Inlé (also known as Erinle), is the orisha of health and all medicinal healing. Associated with the estuary, an in-between space where the freshwater river meets the salty sea, Inlé is the deity of health and medicine, the physician to other deities. He is a hunter and warrior of the land and sea.
In addition to healing, Inle is also associated with abundance, representative of economic growth.
Inle is a caring orisha who tends to those in need of him, and he is often prayed to by the physically ill. Due to his androgynous nature, he is also prayed to by gay, lesbian, and trans people, often regarded as their patron.
Inle is commonly depicted as a strong, healthy-looking warrior and hunter, with flowing hair in seven braids and fine, feminine features that give him an androgynous appearance. He is always dressed elegantly, adorned in cowrie shells, coral, and beautiful feathers from the birds he hunts, and is often shown with snakes wound around him, recalling the association of snakes with healing as seen in the caduceus and staff of Aesculapius. Inle may also be represented holding a staff, dagger, or a fishing hook . In nature, he is represented by fish. Inle may also represented holding a staff, dagger, or a fishing hook . In nature, he is represented by fish. His colors are white, yellow, and blue, though some sources say indigo, turquoise, and coral.
Inle does not speak but is often accompanied by Abbata, who serves as his translator.
In one Cuban Santeria "pataki," or mythological story, the sea goddess Yemaya (Yemoja) is tricked into incestuous sex with her son Shango. To hide her shame at this event, she banished her other two sons, Inle and Abbata, to live at the bottom of the ocean, additionally cutting out Inle's tongue and making Abbata deaf. As a result of their isolation and loneliness, Inle and Abbata become passionate friends and then lovers, able to communicate emphatically. This pataki is used to explain the origin of incest, muteness, and deafness in addition to homosexuality.
Sometimes considered a male aspect of Yemaya Mayaleo, he is also syncretized with the Archangel Raphael, whose name means "God heals." Raphael, frequently shown with fish, wearing blue and pink, is the patron of nurses, doctors, and other medical workers.
Ask For Inle's aid when to bring about healing and balance to your emotional, mental, and physical self, or when you need help bringing healing to others.
Feast Day: October 24
Day of the week: Friday
Sacred number: 24 and all its multiples
Colors: white, yellow, and blue or indigo, turquoise, and coral