In the Afro-Cuban religion Santeria, stones are regarded as both containing and representing their divinities. They are understood to be alive and perceived as sources of power. The stones generally undergo a baptism rite. This allows them to be “born”. The process involves the stone’s washing in a mixture of herbs and water, after which the stones are “fed” with animal blood.
While standing on the legendary wall of the Malecon in Havana, Athar casts 60 of such stones in the sea in an exercise of letting go.