Santaria, englisch </TILE></HEAD> <BODY> <PRE> Newsgroups: alt.religion.all-worlds Subject: Re: Santeria Date: 25 Jan 1995 02:59:00 GMT Message-ID: 3g4epk$odg@tequesta.gate.net bequet@enssib.enssib.fr wrote: : Would anyone have informations about Santeria, a religion : which was born in Western Africa (Nigeria, Benin) and which : is nowadays part of Cuban culture and social life ? : Thank you. Hi, I am not a practitioner of Santeria, but I do have some information about it and some places to call for more info. I live in Hialeah, FL, and there is a sizeable population of Santeria practitioners here. A book on Santeria that i found that was written in English is: _Santeria: African Spirits in America_ by Joseph Murphy. ISBN: 0-8070-1021-9 There is an organization here called International Union of the Yoruva Religion Rights, Inc. which is a religious rights organization dedicated to correcting misinformation about Santeria and preserving the rights of Santeria practitioners. Their address is listed below. From what I understand (which so far isn't that much), the African Orishas (spirits) and Catholic saints are linked together in this religion (but not substituted for one another), which was a way of preserving the old African religious traditions in a society where Catholic beliefs and practices were enforced. The Santeria book i mentioned above says this about the relationship between the Saints and Orishas: "To the initiated, they [the saints] are just the public faces of more puissant and mysterious spirits, the orishas." each Orisha has an elaborate system of symbols, rituals, dances, and sacrafices associated with it. For example the Orisha Yemaya is associated with Saint Regla and the principle of maternity; her number is 7, her colors are blue and white, her dance mimics the movements of the sea, and ducks, turtles, and goats are fed (sacrificed) to her. The sacrafice of animals is the most controversial aspect of Santeria here in the US, so i feel that i should write a bit about that also. From the book: "The theory behind all santeria sacrifice is that the orisha consume the invisible ashe [the vital force] of the sacrifices that is... liberated from them through consecration, the sacred words of the moyuba dedication... The ashe of the sacrifices is consumed invisibly in vegetable sacrifices and through the blood of the animal in animal sacrifices, which is sprinkled or poured on the fundamental symbols of the orishas." The blood of the animal goes to the Saint/Orisha, and the Santero [priest or priestess] eats the meat. Here are some other things about Santeria taken from an information pack sent to me by the International Union of the Yoruva Religion Rights: "This religion has many followers. The Temples function in the home of each Santero and Babalawo. Santeria is not witchcraft or "Brujeria," or "Palo Monte," or "Voodoo," nor does it belong to any other type of other religion... its proper name is "Yoruva Lucumi" and the Santeros are called "Olocha Babalocha" and "Babalawos." .... "Santeria does not have a [central] leader [such as the Pope], each Santero or Babalawo is the leader of their own group or following. They call these people, who follow them or have received Saints from them, their God Children (Ahijados)." Members of different groups have mutual respect for each other, and there are some variations on rules between the different groups. ... "The Santeros do not work in Cemeteries, or with bones of dead people, or gunpowder, or with dark spirits. The Saints do not inflict any harm to anyone... "The God of Santeria is called Olofi and the God of Mother Nature is called Olodu Mare. Orula is the God of Divination... "The Saints are made of stones and shells, and they are placed inside a soup bowl, the color of which each Saint identifies itself with... "One last foot note is in reference to the popular myth that this religion only belongs to the low income black and spanish population. May it be known that physicians, attorneys, business people and all different types of white collar professional[s] also visit the Santeros homes, and many are Santeros themselves. "The members of the United Lucumi Organization agreed upon giving this information to the public in order to have a better understanding of this religion." I've only scratched the surface here. There is quite a lot to this religion. Here are those contacts: International Union of the Yoruva Religion Rights, Inc. 836 N.E. 82nd St. Miami FL 33138 (305) 757-1115 Botanica: El Rubi de Ochun (305) 821-6746 (this is the Botanica where i ordered the above-mentioned book.) </PRE> </BODY> </HTML>