Santeria, 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 United States. It centers on the personal relationship between practitioners and the orishas, the deities of the Yoruban nations of West Africa.
Santeria is a lesser known religion that evolved out of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Still popular in Cuba, here's what it is and what followers believe.
Santeria (Santería in Spanish, meaning "Way of the Saints") is a set of related religious systems that fuse Roman Catholic beliefs with traditional Yorùbá beliefs, that over time became a unique religion in its own right. Properly known as Lukumí in the Yorùbá language, meaning "friendship," Santeria was the religion practiced by descendants of many Yorùbá slaves in Cuba, over time ...
MSN: Cuba's Santeria priests ask for peace as Cuba-US tensions rise further
[Santería] in Cuba was not just a continuation of Yoruba religious and cultural practices but something new, born from the encounter of the diverse Yoruba tribes with one another, with non-Yoruba Africans, and with the Europeans in a new environment and a new social order governed by [a] set of institutions different from those of Africa.
Santeria is a faith that blends West African magic with Caribbean tradition and Roman Catholicism. Learn more about what Santeria is.
Is Santeria witchcraft? Discover the origins, rituals, and cultural significance of Santeria, and why it's often misunderstood as witchcraft.
Santería is an Afro-Caribbean religion that originated among enslaved Yoruba people in Cuba. It is a vibrant syncretic faith that combines traditional Yoruba religious beliefs with the rituals and symbolism of Spanish Catholicism. This blending of beliefs was a survival mechanism during colonial times, allowing practitioners to mask their African deities behind the images of Catholic saints ...