Can anybody explain to me what the heck Santer?a is?
I have heard very little but also very conflicting things about the religion...some people say that it involves the sacrificing of animals and people....and like I heard something about a gauche pot where a person will kill somebody then take there soul and hold it captive in the pot forcing that persons soul to go out and kill......I am very curious and I would like to know more if anybody has any insight
It's a blend of Catholicism and African religions brought over by the slave trade. In essence, African gods are worshiped under the guise of Catholic Saints.
People who practice Santeria do sacrifice small animals (like chickens) but there is nothing particularly odd about that, the Jews sacrificed animals for centuries. Even today, Christians engage in symbolic cannibalism with their Eucharist.
Giovanni has it pretty much right. It's not a blend of voodoo ext. with Catholicism. It's more that in some cultures both are practices simultaneously ... My stepfather's family did.... regardless of the fact that the bible condemns everything Santeria is about. And yes, it involves animal sacrifices. I'm not sure about human tho.
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Azbrat: If you're talking to me, please notice I was mentioning Catholicism specifically... not Christianity in general. They AIN'T no how necessarily the same thing.
Santeria is the religion of S.W. Nigerian people called Yoruba who were brought to Cuba as slaves. This religion involves the belief in one almighty God, and hundreds of other gods called Irish that are between The Almighty (whom we call Olorun) and humans.
The Irish and the ancestors are concerned with our individual affairs. Olorun is more concerned with our moral behavior. The Irish have left oral literature, passed down as tradition, which guides us not only in religious life, but social life as well.
We believe in the power to change our destiny. That is why, when something is going wrong, or if we want something to be better, we get readings. At a reading, we are usually instructed to make sacrifice to the Irish. Half the time, this does not involve animal sacrifice.
We undergo priestly initiations, and women play a major role as leaders in our community as well as men.
Yes, in the past there was synergism because our fore-bearers had to hide their beliefs with Catholic Saints, but that is mostly in dis-use today. It is more of a relic of the past. Only some ultra Catholic individuals still practice heavy synergism.
We do NOT practice any form of human sacrifice, and no pot tells us to kill. This is just bad publicity and information. It is a sin to kill another human being and priests of our religion swear to help all of man-kind, even those who do not practice our faith.
We believe also in spirit posses ion. Our religion is well documented by practitioners and anthropologists alike so you can easily verify any of these statements.
Voodoo and Santeria are 2 completely separate religions. You're also mixing up elements of Candomble and Palo into your idea of Santeria.
Yes, many priests and priestesses of Santeria sacrifice animals. It is done in a very controlled environment in a much more quick and humane manner than animals are slaughtered for the grocery stores. However, only trained and ordained clergy can perform the sacrifices - it doesn't happen willy-Nolly by any means. The animals that are sacrificed are butchered and cooked and eaten by the participants. They are not wasted, and their life was taken in a meaningful way.
Before anyone gets all up-in-arms about blood sacrifices of this nature, I suggest they research into the history of religions all over the world...including the Bible. It's a common practice back then, and it's a common practice among many religions now as well. In many rural and tribal parts of India goats are regularly sacrificed to goddesses even today.
Also remember that these practices come from cultures that still live very close to the earth, and therefore the keeping and butchering of animals is just part of their day-to-day life. Just as it is for many farmers in North America today. They raise animals for food, and then kill them when it is time. It's the same thing in these situations, except that the animals are offered to a deity before they are eaten by the people.
And no - there's not human sacrifice...that's just silly. Although there is work with spirits which can be asked to perform different tasks in some of the traditions, but more often than not the spirits they are working with are generally on the order of what many Westerners consider angels (not Archangels, but angels).
Each of the traditions motioned, Santeria, Vodou, Candomble, Palo, etc have their origins in African tribal religions, but depending on where the African people ended up when they were brought over as salves (Haiti, South America, Cuba, etc) the religions evolved in different ways, reflecting the local cultures they were mixing with. Consequently, when they evolved, they became very different traditions, despite the common roots. So, don't make the mistake of conflating one with the other, or thinking they are all the same.
Can anybody explain to me what the heck Santer?a is?
