Yemoja — Nick Dentamaro

On a sunny, chilly Saturday morning in December, Brown University students dressed in blue and white led a procession that wound from campus — beginning at the George H. Bass Performing Arts Space (BassPAS) on Angell Street — to the Providence River at India Point Park.

Carrying offerings and accompanied by special guests, a drummer and community members, the students were bringing to life Yemoja, a traditional festival honoring a water deity of the Yoruba religion. In that faith, Yemoja is the mother of all Orishas — the human forms of Yoruba deities. The festival, which culminated at the water’s edge, celebrates water, birth and feminine energy.