Santeria
Santeria, which literally means, ‘way of the saints’, originated in Cuba. Santeria is considered an Afro-Cuban religion. It has roots in Africa, specifically the Yoruba people in southwestern Nigeria. When Africans were brought to the New World as slaves, they brought with them their Yoruba religious traditions (Nunez: 3). Slave owners forced them to give up their beliefs and convert to Christianity. However, the slaves persisted and found a way to hide their beliefs with the introduction of Catholicism in Cuba in 1517. They disguised their deities behind the images of Catholic saints so it would seem that they were praying to the saints, but were actually praying to their gods. The secrecy of practicing rites, prayers, and rituals has then become inherent in Santeria. Beliefs in honouring ancestors and the deities and living in balance with the forces of nature are parts of Santeria principles. Santeria is a syncretic religion born from the fusion of Catholicism and Yoruba religion. In Santeria, the saints and the corresponding orishas are one and the same. Although it contains elements of both religions, Santeria is very different from either one that it is considered a separate religion with
Some topics in this essay:
EWE People, Yemaya Chango, Flores-Pena Evanchuk, Equally Santeria, European Judeo-Christians, BEMBE Bembe, Amira Cornelius, ANCESTORS Worshipping, ANIMAL SACRIFICE, Yemaya Oshun, gonzalez-wippler 1989, murphy 1993, animal sacrifices, amira cornelius, patron orisha, gonzalez-wippler 1973, madrina padrino, table ifa, flow ashe, santeria priests, orishas gonzalez-wippler 1989, animal sacrifice nunez, secrecy inherent religion, santeria devotees santeros, yoruba religion santeria,
Join now to see the rest of the essay!
Approximate Word count = 8386
Approximate Pages = 34 (250 words per page double spaced)
More Essays on Santeria
Professional Papers: |
CUSTOMER SERVICES
|
|
 |
All papers are for research and references purposes only!
Copyright © 2002-2008 ExampleEssays.com DMCA HMS
|
|
Example Essays Home