Ócháni Lele (born August 30, 1966 in Richmond, Virginia) is an American writer and author whose works to date focus on Afro-Cuban folklore and spirituality, specifically the Yoruba-derived Lucumí faith (known as Santería to outsiders). His work focuses on the diloggún, which is, traditionally, an orally transmitted book of wisdom used for both religious instruction and divination. His books are widely read by religious laity, priesthood, and scholars. Recent works have crossed over to find a more mainstream readership. Ócháni himself is openly gay.
Career
Ócháni released his first book in the year 2000 titled The Secrets of Afro-Cuban Divination: How to Cast the Diloggún, the Oracle of the Orishas (Destiny Books, 2000). An unknown at the time, his work still received critical acclaim and was a fast seller going into successive printings.
In 2001 he followed that book with a slim volume titled Obi: Oracle of Cuban Santería (Destiny Books, 2001). To this date it is the only published volume in the world dealing with the spirituality of the orisha Obí and the coconut oracle named after the same. In 2004 Alfa-Omega Press in Madrid, Spain, issued a Spanish translation of this volume titled Obi: Oraculo de la Santería Cubana (Arkano Books, 2004).
The Diloggún: The Orishas, Proverbs, Sacrifices, and Prohibitions of Cuban Santería (Destiny Books, 2003) was a follow-up work to The Secrets of Afro-Cuban Divination. Published in hardback, it was a work of almost half a million words, a volume he boasts writing in just a year’s time. Critics raved; it was the most complete survey of the diloggún published in any language. This book has gone into successive printings.
In June 2010, Inner Traditions, again through the imprint of Destiny Books, released Ócháni’s volume Teachings of the Santería Gods. It is a volume focusing on some of the patakís (sacred stories) of the Lucumí faith. The author began writing this volume in 2002; it is a book that took 8 years to write and bring to print.
Currently, Ócháni Lele lives in Winter Park, Florida where he is working on another volume contracted with Destiny Books: How the Moon Fooled the Sun. It is another collection of short stories from the diloggún of the Lucumí faith scheduled for publication late winter, 2011.