The Santeros or Regla de Osha-Ifa is a set of religious systems that fuse Catholic beliefs with traditional Yoruba culture. It is, therefore, a religious belief arising from a syncretism of African and European elements. Santeria was practiced by the former black slaves and their descendants in Cuba, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Panama, Venezuela, Brazil, Colombia and places with large Hispanic populations in the United States of America (Florida, New York, San Francisco, New Orleans , Los Angeles, Miami and San Diego). Today the religion has also presence in Spain, especially in the Canary Islands because of its close relationship with Cuba, Mexico, Netherlands, Germany, England, France and other countries where a considerable number of Cuban immigrants. In Venezuela, the Caracas region is where the highest concentration of Santeria and babalawos in the country but are also found in Cumana, Coro and Maracay. In Colombia, although it is well hidden, there is also presence of Santeria or the OSHA rule, especially in the city of Santiago de Cali and there are families formed by awos Santeria and babalawos Cubans, even today there are already stores items for Santeria. Santeria is the dean, heir and follower of the Yoruba culture has enriched all doctrines the precepts of the Yoruba diaspora is the legacy of the slaves who came from Nigeria and therefore the people of Ife, to Cuban soil. Just as the author has written the Prayer to St. Froilan, where exhibits and shows that the saint from the point of view of syncretism, could in a very certain syncretic mix with the Yoruba deity Osain, stressing throughout this study universality of the theology of Santeria, one of the heirs of the Yoruba culture, ie the Cuban Santeria.

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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history

When colonized America, and because Europeans were not allowed to worship their gods the slaves coming from Africa, they identified their gods with Christian saints, in this way could continue worshiping without their owners noticing. Santeria appears as defined in the Western belief in the nineteenth century Cuba.Santeria is a religion that has its origins in the African Yoruba tribe. The Yorubas lived in what is today known as Nigeria, along the Niger River. At one time had a powerful and complex structure organized in a series of kingdoms, of which the most important was Benin. This lasted for 12 centuries until 1896.In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the Yoruba fought a series of wars with its neighbors and each other. These internal struggles and external attacks led to the downfall and enslavement of the Yoruba people. Between 1820 and 1840, most slaves were shipped from Benin Yoruba. These slaves were brought to Cuba and Brazil to work sugar plantations. The Yoruba soon were called "Lucumi" due to his greeting "oluku my", "my friend".Spanish law, while allowing slavery, sought to redress that injustice by granting certain rights to slaves, at least in theory. They had the right to private property, marriage and personal safety. Also, the law required that slaves be baptized Catholic as a condition of legal entry into the Indies.The Church tried to evangelize blacks Lucumi but conditions were very difficult. In addition to the shortage of priests, the injustice of slavery difficult for the Lucumi accept what was imposed on them. Beyond the reasons behind the initiative evangelizing men who promulgated the Christian faith among the slaves belonged to the same race and in many cases to the same social circles as the slave. The result was that many accepted Catholic teaching outwardly while inwardly retained their old religion.With the triumph of the communist revolution in Cuba in 1959, more than a million Cubans into exile in other countries (mainly in the cities of Miami, New York and Los Angeles). Among them were santeros Santeria spread in their new environments.In their efforts to hide their African religion and magical practices, the lucumís identified their African deities (orishas) with Catholic saints, resulting in a religious syncretism known today as Santería.Santeria worship center and creative force called Olodumare. From it comes all that exists, and everything returns to it. Olodumare is expressed himself in the world created by Ashe. Ashe is the blood of cosmic life, the power of Olodumare to life, strength and justice. It is a divine power that is many channels of varying receptivity. Ashe is the absolute basis of reality.They believe that every person's life is already determined before birth in Ile-Olofi, the house of God in heaven. Those who do not comply will be punished for the orishas and be reborn to meet the punishment.

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Religion

Santeria believes in a God or universal force that comes all creation, called Olodumare. The power of Olodumare is Ashe. Then there are the orishas, ​​are deities governing various aspects of the world. The Orishas also take care that every mortal meet the fate that has marked from birth.The identification of the Orishas with the most popular saints have very simple reasons, which relate to the appearance or actions of the saints:Babalu Aye the saint of the poor, refers to San Lazaro.Elegua, the holy child referred to the Holy Child of Atocha.Obatala, the Virgin of Mercedes, owner of all heads of the world.Chango, god of thunder is Santa Barbara, that Catholic beliefs are represented with red clothes and sword.Ogun, which handles iron, god of war and weapons, is associated with San Pedro, San Pablo, San Juan Bautista, San Miguel Archangel San Rafael Archangel and Cuban Santeria, Candomble in Brazil with the San Antonio de Padua and St. George (Rio de Janeiro), in Haitian voodoo, with James.Agayu finds its counterpart in San Cristobal, which for Christians is the saint of the volcanoes, brute force, the power of earth and fireInle, the physician, is St. Raphael, the archangel who heals and heals.La Virgen de Regla is Yemaya, goddess of motherhood and the sea.Oshun, the goddess of rivers is the Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre, she is the owner of love, gold, creator of money, beauty, coquetry. The most beautiful of the Orishas, ​​owner of honey, and patroness of Cuba.Oya is the goddess of the cemetery, is syncretized with the Virgin of La Candelaria, which in Spain is the patroness of the Canary Islands.Santeria has a priestly hierarchy. Although considered to OSHA and Ifa as separate branches, the highest priests of Santeria or Regla de Osha-Ifa are babalaos babalawos priests of Ifa and his prophet Orunmila. Then find the Babalorishas and Iyalorishas, ​​which are enshrined santeros godchildren. The Iyalorishas and Babalorishas, ​​santeros have no godchildren. The Iyawos, Santeria in its first year of consecrated persons, and finally the aleyos, who are believers but who have not yet been consecrated.All are santeros, initiated by specific rites, the first of which is a ritual of purification and delivery of five necklaces, representing Shango, Obbatalá, Yemaya ', Oshun and eleggua or receiving the Orishas warriors who are Eleggua Ogun, Oshosi Ozun.que are holy and consecrated in otanes [stones]The fundamental pillars of the religion based on worship of dead ancestors (eguns) and in the knowledge that there is one God (Olodumare) and is related to humans through extensions thereof, are also divinities, to which the Yoruba called Orishas. Because of these characteristics is considered to be a polytheistic religion.The ebbó or sacrifice to achieve problem solving economic, health problems or spiritual stability is present in religion, is also used to grasp the egguns arriving in the body of practitioners. And in divination through the three oracles who make up the religion, the oracle of Ifa (used by babalawos), the oracle of diloggún (snails) used by the oracle of Santeria and Biague (coconut), used interchangeably by both . The sacrifice can be plants, seeds, metals, animals or other products from nature.Animal sacrifice has been criticized by the mass media of Western cultures, however for the purpose of establishing the difference between the meaning of sacrifice found in the Old Testament and the Santería practices, we see in the book of Leviticus, specifically from verse 1 through 7, it tells the story of how one day the LORD God called Moses and told him to serve as a messenger to the children of Israel instructing in detail the method for performing the propitiatory sacrifices on their behalf . Similarly, Yahweh told Moses that these sacrifices, as long as they do according to the rules prescribed, would be welcomed by him and in return, the sins of the person offering the sacrifice would be forgiven. But it is now understood that animal sacrifice is no longer valid in the New Testament because Jesus Christ sacrificed himself for humanity, thereby canceling the sacrifices later.Clearly, unlike the Yoruba tradition, in this passage from the Old Testament sacrifice and how it must be done, both are given by God to mankind through the revelation to Moses and, secondly, the main purpose of sacrifice, as presented in this passage from the book of Leviticus, is to the forgiveness of sins and in this sense we can say that since Jesus Christ sacrificing himself so forgive all the sins of man, being now unnecessary making sacrifices, and all sins, even those who are committed have been and will be forgiven.In contrast, in Santeria animal sacrifice is determined by the rite of divination, which shows the existence of a fundamental characteristic among many endogenous religions of Africa, namely the absence of a divine revelation and, conversely The persistence of ancestral knowledge that has been transmitted to men and women from the earliest times, those, as the Yoruba, in which humanity and the Orisha lived on this planet. In this sense, never an animal is slaughtered wantonly. Every sacrifice responds to the request, through the methods of divination, or an ancestor orisha that requires one or more animals in order to resolve the situation we want to solve the person consulted.Orishas and ancestors generally request that they be offered one or more animals by specifying the type and gender) in the case of life or welfare of the person consulted are at stake. In this sense, the sacrifice is not an instrument by which it intends to redeem sin in Santeria as there is no such concept. In Santeria neither man nor woman is conceived as a priori certain holders (s) fault (s). The sacrifice, as Santeria cosmology, is the means by which a process can be restored or a rate that has been interrupted. Santeros refer to each person is born with a specific rhythm, a rhythm spiritual life, which should not be interrupted because if so, then the person can not be fully realized. However, when this pattern has been disrupted, for reasons which have been, then it requires the sacrifice of an animal to restore it. The animal's blood, offered to any Orisha and / or ancestry, is able to restore the rhythm because it is tied directly to a rhythm in the animal's body.The Santeria ceremonies performed in their own homes, for lack of Santeria temples. Meet at home or iles, which comprise both branches according to the first founders. The Santeria is part of everyday life of the believer, becomes his intermediary with the supernatural, his counselor and soothsayer.The highest grade in Santeria is the Oluwo babalawo, a babalawo who was crowned holy, holy balalawo has not only crowned but holy washing, and they receive strong powers such as witchcraft Osain to work as side pledge can not work because the babalawo will be limited to working with dead that's what working in the garment.The Santeria or olorishas are working with Afro-Cuban deity through consultation with snail or spiritual consultation, spiritual sessions in masses or as the development of each person.The oriaté is the person conducting the ceremonies of the deity (orisha, holy) so this is done correctly and it only work santeros who are committed, the new initiate and newly consecrated is called iyawo which has passed by secret rituals.The aleyos are those with some knowledge are believers, are interested in the ceremonies so I have some secrets, rituals should not be exposed to people unconsecrated ..

Another type of Santeria

In Lucena, municipality of Cordoba (Spain), is called Santeria to the way in procession to take pictures at Easter and other holidays taking them on the shoulder between several people. The horquillos, chicotás are shorter than those in other cities as the procession take only between 24 and 28 Santeria (laborers and bearers in other areas). In Lucena processions change every year of Santeria. Each year is given the ring (this is sounded to put the procession in a fork and rest the shoulder) to a Manijero, santea person and is responsible for touch and this warning by inviting their best santeros santear. Also not tested; simply do together (small events) in which the Manijero indicates how it will go the holy sites occupy santeros, the pace is going to take the drum, which is replaced by the bands of the bearers, and the last board meeting which is the brand. In this santeros places are marked on their wedges to make them your height and that when they put the saint in the shoulder it is level. Until the big day comes out to the street, santeros are dressed in a special way to the house of Manijero two hours before departure of the procession. When everyone goes for coffee at a bar with the drummers playing a certain step forward and Torralbo, a special cornet, if any. When finished making coffee are directed to the temple with a pillow under his arm (there manijeros who prefer to tie the pads in advance but usually not done) and when they attach to the shoulder hurt less. When the procession goes out, is brought to the knees of Santeria, the left in the soil and the shoulder can take two forms:In a time: Manijero shouts "you are" in a corner and see that everyone is ready and shout "posts", at which time the yells Manijero "shoulder" and the saint rises from a pull to the shoulder. This form is only performed in the Christs.In three stages: the same operation occurs but this time the cries Manijero "the thighs" (knees) "the bleeding" (chest) "shoulder" this is done with all the virgins and some much heavier Christs.And now is when they divide the forks. When enclosing the saint repeated the last operation we have seen in reverse: The Manijero shouts "fork out" to "bleeding" "the thighs" "down" and finally "OUR FATHER ALIVE! " OR "OUR MOTHER ALIVE!" and enter the procession back to the temple at the knees.Deshacer cambios