Santeria Religion & Practices

SANTERIA: AN EXAMINATION OF A RELIGION AND ITS PRACTICES

This research examines the Santeria religion and its practices. Throughout this examination, both similarities and differences between (1) Santeria as the religion is practiced in Cuba (where it developed) and (2) Santeria as the religion is practiced in Puerto Rico (one of the many other Latin American populations in which the religion became rooted) are identified and reviewed.

The origins of Santeria may be traced to the Yoruba people who are native to Nigeria (JAcobs, 1990, pp. 349-370). The Yoruba practiced a mythological, animist religion which made its way to the Western Hemisphere through the slave trade. The first population of Yoruba slaves in the Western Hemisphere was established in Cuba. In Cuba, the Yoruba religion was given the name Lucumi (Martinez, 1982, pp. 32-38).

The Yoruban deities were known as orishas, and were considered to be extraordinarily human in their behavior (Bascom, 1969, p. 29). The Yoruba religion is characterized by a multitude of deities upwards of 600. As the Santeria religion has developed in Cuba and among other Latin American populations, the number of deities has varied between 20 and 25 (Gleason, 1993, pp. 113-121). When the Yoruba were transplanted to Cuba, they borrowed freely from the customs and religious practices of the peoples of Cuba (Fleming, 1993, pp. 32-34). In Cuba, thus, the Yoruba sla

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e loss will also be to the Pentecostal churches. The majority of the population of contemporary Puerto Rico believe in the magical powers of Santeria (Gonzalez-Wippler, 1989, p. 284). Puerto Rican Santeros and Santera place an especially strong belief in miracle cures deriving from the practices of the Santeria religion (p. 287). The benefits for the followers of Santeria in Puerto Rico are believed to flow from Yemaya, "the Great Supernal Mother" (p. 300). Yemaya is the Santeria name in Puerto Rico for the Virgin Mary, and represents the melding of parts of Roman Catholic belief with that of the Yoruba in Puerto Rico. In Puerto Rico, Yemaya is one of the orisha. Spiritualism is accepted among the Santeros and Santera in Puerto Rico to a far greater extent than occurs among the adherents of Santeria in Cuba (Perez y Mana, 1977, pp. 125-135). Initiation Into Santeria in Cuba and Puerto Rico Santeria requires a progressive system of initiation (dauny, 1982, pp. 37-54). Initiates into the religion are thought to gain added protection and increased knowledge at each level of the process. The first two initiation rites are those of The Necklaces and The Warriors. The Necklaces are five strings of colored beads wherein ea

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