etymology

The term "Santeria" was used by the Spanish in a derogatory manner to mock the apparent showing excessive devotion to the Saints fans, to the detriment of the Judeo-Christian God Yahweh. The Christian masters did not allow their slaves they practiced their various West African animist beliefs. The slaves found a way to circumvent this prohibition, and concluded that the Christian saints were merely manifestations of their own gods. The masters thought their slaves had become good Christians and they were praying to the saints, when in fact they were following their traditional beliefs. In some countries the term Santeria is still derogatory. Practitioners prefer to use other names such as lukumi (due to his greeting oluku me: 'my friend') or Regla de Ocha. Sometimes Santeria practitioners prefer to be known by the secret societies to which they belong, for example: Abakwá (in Cuba) and Friends of St. Lazarus (Puerto Rico). This term has spread around the world, but also another meaning: Santeria is the person who draws up images of Catholic saints

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