Santeria and Christianity
Tomas Corza
California State University Northridge
RS 306 American Religious Diversity
Friday April 2nd, 2021
The following is an essay on the book “Santeria” by Miguel De La Torre, which depicts the beliefs, practices and history of the Santeria religion. Combined with comparative analysis of Santeria and Christianity from my perspective.
De La Torre explains that the word Santeria originated from the Spanish word santo, whose literal translation in English is “the way of the saints”. Use of the name Santeria began in the 1940’s as a derogatory term, which was used by Catholic clerics in Cuba to discredit the religion, which they found to be heretical. Most of the old practitioners did not accept or use the term “Santeria” to describe their faith. Many contemporary scholars have attempted to break away from the use of this name, which was imposed on the religion by white Christians. Yet the name Santeria continues to be widely accepted by those who are aware of and practice the religion.
The ideology behind Santeria as explained by the author, tells us that it originates with the worship of the Orishas, as practiced by the Yoruba in Nigeria Africa. This ideology was re-shaped with the influence of Iberian Christianity, Spanish folk Catholicism and Counterreformation. Then was reshaped by nineteenth-century Kardecan spiritualism in the Caribbean. This was a result of the slave trade in the Caribean, which brought many of the Yoruba as slaves to colonialist Cuba from Africa. When brought as slaves, the Yoruba were forced to adopt Catholicism. However, the Yoruba continued to worship their African gods under the restrictions of slavery by masking their African gods behind the “faces” of Catholic saints.
The author explains that since Santeria began and continues to be an underground religion, it lacks a central system of organization. Making it impossible to determine the exact number of worshipers. However, scholars have estimated that there are about one hundred million people who identify with the religion in the Americas. It is estimated that between a half million and five million of which are located in the United States. Meaning that the estimated number of Orisha followers may in fact be much higher or lower. However, if these estimates are true it would mean that the number of Orisha followers may be higher than the amount of people who follow mainline US Christian Religions. Meaning that Santeria could be considered to be a mainstream American faith, along side Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Many orisha believers in the Americas are college educated, of middle class and upper class backgrounds, and multiracial.
The author explains that many who are part of the United States’s Euro American culture. View Santeria as a dangerous occult religion, consisting mostly of sorcery and magic. To address this misperception of Santeria, the author uses an analysis by the French philosopher Pierre Bourdieu to decolonize this view. Bourdieu explained that sorcery and magic are descriptions imposed on the religions of the marginalized in order to discredit them. Those which impose these titles use the term religion to legitimize their own brand of sorcery and magic. However, all religions practice rituals and procedures that may seem normal to the insiders of those religions but may seem strange to outsiders.
In Cuba, the colonizing view of Santeria was originally viewed as being a primitive and satanic religion. Cuban Cultural interpreter Fernando Ortiz was the first in the twentieth century to conduct ethnographic research on Santeria in an attempt to use it to prove a moral inferiority of blacks in Cuba. However, in the 1980’s the Castro regime domesticated and commodified Santeria for profit. I found that the author decolonized knowledge about Santeria becoming accepted in Cuba by explaining that it was categorized as folklore by the Castro regime, making it acceptable not for the purpose of acceptance but rather for financial gain. Financial gain in the form of increasing tourism.
Another example of a point that the author used to decolonize knowledge about Santeria's animal sacrifice practices. Was the point made by Ernesto Pichardo where he explained, “you can kill a turkey in your backyard, put it on the table, say a prayer, and serve it for Thanksgiving, but if we pray to a turkey, kill it then eat it, we violate the law”. I thought this was a good example of how knowledge about Santeria may be colonized by depicting animal sacrifices as strange and different, while Western society has very similar practices.
The author explains the fundamental beliefs of Santeria as being a religion with no specifically defined form, which ensures its followers immediate tangible power for dealing with life's problems. Power which can manifest in several different forms, depending on the believers situation. The focus of the religion is not to understand the power of the orishas. Rather the focus is on how to harness these forces for the betterment of humanity.
The starting point of the religion is at the individual who is responsible for any and all actions they take, actions which result in negative or positive consequences. The fundamental belief in Santeria is that its main purpose is to assist individuals regardless of their religious background, to live in harmony with their assigned destiny. The basic mission of Santeria is to help with the normal everyday lives and problems of people. Believers look for harmony with the seen and unseen world, as well as with those who they share the planet with.
For believers of Santeria, the physical universe originated from the invisible spirit realm, it is when these two realities align that harmony exists. Those who are willing to pursue the mysteries of the spirit world and have the understanding that these two realms are closely connected will find the answers and solutions, which can bring healing to life's difficulties.
In Santeria the elements of existence being, air, fire water and earth, all have a spiritual counterpart. Using these physical elements as tools to eliminate obstacles can lead one to spiritual growth and physical survival. Believers are assured that they exist in a world filled with reason and direction, since these physical elements of existence reflect spiritual principles. Fresh air contributes to spiritual growth by resolving ethical dilemmas. When air becomes wind, it blows away bad emotions, harmful spirits and negative energy. Air which also makes up the wind and the sky above us is associated with the Orisha Obatala. Fire which possesses the power to burn away impurities and aids in leading to spiritual transformation, is associated with the orishas Aganyu and Chango. Character is built by the testing of fire, as steel becomes iron, resolve is strengthened. Water is known to be the domain of the Orisha Oshun. Water washes away dirt and evil energy, cleansing both the physical and the spiritual. Fresh water is known as the source of fertility, which is the domain of the orisha Oshun. Salt water, known as the source of all life and symbolizes the maternal, is under the rule of the orisha Yemaya. Stagnant water is known as a prerequisite for new life and represents death. The fourth element, the earth, provides the necessary resources for survival, provided by the orisha Oggun.
Since its formation, Santeria has been an expression of the pursuit for harmony between the environment, community, spiritual realm and one's self. Because of this, Santeria can really only be understood when viewed through turmoil caused by the social and political persecution of its believers. Since the situations of followers are always changing, so must the religion. New generations of followers are motivated to reinterpret, reevaluate, add or remove the; myths, traditions and proverbs of the previous generation in order to meet the needs of modern day challenges.
Personally, I like the belief that Santeria is an expression of the pursuit for harmony between the environment, community, spiritual realm and one's self. As well as the belief that it is the individual who is responsible for any and all actions they take. I find that these are positive beliefs that encourage followers to live a life of harmony and accountability. I tend to be accepting of all religions and I try to view beliefs from the standpoint of the believers, and I could not find any beliefs that I particularly disliked.
The author explains that in Santeria it is believed that everything that exists contains ashe. Which is believed to be a form of primal energy that comprises the power of all reality. Since all reality is composed of ashe, it is believed that the Orishas can manifest themselves in other religions. The author coined the term, “anonymous santeria” meaning that individuals who do not follow the beliefs of Santeria may be followers of Santeria but are unaware of it. This allows the followers of Santeria to participate in other religious traditions. The author describes anonymous Santeria as meaning that every human who worships a deity through their own religious expression is in actuality worshiping the orishas. Believers in Olodumare and the orishas do not look down on other religious faiths, nor do they have any hostility towards them. Rather, santeros and santeras attempt to learn from the religious experiences of others by the form of diplomatic conversations. Therefore, there is little importance if one decides to worship the other manifestations of Olodumare known as Allah, Yahweh, or God. Because these are all different masks worn by Olodumare, who all possess his power and justice. It is also of little importance if the worship occurs in a cathedral, mosque, synagogue, or in a forest. What is ultimately important is that the Supreme Being is recognized.
In Santeria Jesus Christ is viewed as the orisha Olofi, who is known as the embodiment of God on Earth. In Santeria, Jesus is known to have been a great sorcerer who performed miracles, through his esoteric knowledge and his total harmony with the environment and the spirit world. The Gospels are known as testaments to Jesus Christ’s understandings of spells, sacrifices and offerings.
A commonality that the author mentioned between Santeria and Christianity is the view of humans being a fusion of physical creatures with the spiritual. The author described that this concept of the ori functions similar to Christian notion of the soul.
In Santeria the existence of only one God is recognized, I found this to be similar to the Christian commandment, “I am the Lord thy God”. Because of this, I see Santeria as being a monotheistic religion. Just as with Christianity, there is only one God but the saints are believed to have a close relationship with God. In Santeria there is only one God but the orishas are also believed to have a close relationship with Olodumare.
Another similarity that I noticed was the story of a great flood mentioned by the author. The author explains that when Obatala returned to the earth after entrusting it with Olofi, he continued to expand the land of the earth. The expansion of solid ground on the earth angered the orisha Olocun, as a result she summoned the waters of the earth creating a great flood, destroying all human life. Only those who found refuge at the great ceiba tree survived. This story led me to recall the story of the great flood in the Bible's Book of Genesis. Both stories have different context and of the great flood but the premise seemed similar.
The author describes the Santeria ritual of the asiento or “ascending to the throne”, in which an iyawo, someone looking to be inducted into the faith becomes, “born again”. The ritual is described to be a process of purification were the iyawo’s old impure self is thought to die. In this process of purification and divination, the convert becomes like a newborn, who is then fed and bathed like a baby. This ritual reminded me of the Christian baptism, which is the first sacrament ritual for admission into the Christian faith. I found these two rituals similar because they both signify admission into the faith and both involve the use of water.
Obatala gave humans eleven commandments to follow, these commandments are;
You shall not steal.
You shall not kill, except in self-defense.
You shall not eat the flesh of humans.
You shall live in peace with your neighbors.
You shall not covet your neighbors possessions.
You shall not use the name of your God in vain.
You shall honor your mother and father.
You shall not ask for more than what I have provided, and you shall be content with your fate.
You shall neither fear death death nor commit suicide.
You shall keep and respect my laws.
You shall teach my commandments to your children.
The Christian commandments that I found to share similarities to the eleven commandments of Obatala are;
Thou shalt not take the name of the name of the Lord in vain.
Honor thy father and thy mother.
Thou shalt not kill.
Thou shalt not steal.
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s goods.
I believe these commonalities show that Santeria is not the dangerous occult religion, it is often portrayed as. Rather, just another religion. That only appears to be drastically different that the mainstream brands of religion in the United States.
Before reading this book I had no knowledge about Santeria. I had heard the name in popular culture but had no idea what it consisted of and therefore had no opinion regarding it.
The most important thing I’ve learned from this assignment is that one should never look down on the practices of other religions. Simply because they appear to be strange from an external perspective. Rituals that seem normal to one group of people look strange or offensive to a different group of people and vice versa. I find that this assignment helped my educational goals because I learned to view our world and reality through a perspective different than my own.
Click here to learn about JTBD theory.
