For the first time, one hundred of the ancient African stories known as patakí have been made available in English. It was a gargantuan labor of love for the author. The patakí are part of an oral tradition of divination and teaching and they are at the heart of the faith of the Yoruba people of ancient Africa and their descendants in the New World. Each story is tied to one or more of the sixteen odu or principal creative forces of Santeria. Comparable to the parables of the Bible, the myths of ancient Greece and Rome, or the teachings of the Torah, the I Ching and the Vedas, they are part of an oral tradition of spirituality that can only be understood when experienced. The author has given us a record of them, however, with a very thorough explanation of how they were created and how they are used. The good news for your customers is that the stories stand alone as small gems of adventure and insight. One doesn’t have to understand the bigger picture to derive pleasure from reading them.  – Anna Jedrziewski;  New Age Retailer

Not only will he be reading from the book and leading a discussion of the stories, he’ll also be selling copies at PPD. You can also pre-order your copy from amazon and save a bit of money. To pre-order, click here.

Teachings of the Santeria Gods (ISBN: 1594773327) will be available July 7th, 2010 and is published by Destiny Books.

- To download the promotional flyer for Ochani Lele’s new book Teachings of the Santeria Gods,  click on the cover photo (3MB PDF).  You can also see the author at one of his upcoming book signings:

8/28 – at Sacred Space in Holly Hill, FL
9/04 – at Books-A-Million in Casselberry, FL.

But make sure you check him out at PPD, too!

-justin