Okay, guys. So I discovered this really cool religion while I was doing a paper for one of my classes. Now I am kind of passionate about it. Actually, the more that I learn about it, the more that I like it. I am going to tell you about it and what I have discovered about it in Chicago. If you have any questions, please leave them in comments and I'll get back to you. Promise!
Santeria is an old world fusion religion of Catholicism and the Yoruba religion of Orisha-Ifa. Yoruba is an ethnic group in West Africa, mainly Nigeria. Santeria means "the worship of the saints", but the politically correct name for it is La Regla Ocha. Nobody knows how many members there are, because it is a very privately guarded religion.
Santeria is an old world fusion religion of Catholicism and the Yoruba religion of Orisha-Ifa. Yoruba is an ethnic group in West Africa, mainly Nigeria. Santeria means "the worship of the saints", but the politically correct name for it is La Regla Ocha. Nobody knows how many members there are, because it is a very privately guarded religion.
This religion began during the slave trade to the Americas. When West Africans came over to the New World, they brought their religion, called Orisha-Ifa with them. In places in the Caribbean, predominately Cuba, they were called Lucumi or Lukumi, and in South American countries, such as Brazil, they were referred to as Macumba. The slaves owned by the Spanish were expected to convert to Catholicism, because that was the approved Spanish religion. However, some of the slaves kept their religion, but hid their gods behind the Catholic saints. Thus, the orishas were born.
Most of Santeria depends greatly upon symbolism, rituals, and ceremonies. Non-initiated devotees are known as aborishas. However, it is preferable to be initiated. In order to do this, a person needs a godparent. This is an already initiated person, or sometimes a family, that will guide a new initiate through the intricate rituals and ceremonies. Most of these ceremonies are held at temples known as iles. Most major cities have established iles, but if one lives in a smaller town, then the home of a priest or priestess will do. There are usually several events that are held for non-initiates, like tambors (drummings) for the orishas and masses for ancestors. Initiated priests or priestesses are called Santeros. Santeros that have initiated other priests are known as babalorichas. Healers are called espirititas.
In order to tell which orisha rules your head, you must pay for a divination. Santeros whose main job is divination are known as Italeros. There are many different orishas. The orisha that is always mentioned first in ceremonies is Elegua (Eleggua), the child god, because, without him, there cannot be any communication with the other orishas. The other orishas must go through him to grant wishes or help any of their human devotees. Devotees often build altars to whatever orisha rules their head. This altar is made to tailor specifically to what that orisha likes. For instance, if the altar is built to Yemaya, it would be good to use colors like pale blue, white, and coral. She rules the sea, so there might be a lot of water, and she likes watermelon. She shares all of her food with Chango, so that might be taken into account. Each of the orishas has their own distinct personality and story. For example, Oshun (Ochun) is the orisha of love and beauty. She is the sister of Yemaya. Yemaya lets her live in the rivers, and she is often shown to be a mixed race woman who carries a fan and a mirror. The stories can often be difficult to know, seeing as Santeria is almost exclusively an oral religion.
There are many misconceptions about the religion of Santeria. Most of these misconceptions seem to stem from the ritual animal sacrifices that go on in the religion. Sometimes, Santeria is used as a cover for crimes. For instance, some groups that claim to be Santeria begin to sacrifice people, or drug traffickers will use the religion as a cover. There are also those that claim that Santeria is comparable to devil worship.
Practitioners of Santeria can still be found in Africa, the United States, Cuba, and other countries in South and Central America. In fact, if you were to pick up a Miami newspaper, you would see a Santeria forecast the same way that other newspapers would have astrology. Most people who practice Santeria are of African or Hispanic descent. In Chicago, many Santerians (?) can be found in Pilsen, probably because of the high Hispanic population. It is often seen as a way to reconnect to one’s heritage in a country that is predominately based on white European culture.
In order to practice Santeria, one might need certain things that are not readily found in stores. These things can range from a picture of the orisha Babalu Aye for an altar or for a special distillation of African root for a cleansing ritual. Typically, one would go to a botanica for such items. There are several such botanicas in the Chicago area. They are typically located in Pilsen, Bucktown, Little Village, or Humboldt Park. Each botanica tells the shopper what items it has in the name. For instance, the Botanica Obatala probably has a lot of items that have to do with the orisha Obatala, and the Botanica Yemaya carries items having to do with Yemaya. Patrons of these botanicas get very frustrated when botanicas are labeled incorrectly, as this probably means that this person is not actually very knowledgeable about Santeria, even if they claim to be a Santero or espiritita. A store called Botanica Lucero, which indicates that it carries items having to do with Palo Mayombe, would be considered very irritating if it carried items having to do with La Santisima Muerte, which has nothing to do with Santeria.
Recent African immigrants brought an unsyncretized form of Ife to Chicago and its surrounding areas. Often times, people who practice the Santerian religion will outwardly identify as Catholic, but this influx of immigrants chooses not to do so. They were basically worshipping the same orishas from the original Yoruba tradition, but without the preoccupation with saints.
Every region has its own version of Santeria. This is because Santeria is often influenced heavily by local traditions, such as Native American culture, Voudoun, or Macumba. For example, Voudoun includes a sacred form of drawing called veves, which has been adopted by Santeria in cities that have a large Haitian population. Also the orisha-saint identification can vary depending on the region, in a broader sense. One instance of this is that in some places, such as Candomble and Umbanda, Ogun is identified with St. George, while in Chicago and most of America Ogun is identified with St. Peter.
Santeria in Chicago tends to be much more prevalent with the Latino population than it is with the African American population. There are occasionally open house holy days held for people who are interested in joining.
http://catholicforum.fisheaters.com/index.php?topic=747392.0;wap2
In order to tell which orisha rules your head, you must pay for a divination. Santeros whose main job is divination are known as Italeros. There are many different orishas. The orisha that is always mentioned first in ceremonies is Elegua (Eleggua), the child god, because, without him, there cannot be any communication with the other orishas. The other orishas must go through him to grant wishes or help any of their human devotees. Devotees often build altars to whatever orisha rules their head. This altar is made to tailor specifically to what that orisha likes. For instance, if the altar is built to Yemaya, it would be good to use colors like pale blue, white, and coral. She rules the sea, so there might be a lot of water, and she likes watermelon. She shares all of her food with Chango, so that might be taken into account. Each of the orishas has their own distinct personality and story. For example, Oshun (Ochun) is the orisha of love and beauty. She is the sister of Yemaya. Yemaya lets her live in the rivers, and she is often shown to be a mixed race woman who carries a fan and a mirror. The stories can often be difficult to know, seeing as Santeria is almost exclusively an oral religion.
There are many misconceptions about the religion of Santeria. Most of these misconceptions seem to stem from the ritual animal sacrifices that go on in the religion. Sometimes, Santeria is used as a cover for crimes. For instance, some groups that claim to be Santeria begin to sacrifice people, or drug traffickers will use the religion as a cover. There are also those that claim that Santeria is comparable to devil worship.
Practitioners of Santeria can still be found in Africa, the United States, Cuba, and other countries in South and Central America. In fact, if you were to pick up a Miami newspaper, you would see a Santeria forecast the same way that other newspapers would have astrology. Most people who practice Santeria are of African or Hispanic descent. In Chicago, many Santerians (?) can be found in Pilsen, probably because of the high Hispanic population. It is often seen as a way to reconnect to one’s heritage in a country that is predominately based on white European culture.
In order to practice Santeria, one might need certain things that are not readily found in stores. These things can range from a picture of the orisha Babalu Aye for an altar or for a special distillation of African root for a cleansing ritual. Typically, one would go to a botanica for such items. There are several such botanicas in the Chicago area. They are typically located in Pilsen, Bucktown, Little Village, or Humboldt Park. Each botanica tells the shopper what items it has in the name. For instance, the Botanica Obatala probably has a lot of items that have to do with the orisha Obatala, and the Botanica Yemaya carries items having to do with Yemaya. Patrons of these botanicas get very frustrated when botanicas are labeled incorrectly, as this probably means that this person is not actually very knowledgeable about Santeria, even if they claim to be a Santero or espiritita. A store called Botanica Lucero, which indicates that it carries items having to do with Palo Mayombe, would be considered very irritating if it carried items having to do with La Santisima Muerte, which has nothing to do with Santeria.
Recent African immigrants brought an unsyncretized form of Ife to Chicago and its surrounding areas. Often times, people who practice the Santerian religion will outwardly identify as Catholic, but this influx of immigrants chooses not to do so. They were basically worshipping the same orishas from the original Yoruba tradition, but without the preoccupation with saints.
Every region has its own version of Santeria. This is because Santeria is often influenced heavily by local traditions, such as Native American culture, Voudoun, or Macumba. For example, Voudoun includes a sacred form of drawing called veves, which has been adopted by Santeria in cities that have a large Haitian population. Also the orisha-saint identification can vary depending on the region, in a broader sense. One instance of this is that in some places, such as Candomble and Umbanda, Ogun is identified with St. George, while in Chicago and most of America Ogun is identified with St. Peter.
Santeria in Chicago tends to be much more prevalent with the Latino population than it is with the African American population. There are occasionally open house holy days held for people who are interested in joining.
http://catholicforum.fisheaters.com/index.php?topic=747392.0;wap2
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