Why We Cover Our Orishas and Take Down the Bóveda During Holy Week

In Lucumi and Santeria traditions, one of the most important moments of pause is during Holy Week, also known as Semana Santa. This is the week leading up to Easter, and for many of us who walk with the Orishas and work with our spirits at the bóveda, it is a time of stillness, reflection, and deep respect. During this week, we cover our Orishas and take down the bóveda.

Holy Week is centered around Christ and his suffering, death, and resurrection. Now, while Lucumi is not Christianity, many of our elders and ancestors practiced both. They lived in a world where Catholicism and African spirituality were blended. The Orishas were syncretized with Catholic saints so our people could keep their traditions alive under slavery and colonization. They prayed to the saints on the surface, but they were really speaking to the Orishas. Over time, this created a strong spiritual connection between the two traditions.

So we cover our Orishas because of our decision to show reverence. Our elders knew that Holy Week was a time when spiritual energy shifted. In the Catholic Church, they cover all the saints and even the crucifix in purple cloth to symbolize mourning. In our homes, we do the same. We cover the Orishas with a white or purple cloth and we close the bóveda. Some people pour out the water or flip the glasses upside down. Others remove everything from the space completely.

Many of us were taught that during these days, God pulls back. The world enters a state of spiritual stillness. Some elders would even say, "this is the time when negative spirits walk more freely." Whether or not you believe that, we all understand the importance of not opening spiritual doors when the energy is heavy. This is not the week to be asking for favors, doing readings, or calling on spirits. This is a week to rest, pray, and give thanks. And the Orishas deserve that stillness too.

It’s important to understand that we give them space to rest just like we give space to the spirit world. We are saying, “You have done enough. For this week, we will sit quietly, pray, and hold gratitude.” It is a spiritual gesture of love and discipline.

And when the week passes, we come back to our shrines with renewed light. We uncover our Orishas and refresh our bóveda with clean water, clear intentions, and a quiet strength.

This is part of what it means to be spiritually responsible. This tradition continues to live because we understand that spiritual maturity requires stillness, and during Semana Santa, we make room for that stillness.

May your home be covered in peace and may your spirits feel the love you show through your discipline. That is the real work. And that is the kind of work that brings blessings. Asè!