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They are like first cousins, but not the same.
Voodoo comes from the Fon people of the present day country of Benin in West Africa. Santeria comes from the Orisha practices of the Yoruba people of present day Nigeria.
To outsiders, the Fon and the Yoruba are identical, but between each other there is great hostility and a history of warfare. In fact the Fon call the Yoruba, the Nago; and the Yoruba call the Fon, the Arada. Both practices emphasize the influence of spirits in day to day life. They basically share the same spirits but use a different language.
Voodoo is an African word meaning spirits. Santeria is a Spanish word from Spain itself used to refer to the practice of a preference for the Saints in lieu of that of God. In Cuba, when the Spanish observed the Yoruban Orisha practices which emphasized spirits foremost, they called it Santeria.
Voodoo does not come from Haiti. It came to Haiti, just as it did to New Orleans, directly from Africa. New Orleans and Haiti share a Voodoo legacy because both were former French colonies that received captive Africans from among the Fon.
The British held the Spanish ascent (slave monopoly) and, consequently, shipped the Yoruba from Nigeria to Cuba and other Spanish colonies.
Among the Voodoo, especially in New Orleans, were large numbers of Bambara (Africans from Mali) who put an emphasize on magic charms, called gris-gris.
In Cuba there were a larger number of Congolese Africans. The Congolese are given to the darker side of spiritualism and tend to be more corrupt, evil and violent.
The French basically practiced a lassier-faire attitude toward Voodoo and did not try to suppress it. Nor, did the Catholic church in French colonies. In Spanish colonies there was a great enthusiasm to convert everybody, Natives and Africans. While it may be the case in Spanish colonies that African spirits were disguised as Catholic Saints in order to function, it is just as likely they were fused together as one and the same. In French colonies there was no such need. In New Orleans the exact opposite is true. The Louisiana Purchase (1803) was neither welcomed, nor well received in New Orleans. American Protestantism was a treat to Catholics and Voodoo alike. As a result the two married together to the extent that even today one can find Voodoo saints in Catholic Churches in New Orleans. The connection between the Catholic Church and Voodoo is much closer that most suspect, and usually misunderstood.
Today, the movies make a B grade horror spoof of Voodoo. In reality, it is very benign and cconcerned mostly with facilitating matters of love. Within Voodoo are witchdoctors who represent less that 1% of Voodoo and who may be, at times, evil. (Voodoo Queens are always good.) Santeria, because of the Congolese influence has a more sinister ccomplexion and is more drawn to force and witchcraft.
On the outside, it is very easy to see how these old first cousins appear identical. Often it seems only language and pronouns separate them. In fact, Voodoo is oriented mostly towards doing good deeds in love, healing, wealth and legal matters, Santeria is more about power and is sought out by persons seeking power for their own selfish interest.
Only Voodoo (no matter how you spell it, it's all the same) has Voodoo Queens. The most important person in Voodoo was the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans, Marie Laveau (1801-1881). People still visit her tomb in New Orleans to ask for help in matters of love and other personal problems.
In many ways Voodoo and Santeria are like Catholics and Protestants, both stemming from the same source, but having taken separate paths since then. To a non-Christian the two would seem very much alike, if not identical. But between each other are well understood differences. Both Voodoo and Santeria share the basic concept that spiritualism is the interaction with a host of spirits delegated by God to interact with humans. Both believe in God (they are not pagans), but accept that God is removed from every day life and has charged the spirits with the task of hearing the prayers of humans and granting them. Also, both believe that deceased persons can become spirits.
Hope this helps.
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Are Santeria and Voodoo the same religion?
