Mãe Cleusa Millet

Cleusa da Conceição Nazaré de Oliveira, better known as Mãe Cleusa Millet or Mother Millet (1923–1998), was the hereditary spiritual leader (iyalorixá) of Brazil's most noted Candomblé temple, Terreiro do Gantois, located in Alto do Gantois in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. Upon her death, she was accorded an official state day of mourning and was posthumously inducted into the Order of Merit of the State of Bahia.

Early life and education Cleusa da Conceição Nazaré de Oliveira was born in 1923 in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil to Maria Escolástica da Conceição Nazareth (known as Mãe Menininha do Gantois or Mother Menininha) and her husband Álvaro MacDowell de Oliveira. Cleusa's mother Menininha was one of the most celebrated Candomblé iyalorixás in Brazil: of royal Yoruba ancestry, she served as the high priestess of the Terreiro do Gantois for nearly 65 years. Cleusa grew up in the order, Ilê Ìyá Omi Àse Iyámasé (House of the Mother of Waters) of Gantois and though it is traditional for the oldest daughter to take over upon the Mother's death, she did not want a religious life.

She enrolled at Federal University of Bahia and studied medicine, graduating with her degree in 1946.

Career Shortly after graduation, she moved to Rio de Janeiro, as well as performing community services, protecting the faith and preserving its traditions.

Cleusa died on 15 October 1998 in the Alliance Hospital in Salvador. The governor of Bahia, César Borges, declared an official day of mourning for the state. She was buried in the Jardim da Saudade Cemetery. In 2008 she was awarded the Order of Merit of Bahia for her community service to the area surrounding the Terreiro do Gantois.