Santeria

Rastafarianism

Voodoo

Beliefs

-based on Yoruba
beliefs and traditions,
with some Roman
Catholic elements
added

-believe in the JudeoChristian God, Jah

-beliefs are based on
Judaism and
Christianity, with some
Old Testament laws
and prophecies and the
Book of Revelation

-believe in lesser spirits

called loa or miste
-some believe in a
supreme being, some
do not
-some connect their
God to God of the Bible
in Christianity

Sacred Text

-has no scriptures and

is passed on by wordof-mouth

-Holy Piby, the "Black

Man's Bible."
-it is a version of the
Christian Bible, but
everything that was
believed to be made by
white men was taken
out

-no holy book

-word of mouth

Origin

-Cuba, Nigeria, Benin

-Jamaica

-Haiti

Symbols

-Olodumare is the
Supreme Being, the
Father, the Creator of
all things in the
universe -Olorun is
visible to us as the
Sun. Through the
warmth and life-giving
qualities of the Sun, we
can experience the
world that Olodumare
created for us.
Olorun is the owner of
Heaven, known as
Orun.
-Olof is the third
manifestation of God.
He is the one who
communicates most
directly with the
Orishas, teaching
them what humans
need to know to lead
healthful, moral,
respectful lives on
Earth

-the Lion of the Tribe of

Judah
-the Ethiopian flag
-the colors green, red,
yellow

-dolls
-traditionally been
made to represent an
individual who the
practitioner is
attempting to put a
spell or curse upon
during a religious
ceremony
-not all voodoos
practice it

How many are

there?

-75 to 100 million

-about 1 million
worldwide

-over 60 million

Practices

-focuses on building
relationships between
human beings and
powerful, but mortal,
spirits, called Orishas
-followers believe that

-marijuana is believed
to be given to them by
god and is used for
medicinal purposes
prevalently
-hair is to be worn in

-practices depend on
the school and location
(West Africa, Louisiana,
Haiti)
-some use Gris-gris,
which are religious

these spirits will give

them help in life and
enable them to achieve
the destiny that God
planned for them
before they were born
-a Bembe ceremony
calls to the Orishas and
causes a person to
become possessed and
do spectacular dances

dreads to follow special

ways of Rastafarianism

amulets believed to
ward off evil spirits
-some have voodoo
queens which are
woman that oversee
religious activities
-some use voodoo dolls
-shamanism, black
magic, and witchcraft
-folk medical practice
-possession by loa

Food

-any foods sacred to

the Orishas are scared
to the people

-Ital, the eating of only

natural food
-most are vegans or
vegetarians
-milk and coffee is seen
as unnatural
-reject the use of
alcohol

-animal sacrifice; this

may be a goat, sheep,
chicken, or dog

Time Period

-spread the most in

1959 after the Cuban
Revolution

-very new
-started in 1930

-not determined
-maybe 1600s

Death

-reincarnation
-you cant have a bad
life then have a good
life in heaven
-when a
Santero/Santera
(Priest) dies, there is a
series of special
ceremonies known
collectively as the
etutu
-Honras ceremony,
which is a 3 day long
ceremony of mourning
for a passed Elder

-no funeral ceremony

-believe in
reincarnation and that
life is eternal

-some believe that

people can be brought
back to life from the
dead
-rituals are held

Marriage

-only a babalawo can

perform marriage
ceremonies
-no specific ceremony

-there is no formal
structure, if a man and
woman (who are not
related) live together,
they are known as
husband and wife

-rituals are held

Birth

-baptize their children

as Catholic
-they get a godparent
which is an Orisha

-when a child is born,

they are blessed by
elders during a
Nyabingi (type of
music sacred to Rastas,
19th century gospel
music mixed with
African drumming)
session of drumming,
chanting, and prayer

-rituals are held

There are definitely some differences between these religions and there are definitely similarities
between them, also. The most alike religions are Santeria and Voodoo. They both deal with spirits and
the act of being possessed by them. They both have spirits for different things in life. For example, if a
Voodoo or Santeria farmer is having trouble with his crops, he might call out to an agricultural god. The
only major difference between the two is that Voodoo is extremely old while Santeria is fairly new.
Voodoo can date back to 6,000 years, but Santeria can only date back to the spread of it during the
Cuban Revolution. It might have originated earlier, but the exact time is not known.
Rastafarianism is the most different from the other two because it doesnt deal with spirits. Everything
a rastafari believes in is natural. However, rituals are held when someone is born and it is called
initiation. They follow very strict words from their sacred text, which is similar to the bible, but they
praise more of the black and African ways of religion. Rastafari people and Santeria people both
believe in reincarnation. Voodoo does not however, some believe people can be brought back from the
dead. All of these religions come from different parts of Latin America, but all of them have also spread
to all different parts of the world.