Santería
Santería, also known as Regla de Ocha, Regla Lucumí, or Lucumí, is an African diaspora religion that developed in Cuba during the late 19th century. It arose amid a process of syncretism between the traditional Yoruba religion of West Africa, Catholicism, and Spiritism. There is no central authority in control of Santería and much diversity exists among practitioners, who are known as creyentes.
Santería teaches the existence of a transcendent creator divinity, Olodumare, under whom are spirits known as oricha. Typically deriving their names and attributes from traditional Yoruba deities, these oricha are equated with Roman Catholic saints and associated with various myths. Each human is deemed to have a personal link to a particular oricha who influences their personality. Olodumare is believed to be the ultimate source of aché, a supernatural force permeating the universe that can be manipulated through ritual actions. Practitioners venerate the oricha at altars, either in the home or in the ilé, which is run by a santero or santera. Membership of the ilé requires initiation. Offerings to the oricha include fruit, liquor, flowers and sacrificed animals. A central ritual is the toque de santo, in which practitioners drum, sing, and dance to encourage an oricha to possess one of their members and thus communicate with them. Several forms of divination are used, including Ifá, to decipher messages from the oricha. Offerings are also given to the spirits of the dead, with some practitioners identifying as spirit mediums. Healing rituals and the preparation of herbal remedies and talismans also play a prominent role.
Santería developed among Afro-Cuban communities following the Atlantic slave trade of the 16th to 19th centuries. It formed through the blending of the traditional religions brought to Cuba by enslaved West Africans, the majority of them Yoruba, and Roman Catholicism, the only religion legally permitted on the island by the Spanish colonial government. In urban areas of West Cuba, these traditions merged with Spiritist ideas to form the earliest ilés during the late 19th century. After the Cuban War of Independence resulted in an independent republic in 1898, its new constitution enshrined freedom of religion. Santería nevertheless remained marginalized by Cuba's Roman Catholic, Euro-Cuban establishment, which typically viewed it as brujería. In the 1960s, growing emigration following the Cuban Revolution spread Santería abroad. The late 20th century saw growing links between Santería and related traditions in West Africa and the Americas, such as Haitian Vodou and Brazilian Candomblé. Since the late 20th century, some practitioners have emphasized a "Yorubization" process to remove Roman Catholic influences and created forms of Santería closer to traditional Yoruba religion.
Practitioners of Santería are primarily found in Cuba's La Habana and Matanzas provinces, although communities exist across the island and abroad, especially among the Cuban diasporas of Mexico and the United States. The religion remains most common among working-class Afro-Cuban communities although is also practiced by individuals of other class and ethnic backgrounds. The number of initiates is estimated to be in the high hundreds of thousands. These initiates serve as diviners and healers for a much larger range of adherents of varying levels of fidelity, making the precise numbers of those involved in Santería difficult to determine. Many of those involved also identify as practitioners of another religion, typically Roman Catholicism.
Definitions
The term Santería translates into English as the 'way of the saints'. This term was first used by scholarly commentators in the 1930s and later spread among the religion's practitioners themselves. It has become the most popular name for the religion, although some practitioners find it offensive. A common alternative is Regla de Ocha, meaning 'the rule of ocha', ocha being a term for the religion's deities. Some adherents regard this as the religion's "official" name. The tradition has also been called Lucumí, in reference to the colonial Spanish term for the Yoruba people, or alternatively La Religión Lucumí or Regla Lucumí.Santería is an Afro-Caribbean religion, and more specifically an Afro-Cuban religion. In Cuba it is sometimes described as "the national religion", although it has also spread abroad. Santería's roots are in the traditional religions brought to Cuba by enslaved West Africans, the majority of them Yoruba, between the 16th and 19th centuries. In Cuba, these religions mixed with the Roman Catholicism introduced by Spanish colonialists. Roman Catholic saints were conflated with West African deities, while enslaved Africans adopted Roman Catholic rituals and sacramentals. In the 19th century, elements from Spiritism—a French variant of Spiritualism—were drawn into the mix, with Santería emerging as a distinct religion in western Cuba during the late 19th century.
Although Santería is the best known of the Afro-Cuban religions, and the most popular, it is not the only one. Others include Palo, which derives from practices originating in the Congo Basin, and Abakuá, which has its origins among the secret male societies practiced among the Efik-Ibibio. Many practitioners of Palo and Abakuá also follow Santería. Another Afro-Cuban religion is Arará, which derives from practices among the Ewe and Fon; although its origins are not Yoruba, it is sometimes considered a branch of Santería rather than a separate system.
Santería also has commonalities with other West African and West African-derived traditions in the Americas which collectively form the "Orisha religion", "Orisha Tradition", or "Orisha worship." These include Haitian Vodou and Brazilian Candomblé, sometimes characterized as "sister religions" of Santería due to their shared origins in Yoruba traditional religion.
Santería is a flexible and eclectic tradition, with considerable variation in how it is practiced. There is no strict orthodoxy, no key sacred text, and no central authority in control of the entire religion. It has absorbed elements from many cultures that it has encountered, such as that of the Chinese migrants who came to Cuba in the 19th century, while in continental North America, Santería has also incorporated influences from Central American and Mexican religions as well as from New Age and modern Pagan practices. As well as it being common for Cubans to idiosyncratically blend ideas from different religions, many of Santería's practitioners claim multiple religious allegiances. Santería's adherents often consider themselves to be Roman Catholics—some priests and priestesses of Santería refuse to initiate anyone who is not a baptised Roman Catholic—and others consider themselves to be Spiritists, Hindus, Vodouists, or Jews.
Terms for practitioners
Different vocabulary indicates the level of a practitioner's involvement, with the various terms sometimes reflecting different political and social agendas. Practitioners of both Santería and other Afro-Cuban religions are called creyentes. Some people external to the religion have referred to its practitioners as "santerians" although this is not used by adherents themselves. A non-initiate, including those who may attend public Santería ceremonies, is an aleyo ; these non-initiates make up the majority of people involved in the religion. Initiates are known as santero if male, and santera if female, although these two terms have sometimes been used for anyone, initiate or not, who participates in the religion. Alternative terms for an initiate are babalocha or babaloricha if male and an iyalocha or iyaloricha if female. Those who have a sustained engagement with the religion are also referred to as omoricha, aboricha, and an oloricha.Beliefs
Olodumare and the ''oricha''
Santería teaches the existence of an overarching divinity, known as Olodumare, Olofi, or Olorun. Practitioners believe that this divinity created the universe but takes little interest in human affairs. As this creator deity is inaccessible to humanity, no major offerings are dedicated to it. The three facets of this divinity are understood slightly differently; Olodumare represents the divine essence of all that exists, Olorun is regarded as the creator of all beings, while Olofi dwells in all creation. In taking a triplicate form, this deity displays similarities with the Christian Trinity.The ''oricha''
Santeria is polytheistic, revolving around deities called oricha, ocha, or santos. The term oricha can be both singular and plural, because Lucumí, the ritual language of Santería, lacks plural markers for nouns. Practitioners believe that some oricha were created before humanity, while others were originally humans who became oricha through some remarkable quality. Some practitioners perceive the oricha as facets of Olodumare, and thus think that by venerating them they are ultimately worshipping the creator god. Certain oricha are female, others male. They are not regarded as wholly benevolent, being capable of both harming and helping humans, and displaying a mix of emotions, virtues, and vices.Origin myths and other stories about the oricha are called patakís. Each oricha is understood to "rule over" a particular aspect of the universe, being identified with a different facet of the natural world or human existence. They live in a realm called orún, which is contrasted with ayé, the realm of humanity. Oricha each have their own caminos, or manifestations, a concept akin to the Hindu concept of avatars. The number of caminos an oricha has varies, with some having several hundred. Practitioners believe that oricha can physically inhabit certain objects, among them stones and cowrie shells, which are deemed sacred. Each oricha is also associated with specific songs, rhythms, colors, numbers, animals, and foodstuffs.
Among the oricha are the four "warrior deities", or guerrors: Eleguá, Ogun, Ochosi, and Ochún. Eleguá is viewed as the guardian of the crossroads and thresholds; he is the messenger between humanity and the oricha, and most ceremonies start by requesting his permission to continue. He is depicted as being black on one side and red on the other, and practitioners will frequently place a cement head decorated with cowrie shells that represents Eleguá behind their front door, guarding the threshold to the street. The second guerro is Ogun, viewed as the oricha of weapons and war, and also of iron and blacksmiths. The third, Ochosi, is associated with woods and hunting, while the fourth, Ochún, is a protector who warns practitioners when they are in danger.
Perhaps the most popular oricha, Changó or Shango is associated with lightning and fire. Another prominent oricha is Yemaja, the deity associated with maternity, fertility, and the sea. Ochún is the oricha of rivers and of romantic love, while Oyá is a warrior associated with wind, lightning, and death, and is viewed as the guardian of the cemetery. Obatalá is the oricha of truth and justice and is deemed responsible for helping to mould humanity. Babalú Ayé is the oricha associated with disease and its curing, while Osain is linked to herbs and healing. Orula is the oricha of divination, who in Santería's mythology was present at the creation of humanity and thus is aware of everyone's destiny. Ibeyi takes the form of twins who protect children. Olokún is the patron oricha of markets, while his wife Olosá is associated with lagoons. Agagyú is the oricha of volcanoes and the wasteland. Some oricha are deemed antagonistic to others; Changó and Ogun are for instance enemies.
Although in Santería the term santo is regarded as a synonym of oricha and is not a literal reference to Christian saints, the oricha are often conflated with one or more Roman Catholic saints based on similar attributes. For instance, the Holy Infant of Atocha, a depiction of Christ as a child, is conflated with Eleguá, who is seen as having a childlike nature. Babalú Ayé, who is associated with disease, is often identified with the Catholic Saint Lazarus, who rose from the dead, while Changó is conflated with Santa Barbara because they both wear red. Cuba's patron saint, Our Lady of Charity, is equated with Ochún. It has been argued that Yoruba slaves initially linked their traditional deities with Christian saints as a means of concealing their continued worship of the former from the Spanish authorities, or as a means of facilitating social mobility by assimilating into Roman Catholic social norms.