Hail to our dear Cousin Azacca (Azaka, Azaca)!
Sometimes considered one of the simplest lwa, he brings a good nature and warmth into life. He is syncretized with the Catholic saint, St. Isidore the Laborer, sometimes called St. Isidore the Farmer. This is not be be confused with St. Isidore of Seville — this is a different person altogether! This makes perfect sense as St. Isidore was a simple farmer, and his feast day is May 15!
Since Azacca is one to make all things grow, this May feast day is a perfect time to honor him. He is such a good natured and easy going lwa, he is always considered one of the family, hence the "cousin" moniker. He is, of course, the lwa of agriculture, farming, all things to do with planting and growing. He is a wonderfully hard worker, a peasant, nothing sophisticated about him. I always consider Azacca sort of an everyman. He loves good profit, good girls, and good food!
He doesn't care much for "city folks" and is extremely down to earth and doesn't mind getting his hands dirty with honest work. He will have little to do with anyone with a pompous or condescending attitude. Azacca appears barefooted, in denim overalls, carries a straw bag, wears a big straw hat, and is rarely seen without his pipe and smoking tobacco. He should serve as a reminder of our roots and our dependency on this earth for our very survival! He is the ultimate conservationist living off the gifts of nature.
He loves a good song and has a penchant for the being the town gossip. He is often the quiet observer, taking in all the doings around him, saving the knowledge for later when he can use it to his best advantage. Azacca knows who is who in the zoo! He generally will have all the info on who is dating whom, who is trying to swindle whom, and all the details that people sometimes try to hide! When possessing someone, it is not unusual to have him start telling everyone's secrets! Luckily for those who have something to hide, his voice is gravely and rough and he is somewhat hard to understand. However, if you suspect someone is keeping a secret from you, do a service to Azacca and ask him to reveal that secret to you and watch what happens.
He can, however, be very suspicious and does not always seem to want to give his favors easily. If you motivation for calling upon him is less than honest, he may refuse you. However, usually he can be won over with some white rum and a plate of boiled corn. For the most part, he is a good-natured lwa. He is entertaining when he appears at ceremonies, singing you songs about how he would he would rather take charity than steal, all the while "stealing" everything he can get his hands own, usually while he is dancing in his unique fashion! These things are then returned to the distracted owners with everyone having a good laugh at his humorous antics.
He usually will be found in a corner of any party where there is food, voraciously eating his food, looking with suspicion at anyone who might eye his plate. He is a greedy eater and drinker with little in the way of table manners. But this is easily forgiven because of his good nature and good humor.
He is also is generally seen as the brother of Ghede. Author Bob Corbert writes, "There are interesting similarities between the sophisticated Ghede and the more bumbling Azacca, as though a younger less sophisticated brother were imitating a more secure older brother. Like Ghede, Zaka loves his food. But, unlike Ghede, he is rude and voracious in his eating habits, often running away to hide with him food and eat it quickly."
As the lwa of agriculture and plant life, it is natural that Azacca is also an herbal healer. He is said to carry his healing herbs in his djakout (a straw shoulder bag) and is often called upon when there is sickness in a family. In Louisiana, animal fat candles are burned for him and bread is offered to him when someone is ill. He is said to sop up the illness with the bread from the melted fat from the candles and eat it, thus curing the patient!
We here at Spellmaker.com call upon Azacca in many ways. We call upon him to "grow" things for us, even though they may not be considered the usual way to call on our Cousin! We call upon him to grow love between two people, to help people "grow" their finances, etc. He has always responded well to these petitions and we certainly can suggest that it is a wonderful way to broaden this powerful lwa's scope in your life! Look at your goals from the perspective of wanting them to grow to be big, beautiful plants and call upon Azacca to help you make that happen.
Of course, it probably goes without saying that he is also particularly wonderful to call upon if you are planting this spring. Pour a little rum into the ground around your garden and ask Azacca to help that garden grow! We make a mixture of corn and boiled peanuts and spread it around our garden for him. We just leave it there to mix with the soil and help the plants grow better.
No matter what you are trying to grow in your life, May 15 is the perfect day to offer a feast to Azacca! Set up a small altar using his colors and offerings: A piece of denim makes the perfect altar cloth for him, yellow and green candles, a container of dirt, small gardening tools, etc. Spend some time thinking of what plants need nurturing in your life garden and ask Azacca to nourish them and help them grow! Ask him to renew and rejuvenate any wilting plants and cut out all the weeds!
Azacca Stats:
Feast Day: May 15
Saint Syncretization: St. Isidore the Farmer
Colors: Green, yellow, brown – earthy colors.
Foods: Avocados, corn, peanuts, beans and rice, strong coffee that is highly sweetened with sugar, yams, sugar cane and cane syrup (pour it all over his food and he will love you for it!), heavy breads, coconuts and coconut candy.
Drink: Light or white rum (kleren).
Offerings: The above food and drink, a straw bag, a straw hat, pipe with pipe tobacco, small gardening tools. We usually put a container of rich earth, something like nice potting soil, on an altar to him. Later on, put that dirt in your garden! Azacca and your plants will reward you.
In Service,
Mambo Samantha Corfield