One of our favorite orishas is Osayin, the King of Herbs. Having met him once in the forests of Guinarona, Philippines, our destinies have become intertwined in a manner of speaking. Meeting him means his footprints–utterly fresh and alive in the wet sod–leading us towards home–footprints of only the left foot! We recall that he is called Timawa in our province of Leyte and were told that the being was diabolic. Only that Osayin is not that. On the contrary, he is gentle and approachable. And he does appear to us through photographs.

Here is Osayin’s story:

When we say that Osayin is approachable, we mean that he does appear when invoked, and he imparts surreal visuals through water, as exemplified in the following images:

We have thus made a pledge that we will visit him in Malubago Hills, Guinarona once we return. The pledge also carries with it some offerings–indeed a nice way of acknowledging his knowing and returning some favors that he showered us.