Information AboutSanteria |
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Lukumí or '''Regla de Ocha''', is most widely known as '''Santeria,''' ('''Santería''' in Spanish ) is a set of related Religious systems that fuse Catholic beliefs with traditional Yoruba Beliefs . In the Yoruba Language , Lukumí means "friends" and also applies to descendants of Yorùbá slaves in Cuba , their music and dance, and the cubanized dialect of the Yorùbá language. HISTORY The name Lukumi originated from present-day Nigeria. The Yoruba people of Nigeria were initially called the Lukumi which was supposed to be from the word "Olokun mi" (my dear one). The name Yoruba is popularly believed to have been derived from a Hausa ethnonym for the populous people to their south, but this legend has not been substantiated by historians. The term first appeared in a treatise written by the Songhai scholar Ahmed Baba, and is likely to derive from the Oyo or Yagba , two Yoruba-speaking groups along the northern borders of their terrority. However, it is likely that the ethnonym was popularized by Hausa usage and ethnography written in Arabic and Ajami . Lukumí originated in Cuba and was historically practised by descendants of West Africa n Slave s, when slave owners purposely divided slave families and mixed members of different African ethnic groups as a way of maintaining control. Later, in the early 18th century, the Spanish Catholic church allowed for the creation of societies called Cabildos to provide means for entertainment and reconstruction of many aspects of ethnic heritage for both sides. The slaves practised Yorùbá religious ceremonies in these cabildos, along with religious and secular traditions from other parts of Africa, combining their masters' pantheon of Catholic saints with their own pantheon of Orisha . This combination would come to be known as Lukumí. Lukumí's survival in Cuba was primarily due to this convergence of Yorùbá beliefs and Catholicism. When slave owners observed Africans celebrating a Saint's Day, they were generally unaware that the slaves were actually worshiping the Orisha. Today, the terms ''saint'' and ''Orisha'' are often used interchangeably. The common bond between the Lukumí Orisha and the Catholic saints has become a part of Cuba's religious culture. It was originally referred to as Santería (literally, '''Way of the Saints'''), a derisive term applied by the Spanish to mock followers' seeming overdevotion to the Saint s and their perceived neglect of God . The slaves' Christian masters did not allow them to practise their various west African religions. The slaves found a way around this by masking the Orishas as Christian saints while maintaining their original identities. The masters thought their slaves had become "good Christians" and were praising the saints, when in actuality they were continuing their traditional practices. {Link without Title} Lukumí is practised throughout the Caribbean , and has a following in Mexico , Argentina , Colombia , Venezuela and the United States and other areas with large Latin American populations. The religion is also practiced in Brazil , which is home to a rich array of other Afro-American Religion s. BELIEFS AND RITUALS Lukumí ritual is highly secretive and primarily transmitted orally. Known practices include Animal Offering , ecstatic dance, and sung invocations to the Orishas . Chicken s, a staple food of many African-descended and Creole cultures, are the most common sacrifice; the chicken's blood is offered to the Orisha, while the meat is consumed by all. Fruit is also offered to the Orisha. Drum music and dancing are used to induce a trance state in specific participants, who may become possessed by an Orisha who then speaks through them (see Yoruba Music ). One's ancestors, egun, are held in high esteem in Lukumí. All ceremonies and rituals in the Lukumi religion begin with paying homage to one’s ancestors. The Lukumi believe in a creator who is called Olodumare. There is no belief in the Devil. Yoruba belief has no oppositional set up - good versus evil, God versus a Devil. One strives to develop good character and good works during one's lifetime. There are concepts of negative energies however - most generated by human foibles. Many Animal Rights activists take issue with the Lukumí practice of Animal Sacrifice , claiming that it is cruel. Followers of Lukumí point out that the killings are conducted in a safe and humane manner. The priests charged with doing the sacrifice are trained in humane ways to kill the animals. Furthermore, the animal is cooked and eaten afterwards as a show of community. In 1993 , the United States Supreme Court ruled in '' Church Of Lukumi Babalu Aye V. City Of Hialeah '' that animal cruelty laws targeted specifically at Lukumí were unconstitutional, and the practice has seen no significant legal challenges since then. Lukumi does not advocate Human Sacrifice under any circumstances. While most of the rituals performed in Lukumi are performed safely and without injury to humans, there have been documented cases where injuries have occurred. The most highly publicized case, as reported by The New York Times took place on January 18, 1998 in Sayville, New York, where 17-year-old Charity Miranda was suffocated to death with a plastic bag at her home by her mother Vivian, 39, and sister Serena, 20, after an unsuccessful exorcism to free her of demons. Police found the women chanting and praying over the prostrate body. Not long before, they had embraced Lukumi. The mother in question, Vivian Miranda, was found not guilty by reason of insanity, and is currently confined in a New York State psychiatric hospital for the criminally insane. {Link without Title} . It can be argued however, that these people had nothing to do with Santeria or Lukumi because there is no devil or demons in the religion to posess someone like that. EXTERNAL LINKS
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