Santería

Santería is an orally transmitted religion that combines indigenous African traditions with elements of Roman Catholicism. Developed in Cuba, Santería has spread to Latin America and the United States. The religion emphasizes a reciprocal relationship between practitioners and orishas (“humanlike spirits”), expressed through religious rituals involving trance, spirit possession, dancing, and animal sacrifice. Santería offers spiritual opportunities for initiated female and male practitioners (santeras and santeros) that are somewhat more egalitarian than many other religions.

Known to practitioners as la Regla de Ocha (“The Rule of the órishàs”) or la Religión Lucumí, Santería developed from the 16th to 19th centuries as African slaves brought the baKongo, Dahomey, and Yorùbá beliefs and rituals of their homelands to sugar plantations in the Caribbean. These beliefs included spirit possession, animal sacrifice, and communication with spirits and ancestors through drumming-and dance-induced trance. Despite their forced conversion to Catholicism, many African slaves maintained their native traditions by nominally converting and combining old and new practices, as demonstrated in the fusion of African deities (orishas) and Catholic saints (santos) that gives Santería (“Way of the Saints”) its name. The orishas are male and female spirits who intervene in human affairs to bring messages and healing from the spirit world; in return, santeros and santeras provide the orishas with offerings and prayers.

Santería involves trance and spirit possession. Practitioners may have altars at which to pray, like the one shown here.

[Page 1275]These spirits are manifestations of the supreme creator deity, Olódùmarè. Religious practices in Santería are typically not shared with the uninitiated.

Santería recognizes both priests (babalorishas) and priestesses (iyalorishas), who may become possessed or “ridden” by an orisha during some religious rituals (bembés). Santeros and santeras are called by and serve specific orishas. The priest or priestess functions as the padrino (“godfather”) or madrina (“godmother”) for a new initiate. During initiation, the initiate is “married” to his or her orisha in the asiento ceremony. Three of the most important orishas are female: Oya (ruler of winds, associated with St. Theresa), Oshun (ruler of water, associated with Our Lady of Charity, the patron saint of Cuba), and Yemaya (ruler of seas and lakes, associated with Our Lady of Regla).

The religion's highest spiritual achievement is becoming a priest of Ifá, the divinatory aspect of Santería. Ifá divination (idafa) is performed by a Babalawo, an initiated priest. This role is not generally available to women in contemporary Santería, although women may have been initiated into Ifá priesthood in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and women continue to be initiated into Ifá priesthood in Nigeria and some other parts of the world. Women often lead the ilé, the “house” that serves as a ritual center for an extended family of Santería practitioners. Women have been influential in the history and development of Santería, and they continue to experience significant opportunities for spiritual advancement within the religion.