becoming the first Western artist in modern times permitted to perform at the historic site. Live broadcasts of the two concerts were seen by 100 million television viewers throughout the world. The two events formed the live album and video, Tribute, released in November 1997.

After negotiating the demands of gaining permission to perform at the Taj Mahal and Forbidden City in 1997, breaking up with Linda Evans in early 1998, and completing a long world tour later in 1998, Yanni halted his music career. Yanni later related that he had become depressed, and returned to Greece to live with his parents for three months before traveling the world. He didn't do an interview for two years, later explaining, "I traveled. I wanted to see other people's ideas of life, get out of the American dream."

### 2000s to 2010: After a hiatus, new perspectives

In 2000, after the two-year hiatus, Yanni released If I Could Tell You, his first studio album in seven years. The album sold 55,000 copies in its first week and landed at No. 20 on the Billboard charts, his highest debut to date. Yanni described the album as more of an even-tempered "listening" album, less dramatic than the live concert albums Live at the Acropolis or Tribute. He explained that he himself created all the album's sounds, including apparent vocalizations, through the manipulation of sound in his studio.

The music in Yanni's 2003 album Ethnicity represented many of the world's cultures, Yanni saying it uses ethnicity to reflect the color and beauty of a multicultural society. The album was released near the publication date of Yanni's autobiography, Yanni in Words. On October 23, 2003, Yanni performed a keyboard instrumental version of The Star-Spangled Banner before Game 5 of the 2003 World Series.

For the first time in his career, Yanni brought vocalists to the forefront in the Ric Wake collaboration Yanni Voices, the artist's first studio album in six years. PBS broadcast video of a November 2008 Voices Acapulco concert weeks before the album's March 24, 2009 release by Walt Disney Records' Disney Pearl Imprint, the album release preceding a tour produced by Pearl's Buena Vista Concerts division.

The album Mexicanisimo, released in November of Mexico's bicentennial year 2010, was a tribute to that country through Yanni's collaborative interpretation of its folk music. It involved collaboration with singer-songwriter Pepe Aguilar and singer-actress Lucero.

### 2010s: New sound designs, and a return to world tours

The Truth of Touch album was released in February 2011, Yanni's first studio album of new material since Ethnicity eight years earlier. Truth of Touch's varied content reflected contemporary instrumental, electronic, and cinematic influences, and crossed over into popular, new age, and world music. Though Yanni said that Truth of Touch was started by experimenting with new sound designs, Allmusic 's James Christopher Monger said that the album shows Yanni returning to his instrumental roots, and should appeal to fans of his music from the mid-1990s. Three of fifteen tracks on the predominantly instrumental album included vocals from respective Yanni Voices vocalists.

In April 2012, Yanni released the Live at El Morro, Puerto Rico live album CD and DVD which were recorded and filmed at two outdoor concerts on December 16 and 17, 2011 on the grounds of the Castillo (Fort) San Felipe del Morro ("El Morro"), a UNESCO World Heritage Site in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The recorded concerts were broadcast on PBS beginning in March 2012, the production constituting Yanni's tenth collaboration with that organization.

Yanni performed again in China in the February 9, 2013, CCTV Spring Festival Gala (annual audience 700 million) with Chinese zither artist Chang Jing in what was the first year that CCTV had invited foreign artists to perform. For the performance, Yanni released a single "East Meets West" which was a mashup of his several famous songs (Santorini, North Shore of Matsushima) together with a solo part performed on Chinese zither.

Yanni's 2010s tours included new vocalists, distinct from the 2008–2009 Yanni Voices vocalists, though the setlists remained predominantly instrumental.

In March 2014, Yanni released his seventeenth studio album, Inspirato, a collaboration with operatic tenor Plácido Domingo and producer Ric Wake that, like Yanni Voices five years earlier, highlighted vocal performances. In Inspirato, distinguished operatic vocalists performed remakes of songs that Yanni had previously released over his career, the songs' titles and lyrics being predominantly in the Italian language.

On October 30 and 31, 2015, Yanni performed two concerts on the grounds of the Egyptian pyramids and Great Sphinx of Giza, his first performance in Egypt. The concerts included fireworks and a video broadcast from International Space Station commander Scott Kelly, and were recorded in 4K HD for subsequent broadcast on PBS. To convey an image of stable security after the Egyptian Crisis (2011–14), an Egyptian security force of 3,000 people secured the concert area.

In December 2015, Yanni produced a song, "Seven Billion Dreams," for a NASA video that marked the 15th anniversary of the International Space Station.

On December 18, 2015, Yanni released the single "Desert Soul" from his eighteenth studio album, Sensuous Chill, which was released on January 29, 2016. The album, which, being built around synthesizers, programmed rhythms and electronic sounds, was said to "come full circle" to his early-1980s albums.

Yanni's single, "When Dreams Come True", called a "minimal piano-led" piece, was composed incrementally throughout a 60-date North American tour as a series of improvisations performed during successive shows. Its first complete live performance was in February 2019 at the Winter at Tantora Festival in Al-'Ula, Saudi Arabia, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Yanni's August 2019 single honoring his daughter Krystalán is called "Ladyhawk", alluding to how she watches over him like a guardian angel.

In November 2019, Yanni released single "Blue", taking inspiration from the ocean.

In the 2010s, Yanni's international tours included performances in over thirty countries on five continents, including (alphabetically) Argentina, Armenia, Bahrain, Belarus, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Egypt, Germany, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mexico, Oman, Panama, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States (including Puerto Rico), and Uzbekistan.

### 2020s

In August 2020, Yanni released his nineteenth studio album "In His Purest Form," containing solo piano performances of his previously released songs, and his first piano solo album since In My Time (1993).

In late 2021, Yanni began to offer non-fungible tokens.

## Influences, music and concerts

### Musical Influences

From childhood, Yanni accepted a wide variety of musical styles, listening to radio stations from Northern Africa, Arab countries, and Europe. He observed that "there were no rock stations or classical stations— each station would just play everything." Yanni's music is said to reflect his encounters with cultures around the world and embody his philosophy of "one world, one people." In this vein, Booth Newspapers ' Jeffrey Kaczmarczyk perceived the eclectic inspirations of Yanni's music to be an element of his success: Yanni's "Middle Eastern and Oriental scales and mixed meters sound just exotic enough to entice his middle-of-the-road fans, but not so authentic as to mystify folks who grew up with a backbeat, so you can't lose it," adding that certain songs "leave you with a sense that you've just heard a bit of a steel drum or a Greek bouzouki or a Japanese koto or possibly all three."

Yanni's musical influences include music from Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East, as well as classical, rock and roll, and electronic music. Yanni explained that the 1970s, with its new technology and electronic instruments, were particularly influential at that stage in his career, and that even recently his Truth of Touch album (2011) was started by experimenting with new sound designs. Having been exposed to classical music very early in life—listening to Bach at age 8 —he counts several classical pianists and composers among his influences, citing Beethoven as a favorite and Chopin as "No. 2 favorite." Yanni mentioned being influenced not only by classical composers like Mozart and Bach, but also rock and roll bands such as Led Zeppelin, the People!, and Black Sabbath.

Yanni explained that "the most influence I've ever had from music was doing (soundtracks for) movies... mostly instrumental music," mentioning his love for the work of Jerry Goldsmith and John Williams. The Augusta Chronicle 's Kelly Jasper noted that most of Yanni's music is instrumental, indicating that Yanni surmised that the lack of lyrics is what allowed his music to become popular internationally. Yanni went on to say, "There are no lyrics in my music for the most part, so the whole message is transmitted through the rhythm, melody, and sounds, and I think that has to do with crossing all the borders and being able to go to different countries." "It is very difficult, if not impossible, to lie with instrumental music because it deals in emotions only." He has also said that words operate in a different area of the brain, and lyrics "tend to put a song into a box."

However, Yanni performed with four vocalists in the forefront in Yanni Voices (2008–2009), and performed with vocalists on tours and in the Live at El Morro, Puerto Rico concerts (December 2011) and CD/DVD (2012). In late 2011 Yanni remarked that he tends to prefer instrumental music "because it's more open, but the human voice too can be the most expressive instrument known to man. There is power to it." Referring to his creative experiences on the 2009 Voices project, Yanni explained that "while most of the music I write is instrumental, I love to use the human voice as another instrument."

### Music genres distinguished from the "new age" spiritual movement

These lines really don't exist. They are made up—completely—and they perpetuate this illusion that somehow we're all different from each other. I think the world would be a much better place if some day, we stopped pretending that these lines exist and we concentrated on our similarities rather than our differences.

—Comments during Live at the Acropolis concert September 1993

While Yanni has said that new age is "a spiritual definition more than a musical definition," his music is said to be "adopted by" the New Age movement as it gained mainstream momentum. His music is also called contemporary instrumental and has been described as "an instrumental blend of fusion-jazz, world music, classical, and soft rock." However, at least as early as 1988, Yanni was said to shun labels such as "Greek" and "new age," emphasizing that "when someone says new age music, I think of something that you put on in the background while you're vacuuming the house. I don't want to relax the audience; I want to engage them in the music, get them interested." Distinguishing his work from what others have called ambient mood music, Yanni pointed out in 1994: "New age implies a more subdued, more relaxed music than what I do. My music can be very rhythmic, very energetic, even very ethnic."

In 2012, Yanni remarked that he has never liked putting art into categories or assigning labels, adding that he always composed music "to honestly reflect the lessons learned and the experiences I have shared throughout my life." For example, Yanni's university study of psychology influenced his music: "When I create music, it is a reflection of my soul, my experiences in life and my relationships with other people and cultures. Psychology, and understanding who we are as people in this world, is present in almost every creative thought I have."

### Unconventional career track

The genre of Yanni's music made it unsuitable for most commercial radio or for music television. In 2012 Yanni expressed the importance of PBS to his career, saying that the network "always allowed me to present my music without any censorship or influence, and encouraged me to be the artist that I am," and had been "a great part of my career for over 20 years."

Yanni took an unconventional path to recognition, for example, by risking his personal fortune to fund historic-monument events such as his 1993 Acropolis concerts, by producing specials on public television, by creating alone in his home-built studio, and by performing many of his own production duties—thus by-passing the conventional music industry. In 2000, The Washington Post 's David Segal wrote that Yanni was "a living metaphor for 'success on your own terms,' the dream of every American with an idea that is either ridiculed or ignored."

### Music

In an early-career review in the Dallas Times Herald in the late 1980s, Yanni's concert with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra was described as "exhilarating, moving and inspiring." In 1995, The Los Angeles Times ' Don Heckman wrote that Yanni's music is "based on sweeping romantic melodies underscored with energetic Mediterranean rhythms." More analytically, the Hartford Courant 's Steve Metcalf "deconstructed" Yanni's music as being "from a harmonic standpoint, constructed of materials found in a lot of late-19th, early 20th century classical music. It is essentially tonal, tinged with mild whiffs of dissonance here and there, sometimes rhythmically frisky, graspable on first listening, and self-evidently mood-inducing. There are two basic moods to Yanni music: struttingly heroic with martial overtones, and dreamily contemplative... A kind of peaceful, easy-feeling link between pop music and classical music."

More recently, Allmusic 's Mark Deming characterized Yanni's compositions and performances as having "a pronounced sense of drama, dynamics, and romanticism," writing that Yanni has a "commanding performance style." Rob Garratt wrote in The National that Yanni "breaks all the rules" in producing music "typically in two modes – poundingly heroic or reflectively ambient." In 2012 Howie Grapek remarked in The Palm Beach Post 's PBPulse that "there are few modern-day composers with a unique sense of music and style which is truly their own. To compare new-age music with classic rock is a stretch, but for Yanni, it is possible. This Greek composer marries contemporary new-age spirituality with today's pop attitudes and delivers a unique sound." Yanni popularized the combination of electronic music synthesizers with a full scale symphony orchestra.

Having been called a "true global artist," Yanni has employed musicians of various nationalities, and has incorporated a variety of exotic instruments from around the world from an Australian didgeridoo to a Peruvian charango, to perform with his classical orchestra, rock rhythm section, and electronic keyboards. His music is described as "an eclectic fusion of ethnic sounds, from Native American chants to African rhythms and Asian harmonies." Before his 2015 concerts at the Egyptian Pyramids Yanni said that emotions are the same throughout the world, and that his predominantly instrumental music can communicate those emotions with people everywhere because it bypasses language.

The Morning Call 's John L. Moser wrote that "trends come and trends go," but that Yanni's music "seems to defy trends and... feels like it's music for all time." Moser interviewed the composer, asking if he intentionally tries to create "something that's going to last forever as opposed to something that's just going to sell 1 million copies right away," Yanni replied that "There's no way you can create art to last forever... so you can't have that in your mind." Instead, describing his creative process, Yanni explained that his knowledge of music and instruments and his experience in different cultures is a "primordial soup that comes together and it shows itself and it appears. And it's fluid. It's effortless."

Yanni's popularity with the public and his success on public television have contrasted sharply with views of some critics. The more extreme criticisms include statements that Yanni's music is "aural wallpaper... lacking in substance" or characterizing Yanni as a "no-talent poseur" whose music has little intellectual weight, while his fans' opinions have been paraphrased as calling Yanni a "highly original artist whose profound spirituality has created a unique kind of music." In this regard, one commentator wrote in 2019 that Yanni's songs are "hazy and undefinable" and "unstructured in the traditional way", paraphrasing Yanni's statement that listeners' responses depend on the degree to which they "invest themselves in the music", which has a "relentless focus on feeling rather than hooks ".

Yanni claims to have had perfect pitch since childhood. He continues to use the "musical shorthand" that he developed as a child rather than employ traditional musical notation, and hires someone to perform what he calls the "tedious process" of making conventional written charts for orchestra members. Even so, since music is an auditory domain, Yanni must train the musicians in what cannot be conveyed in that writing.

Everything great that has ever happened to humanity has begun as a single thought in someone's mind. And if any one of us is capable of such a thought, then all of us have the same capacity and capability, because we're all the same.

—Concert's closing comments, Live at El Morro, Puerto Rico December 2011

### Concerts and live streaming

The Palm Beach Post 's Howie Grapek remarked about an April 2012 performance that the show was not a one-man keyboard show, but spotlighted individual long solos showcasing the band members' talents, and that Yanni "loves giving them the opportunity to shine individually." Booth Newspapers ' Jeffrey Kaczmarczyk commented that Yanni "has great sidemen – always has." Further, Yanni expands sound variety by using multiple interchangeable keyboards that are interconnected so that playing one keyboard can cause other keyboards to play corresponding notes emulating different instruments.

Yanni's concerts, known for their lighting and other technical aspects, require over 2,000 timing cues for a show's lighting. Yanni's longtime lighting designer remarked in 2013 that the lighting is critically timed to Yanni's music itself, accommodating its variety of time signatures, further observing that since Yanni plays mostly theatrical venues rather than arenas, the lighting can include subtle moves and color. The lighting also emphasizes band members' solos, as well as specific moments in the concerts.

Commenting on Yanni's "great lighting" on the stage and "plenty of reverb in the audience," Booth Newspapers ' Jeffrey Kaczmarczyk remarked that a Yanni concert "can be an intoxicating experience."

In early 2017 Yanni began his "An Evening in Conversation with Yanni" or "An intimate Conversation with Yanni" tour in which audience questions and on-stage participation guided the show, and Yanni played a piano without a band. In May-June 2019, Yanni performed a multi-night residency at New York’s Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, two videos for which topped Billboard's Top Facebook Live Videos chart before other Yanni videos topped the same chart in October December 2019, and February 2020.

## Honors, awards and distinctions

In addition to performing at venues such as Royal Albert Hall (London; 1995 & 2014), Yanni has performed at such world landmarks as the Acropolis of Athens (Greece; 1993), the Taj Mahal (Agra, India; 1997), the Forbidden City (Beijing, China; 1997), the Burj Khalifa (the world's tallest building; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; 2011), the Kremlin (Moscow, Russia; 2011), the Castillo San Felipe del Morro ("El Morro" UNESCO World Heritage Site, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, U.S. territory; 2011), the ancient city of Byblos (UNESCO World Heritage Site, Lebanon; 2013), the Roman Theatre of Carthage (Tunis, Tunisia; 2014), Laxmi Vilas Palace (Vadodara, India; 2015), the Egyptian pyramids and Great Sphinx of Giza (Egypt, 2015), the Amman Citadel (Jordan, 2016), the Prambanan Temple (Indonesia, 2019) and Al-'Ula (UNESCO World Heritage Site, Saudi Arabia; 2019).

Rising in popularity with the new age music boom of the 1980s and 1990s, Yanni's music became more well known through adult alternative radio airplay, appearances on public television and in television commercials, as well as international music tours. Yanni's music has been used in television shows and televised sporting events, including the British Open (golf), the U.S. Open (golf), the Super Bowl, Wide World of Sports, U.S. Open tennis championships, the Tour de France, the World Figure Skating Championships, and the Olympic Games. He also composed music for ABC's World News Now.

Yanni's "Acroyali/Standing in Motion" was determined to have the " Mozart effect " by the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine (April 2001) because the composition is similar to Mozart's K 448 in tempo, structure, melodic and harmonic consonance and predictability, characteristics thought to decrease seizure activity and to enhance spatial-temporal performance.

During Yanni's October 2011 tour of China, Yanni became the first Western artist to be invited to adopt a giant panda (bear) cub at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, a "privilege... usually reserved for countries rather than personalities." "Officials from the research base invited the musician to adopt the animal, saying their decision was made from the inspiration and harmony that derives from his music." Yanni named the panda "Santorini," also the name of a Greek island, explaining that the Greek word irini means 'peace'."

In February 2013, Yanni and Celine Dion were the first non-Chinese artists invited to perform (separately) in China at the CCTV Spring Festival Gala, a CCTV televised event with an annual audience of 700 million.

Billboard named Yanni their No. 5 "new age album artist of 2016". He was named to the same list in 2014 (No. 6), 2012 (ranked No. 5), 2011 (No. 1), 2010 (No. 4), 2009 (No. 3), 2007 (No. 4), and 2006 (No. 4).

Yanni's albums Dare to Dream (1992) and In My Time (1993) received Grammy Award nominations for Best New Age Album."

The PBS specials Live at the Acropolis and Tribute received Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Lighting Direction (Electronic) for a Drama Series, Variety Series, Miniseries, Movie or Special, in 1994 and 1998, respectively. Lee Rose and David "Gurn" Kaniski Lighting Designers.

At least sixteen Yanni albums peaked at No. 1 in Billboard 's "Top New Age Album" category, more than anyone except Jim Brickman and Mannheim Steamroller.

In addition to earning a B.A. in psychology in 1976 from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, Yanni received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the same institution on May 6, 2004.

## Charitable and humanitarian activities

Yanni has had a collaborative relationship with the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in its fundraising efforts since the early years of his career, reportedly raising more than $13 million for that organization. The Yanni Live at El Morro, Puerto Rico production (2012) was Yanni's tenth collaboration with PBS.

Yanni has assisted the conservation efforts of the World Wide Fund for Nature (the World Wildlife Fund, WWF), sponsoring a symbolic " Panda Adoption Kit" program in which he guaranteed $50,000 in donations. Yanni has also been a spokesman for NASA.

Yanni has performed concerts in troubled areas of the world, such as in Tunisia one week after the July 17, 2014, terrorist attack that killed 14, and in Egypt to convey an image of stable security after the Egyptian Crisis (2011–14) but between whose two Great Pyramids concerts occurred the October 31, 2015, terrorist downing of Metrojet Flight 9268 in the Sinai Peninsula.

## Autobiography

Yanni's autobiography, Yanni in Words, co-authored by David Rensin, was published in February 2003, coinciding with the release of his Ethnicity album. The book became a New York Times best seller in the nonfiction category on March 2, 2003.

## Discography

### Original studio albums

Studio albums

- Optimystique (1984)

- Keys to Imagination (1986)

- Out of Silence (1987)

- Chameleon Days (1988)

- Niki Nana (1989)

- Reflections of Passion (1990)

- In Celebration of Life (1991)

- Dare to Dream (1992)

- In My Time (1993)

- In The Mirror (1997)

- If I Could Tell You (2000)

- Ethnicity (2003)

- Yanni Voices (Spanish version, Yanni Voces) (2009)

- Mexicanisimo (2010)

- Truth of Touch (2011)

- Inspirato (2014)

- Sensuous Chill (2016)

- In His Purest Form (2020)

Live albums

- Live at the Acropolis (1994)

- Tribute (1997)

- Yanni Live! The Concert Event (2006)

- Live at El Morro, Puerto Rico (2012)

- The Dream Concert: Live from the Great Pyramids of Egypt (2016)