Inle (Santería)

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Inle, also known as Erinle, is an orisha in Santería, Candomblé, and Palo Mayombe. He rules health and medicine and serves as the healer to the other deities. He is a hunter who works on both land and sea, and he is connected to the estuary—the place where a river meets the sea.

Inle is often pictured as a strong, healthy hunter with flowing hair in seven braids. He can have an androgynous look, with fine features. He dresses elegantly and wears cowrie shells, coral, and bright feathers from his hunting. Snakes may be wrapped around him, a symbol of healing. He might be shown holding a staff, a dagger, or a fishing hook. In nature, Inle is associated with fish. His colors are white, yellow, and blue (some sources say indigo, turquoise, and coral). Offerings to Inle are typically pure white.

Inle is linked with Archangel Raphael, whose name means “God heals.” Raphael is the patron of nurses, doctors, and other medical workers.

In a Cuban Santería story, Yemaya tricks her son Shango and, to hide her shame, banishes Inle and Abbata to the bottom of the ocean. She cuts out Inle’s tongue and makes Abbata deaf. Isolated, Inle and Abbata become very close, often described as friends or lovers who communicate strongly. This tale is used to explain things like muteness, deafness, and, in some versions, homosexuality.