Cuban Santería

By Nalyan Chacon Ruiz

Which Orisha calls to you?

Orishas are African spirits respected and served in Cuban Santeria, as well as other Caribbean traditions.

Santería is a religion with Afro-Cuban roots, born of the cultural clash between the Yoruba people of West Africa and the Spanish Catholics who brought them to the Americas as slaves.

 

What makes Santeria so unique is the fact that it is a syncretic religion – it combines the beliefs and practices of several religions, primarily the African Yoruba religion with Roman Catholic elements mixed in.

Today, many people still turn to the Orishas for help and guidance in not only their little problems, but also the big ones of life.

 

You will learn that each Orisha have specific actions and temperament.

• Where you can find Yemaya
• Oshun's favorite food
• How to petition Changò

 

Get your copy and Find out which Orisha is best able to solve the difficulties you are going through.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Nalyan Chacon Ruiz
• Release date: Jan 19, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224788675

Book preview

Cuban Santería

A Beginner's Guide to the Beliefs, Deities, Spells and Rituals of a Growing Religion in America. The Orishas, Proverbs, Sacrifices and Prohibitions of Cuban Santería (Yoruba).

by

Nalyan Chacon Ruiz

Cover Photo by Domenico Bandiera from Pexels

Cover Photo by David Peterson from Pixabay

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1 - Yoruba History

Yoruba Laws

Yoruba traditions

CHAPTER 2 - Creation According to Yoruba Beliefs

CHAPTER 3 - The Orishas

ELEGUA

ORULA

OGGÙN

OSHOSI

OSUN

OBATALÀ

ALGAYU

OYA

OBBA

OSHUN

CHANGÒ

YEMAYA

JIMAGUAS (O IBEYIS)

OLOKUN

BABALU AYE

ODDUA

OKÈ

ORISHA OKO

OSAIN

INLE

YEWÁ

The food of the Orishas

CHAPTER 4 - Daily Rituals

CHAPTER 5 - Ceremony of Tambor

CHAPTER 6 - Ceremonial Washings and Purifications

CHAPTER 7 - Santerian Divination

CHAPTER 8 - Biague (Patakkin)

CHAPTER 9 - Why do the Babalawos use the Tablero de Orula (Patakkin)?

CHAPTER 10 - How to Become Iyawó

CHAPTER 11 - The Love Rituals of Cuban Santerìa

St. Helen's Love Binding

Love connection of Santa Marta Dominadora

GLOSSARY

INTRODUCTION

The Yoruba (Yorùbá in Yoruba orthography) are a vast ethno-linguistic group of around 40 million people spread throughout West Africa. They are present above all in Nigeria (making up 30% of the Nigerian population), but also in Benin, Togo and Sierra Leone. During the period of the slave trade, many inhabitants of these regions were deported to the Americas, and communities traceable to the Yoruba group can also be found in Brazil, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad, the Caribbean and the United States.

Prior to the abolition of slavery, Europeans frequently referred to the Yoruba as Akú, a term derived from the sound of Yoruba greeting formulas. The Spanish and Portuguese also used terms such as Nago, Anago, and Ana, but these terms properly identify only certain Yoruba subgroups in the coastal areas of Benin; these names are still in use in some French-speaking areas of the region. In Cuba, and in Latin American countries in general, the Yoruba are called Lucumi, from O luku mi, which means my friend in some Yoruba dialects. The name Yoruba came into use in the 19th century, and is used today in anthropology, but the origins of this usage are controversial.

CHAPTER 1 - Yoruba History

There are many myths and legends about powerful and imaginative people and how they were able to create and shape the Earth. Some of them are very famous, others less so: among them there is the figure of Babalú Ayé, an important demigod also called Obaluaiye, which literally means King of the Earth and symbolizes his father and creator.

He derives from Yoruba mythology, one of the original religions of West Africa, which spread to America because of the deportation of slaves.

This mythology is considered a syncretic cult, meaning that it encompasses multiple ideologies and conceptions from different religious forms. Its chief god is Olorun (Olofi): he created all the Orisha, or demigods, so that some of them would be in charge of creating the world for him.

To talk about the Yoruba religion, we must talk about the Yoruba African populations. These villages settled between the Volta River and Cameroon around the fifth century AD. C. They were socially, economically, and politically more advanced than the neighbouring towns. They dominated agriculture and iron forging.

As early as the 13th century, Yoruba kingdoms were formed in the territories south of Nigeria. Two of these kingdoms completely dominated the rest: Ifé and Oyo.

Their organization and respectful way of life helped them to live together in harmony. They practiced agriculture, long-distance trade, mining, and handicrafts.

Although the slaves arrived in Cuba, Brazil and Haiti, it was in Cuba where they managed to keep their customs and traditions intact. This was so because they entered the state of Matanzas and there the family union was respected: they were left to be with their wives, mothers and children.

The slavers tried to evangelize them, but it was a task hindered by the shortage of priests, the language barrier and the condition of slavery.

Thus began a process of syncretism in which Catholic saints were equated with Yoruba orishas so that they could be worshipped without stirring up controversy among Native Americans.

In this sense, analogies were made such as: Santa Barbara of Changó, Virgen de las Mercedes of Obatalá, Santo Niño de Atocha of Elegguá and Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre of Oshún.

In fact, on many occasions they performed their rites in secret, to avoid punishment from the colonizers who were determined to convert them to Catholicism.

Later, some ran with the luck that their chiefs accepted and respected their traditions, especially in Matanzas (Cuba).

The Yoruba believe that Olofi (Olorun) created the world, which was previously inhabited by saints (orishas), among whom he divided his power, called aché. They believe that the cosmos can be disturbed by immoral actions