Disclaimer: Santeria is a mysterious religion or spiritual practice. Its history is complex. There’s no church or temple, no bible, no written rules or legal code to follow. It was created in secret out of necessity, and to this day a lot of the rituals remain secret. It is practiced in different ways from country to country, community to community, and even house to house. It started as a blending of two religions, and has continued to morph depending on the culture and the people involved. Santeria is often misunderstood, misinterpreted and feared. As with any religion, there are sincere practitioners and there are charlatans.
My sister and I knew little about Santeria when we started looking into it. In a short time, we have done our best to learn from reputable sources to shed some light and open some minds. If we got anything wrong, we apologize and welcome corrections and feedback. Our sources will be in the show notes.
Let’s dive in!
Santeria is a Spanish word meaning “the way of the saints.” It’s an Afro-Cuban or Afro-Caribbean religion that was started in the 1500s by African slaves in Cuba, and spread to other parts of the Caribbean including Puerto Rico, as well as to Brazil. It is currently also practiced in the US, and while we would not say it’s mainstream, there’s been growing interest over the past few decades, with even non-Hispanics converting and thousands finding purpose and meaning in the religion.
So how did Santeria start?
You all probably know how in the 1500s, during the Age of Exploration, European colonizers brought slaves from West Africa to the Caribbean and South America to work on the sugar plantations. Well, most of those taken to Cuba were the Yoruba people of southwestern Nigeria. It is important to note that in Nigeria, the Yoruba people were made up of different communities - tribes. Spirituality was a huge part of everyone’s daily life. And, like in many other societies, their religion had deities that were in charge of different aspects of life and nature. These deities also provided guidance on how people should live their lives, and were believed to help people solve problems. Each Yoruba tribe had its own governing deity.
When the slaves were brought to the Americas, the tribes wanted to stay together and practice their religion wherever they were, but the plantation owners did not allow that. They got split up. The plantation owners were afraid that if they stayed together, they could plot revenge and escape. So they mixed them all up to make communication difficult. The Yoruba adapted by banding together, regardless of which community/tribe they came from. The one new collective tribe became known as Lukumi (meaning “my friend” or “fellow brothers and sisters”). I love that.
So in those days, the Roman Catholic church was in charge, and the slaves, along with the native people of the lands being conquered, were forced to convert to Roman Catholicism. The Yoruba were baptized as Christians, given Christian names, and expected to act Christian. But the plantation owners mostly lived in the cities. So realistically they couldn’t be around 24/7 to watch and make sure they weren’t practicing their own religion. Still, it was risky to be caught practicing anything other than Roman Catholicism. The Yoruba had to balance their need for survival with their need to keep their traditions alive in this foreign land. Having been stripped of literally everything, they needed to cling to whatever they could from their mother country.
In time, they noticed something very interesting that they could use to their advantage. Their religion had a lot in common with Catholicism. The strongest parallel was between their deities and the Catholic saints. The Catholic saints are former humans that were considered so holy as to be almost god-like. After they died, the church made them official saints. They live in heaven and you can pray to them if you have a problem, and they can take your message to God and hopefully God will grant your wish. Every saint has certain traits associated with him or her, and some facet of life they look after. Like there’s a patron saint of travelers, of this illness, of the ocean, and so on.
The Yoruba religion has a whole bunch of deities, mini-Gods, called Orishas (Orichas in Spanish).
Ori = consciousness
Sha = protector
Orishas are manifestations of God. They have special powers and distinct personality traits, and are in charge of different aspects of nature, from storms to fertility. They’re also an intermediary between humans and God. Those initiated into Santeria get an orisha, who enters through the head (the consciousness) via a crown, thus becoming a part of the person and giving them special powers.
The Yoruba people figured out that they could match up their Orishas with Catholic saints, and then make it look like they were worshiping the saints when they were REALLY worshiping the Orishas. For example, one of the Yoruba orishas is called Aganju. He was a warrior king from Nigeria who was turned into a deity and now walks around with a sword. The Catholic St. Christopher was tall and strong, with a fearsome face. The Yoruba decided to match Aganju with St. Christopher. So they would be praying to a statue of St. Christopher, but in their minds and hearts they were actually praying to Aganju. This way their worship was disguised and they did not get into trouble.
There were other similarities between the two religions.
1. They are both monotheistic. They each believe in one main god who created and rules the entire universe and is the only power that can give life. Catholics call him God. Dios in Spanish. In Yoruba the god is Olodumare.
2. Three manifestations of the same god. In Christianity, we learn about the Holy Trinity: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (aka Holy Ghost). The Father is the main god, the son is Jesus, who is also God but as a human being, and the Holy Spirit which is God’s spirit, usually depicted as a dove. They’re all God. In Yoruba, they have the main God who we just mentioned, Olodumare, who provides us with a life-force called “ache” (pronounced ah-shay; Olorun who is the Lord God of Heaven, and Olofi who is The Lord God of the Palace and serves as a conduit between Orún (Heaven) and Ayé (Earth). As we mentioned before, Orishas are also manifestations of God; it’s like they all have a little piece of god within them.
3. Creation stories: the Yoruba religion taught that the first humans on earth were sent by the main God and became leaders who helped the early humans function on earth. Get the lay of the land, if you will. Because of their great service to humanity, they were made deities (orishas) upon their deaths. Not unlike the path of the Catholic saints: they became saints because they dedicated their lives to humanity as well. The orishas and the saints understand humans, because they were once human, and therefore can intercede on our behalf when we have problems.
4. The faithful practitioners pray to their saints or orishas for help and guidance. The saints and orishas take their prayers to God.
5. Ancestor worship: we wouldn’t say catholics worship their ancestors, but they - especially Latinos, generally speaking - certainly talk to them, pray to them, ask them to take their concerns to God. In Yoruba and Santeria, they pay a lot more homage to their ancestors, for example with offerings. The ancestors must always be acknowledged and appeased. In Santeria, if you don’t have a good relationship with an ancestor, it could cause your orisha to not help you until you straighten things out!
So - with all this commonality, the slaves realized that they could hide their worship behind a mask of Catholicism. Thus began this blending of religions, called syncretism. You’ll hear this word a lot when researching this subject.
And this, boys and girls, is how Santeria was born.
Throw in Native American religious rituals and beliefs, the spread of Christianity, and more and more Europeans settling on the islands, and you have quite the blended, multicultural religion that has continued to reshape itself over the centuries.
Santeria goes by a few other names.
La Regla de Ocha, meaning “The Order or Rule of the Orishas”;
La Religión Lucumí (or Lukumí ), meaning “The Religion of Lucumí” (which please recall we said this means “my friend”)
La Regla de Lucumí (or Lukumí ), meaning “The Order or Rule of Lucumí”
Some groups who practice the religion based on the Yoruba customs, the Orishas, are replacing the word Santeria with these other African-based names because the word Santeria implies emphasis on the Catholic aspects.
Here are a few other Lukumi Orishas and their corresponding Catholic saints:
1. Obatala (oh-ba-ta-lAh): Father of all Orishas, owner of consciousness, god of peace and tranquility, leaves heal blindness and paralysis. Instructed to create Earth, as well as create human bodies from mud. Associate with the color white. Equated with Jesus Chris.
2. Èṣù-Ẹlẹ́gbára/(Eleggua (eh-le-guAh) in Latin America): the god of roads and paths; has keys to the past, present and future. Equated with St. Anthony of Padua.
3. Shango (shan-gO)/(Chango in Spanish): King of thunder and lightning. Pretty ruthless, punishing criminals. Equated with St. Barbara.
4. Oshun or Ochun (oh-chOOn): central goddess of the river; love and femininity. Equated with Our Lady of Charity.
5. Yemaya (yeh-ma-yAh): mother of all living things and queen of the seas/river goddess, rules over intestinal illness and TB. Equated with the Virgin Mother or Virgin of Regla.
6. Ogun (oh-gOOn): god of iron, war and technology. Equated with St. George.
7. Obalúayé (Spanish: Babalu-aye): Disfigured god of smallpox and disease; doctor of the poor. Equated with St. Lazarus.
6. Orula or Ọ̀rúnmila (oh-rOOn-me-la): deity of wisdom and foresight. Overseer of divination. Equated with St. Francisco. [This deity is very popular; he plays a big role in finances. He requires animal sacrifices - more on that later - and monetary gifts. Santeros believe palm nuts are the embodiment of this deity and are essential to conducting a divination (i.e. a reading). People usually ask for help with their financial lives. How this works is, let’s say I need guidance with something money related. I go to a santero (a priest, a babalao) and ask for guidance. This will cost me a fee. The priest will throw the palm nuts, which represent the deity, and depending on how they land, he interprets the message the deity is trying to convey. By the way, there are 256 possible interpretations, which the priest has memorized.]
Orisha – mini gods – equated to Catholic saints; they get prayed to and asked for help and guidance.
Then there are godparents, either a godfather or godmother, who initiates you into Santeria. To get initiated you need to find and build a good relationship with a padrino or madrina. There’s not really a High Priest in the hierarchy. Your godparent is considered to be your high priest.
Then there are priests called Santeros, who are modeled after the priests of the African religion (called babalao or babalawos). Santeria used to exclude women and gay men from becoming priests, but they’ve been getting with the program and initiating these populations.
Here are some Santeria beliefs:
*This religion is a force for good, for guidance, for helping you through life to make good decisions and achieve your destiny, which was predetermined by God before you were born. The religion calls for sacrifice and obedience. It will enrich you spiritually and help you get through life’s difficulties and transitions.
*The power of prayer and lighting candles (same for Catholics!)
*When you receive your Orisha, you’re making a mutual commitment. You help them, they help you. You have to create an altar dedicated to your orisha. Orishas are not immortal. You have to feed them or they die.
*Practitioners go for divinations, which are readings that are interpreted by a priest. Picture it like tarot, where the cards have a message. They have oracles that, depending how they’re “thrown” or “played,” convey messages from the orishas. This provides the direction you should be going. You are free to take the advice or leave it.
*You’re allowed to practice Santeria AND any other religion or spiritual practice. Olodumare won’t get pissed. A lot of Caribbean families practice both Catholicism and Santeria.
*Olodumare (God) is not prayed to directly. Contact is made only via the Orishas. There aren’t any temples or statues for this god. This god has no gender, and there is no way to know what it might look like. This god is self-sufficient, and needs no offerings or sacrifices.
*There’s no bible. Stories and traditions are passed down orally from generation to generation.
*There’s no church/temple building. They worship, carry out rituals and offerings, and hold ceremonies (which often start out like a party) in someone’s casa, usually the home of a priest. There’s a room called el Cuarto de Santo where only priests can enter.
*Every worshiper has an altar/shrine at home (that’s not so unusual - look at the countless statues of Jesus, Mary and the saints in a Catholic’s home, or a shrine to the Buddha in the home of a Buddhist). Spiritual supplies people have in their homes include candles, shells, oils, necklaces and beads.
*Santeria could be practiced differently between countries, communities, even houses!
*Some practitioners believe that every person is born to an orisha, whether or not they choose to devote their lives to them. But if you do enter into the faith, in order for the Orishas to help, you need to follow their directions and protocols of the saint. You build altars to him or her, give offerings and sacrifices (usually food and drink, once in a while animal sacrifices), conduct rituals, play the orisha’s music, perform the correct dances and chants, and you have to make sure you’re straight with your ancestors.
*Santeria is a moral faith. They believe in living well, in harmony with others. There’s no need for revenge or curses or fear when you’re wronged, because the orishas provide protection from other spirits or people who wish you harm. Each orisha has a set of colored beads associated with them. You wear these beads around your wrist or neck for protection. The orisha will take care of the karma or punishment to the person who fucked you over.
*Orishas have colors, elements, songs, numbers, and taboos that must be observed.
*There’s no concept of sin, like 10 commandments or anything. It’s more like the concept of wrongdoing based on actions that harm others (as opposed to actions that displease God).
*Beliefs around ancestors: The Yoruba word for ancestor is egún; you hear this a lot because ancestors are a huge part of the faith. If you die a “good” death, meaning you died old and had kids, you go to the ancestral realm (it’s like heaven). Or, you can be reincarnated into the family, as an ancestor. So for example Yovany and I can be reincarnations of, like, a great-grandmother or something, especially if we resemble someone strongly. A bad death means you died young, tragically, left no kids behind. Believe that ancestors look out for the family. The descendants need to keep the memory alive and ask them for guidance and thank them for their direction. So it’s like the ancestors (dead) are still in their lives. Christianity teaches that you do not receive communication from the dead. The Christian God forbids communication with the dead. The dead are dead. Christians do not worship ancestors or saints.
In Lukumi Santeria, the babalao uses an oracle to communicate with the orisha. Sometimes, depending on the sign, that will mean that the orisha does not want to engage. One reason could be that the person asking for help has a beef with an ancestor. The ancestors are so important and so revered that problems with ancestors need to be resolved or the orisha might not even help. How to fix a problem with ancestors: thru divination.
*Food is godly. Many different foods are offered to the orishas to keep them happy. Different foods symbolize different things.
*Cleansing rituals especially before eating
*To cure an ailment naturally, they may find that the plants and herbs required might be associated with a particular orisha. In that case, the deity must be celebrated with rituals and dance in order for those plants to be infused with the healing properties. We would also like to point out that the Yoruba had to adapt this part of their practice to their new climate and environment (Cuba and Nigeria having different flora). The Native Indians in Cuba had their own practices for healing and medicine, so the Yoruba adapted that too.
*Spirit Marriages: This is a marriage between a human believer, and a spirit. In addition to your real spouse, if you have one, you can have a Spirit Spouse. Let us outline the steps of how you obtain this Spirit Spouse using the words of Megan Rose, a theology student and believer who wrote an academic paper on the subject:
1. Contact is initiated by a Spirit in a dream or visionary state.
2. A relationship is built.
3. The Spirit proposes marriage and the human accepts.
4. A ceremony/ritual is performed during which a human stand-in is possessed by the Spirit to be married.
5. Marriage vows are taken and rings are exchanged, this include a substantial dowry/offering to the Spirit.
6. The human spouse is then expected to set aside a night, anywhere from one night a month to three nights a week, where he/she will “commune” with his/her Spirit spouse. On that evening they are frequently visited by the Spirit husband/wife in dreams that may have sexual content or which may involve more platonic counsel and advice.
7. Violation of the wedding vows is seen as dangerous, and Spirit partners often show their displeasure if you ignore them, just like a real spouse would. This is a life-long commitment.
Supposedly during those days when you’re with your spirit spouse, you’re not allowed to sleep with your actual human spouse, because that time is for you and your orisha.
*During orisha drumming and dancing ceremonies, if everything is done correctly, an orisha will come down and possess one of the priests or priestesses (santero o santera). This is called mounting (a caballo). The orisha is said to “mount” the santero(a) and can now speak through them. The person takes on the characteristics and mannerisms, even the way the walk, of the deity. If they like beer, they start chugging beer. If it’s a very masculine, in-your-face deity, that’s how the person possessed will start acting. Etc. When the group realizes which orisha has come down, they dress the person in that orisha’s colors and typical clothing. They crossgender too. Someone who has been possessed can do superhuman things. A guy named Jon Clash - who went from agnostic to beginner Santeria to devout Christian - said he was invited to a gathering during which a lady got possessed and was able to eat glass without feeling the pain.
Example of an account of a worship event - remember this can vary among communities:
You go into the room or hall, and bow to the babalawo (priest). Loud music starts. It’s like a party. People could be hanging out, drinking beer, smoking cigars, talking, whatever. There’s incense (hello Catholic Mass!) and food / offerings. Then at some point the atmosphere changes. There’s chanting, drumming, music. It looks kinda like a bombazo! Then someone gets possessed by an orisha. It can look very physical, where they move differently, like the Exorcist (sorry, their words!) and can also be very cerebral - like with speaking in unknown tongues, and knowing things about people that they’ve never divulged. The Babalao verifies the possession and the deity is identified. The orisha has taken over “mounted” the chosen person and hangs out with the congregation. The person’s body is the vessel for that orisha now. Those that get possessed do not remember being possessed.
MISCONCEPTIONS
^That deities are demons or devils; they are not. There is no being like Satan that is in direct opposition to God. This misconception probably comes from the influence of Christianity. Also some believe that if you have an orisha but you stop giving it offerings or tending to his or her altar, they will stop helping you and in fact take everything from you that they gave you. That being said, there is one orisha, named Eshu, who is a trickster. His character is such that he can do both good and bad things. But he’s not evil. Yet because of this, and due to the influence of Christian missionaries, over time this deity came to be equated with the devil. However, Eshu reports to the main God, unlike the Christian devil who has his own realm. So he’s not Satan.
^That Santeria is witchcraft and should be used to put curses on people. Santeria is there to help people, not to harm or carry out revenge. Santeria honors life, community, and history.
^That possession is faked. Of course there are fakers but trance possession is a real phenomenon, a way for the gods to be with and speak to the people.
^That the priests and priestesses are fortune tellers, psychics, magicians, witch doctors, or miracle workers. In fact, they DO NOT have the winning lottery numbers, and they cannot cure every illness (they’ll actually tell you to go to a western doctor). What they do is a “consulta.” They consult the proper deity for guidance on what to tell the person needing advice. It’s like counseling but through a god. You can take their advice or leave it. They might even say that your difficult situation is exactly where you’re supposed to be. The santeros aim to strengthen the mind, body and spirit through their religious faith and modifying their behavior. They do ask Orichas to remove obstacles in their path by making offerings (called “ebo”). Lots of Cubans from all walks of life do this. They believe the orishas really solve problems. They don’t believe it’s “magic”; they believe it is metaphysical. They see results and just start to have faith.
^The meaning of the term Babalao gets misinterpreted. Babalao is another word for priest in Lukumi santeria. It literally means “father of secrets” but it is incorrectly taken to mean “the rites are secret.” But it really has more to do with being able to keep the confidentiality of people that come to you for help, people that confide their personal problems to you.
^That orishas are like Christian angels. They are not angels. For better or worse, they require sacrifice and they punish people (please don’t shoot the messenger here. Those in Santeria say the orishas take care of justice and karma, and some who left Santeria say that the orishas get mad and vengeful when they are not worshiped. I feel like both positions make the orisha seem capable of very bad things). Either way, angels do not behave this way.
^TRIGGER WARNING: We need to address animal sacrifice. Please skip the next few minutes if this is difficult for you to hear about. Our intention is to inform and present both sides, not to sensationalize or judge. Animal sacrifice is probably the most controversial aspect of Santeria, and one of the main reasons why Santeria is practiced in secret. Sometimes during a ceremony, initiation or divination, an orisha will indicate that animal sacrifice will be necessary. Santeros insist that this is a last resort. In fact, one santero asserted that animal sacrifice accounted for only 10% of the offerings. The other 90% was all food. When sacrifice is called for, they use mostly chickens, goats, pigs, sheep, pigeons. These animals must be treated humanely. The intention is to offer it to the god, and then eat it, not waste it. Prior to the ritual, you take hold of the animal’s face, look them in the eye and thank them for giving their life to sustain you or to help you. Then its jugular is slit so it dies instantly. Santeros compare it to kosher practice, and they are prepared to call anyone except a vegan a hypocrite if they are criticized. In case you’re wondering about the legality of this practice, in 1993, the city of Hialeah, Florida (Miami area) passed an ordinance outlawing animal sacrifice. A santeria church sued the city and the case went to the Supreme Court, which unanimously struck down the ordinance, calling it unconstitutional because it infringed upon the church’s freedom of religion.
The Wounded Paw Project sees this very, very differently. They want this practice outlawed, not because it’s a religious ritual, but because of how they supposedly treat the animals during the ceremony. They claim that the animals are tortured before they are killed, and that they are killed in a horrible manner we would rather not describe. They also state that Santeria believes that the more an animal struggles, the stronger it is, and that this “special strength” will be passed on to the spirits and to those who consume it.
Since Santeria is practiced so differently by different people around the world, we personally have no evidence, we can just tell you what we’ve learned from both sides. I think I can speak for my sister too when I say that we understand there are cultural differences among us. We believe in freedom of religion. And we are carnivores. But we certainly hope that animals are NOT tortured in this way for any reason.
If you wanna explore getting into Santeria:
Santeria rituals are secret on purpose, so even if you’re interested, they won’t tell you everything that goes on. They don’t publicize their ceremonies. You can’t film, even if you’re in attendance. You find out what happens on a need-to-know basis. One important reason is that they don’t know how people will use that information. So you have to go through it to find out. But you don’t need to be initiated to believe in Santeria, to practice Santeria or get invited to one of their events if you know someone.
If you start to explore and decide this is for you and you wanna go deeper, you “level up” in the faith by learning and going through initiations, each time getting closer to your orisha and learning more mysteries and receiving authority to do more and more. Upon first initiation, everyone gets assigned several specific warrior orisha, for protection. An initiation lasts 7 days. You need to wear white, remain celibate, and be very careful. You can only go out only for essential things (work, supermarket). You present gifts to the gods, such as shells, stones, leftover animal body parts.
The path to priesthood: develop a relationship with a priest or priestess (santero or santera). If you’re compatible, and they agree to take you under their wing, you do a formal ceremony called a necklace ceremony. You get 5 necklaces, which identifies you as part of the lineage. Necklaces are said to be talismans of the orishas. However, that alone does not make you a priest. But you CAN start doing some entry-level stuff. You need to continue learning and growing in the faith and keep leveling up with initiations ceremonies.
Santeria now: The religion is growing and evolving, becoming more multicultural. Some communities are trying to move away from the term Santeria because it’s too connected with the Catholic way. They prefer to refer to it as the Religion of Lukumi to honor its origin. Some do not use saints or statues, for the same reasons.
It’s hard to get a precise number of Santeria followers, but it’s estimated that there are as many as 100 million worldwide. Of that, about 10 million are in the Americas. Of those 10 million, anywhere up to 5 million are in the US, mostly in the Miami area. Santeria is gaining popularity among non-hispanics too, including blacks, whites and Asians.
SOURCES:
https://spotify.link/cP747xKo1yb
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