What is Santeria a combination of?
Santería is the fusion of the African religion of the slaves, the Catholic saints of their masters, and a third influence known as spiritism developed in France by Allan Kardec in the 1850s. The combination of two or more belief systems into a single system is known as syncretism.
What are the beliefs of Santeria?
The Santeria faith teaches that every individual has a destiny from God, a destiny fulfilled with the aid and energy of the orishas. The basis of the Santeria religion is the nurture of a personal relation with the orishas, and one of the principal forms of devotion is an animal sacrifice.
What religions and viewpoints are Santeria and voodoo a mix of?
When African slaves were imported to America, they were taught Christianity, but some people continued to hold their traditional faiths. The result was a blending of traditional West African beliefs with Christianity.
Is Santeria a pagan?
Santeria is polytheistic, featuring 16 prominent deities in its pantheon. These are called oricha, ocha, or santos (“saints”).
Does Santeria sacrifice animals?
One of the principal forms of devotion in Santeria is animal sacrifice. Sacrifices are performed at birth, marriage, and death rites; for the cure of the sick; for the initiation of new members and priests; and during an annual celebration. The sacrificed animal is cooked and eaten at some ceremonies.
Do any religions still sacrifice animals?
Animal sacrifices were common throughout Europe and the Ancient Near East until the spread of Christianity in Late Antiquity, and continue in some cultures or religions today.
Why is Santeria controversial?
Based on a mixture of West African religions and Catholicism, Santeria has long been controversial, chiefly because of rituals that call for the sacrifice of animals, usually goats and chickens. The rites can be bloody, and carcasses dumped in public places can be disturbing.
Does Santeria believe in afterlife?
The religion emphasizes the here and now rather than the afterlife, and it focuses on natural forces. Like many religions, Santeria also offers community. Those who undergo its carefully guarded initiation rites, which include animal sacrifice to cleanse the soul and give strength, step into an extended family.
What is the origin of Santeria?
Santeria was created in Cuba by the mingling of Yoruba traditions brought by enslaved Africans from Nigeria and Benin with the Roman Catholic faith of the Spanish plantation owners.
Which countries practice Santeria?
In parallel with the Cubans’ growing interest in Santería, foreigners have also discovered this religion, and many go to Cuba to be initiated. Most of them come from other countries in Latin America and the U.S.A., but there are also santeros and babalawos in Europe.
Is Santeria from Africa?
Santería, (Spanish: “The Way of the Saints”) , also called La Regla de Ocha (Spanish: “The Order of the Orishas”) or La Religión Lucumí (Spanish: “The Order of Lucumí”), the most common name given to a religious tradition of African origin that was developed in Cuba and then spread throughout Latin America and the …
What is Santeria voodoo?
Voodoo is the religion of Haiti. Santeria is the. religion practiced throughout Cuba. Macumba, Umbanda and. Candomble are Neo-African religions of Brazilian Blacks.
What are voodoo beliefs?
Voodoo queens and kings were spiritual and political figures of power in 1800s New Orleans. The core belief of New Orleans Voodoo is that one God does not interfere in daily lives, but that spirits do. Connection with these spirits can be obtained through various rituals such as dance, music, chanting, and snakes.
Where is voodoo practiced today?
For many in the West, Voodoo invokes images of animal sacrifices, magical dolls and chanted spells. But Voodoo – as practiced in Haiti and by the black diaspora in the United States, South America and Africa – is a religion based on ancestral spirits and patron saints.