In the batuque of Rio Grande do Sul, the ruling orixá of the year is usually the orixá of the day of the week on which January 1st falls. It is a different way from the Bahian candomblé, where the ruling orixá comes from the cowrie-shell divination of the New Year. Some Gaucho houses have also started to cast búzios.
Therefore, for a large part of the batuque, 2026 was the year of Ogum and Iansã: the year began on a Thursday, and Thursday belongs to Ogum. In 2027, the 1st falls on a Friday, and it is from the batuque table that the "Iemanjá 2027" circulating on the internet comes. What candomblé, umbanda, and Ifá say about the year is in the ruling orixá of 2027.
How the batuque chooses the ruling orixá
The best description of the method we found is from one house. The Fortaleza Ilê Orixá, in Gravataí (RS), directed by Pai Ronie de Ogum and Pai Alexandre de Oya, published the list of its ruling orixás since its foundation.
From 2011 to 2016, the house followed what it calls the batuque tradition. According to the Fortaleza page, the ruling orixá was "the orixá corresponding to the day of the week consecrated to that orixá". Since 2017, the house has used the cowrie-shell divination of the two pais de santo.
The house started using it "because it understands that everyone who is under a certain axé is subject to the designs of the axé that guides and leads them." (Pai Ronie de Ogum, Fortaleza Ilê Orixá)
The babalorixá Kássyo Macyel, who also identifies as being from the batuque, said the same in other words to Fatos 24h. For him, the general regency of the year does not replace individual guidance, which must be confirmed in the cowrie-shell divination of each house.
The ruling orixás of a house, year by year
The Fortaleza table shows the two methods side by side. We added the day of the week of January 1st of each year.
| Year | January 1st | Regent in the Fortress | Defined by |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Saturday | Oxum (Oshun) | day of the week |
| 2012 | Sunday | Oxalá (Obatala) | day of the week |
| 2013 | Tuesday | Oyá and Xangô | day of the week |
| 2014 | Wednesday | Xapanã and Obá (Oba) | day of the week |
| 2015 | Thursday | Ogum and Oyá | day of the week |
| 2016 | Friday | Iemanjá | day of the week |
| 2017 | Sunday | Ogum | cowrie shells |
| 2020 | Wednesday | Ogum and Oya | cowrie shells |
| 2025 | Wednesday | Xangô and Oxum | cowrie shells |
You can see the difference. By the day of the week, the Thursday of 2015 gave Ogum and Oyá, and the Friday of 2016 gave Iemanjá. By the cowrie shells, 2017 fell on a Sunday and gave Ogum. The complete list, from 2011 to 2025, is on the house page.
The orixás and the order in which they are greeted in the hall are in orixás do batuque.
2026: Ogum and Iansã at the Mercado Público
January 1st, 2026 fell on a Thursday. In Batuque, Thursday belongs to Ogum, as recorded in the Batuque entry on Wikipedia and our profile of Ogum in Batuque. In Umbanda, the same day belongs to Oxóssi (Oshosi). Hence the dispute between the two names, told in ruling orixá of 2026.
The most public greeting came from Porto Alegre. Between December 28 and 30, 2025, the Mercado Público received the Bate-Folhas ritual. It ended the year ruled by Xapanã and Xangô and greeted Ogum and Iansã as rulers of 2026, according to Brasil de Fato. It was conducted by the ialorixá Iya Vera Soares, with the Batuque RS school of drummers.
Iansã, whom the batuque calls Oiá, goes along with Ogum in the Gaúcho worship. The same entry records that she is worshipped in the same places as he is. Her profile is in Oiá no batuque.
And 2027? Friday changes owner
January 1, 2027, falls on a Friday. Those who follow the day of the week will look to the orixá of Friday. But Friday does not have only one owner in Batuque. The Wikipedia entry, which combines records from various nations, links Friday to more than one orixá:
- Iemanjá: Friday and Saturday.
- Oxalá: Friday for all Oxalás, in the Nagô nation. In Ijexá and Cabinda, the old Oxalá belongs to Sunday.
- Bará Agelu: Friday.
- Ossanha: Friday.
- Odé: Friday in the Cabinda nation.
A portal table, that of Bem Zen, groups Iemanjá, Bará Agelu, Odé, and Otim on Friday, and therefore marks 2027 as the year of Iemanjá. It is the most repeated list in the search, but it does not say which nation it comes from.
In Fortaleza Ilê Orixá, the last year that began on a Friday by the tradition of the day of the week was 2016, and the regent was Iemanjá. Today this house throws búzios, and the result of 2027 will only appear on the turn.
In 2027, two batuqueiros from different nations may follow the same method and arrive at different orixás. Neither of them is wrong.
The differences between Ijexá, Cabinda, Oyó, and Jeje are in the nations of Batuque. The profile of the owner of Friday in many houses is in Oxalá in Batuque, and that of the mother of the waters is in Iemanjá in Batuque.
What to do on the turn, in Batuque
The first question is for your pai or mãe de santo: does the house follow the day of the week or cowrie-shell divination? And will there be a toque, obrigação, or Bate-Folhas at the end of the year?
Many houses perform year-end rituals. The Bate-Folhas of Porto Alegre is the most visible example, because it happens in the Mercado Público, open to passersby. Other houses close the year only with the children, with a toque or with an obrigação. What is done, and on what day, is the decision of the pai or the mãe de santo.
Some guidelines apply to any house:
- Do not confuse the year's regente with the head orixá. The regente is of the house and of the year. Your front orixá and your adjunto remain the same.
- Do not follow the regente of another house. If your house performs cowrie-shell divination, the announcement of another does not apply to you, even if it is from the same nation.
- Wait for the turn. The regente of 2027 is only confirmed on January 1st, by the day of the week or by the divination. The calendar of other traditions is in ruling orixá of 2027.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the ruling orixá of 2026 in Batuque?
For those who follow the day of the week, Ogum, because 2026 began on a Thursday. The Bate-Folhas of the Mercado Público of Porto Alegre greeted Ogum and Iansã as regentes, and the babalorixá Kássyo Macyel reached the same two through cowrie-shell divination. Houses that perform cowrie-shell divination may have another regente.
Who will be the ruling orixá of 2027 in Batuque?
There is none yet. The year begins on a Friday, and the owner of Friday changes according to the nation: Iemanjá, Oxalá, Bará Agelu, Ossanha, or Odé appear in the records. In Fortaleza Ilê Orixá, the last Friday of the turn by the day of the week, in 2016, gave Iemanjá. Today the house uses búzios.
Does Batuque use cowrie-shell divination for the year's regente?
Some houses use it. Fortaleza Ilê Orixá, in Gravataí, followed the day of the week until 2016 and started using cowrie shells in 2017. Kássyo Macyel argues that individual guidance should be confirmed in each house's divination. The method depends on the pai or the mãe de santo.
What is the year-end Bate-Folhas?
It is the public ritual that Brasil de Fato recorded at the Mercado Público de Porto Alegre between December 28 and 30, 2025. Led by the ialorixá Iya Vera Soares, with the Batuque RS drum school, it closed the year of Xapanã and Xangô and greeted Ogum and Iansã for 2026.
For the turn in the batuque, the shop in Extrema-MG has seven-day candles in the colors of the orixás, bead necklaces, quartinhas and statues of Iemanjá and Oxalá. Call on the Joia Mística WhatsApp, with delivery to all of Brazil.
References
- Bem Zen. Ruling orixás in the coming years until 2034
- Fortaleza Ilê Orixá, Gravataí (RS). Ruling orixás in the Fortaleza
- REINHOLZ, Fabiana. Brasil de Fato RS, 2025. Bate-Folhas celebrates Ogum, Iansã and the renewal of axé for 2026
- Fatos 24h, 2025. Babalorixá Kássyo Macyel releases predictions for 2026
- Wikipedia. Batuque (religion)
