A Candomblé follower becomes possessed during the ritual ceremony in honor to Yemanjá, the goddess of the sea, in Cachoeira, Bahia, Brazil.
According to the spiritual concepts of Candomblé, Yemanjá represents the essence of motherhood. Every year in February, thousands of Yemanjá devotees participate in a colorful celebration in honor of the Queen of the Sea. Faithful, usually dressed in the traditional white, gather on the beaches or on the river banks to leave offerings for their goddess. Dancing in the circle, singing ancestral Yoruba chants and praying, sometimes the followers enter into a trance and become possessed by the spirit of Yemanjá. At the end of the ceremony, offerings are thrown to the water by local fishermen.