What is Santeria? I was reading a book on this religion called Santeria??

My limited understanding is when the black slave trade began in America the people were not allowed to practice their own religion so they substituted saints from the Roman Catholic church for their own gods. Is it a mixture of African cultures and spiritual belief systems ? What does it do? Is it a very powerful belief system? OUt of curiosity where do I found out more about it???

A religion originating from the Caribbean.....


Santeria (The Way of the Saints) is the common, popular name. Quoting an essay on "The Lukumi Tradition" by Afolabi:

"The name by which the religion is now most commonly known, "Santeria," is a pejorative term first applied by the Spanish to the religious practices of the peasantry. It was used as a derogatory reference to the unusual amount of devotion and attention paid to the Catholic Saints, often in preference to Jesus Christ. This term was again used in Cuba to identify the "pagan" religion. The Yoruba devotion to the Orishas, who were often referred to as "Santos" ("saints") by both slave and slave-owners, was mistakenly seen as the 'fanatical' worship of demigods and the neglect of 'God.' Therefore, the opprobrious and demeaning term 'Santeria' was extended to the religious practices of the so-called 'savages.' Only in recent years, after having the label applied by outsiders for an extended period of time, has the term begun to be used by members of the religion. 2

hi
Santer?a, also known as Lukum? or Regla DE Ocha, is a set of related religious systems that fuse Catholic/Christian beliefs with traditional Yoruba beliefs. In the Yoruba language, Lukum? means "friends" and also applies to descendants of Yor?b? slaves in Cuba, their music and dance, and the urbanized dialect of the Yor?b? language.

below is a link with more information

Well, that's it then. Santeria is a religion.

It is a synergistic Caribbean religion. anterior is a synergistic religion of Caribbean origin. It incorporates the worship of the Orisha (literally "head guardian") and beliefs of the Yoruba and Bantu people in Southern Nigeria, Senegal and Guinea Coast. These are combined with elements of worship from Roman Catholicism.

Its origins date back to the slave trade when Yoruba natives were forcibly transported from Africa to the Caribbean. They were typically baptized by the Roman Catholic church upon arrival, and their native practices were suppressed. They developed a novel way of keeping their old beliefs alive by equating the each Orisha of their traditional religions with a corresponding Christian Saint. Many traditions within the religion recognize different equivalencies. One common example includes: Babalz Ayi became St. Lazarus (patron of the sick)
Shangs became St. Barbara (controls thunder, lightning, fire...)
Eleggua or Elegba became St. Anthony (controls roads, gates etc)
Obatala became Our Lady of Las Mercedes, and the Resurrected Christ (father of creation; source of spirituality)
Oggzn became St. Peter (patron of war)
Oshzn became Our Lady of Charity (controls money, sensuality...)

sort of voodoo

You seem to be right. The slaves that were brought to the Caribbean practiced this religion. Many people in the Caribbean still practice it today.

its the worship of the fat man in red