Santeria. Santería (Spanish pronunciation, also known as Regla de Ocha, Regla Lucumí, or Lucumí, is an African diasporic religion that developed in Cuba during the late 19th century. It arose through a process of syncretism between the traditional Yoruba religion of West Africa, the Roman Catholic form of Christianity, and Spiritism. There is no central authority in control of Santería and much diversity exists among practitioners, who are known as creyentes (“believers”). Santería is polytheistic and revolves around deities called oricha. Catholic saints. Each human is believed to have a personal link to a particular oricha who influences their personality. be manipulated through ritual actions. Practitioners venerate theoricha at altars, either in the home or in the casa. What are the beliefs of Santeria?|What is the purpose of Santeria?|Who is the God of Santeria?| The term Santería translates into English as the “way of the saints”. This term was first used by scholarly commentators in the 1930s and later spread among the religion’s practitioners themselves. It has become the most popular name for the religion, although some practitioners find it offensive. A common alternative is Regla deOcha, meaning “the rule of chacha being a term for the religion’s deities. Some adherents regard this as the religion’s “official” name. The tradition has also been called Lucuma, about the colonial Spanish term for the Yoruba people, or La Religión Lucumí (“the Lucuma religion”) or Regla Lucumí (“the rule of Lucumí”.Santería is an Afro-Caribbean religion, and more specifically an Afro- Cuban religion. the Yoruba, between the 16th and 19th centuries. In Cuba, these religions mixed with the Roman Catholicism was introduced by Spanish colonialists. Roman Catholic saints were conflated with West African deities, while enslaved Africans adopted Roman Catholic rituals and sacramentals. In the 19th century, elements from Spiritism—a French variant of Spiritualism—were drawn into the mix, with Santeria emerging as a distinct. Is Santeria a Catholic? Santeria is a flexible and eclectic tradition, with considerable variation in how it is practiced. There is no strict orthodoxy, no key sacred text, and no central authority in control of the entire religion. It has absorbed elements from many cultures that it has encountered, such as that of the Chinese migrants who came to Cuba in the 19th century, while in continental North America, has also incorporated influences from Central American and Mexican religions as well as from New Age and modern Pagan practices. As well as it being common for Cubans to idiosyncratically blend ideas from different religions, many of Santería’s practitioners claim multiple religious allegiances. Santería’s adherents often consider themselves to be Roman Catholics—some priests and priestesses of Santería refuse to initiate anyone who is not a baptized Roman Catholic—and others consider themselves to be Spiritists, Hindus, Vodouists, or Jews.
