Marta de Jesus, Spiritualist

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

A silver gelatin print depicting a black-and-white image of Marta de Jesus, a practitioner of Lucumí faith and founder of the temple El Centro San Lázaro in Hartford, Connecticut. She is seated in front of shelves of religious figurines and spiritual bath bottles. Marta wears an all-white dress and a white head covering. At the center of her lap, Marta’s hands meet. She has a thin chain bracelet on her proper right wrist. On her proper left wrist is a thicker band and she wears a ring on her index finger. Marta wears several beaded necklaces, also known as elekés and collares. Ritually, these elekés are color and number coded for a certain orisha, or deity. On Marta, there is one prominent necklace laying atop of all others; it is held on a thin necklace with a rectangular pendant with an indistinguishable figure on it. On her proper upper left chest, Marta wears a brooch.

Explore Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture ↗