(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
Black Kos, Week In Review - AfroCaribbean Religions Santeria, Lukumi, Palo Mayombe, Vodou, Rastafari [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-03-21
PRACTICES
Although the particulars of practice vary among traditions, the main ways in which believers practice fall into a few broad categories. Many Afro-Caribbean religious traditions have no central religious authorities. However, some religions such as Ifa (from which Candomble, Santeria, and Lukumi originate) has a world spokesperson.
Ifa
Historically, there has not been religious literature available for most Afro-Caribbean religious traditions because information was passed down orally. Over the last 40 years both scholars and practitioners have produced literature on Afro-Caribbean religious traditions that is widely available to others. Examples include African Religions: A Very Short Introduction by Jacob Olupona; Black Religion and Aesthetics: Religious Thought and Life in Africa and the African Diaspora by Anthony B. Pinn; and Jambalaya: The Natural Woman’s Book of Personal Charms and Practice Rituals by Luisah Teish.
Because of their histories of persecution during the Colonial period and afterward, and because contemporary society and media continue to demonize them, there is a high level of secrecy around Afro-Caribbean beliefs and practices. Traditionally, only priests, other initiates, and active devotees in a tradition take part in rituals and worship.
The daily routines of members include devotions practiced at altars in their homes. Adherents pray before an altar dedicated to one or more of the deities they worship and leave offerings of flowers, incense, water, or alcoholic beverages, and occasionally small sacrificial animals consecrated by a priest.
Afro-Caribbean religious practitioners are often protective of their rituals, highlighting the need to offer privacy for prayer and ritual observances whenever possible, especially in the workplace. Employees may bring in special food, icons, candles, or natural objects (e.g., rocks, sticks, etc.), though it is unlikely “outsiders” will be aware of their hidden purpose. If an employee brings these devotional objects in for prayer, they will likely want that object for symbolic protection and will keep that object on their person or within their personal space.
Some Afro-Caribbean religious practitioners may want to engage in prayer rituals during the day. If available, quiet rooms or interfaith prayer rooms will be appropriate for many of these prayers. In traditions such as Candomble, Santeria, Palo Monte, and Vodoun observers may perform acts of libation by pouring small amounts of water in a bowl, plant, or outside in nature while speaking the names of deities or loves ones who are deceased. As a result, some practitioners may need to pray in the open air or find a space where they can perform acts of libation.
Seven Orishas
Divination, a ritual process of using ancient oracle systems to connect with the unseen or spiritual realm for guidance, is a core practice in Santería, Candomblé, and in some varieties of Palo Mayombe. The purpose of divination is to gain guidance that will help devotees become conscious, self-actualize and co-create their destiny with the Divine. Devotees approach priests with a problem, and divination allows the priest to diagnose its causes. Although Vodoun does not make use of divination techniques of this sort, initiation into the highest ranks of the Vodoun priesthood is believed to grant the power of clairvoyance.
While Santería, Candomblé, Palo Mayombe, and Vodoun are generally not congregational religions, there are certain traditions throughout the United States where it is common for priests and priestesses to lead spiritual communities which serve as places for worship on a regular basis. Some of these communities have open services, and offer occasional ceremonies that bring large numbers of worshipers together. In the United States, traditions such as Candomble, Santeria, and Lukumi – known collectively as Orisa (or Orisha) traditions – have spiritual communities referred to as iles (houses) that are led by priests and priestesses. Some of these communities have open services and/or annual celebrations in honor of orisha which are called bembes. Orisha are spirits and deities that act as intermediaries between the Supreme Being and human beings.
At typically religious services, the main activities are singing religious songs accompanied by drumming and dancing. In certain ceremonies the practices of singing, dancing, and drumming together call upon the religion’s deities and invite them to visit the ceremony by taking over the body of one or more of the priests. Once possession occurs, the deity is dressed in special clothes and interacts with worshipers before departing. These ceremonies usually end with a closing ritual followed by a communal meal, which is shared with the deities by placing food in front of their altars.
x YouTube Video
Healing constitutes a major focus of these religions. Whether a problem is social, psychological, or physical, devotees make use of herbal medicine, ritual healing, and counseling provided by their spiritual leaders. The healing process is meant to explore what an individual needs to align with physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, and identify any blocks or obstacles to be addressed. In some traditions, problems may also be believed to be the result of malevolence (sometimes referred to as “sorcery”), and a portion of any healer’s work is dedicated to combating the effects of such malevolence.
Voodou Priest man
Vodou (Voodou) is arguably both the most famous and most misunderstood Afro-Caribbean religion. Since Vodou emergence in the Caribbean during the era of the slave trade, the Haitian religion has been the subject of great controversy. As a result, Vodou has been suppressed, misinterpreted and misrepresented over many centuries, and the practitioners of Vodou have long been subjected to religious persecution because of this. Not surprisingly, mainstream media also portrays Vodou in manner that is problematic and lacks historical context.
Historians have long recognized that Vodou played an important ideological role during the Haitian Revolution (1791-1804). Yet, as incredulous as it may seem, there are those even today who argue that the ceremony at Bois Caiman, which sparked the Haitian Revolution, should be understood as a “deal made with Satan.” The most notable of these was the very influential religious leader Pat Robertson who made this claim in 2010 during one of his televised fundraisers. It is interesting to note, however, that the Haitian Catholic church has accepted Vodou for over thirty years.
Yet for many non-Haitians, the religion is something to be feared and is also to be seen as an explanation for all that has gone wrong in Haiti. While the views of Pat Robertson and other religious leaders such as Tom Barrett have been widely criticized, and their views can be easily dismissed by those who have studied the Haitian Revolution, their strong following guarantees that they have the power to influence perceptions about Vodou, Haiti, and Haitians.
Haitian Vodou believers
After slaves started a massive revolt in 1791 on the island of St. Domingue, where present-day Haiti is, the assortment of beliefs and practices brought over from different parts of Western Africa coalesced into New Orleans voodoo. Both white and black residents of St. Domingue, also colonized by the French, fled to New Orleans which was attractive to them for its similar French heritage. Residents of St. Domingue already followed developed voodoo practices (in fact, an intense, well-attended voodoo ceremony inspired the slave revolt), and the refugees brought these traditions with them.
However, voodoo wouldn’t have penetrated into New Orleans culture as much as it did without the unifying force of the infamous Marie Laveau, who codified practices locally and gave the religion a beautiful but mysterious public face. Laveau is believed to have been the daughter of a white planter and a black Creole woman. For a while, she earned a living as a hairdresser, catering to a wealthy white clientele and learning their secrets through gossip, giving her insight into their affairs. Laveau bridged the world of white and black, with clients and followers of all walks of life who asked her to bring them luck, to cure ailments, to procure them their desired lovers, and to exact revenge on enemies. Another important figure of New Orleans voodoo was Dr. John, a dark-skinned, stately man with a tattooed face whose alleged powers brought him thousands of clients.
Voodoo both fascinated and repelled the white New Orleanians who came to watch the public rites that were held in Congo Square until 1857, where Armstrong Park is today. (More secretive, nocturnal rites were held elsewhere.) Rumors of spirit possessions, snake worship, zombies, and animal sacrifices scandalized them. But in private, they would consult voodoo priests and priestesses. Modern scholars argue that voodoo was a way for African-Americans to exert influence over the white ruling establishment, a manifestation of suppressed power.
Congo Square, New Orleans, Louisiana circa 1830
Popular conceptions about Vodou have also been informed by the film industry. For decades, many Hollywood productions have capitalized on stereotypes about Vodou. While it is clear to any historian that these films and television episodes are highly inaccurate, for many, the distinction between historical fact and sensationalized Hollywood fabrications and exaggerations is not all that clear. For example, movies such as Live and Let Die (1973) from the James Bond series, The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988), and Child’s Play (1988), all present Vodou in a negative light, emphasizing zombies, possession and Vodou dolls, which in reality have very little to do with the religion. More recently, television shows such as True Blood and Bones have had Vodou featured prominently in their respective series. In such representations, Vodou is not represented as a spiritual practice but is instead depicted as an evil cult. Nor do such media productions emphasize the many similarities that Vodou shares with Christianity or its roots in Catholicism.
For hundreds of years Jamaicans have been prevented by law from practising Obeah, a belief system with similarities to Haiti's Voodoo. Until recently, the practice of Obeah was punishable by flogging or imprisonment, among other penalties. The government recently abolished such colonial-era punishments, prompting calls for a decriminalisation of Obeah to follow.
Obeah thrived during the era of slavery, but it virtually died out in urban centers, where over half the Jamaican population now lives. But It has survived in rural communities. Obeah's history is similar to that of Voodoo in Haiti and Santeria in Cuba. Enslaved Africans brought spiritual practices to the Caribbean that included folk healing and a belief in magic like powers for good and for evil.
Palo, also known as Las Reglas de Congo, is a religion with various denominations which developed in Cuba among Central African slaves and their descendants who originated in the Congo Basin. It is secondary to Lucumi ( also known as Santeria), among practitioners of African-derived religions in Cuba. Denominations often referred to as "branches" of Palo include Mayombe (or Mallombe), Monte, Briyumba (or Brillumba), and Kimbisa.
The Spanish word palo "stick" was applied to the religion in Cuba due to the use of wooden sticks in the preparation of altars, which were also called la Nganga, el caldero, nkisi or la prenda. Priests of Palo are known as Paleros, Tatas (men), Yayas (women) or Nganguleros. Initiates are known as ngueyos or pino nuevo.
Diet
Santería, Candomblé, Vodoun, and Palo Mayombe have no explicit, universal dietary restrictions, although some individuals may adopt dietary restrictions through practices of divination.
Many Rastafari eschew pork and salt and follow Ethiopian Jewish dietary laws (Beta Israel) as well as a modified vegan diet called ital (“I” is important in rasta chants and the word “vital”). The general principle of ital is that food should be eaten in its natural state. Thus, some Rastafari avoid food which is chemically modified or contains artificial additives (e.g., color and preservatives); strict interpretations prohibit foods produced using chemical pesticides and fertilizer. Most Rastafari avoid all red meat, many do not eat fish (or at least fish that are over 12 inches in length), and some are strict vegetarians. Some also avoid shellfish and alcohol consumption.
Santeria devotees who have been initiated into the priesthood of Obatala also avoid alcohol consumption. Some Afro-Christian churches also have fasting requirements.
Adherents of Afro-Christian churches also may ascribe healing properties to certain foods and may wish to maintain a diet that they believe provides spiritual balance. These dietary restrictions exist in Santería, Candomblé, Vodoun, and Palo Mayombe and stem from one’s relationships with the specific spirits or deities one serves. For example, in Santería, the orisha Oshún is believed to keep all her magic herbs and sacred objects inside a pumpkin; she is also associated with the patron saint of Cuba, La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre. Therefore, those who worship Oshún are barred from eating pumpkins, which are a special food reserved for the orisha. This dietary restriction is especially important on Oshún’s/La Virgen’s Feast Day, which falls on September 8.
If providing a meal for an individual who ascribes to an Afro-Caribbean tradition, find out whether the individual abstains from meat, fish, chemically modified foods, artificial additives, or other ritually significant foods. Some individuals will prefer to eat food they have prepared themselves, which should be accommodated in the event of a catered social gathering or meeting in the workplace.
Attire
Generally, there is no religious dress that is worn on a daily basis, although special outfits may accompany rituals. Some Afro-Caribbean individuals may choose to wear charms or amulets that are believed to ward off evil spirits. Santería and Candomblé devotees may, however, wear distinctive bead necklaces and bracelets (including ankle bracelets), which act as both a distinctive badge of membership and spiritual protection. In the Orisa traditions of Ifa, Lukumi, Santeria the distinctive bead necklaces are known as ilekes and the bracelets are known as ides. They symbolize that someone has gone through a specific ritual and offer spiritual protection. The color of the beads correlate to particular deities invoked during the ritual.
Our own Denise
There is one instance during which both Santería and Candomblé require particular religious garb. During the period of a year or more following a novice’s initiation into the priesthood, the person is expected to dress entirely in white clothes and to wear head coverings (a hat for men or a white cloth tied around their head for women). Women may wear long white dresses, coats, jackets, and stockings that cover most of their bodies. Both men and women in this situation are viewed as especially vulnerable, and white is seen as a spiritually pure color that protects that vulnerability. It is important that people in this situation continue to be dressed only in white clothes and be allowed some form of white head covering if at all possible.
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/3/21/2311216/-Black-Kos-Week-In-Review-AfroCaribbean-Religions-Santeria-Lukumi-Palo-Mayombe-Vodou-Rastafari?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web
Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/
