Although it's practiced today by people all over the world, Regla de Ocha is generally defined as an Afro-Cuban religion that originated in what is today Nigeria and Benin in West Africa. This paper is a study of Santeria, a religion that developed in Cuba from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries as a syncretism of African religions, Roman Catholicism, and French spiritism. The presence in Cuba of African slaves, who were brought by force by the Spanish conquistadors, a phenomenon that was justified at the time by the need for cheap labor force, also marked the beginning of religious traditions brought to the Caribbean Island by members of the Yoruba tribe. Time has shown that Afro-Cuban religion has a history of surviving and thriving underground. Cuba's prevailing religion is Christianity, primarily Roman Catholicism, although in some instances it is profoundly modified and influenced through syncretism.A common syncretic religion is Santera, which combined the Yoruba religion of the African slaves with Catholicism and some Native American strands; it shows similarities to Brazilian Umbanda and has been receiving a degree of official . Though Africans landed with few possessions, they carried their cultures, skills, and spiritual . By Alfredo Betancourt. Shango (African Based Religion), a story. At least three other Afro-Cuban religious traditions can be identified: the cult of If, the Palo Monte, and Cuban Spiritualism. In these shared spaces, they practiced their . Due to the abrupt change of environment from Africa to Cuba in the middle of horrific and humiliating conditions imposed by the slavery system the rich Yoruba civilization lost many of its values. This religion that was created out of slavery, cruelty, and the unexpected mixing of different cultures and nations has about 75 - 100 million followers these days. Of the countries in the Spanish-speaking Caribbean, Cuba has been the one most noted for having a strong African influence on its religious traditions. While Santera is its most popular name, many practitioners use Regla de Ocha, . The religion took deep hold in African communities in Brazil and Cuba especially, and eventually spread to mixed race and European-American communities in these countries. Religion in Cuba. Santera is a syncretic religion rooted in the religious practices of the Yoruba people, who were brought as slaves to Cuba from the Congo Basin and West Africa, that incorporates elements of Catholicism. These days, it's far more prevalent than Catholicism on the islandSanteros outnumber Catholics by 8-1. Considered an exclusively Cuban tradition, this religion has spread to Venezuela, Mexico, and the United States. Sources. $20.00. Santeria was brought to Cuba from Africa through the Atlantic slave trade and its influence never ended. Due to the abrupt change of environment from Africa to Cuba in the middle of horrific and humiliating conditions imposed by the slavery system, the rich Yoruba civilisation lost many of its values. The Religious Characteristics of States Dataset Project: Demographics reports the estimates of religious demographics, both country by country and region by region. Cubans from many different walks of life find inspiration in orisha religion, a spiritual practice with West African roots that is sometimes called Santera. On this date, from 1800, we celebrate the Shango religion, one of many African-inspired religions practiced in the Americas. "Contextualizing Women and Distinct Religious Practices in Oriente Cuba," in New Frontiers in the Study of the Global African Diaspora: Between Unchartered Themes and . 73All rituals connected to the royal role disappeared. Lucum ceremonies are characterized by the use of consecrated bat drums and gourd ensembles called . What then were the dynamics of its preservation and transformation? Practiced primarily in Trinidad, Grenada, and Recife (Brazil) where it is known as Xango, it was developed in the 19th century. 72The Bakongo religion was introduced in Cuba at the same time as the slave trade in the Americas. Consequently large numbers of Africans continued arriving in Cuba causing the enslaved African population to grow from about 10-25 per cent in the 18th Century to more than 40 per cent by 1840. The term Afro-Cuban can also refer to historical or cultural elements in Cuba thought to emanate from this community and the combining of native African and other cultural elements found in Cuban society such as race, religion, music, language, the arts and class culture. By Alfredo Betancourt. Main religions: Christianity (Roman Catholic, Protestant), syncretic African religions. Afro-Cuban Religion. However, as these figures are based on self-identification, in a context of . (29 Aug 2015) LEAD IN:Cuba is an island with a diverse mix of races and cultures and never more is this true than in the Santeria religion.Mixing Spanish Cat. Both are basically New World versions of the religious beliefs of the Yoruba people of West Africa, with admixtures of other African influences. Background Afro-Cuban religions have long been an integral part of Cuban society. The word Santera comes from Spanish and loosely translates as devotion to the saints, or santos. Afro-Cuban Religions. Cuba Religion, Economy and Politics. Shango (African Based Religion), a story. This religion that was created out of slavery, cruelty, and the unexpected mixing of different cultures and nations has about 75 - 100 million followers these days. Catholic and African Religious Traditions Meld in Cuba Pope Francis celebrates Mass Tuesday at shrine of Cuba's Catholic patroness, which many Cubans consider to be the African spirit Ochun Regarding religion, over decades of studying Cuban Santera and Orisha worship Stephan Palmi published in 2013 The Cooking of History: How Not to Study Afro-Cuban Religion, a comprehensive study on the African religious influence in Cuba. Cuban Literature in the Age of Black Insurrection: Manzano, Plcido, and Afro-Latino Religion is a necessary book for our times, one that convincingly argues for a place for the two leading Cuban poets of the nineteenth century, Juan Francisco Manzano and Gabriel de la Concepcin 'Plcido' Valds in the Cuban literary canon. Undoubtedly, Afro-Cuban ritual performance and music have also signifi Cuba's cultural diversity has resulted in a range of religious expression and identification over the course of the island's history. Cuban adherents took their orisha religious traditions with them when immigrating to other parts of North America during the late 20 th century. Shango was brought from the African Yorba tribe . Then there was a Cuba fused between numerous beliefs: Religions of African origin: Conga Rule or Palo Monte Rule The RCS was created to fulfill the unmet need for a dataset on the religious dimensions of countries of the world, with the state-year as the unit of observation. Its devotees can be found on buses, working at barbershops, giving musical performances, and performing rituals in homes, by rivers, and in the forests surrounding Havana. These three groups, enslaved on the island, coexisted, each group confronting obstacles that . Although most African Diasporic religions base rituals and practices in nature, palo (meaning "stick" or "segment of wood" in Spanish) solely depends on the material elements of nature to access the spiritual realm. As expected, Christianity of the Roman Catholic is the predominant religion in Cuba. Santera and Candombl are neo-African religions practiced in Cuba and Brazil, respectively. Santeria is a blend of some African traditional practices and Christianity. The photos from these reportages have been exhibited in Cuba, France and Italy and a copy of them is stored in "Casa de Africa" museum in Havana. To understand how African religion permeated Cuban society one has to understand at what volume Slaves were being brought from Africa itself. (The Municipal Museum of Guanabacoa, Havana, Cuba) "Velorio, ou Bal du Petit Ange," Venezuela, 1826. To assimilate into the Catholic culture, the religion merged its orishas, or deities, with the Catholic Saints to be able to celebrate on certain days. [Alcide Dessalines d'Orbigny, Voyage pittoresque dans les deux Amriques (Paris, 1836), facing p. 51] Negro cemetery at Wilimington. Officially, Cuba has been an atheist state for most of the Castro era. Also known as Regla de Ocha, Regla Lucum, or Lucum, Santera is an African diasporic religion developed in Cuba between the 16th and 19th centuries (Bascom, 1950). The yorub or lucum religion which is also known as Santeria or Regla de Osha is the most expanded religion of African origin in Cuba. "From religion to art and food, the . contrasts the use of ethnic and religious categories within them to define "African-ness" and "blackness" as Brazil and Cuba transitioned from slaveholding colonies to postabolition nation- - states. CV/Dodson Page 5 of 23 2019/jdodson 2018 "Church Women's Legacy of Power: U.S. African Methodist," Religion, Culture and Spirituality in Africa and the African Diaspora, Routledge Press, Studies in Religion Series. Cuban Santera has been profoundly influenced by Western African conceptions of personhood and the divine. The practice, which includes elements of spirit worship based on the rituals of the Yoruba ethnic group, first developed in communities of enslaved African people in the cities and on the sugar plantations of the island in the 19th century. Slaves of the same ethnic groups organized into brotherhoods or fraternal orders that were called . Prior to my study abroad experience in Cuba, I had the opportunity to study Santeria in a class at Georgetown about religions of the African diaspora. I am Martin Tsang and, as a post-doctoral associate with the University of Miami Libraries, my research concerns Asian and African ethnic groups and religious mixing in Cuba. These Shango was brought from the African Yorba tribe . African slaves began to find common religious practices amongst other African tribes. Santeria has become a recognizable religious tradition across the world, as many practitioners immigrated from Cuba to the U.S, Canada and Europe, taking the religion with them. Although Roman Catholicism has the majority, with 60% of the population, the remaining 40% is relatively diverse. Cuba, like Brazil, remains a cultural symbol of "pure" and authentic African sur vivals of religious rituals.'6 Cuban migrations that increased post-1959 have also resulted in a Cuba-centric Ocha, Palo, and Spiritist practice throughout the United States. In turn, since the 1959 Cuban Revolution, thousands of Cubans have fanned across the Americas, turning San Juan, Bogot . Practiced primarily in Trinidad, Grenada, and Recife (Brazil) where it is known as Xango, it was developed in the 19th century. At one point Slaves in the island outnumbered those Cubans of European . religious beliefs of african origin It is impossible to find in Cuba even a small segment of art, custom and tradition which does not contain a vestige of Africa. Afro-Cuban religion is the de facto religion in Cuba. African influence in Cuba is noticeable in daily life, in the streets and in the culture -- especially in music, dance, musical instruments, cousine and the arts. Cuba Santera. The integration of the country has been in progress for centuries; the contributions of the two races have been equally vigorous. Cuba is still the religious center of Santera . Those who follow this path seek guidance from orishas, sacred beings who reign over human endeavors and the forces of nature. The status, roles, and interactions of three dominant African ethnic groups and their descendants in Cuba significantly influenced the island's cubanidad (national identity): the Lucums (Yoruba), the Congos (Bant speakers from Central West Africa), and the Carabals (from the region of Calabar). in Cuba."1 These diverse religious traditions share several commonalities: They show strong African connections and harbor African cultural memory; they are religions of the people, by and for the people; they are nontraditional and cre-ole faiths shaped by cultures; they are an integral part of the Ca rib be an colo- It is estimated that around 80 to 90 percent of Cubans consult with Santera priests, making it the most widely practiced religion in . Santera conflates Catholic saints with deities from western Africa. This comparison is illustrated through the examination of each colony's slave trade and Santeria is also called Lukum or Regla de Ocha. Slaves in Cuba had to assimilate to a new environment on the island. These African religions include Yoruba, which originated in Nigeria and Benin. A young Cuban man, wearing a red blindfold, passes a secret initiation ritual of the Palo Monte religion in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba. Nowadays, Santeria exists not only in Cuba, but also here in the United States. In Cuba, the largest Caribbean island, African religions were introduced by slaves coming from West and Central Africa. Its adherents make up approximately 12% of the entire Cuban population. San teria appeared in Cuba not as a static sur vival or retention of African practices but as a dynamic Afro-Caribbean religion shaped by the needs of creole communities that It emerged in Cuba during the 17th century, and has been embedded in Cuban society ever since. It originated in Cuba and was historically practiced by descendants of West African slaves. Because religion is a way of life, it relates to culture and society as they affect the worldview of the African people. Of all the African-rooted religions in Cuba, it is an open secret that Palo Mayombe is the most powerful and . The book is a historical account and a reflection on the methodology, often misleading, used by . Afro-Cuban religions, a blend of native African religions and Roman Catholicism, are widely practiced in Cuba. 1. The religious traditions of African origin survive in Cuba as ritual music, song and dance, which are markedly different than Cuba's secular music and dance. Like all the African religions in the New World, the Kongo religion became a religion of the enslaved and the oppressed. Antonio started the project "Roots" based on the Afro-Caribbean religions, in 2001 and traveled various times until 2007 to Cuba and Brazil to shoot Santeria and Candombl rites and people.
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