Santeria Essay

Santeria is built on sympathetic, homeopathic magic, imitative. It revolves around the laws of contact and similarity.

When most western people think about Native American or African religions there is a certain stigma that comes with the topic. This is in part because there is a lot of misinformation in the world about Native American and African religions. When most westerners think of African religions they think of voodoo and black magic. Likewise, the view of Native American religions is still looked at through the lens of the pilgrims who wrote about Native Americans as being savages and less than human. These stereotypes were all formed from a lack of accurate information. African and Native American religions are very similar. It is difficult to find a lot of accurate information on African and Native American indigenous religions because of the lack of written history but there is a lot of oral history that has been passed down from generation to generation. From this information, it is clear that Native American and African religions have many more similarities than they do differences. Three of these similarities will be discussed in this paper. The first topic of discussion is the similarity between African and Native American people when it comes to their perception of the spirit world. Following this topic are the similarities between Native American and African views on the afterlife and finally, the diversity of beliefs within African and Native American religions.

Choose one of the main lwa discussed by Karen McCarthy Brown and discuss its Vodou theology – that is, its sacred persona, mythic biography, special powers, specific characteristics, ritual practice, and so forth. Situate this lwa in relation to his or her Black Atlantic history in Haiti and beyond. In what ways does the imagery associated with this lwa reflect the confluence of both history and mythology – in other words, what is this law’s mythistory? Then examine the place of this lwa within Mama Lola’s religious practice: what role does it play in her life? How does she relate to and serve this lwa? Has the role of the lwa changed in her experience over time, and if so, how?

In the biography, Mama Lola: A Vodou Priestess in Brooklyn, written by Karen McCarthy Brown introduces Mama Lola, or Alourdes, a Voudou priestess whom she met while working on an ethnographic survey (1). The book discusses the dynamics of Haitian Vodou and its importance in the lives of its practitioners. Voudouists serve the spirits and one particular group of spirits; the Ezili is a family of many spirits but three specific spirits that are examined. These three spirits: Lasyrenn, Ezili Dantó, and Ezili Freda act as parallels for Haitian women, like Mama Lola.

Often depicted with their images linked together in a chain circling an image of the crucified Jesus, these deities represent all that is sacred and powerful in Santeria. But within Santeria but there is a common misconception around who they are and how they function. Anyone can call upon the Seven African Powers, as they are spirit guides and everyone has access to these Orishas for their guidance.

Orishas are spiritual beings whose experiences and characteristics are told with the use of patakis. According to the Santeria religion, everyone has a "parent" orisha. The term "parent" in the Santeria tradition holds the same meaning as guardian. The orisha chooses whom they will guard from birth and often the "child" and "parent" will have interactions at a young age. One does not know who their parent orisha is until they have gone through with initiation into Santeria. Within

The centros are staffed by trance mediums who, often… go into trance, and (in their words) let the spirit of el Nino descend on them, their bodies forming a link between the material and spiritual realms of existence. Through this linkage, the immortal spirit of el Nino performs cure, does consultations, even predicts the outcome of future events for members of his cult (1997: 35).

Santería is a newly recognized religion within the United States. Many Americans who practice more traditional religions, such as Catholicism, and Judaism, find the practice of Santeria very odd and quite obscure. The preponderance of our society feels that the practice of animal sacrifice, prevalent in Santeria, is immoral and possibly offensive. One reason for this reaction could be that there is a major lack of understanding of this religion in our society.

This is a traditional Brazil religion practiced by the Africans communities living there . The dance was performed to appease their gods. It is done in traditional styles derived from the Yoruba and Bantu traditions. The songs and dances were developed by African priests who were traded as slaves. The priests had strong African beliefs and had gained great experience on the task thus they could easily influence more followers. The religion had no formal scripture and the priests used the word of mouth to pass their message to their congregations. The believers were followers of a god by the name Oludumaré who they asserted was their creator. The oludumare has his servants called the Orishas. The Orishas are in every person and every Orisha is assigned an individual to offer protection. The believers organize a number of ceremonies each year to commemorate some important events. In the ceremonies, Candomblé songs fill the air. The believers also offer offerings to their

Looking to Santería’s future, and the recent restored diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States, Cuban social, political and economic structures will be affected, and it will be interesting to see if there is an increase in the number of global Santería worshippers, as the rest of the world becomes more familiar with Santería customs and practices. Until we start talking and finding out about Santeria, those who practice may continue to feel uncomfortable and our main challenge as humans is to accept and embrace diversity and change. Although caution must be exercised, as highlighted by Mason (2002), it is imperative that we comprehend that our understanding of another person’s culture can only be explained in the context of one’s own cultural experiences and

The second ritual medio asiento the person goes through consultation with a santero to discuss the persons past, present and future life. The third ritual is called receiving the warrior. In this ritual the person receives objects from their babaalawo that represent the warriors. The last ritual is asiento (ascending the throne). This is the most important and secretive ritual in santeria. This is when a person wears all white clothes. In this religion drums are only used by men and must be treated with respect. For example, dancers must never turn their backs towards the drums while dancing, it is considered disrespectful (Robinson, 2009).

The rules and regulations of Neivanism are carved onto a glacier on the outside of the first settlement. If the ice begins to melt, the rules are just re carved.The Neivanists follow a certain set of rues based on good human nature. The main three rules of their religion are, 1) Not to kill another human being 2) Hladgunnr is the only true god 3) Never take more then you need, and if you have more then enough you give it to someone less fortunate. If a person follows these three rules they will be considered a good person.

Religion has had a profound effect on human culture; unfortunately, the trouble with it is faith, which creates skepticism in many individuals. In order to accommodate the issue of faith, religions have regulations, values, and ceremonies, making religion a belief system, hence creating clarity to support faith. Catholicism has become a belief system that feeds its follower with answers; however, these answers are only assumptions. There are no factual answers, and as a result, religious leaders have created an expectation in which religion is supposed to fit; nonetheless, its accuracy is unknown. In Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s short story “A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings,” the values of religion are the center of

Santitarians worship the Orisha which translates to head guardians (Religious Tolerance, 2007). They also believe in saints and feel that saints pair up with the Orisha depending on what a persons need is (Types of Religion, 2016). Santitarians have many beliefs and practices. They believe in ritual sacrifices. The ritual sacrifice is typically done with a chicken and the blood is offered to the Orisha while the people eat the meat of the animal (Types of Religion, 2016). This is thought to bring either good luck or forgiveness of sins (Types of Religion, 2016). Dancing and drums are very common when rituals are being performed (Types of Religion,

Santeria is a religion that starts in the sixteenth century when African slave were brought to Cuba. These were ripped from their land and later force to work in the sugar, coffee, and tobacco plantation. During this time was when more slaves were brought to the Caribbean. They brought with them their culture and religion from West Africa. Wisdoms that spread to the Caribbean, filling the peoples with history and knowledge. The owners of these slaves were Catholic and they force their workers to convert to Catholicism. They had no say in the matter but to follow what their master said to them, but they continued practices their native religion at the same time. This is how Santeria was born, the combination of two culture and two countries