Santeria is the Cuban-originated expression of Yoruba-based religion as it came to be practiced in that portion of the Diaspora.
Santeria is only one of these expressions. In Haiti we have Vodoun (whence Voodoo), and in Brazil, Candomble. Other expressions also exist.
The enslaved Africans had their own religions but had Christianity forced upon them by the slavers. While some adopted the new religion and forgot (?) their original faiths, others pretended to worship in the Roman Catholic manner, but in their hearts and minds saw their native deities behind the forms of the RC saints. I suppose that for some it was just a subterfuge, but others actually saw links/similarities between the characteristics of a given African deity and a particular saint.
Over time, the identity of the saint became subsumed into that of the original deity (w/ some cross-over at times) so that at this point (even though some still use images of the saints to represent the Orisha) the deities of the Religion (as Santeria is also known) are basically African, with no true Christian overlay.
There are more than one sect/school of Santeria. Most are open only to initiates, after varying periods of study.
Although there are more than a thousand Orisha in the Yoruba religion, the diasporic expressions of the religion tend to focus on seven of these deities, commonly known (in the Americas) as the Seven African Powers.
This is a *VERY* simplistic and barebones explanation of what Santeria is, but in no way does it explain what Santeria *IS*. It doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of a fascinating, sophisticated, and complex system of spiritual belief and practice.
From: Michael
The Santeria rituals should reflect the society in which the participants find themselves (where ritual killing is an anomaly not a "making holy" of an everyday agrarian event), it is important for all the reasons that make up ritual that the symbolic action remains symbolic and not just a sign or a memory.
A symbol points beyond itself to the person and incorporates the person, his experience, his responses.
A sign is just an indicator, nothing more. For the ritual to evoke the timelessness of magic, it has to extend beyond a sign that exists in one place and time only.
I think the essence of the ritual killing is in the act of *preparation*, along the lines of Asian tea rituals. If the sacrifice is something out of everyday life (as in killing an animal), then it no longer makes an everyday action transcend the everyday. So it becomes more like spectacle, a sideshow magician's stunt. Not true magic.
Blood is a good symbol (not a sign) of life force. I don't see myself being able to evoke the same feelings about carrot juice. An egg just might, however.
From: Christine
How odd that we (those of Eurocentric thoughts and ignorances)
find it necessary to "learn" about African "Tribal" Drumming or
for that matter anything else. We were born knowing it all.
Here's a proposition: The Eurocentric way to learn is to read
other peoples writings, observations and truths (which in turn
they gleaned from some predecessor who made his own observations
writings etc.,). So... the opinions go on down the line.
How ridiculous to assume that I could take a piece of manuscript,
write a series of notes on it and then get somone in the USA to
reproduce the rhthmic patterns of Africa. How ABSURD to think
that one could POSSIBLY capture the totality of the music on a
piece of magnetic tape. NO no no... That's not it!! the FEELING
IS WHATS ITS ABOUT!!
Western rhythms are primarily based on even meters. A square
block rolling along an infinite smooth plane. The Afro Cuban and
latin patterns could be said to resemble an ellipsoid or egg
shape rolling along the same plane surface... a little more
dynamic and thus a little better able to "get your body moving."
The Afro Cuban/brazillian/latin rhythmic and polyrhythmic
patterns are not as easily predicted so they keep "surprising"
you and moving you along with a series of little "jolts." MUCH
MORE FUNKY!!
N O W we have the African patterns... Imagine this... a stone
rolls down a rocky slope, a man watches it and feels the rhythmic
pattern it makes in his body. He can dance that pattern he can
drum that pattern he can FEEL that pattern but the thing is that
the pattern changes. It works while the man feels it. If he wrote
it down it would be lost as it shifted from the spirit to the
brain.
An African man does not go and learn how to drum... he learns how
to BE a drummer. He won't learn patterns, notes etc., he'll learn
the feeling that grows as he is watching a deer run. He'll
observe the way his body wants to move during a specific
ritual. He'll sway and rock convulsively as a certain drum beat
pours out of him.
To our silly minds, the pattern of a rolling stone may seem
impossible to memorize. WELL HERE'S the secret - IT'S NOT DONE
WITH THE MIND.
It's not remembered and yet it can be repeated with astounding
accuracy time after time. But the arithmetic progression of beats
(One two three, one two three, one two three,) Has NOTHING to do
with it. Its the pulse of god beating in us that we have
"educated" out of ourselves over the millennia. That drum that is
our body being played by a greater force than ourselves is
where it's at. How sad that we think we can play it better and
don't let Him in to do it like only He can ...
From: Herschel
Being hollow this rock is capable of an infra auditory gong-like
sound such as might emanate from a tympany so enormous that its
frequencies are below what can be heard by the human ear. Once
every sixty-six years, three months and four days, it is struck
by the tribes strongest men under the supervision of the chief.
The sound, such as it is, is felt, not heard, by members of the
tribe who, when the ceremony is ended, adjourn to a night of
feasting and dancing.
All the same the individual beats, one every sixty-six years,
comprise a tempo as strict as that of an electric drum keeping
time for a modern pop group. If taped on some timeless cassette
recorder, and so speeded up that each sixty-six years is reduced
to one quarter second, with sound frequency raised accordingly,
the effect would be precisely that of a tribal drummer providing
the rhythms for a tribal tarantella Thomas Aquinas
Herschel
The Diviner usually combines with his divining skills, an
extensive knowledge of roots and herbs, by means of which most
diseases can be cured. The profession of the Diviner is not
hereditary - the spirits possess anyone they wish to become a
Diviner, and he/she becomes ill until going on a lengthy
initiation and training under the guidance of another *isangoma*.
The Diviner is the person in greatest demand in Zulu society -
when cattle are lost, disease breaks out, or a wizard is
suspected of having caused things to go wrong, it is the
*isangoma* who is called. BUT, it is always the head of the
village who decides whether the assistance of the *isangoma* is
necessary. (Note the intersection between politics and religion
here).
There are several recognised methods of divining. The *izinyanga
zesithupha*, or thumb diviners cannot proceed without the
assistance of those who enquire - the enquirers strike the ground
gently with the divining rod (*izibulo*) when the *isangoma* is
not correct, but when he/she is correct, they strike the ground
violently, saying "Hear or True", and point to the *isangoma* in
a certain way with the thumb.
The *amabukula-zinti* or stick diviners, divine by means of three
or more pieces of stick about a foot long, which jump about to
indicate the answers to questions. Then, there are the bone
diviners, or *amathambo*, who throw the bones for answers to
their questions (the *isangoma* I visited used this method, and
it was astoundingly accurate).
The person will also yawn, and sneeze frequently - these are
considered to be unmistakable signs of spirit possession.
Sometimes, a person continues like this for years, before it is
discovered that the spirits wish them to become a diviner. There
are two options that are possible, once spirit possession has
been identified. The people actually decide whether he can be
allowed to train as a diviner, and if not, then a doctor will be
asked to lay, or shut out, the spirit.
(More to follow in "Zulu Initiation and Training")
From: Kim Baker
One of the main weaknesses of the Western European
"rational-scientific" approach to problem solving is its linear
process, which focusses on breaking down the universe into its
component parts which are then analyzed, "understood" (in theory,
at least), and then re-inserted into the whole - the assumption
being that the whole is now better understood, too.
This thinking process emphasises the components rather than their
linkages, thereby creating many experts on small elements of the
whole that have no real understanding of the way the entire
system works.
One can argue that such a blinkered way of looking at the world
(how many people do you know who are totally preoccupied by the
"problem" on their desktop each morning?) created the selfish,
aggressive and ethnocentric attitude of the Western European
society that spread rapidly throughout the globe on the back of
technology, and is doing so still.
"Traditional" societies tend to emphasise the holistic world view
(a generalisation, I admit), expressed by concepts of community,
sharing and respect for the environment that nurtures them. Add
to those basic tenets widely varying degrees of "contamination"
by less holistic approaches, and one sees the present situation a
bit more clearly.
Though the specialised gains brought by Western science are,
within their own fields, quite impressive, the effects on the
whole are often poorly understood, downplayed or ignored.
Therefore one can understand how a geneticist might pursue
genetic engineering with professional vigour while ignoring or
rationalising the ethical quagmire such efforts present
to society as a whole. Not his, or her, problem.
I find it fascinating that many indigenous or aboriginal
societies still try to live a more holistic lifestyle despite the
pressures applied by the greater global community through the
church, the media, television, politicians or well-meaning aid
agencies. There is a fundamental assumption that traditional
communities must be unhappy if they are "poor" or "undeveloped".
Yet, many urban dwellers dash off every Friday afternoon to the
cottage or the country to escape "development." Doesn't make much
sense to me.
I've just returned from three weeks in South Africa, part of
which was spent in Zululand where I did not meet one unhappy
person. Maybe I was lucky. Maybe they are.
From: Gary
Gary wrote:
> One of the main weaknesses of the Western European
"rational-scientific"
approach to problem solving is its linear process, which focusses
on breaking down the universe into its component parts which are
then analyzed, "understood" (in theory, at least), and then
re-inserted into the whole - the assumption being that the whole
is now better understood, too.
This thinking process emphasises the components rather than their
linkages, thereby creating many experts on small elements of the
whole that have no real understanding of the way the entire
system works.<
Specialisation can be good, as long as one doesn't lose the
sense of the general. So, I could be an artist, for
example, but I should be aware of science, politic economics,
as well, even if not a specialist, the awareness should be
retained.
Though the specialised gains brought by Western science are,
within their own fields, quite impressive, the effects on the
whole are often poorly understood, downplayed or ignored.
Therefore one can understand how a geneticist might pursue
genetic engineering with professional vigour while ignoring or
rationalising the ethical quagmire such efforts present to
society as a whole. Not his, or her, problem.<
The government put in a bad law? Well, not my problem, doesn't
affect me! Isolation, alienation, and a shrinkage of active
participation in society. It is ironic that being part
of a group is actually more empowering to an individual, rather
than operating in isolation as an individual. One of the common
threads underlying all the ATRs is that it is not possible to
achieve personal happiness isolated from a community.
Yet, many urban dwellers dash off every Friday afternoon to the
cottage or the country to escape "development". Doesn't make much
sense to me.<
In essence, I would say that the West does not have a
monopoly on specialisation - in African communities, there
are specialists. There are clearly defined roles. The
difference is that these roles are lived to the full, while
RETAINING a sense of the group, at all times. The West lost
the sense of the group, ironically, when we went for mass
production, mass consumption, mass media.
ATRs therefore provide a key to understanding what leads
to happiness (and so do any other systems of thought that
embrace wholism).
From: Kim Baker
When he returns home, covered in white clay, a goat is killed,
and skinned, and the spirits are praised and given meat. The
feast takes place the following morning. All the diviners present
begin to dance and sing, and beat drums. When this celebration is
over, they then go into a hut to feast on the meat.
The new Diviner must now prove his ability to divine. The people
hide various objects, and clap their hands over the hiding place.
This is to enable the diviner to sense where the items have been
hidden. He will dance, and then go in search of the hidden items,
which, when found, he will be allowed to keep. When he has found
them all, he is accepted, and given a goat, or beads, or a gift,
by the head of the kraal. In addition, the *inyanga* who trained
him will be given a fee of two or three head of cattle.
From: Kim Baker
The heaven doctor is different from all other doctors in Zulu
culture, as he receives his power not from the spirits, but from
magic.
He uses this magic to control the heavens, preventing hail from
destroying crops and preventing lighting from striking the
villages. He undergoes training, and observes taboos and rituals,
which he keeps all his life, in order to have an affinity with
heaven. Because he is so in tune with heaven, he is in a position
to remonstate and mediate, and, by the same token, he is under
the protection of heaven When a storm gathers, he will frown, as
he is "dark with the clouds", and at one with heaven.
The process by which he acquires this "sympathy with heaven" is
called *ukuGoma*, and he receives instruction from another
heaven-herd. Anyone can decide to become a heaven-herd and
training is not a long process.
From: Kim Baker KIM@uctlib.uct.ac.za
>Stemming from a conversation with someone in private e-mail, who
questions the need to give meat to the spirits (sacrifice) -
[does anyone know] anything about the sacrificial rituals in
Santiera?
This question of sacrifice to the spirits is, I believe quite
contentious - what is the intention and purpose of it?<
Kim
Various food substances are considered sacred/appropriate
to a given deity at a given time.
I don't know, of course, all of the various practices of
the various Santeria traditions and "Houses". Therefore,
anything I say may conflict with another's experience or
"knowledge."
It is my understanding that the sacrifice of an animal to
the gods is not a thing undertaken lightly in any of the
Yoruba-sourced Afro-diasporic religions. The animal is
ritually purified, and treated with honor and
respect.
The killing is not done in a cruel or tortuous manner,
and the meat of the animal is consumed by the
participants in the ritual.
That said, I have to admit that I have problems with the
issue of animal sacrifice in urban society. The tradition
of animal sacrifice in this regard originated in agrarian
societies, where the killing of animals for food, on a
daily basis, was/is the norm. It is not the norm in a
20th century, urban society, in which we go to the market
and get our meat wrapped in plastic and, but for the
cooking, ready for consumption. Killing animals is not a
modality with which we deal intimately on a day-to-day
basis.
For a long time, I've been of the opinion that 20th
century, urban practitioners of these religions need to
adopt more appropriate forms of sacrifice. For the poor
of Haiti and Cuba, Brazil, etc. who traditionally
practice animal sacrifice, the giving up of a valuable
animal is a true sacrifice. For us . . .
Of course, that raises the question of what the nature of
sacrifice actually is. For some, it is the act of
offering that is important.
Others will argue that it is the release of "life energy"
inherent in the blood, that is the important factor. In
my opinion, such discussions, while valid, are beyond the
scope of what we're presently talking about.
> Agreed. One important point regarding Santeria and its cousins
is that these are *magical* religions. Moreover, they are
religions that remember their magic in ways that most of the
exoteric traditions of the mainstream traditions don't.<
Much of what has
been said so far could in some sense be said to be true, but what
we are
dealing with is a Rubics cube of posibilities and potential
meaning. It
is impossible to intelligently discuss quantum physics before you
have
even spoken to an experienced practioner one way or another.
Peace
From: William
Return to: African Traditional
Religions
Drumming:
More on drums...
Zulu: Diviners
The most respected doctor among the Zulus is the Diviner, or
*isangoma*, (which means that when a person is about to become a
doctor, they first wander around the mountains and live on roots,
etc.), also known as *isanusi* (means that such a person is able
to unravel things).
Zulu: Possession by a Spirit:
When the ancestors or spirits decide that they want somone to
become a diviner, they cause the person to dream, and become
ill. The person starts to hear voices calling him to go to a
certain spot, to find roots, or to catch a particular animal.
The spirit causes the body and mind of the person to become
upset, and this manifests in his behaviour, and even his eating
habits - he will avoid *amasi* (milk curds), and eat meat, the
dregs of beer, and wild herbs.
Spiritual "competition"
Re: spiritual "competition"
>One can argue that such a blinkered way of looking at the world
(how many people do you know who are totally preoccupied by the
"problem" on their desktop each morning?) created the selfish,
aggressive and ethnocentric attitude of the Western European
society that spread rapidly throughout the globe on the back of
technology, and is doing so still.<
Yes. The old "can't see the forest for the trees" adage.
The Cartesian separation of body and spirit.
Specialisation versus generalisation.
>"Traditional" societies tend to emphasise the holistic world
view (a generalisation, I admit), expressed by concepts of
community, sharing and respect for the environment that nurtures
them. Add to those basic tenets widely varying degrees of
"contamination" by less holistic approaches, and one sees the
present situation a bit more clearly.
Yes.
Essentially leading to alienation from self, and ultimately,
alienation from those around you. This is why I find African
Traditional Religions so healthy. You have your role within
the community - be it a mother, a diviner, an artist,
a leader.....you have your role, your speciality, but always
you are aware of your community, and everything you do is
with a community awareness. You are part of a group.
>I find it fascinating that many indigenous or aboriginal
societies still try to live a more holistic lifestyle despite the
pressures applied by the greater global community through the
church, the media, television, politicians or well-meaning aid
agencies. There is a fundamental assumption that traditional
communities must be unhappy if they are "poor" or "undeveloped".
Absoultely. This leads to a diminished sense of
responsiblity, which leads ultimately, to a disempowerment of the
individual.
>I've just returned from three weeks in South Africa, part of
which was spent in Zululand where I did not meet one unhappy
person. Maybe I was lucky. Maybe they are.<
:)
No, indeed.
In the West, on the surface you appear to be part of
a society, you have a job, a family, etc, but specifically
in urbanised areas, you beome separated from the community
at large. I always found it fasciniating, growing up in
a "white" community in South Africa - people lived in
neighbourhoods, and mostly did not know each other.
When I went to visit friends in the "townships", I found
that everyone knew everyone.
:)
There is less unhappiness in the rural areas, than the urban
ones. There is an unfortunate exception at present, in
KwaZulu Natal, where there is strife in the rural areas due
to political differences. But that is another whole story,
which I don't want want to dwell on here.
Zulu: Aggregation feast
When the neophyte has completed his training to be an *inyanga*,
a feast is held in celebration. The family of the new Diviner
prepare the feast, and brew beer.
Zulu: Heaven-herds
Re: Santeria
Kim, you're right. The issue is a contentious one.
First of all, I think that it should be understood that
not all offerings to the Orisha are meat offerings.
From: Michael
Re: Santeria and animal sacrifice
I would like to humbly submit to you all that you are
discussing
this topic totally out of context. Sort of like trying to peel an
orange with a socket wrench. Santeria and other African spiritual
systems are not organized around european concepts, consequently
many of
the terms you use like "magical" are completely alien, and in no
way
truly describes the nature of African spirituality. I would like
to
suggest that at many levels of African spirituality you would
find
strong correlation to what we refer to as "science" and or
"physics" all
tied up inside something that goes beyond science. My hope is
that we
will stop speaking "about" African spirituality in an
"anthropological"
(read imperialist) context and actually speak to practitioners
of
African spirituality to find out (if it can be conveyed) what
animal
"sacrifice" actually means to them in their context.
For information on Afrospirit-l send mail to,
the listmanager Ausetkmt/p@usa.net