ABSTRACT
The objects of the potentia are produced months in advance of the "birth" of a new lodge. They are produced by a single artist or a series of them. Typically, a principal artist is commissioned, though he may contract out specialty tasks, such as lathe turning, metalwork and the construction of the plumeros. Abakua initiation draws on the metaphors of "birth," spiritual descent, and "sponsorship" found in the other Afro-Cuban ritual systems. Though some Abakua initiatory steps appear to be patterned after aspects of Yoruba-Lucumí initiation, membership is constituted more by the moral, juridical, and social terms of "pact" and "oath" than by the kind of spiritual embodiment that characterizes the kariocha ceremony of Santeria. Nine of the thirteen fundamental plazas are represented by altar drums, plumeros, and/or staffs together with Ekue and the masquerade costumes, make up the potencia. The top four "kings" or obones, Iyamba, Mokongo, Isue, and Isunekue, own plumeros, which rise from the sese drum.
