Nicholas Hernandez

Professor Andrews
Historical Archaeology of Latin America
10 April 2015
Santeria: Craze or Classic? Santerias Origins
Acting on a tip, a raiding party of police officers and agents of an animal
protection society went to a tenement in the Bronx yesterday afternoon and interrupted
a primitive religious rite involving the ritual slaughter of animals the people in the
apartment acknowledged they were followers of a cult known as Santeria [which]
once practiced infanticide as well as animal sacrifices (Mcfadden 1980: 1 ).This is a
New York times publication from 1980. With a minimal understanding of the actual
religion, Robert McFadden placed a negative stigma on a belief system that has been
four thousand years in the making.
Containing roots in the Twa religion up to four thousand years ago, Santeria
adopted, adapted, and actualized a belief system heavily attempting to pay homage to
their African past (Canizares 1993: 2). However, as valiant as the attempt may have
been, publications and the majority populace still contain, at most, a very sophomoric
understanding of such a complex religion and the even more important religion its
based on: Yoruba. Therefore, through elucidation on matters of: arrival, beliefs, and
transformation, I shall explicate how Yoruba is not a menace but rather a spiritual
inclination, an inclination to recognize how the world works, like any other religion .

Santerias Origins: Africa

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At their most humble beginning, the Yoruba, the people that would create
Santerias core beliefs, started on Northeastern part of Africa, the Nile River valley.
Here, they began as part of a clan called the Twa. From this, they became one of the
four major branches that evolved, including the: Tamerrians/Aegyptians (Modern day
Egyptians), Amazulus, and Agikuyusu. A group of men and women then chose to inhabit
what is now Southwestern Nigeria. These people became the Yoruba.
The Yoruba thrived as master brass and iron smiths, weavers, dyers, and
sculptors. At first, these people existed as a weak state, the Oyo state. Hower, through
amalgamating wealth from foreign trade, due to the Yorubas products being quite
profitable, alaafin Orompoto managed to create a cavalry (in the late sixteenth century)
that would lift the Oyo state into social prominence for the next two hundred years. As
the dynasty became complacent and let go of its military dominance, turmoil arose
between the Alaafin and his officials/citizens. What would come next would change the
Yoruban history forever.

Yoruban Beliefs
Oldumare and Ashe
Where the entire religion starts begins with the highest power in Yoruba and
Santeria culture: Oldumare. The owner of all destinies, Oldumare creates all from
him, and to him it shall all return. Oldumare created the world and also sustains it. By
utilizing their power, called Ashe, Oldumare gives the world all the posible power to
enact beneficial and/or harmful deeds ( Verger 1966: 19-28). Ashe connects everything
within Santeria and is essential to understanding its components. Via the sacrifices
Santeria followers make to the tame Ashe portion, these people can obtain the
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beneficial portion of the Ashe. (Brandon 1993: 14) Although a very complex subject, the
Ashe can be oversimplified as the force that drives every action in the universe since it
resides within every relationship, from human to Orisha or Human to Egungun.

Ara Orun
Ancestors carry a great importance within Yoruba and Santero culture.
Translated into, people of heaven, the Ara Orun set the moral precedent for the living
family on earth. The reason for this is that the current family must look back to their
ancestors for moral example in order to grow in Ashe (Murphy 1993: 8)
How these deceased folk interact with the physical world is an essential part
during the Yoruba Yam Festival. Masked dancers, Egungun, represent the ancestors by
wearing full-body costumes that conceal every portion of the skin.The reasoning behind
this comes from the fact that no one should know that a human resides under the
costume. During the yam festival, Egungun travel around in groups of two and three to
receive petitions from the living and expose their faults in human relations (1993:8).

Orisha
The Orishas are the instruments of Ashe. Created by Oldumare, the Orishas are
the personifications of ashe who are put at the disposal of human beings who honor
them( Murphy 1993:11). Through them, all the mysteries can be unlocked within their
patron oversight. For instance, Ogun, the patron of smiths, can help discover the
wonders of smithing for benefit, such as agriculture, or for destruction, such as war.
Depending on the person who has the Orisha as their designated spirit, through
sacrifice and worship, said person can utilize their ashe to their benefit.
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How the Yoruban Came to the Americas.

After the initial unrest, lesser officials in Alaafin Awoles court overthrew him and
ruled over a falling dynasty. The tributaries that initially contributed very grand amounts
revolted and terminated their contributions. People in the Oyo kingdom grew more
restless. But finally, the end became a reality: the fall of the Oyo dynasty. During the
Owu war (1816-1821), the Muslim Fulani overthrew the old Oyo city and, to add to this,
the Dahomey, a previous tributary state under the Oyo, led slave raids into the Yoruba
territories in order to satiate a domestic and international slave need. Where the slaves
were needed is what would formulate a culture for an entire country.
By 1740, Haiti was the largest sugar producer in the new world (Haiti Paul
clammer). This was perfect since the largest consumers lived in the Americas and
Europe. All the product was consumed either nearby and/or the rest went to Europe.
This continued until the beginning of the nineteenth century. However, due to Haitis
independence as of 1804, a sugar vacuum erupted. Since Europeans and Americans
still preferred and essentialized sugar, demand outgrew supply. Therefore, other
countries sought to fill the demand. Originally, Spain could not compete since they
outlawed slave trade, since it was dominated with foreigners such as the British and
French.
With Spain finally allowing foreign ships to trade with its Cuban ships,
experienced French sugar producers and their slaves fleeing to Cuba from Haiti , and
some of the most fertile land in all the Caribbean, Spain grasped the opportunity and
began importing slaves immediately (Lux 1972:59). Many of these slaves were Yoruban
men and women. As Haitis sugar domination ceased, Cubas influx of Yoruban slaves
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would not only propel the country into sugar domination, but create one of the Western
Hemispheres most infamous religions: Santeria. (Brandon 1993:52).

How Yoruba Stayed Prevalent: Aesthetic Tranformation

Although cabildos, ethnic meeting houses, managed to keep many previous
Yoruban traditions alive, anyone that wasnt in a meeting house still worshiped at private
areas where a few sacred items were placed. In order to make it easier to worship and
make the religion more appealing, Yoruban followers affiliated their orishas with Roman
Catholic saints. By this, they believed that the translation of their Orisha into Roman
catholicism allowed Roman Catholics to see the orisha as the same as saints
(Canizares 1993: 40). Therefore, Babalu Aye, an essential healing and illness-giving
god, was translated into Lazarus, the beggar in the gospel of Luke, Shango, the warrior
king in charge of war and fire, became Saint Barbara, and Oshun, the Orisha of fertility,
became our Lady of Charity.
On a lesser known scale, many dont know that Santeros/Santeras praise their
Orishas but also follow Roman Catholicism. Its a perplexing complex, but through the
constant necessity to acclimate their beliefs to a Roman Catholic facade, many actually
ended up liking the religion and practice both. As much as practitioners may have
feigned or legitimately followed Roman catholicism, the Yoruba culture still persevered.

Conclusion
The Yoruba culture thrived and continues thriving. However, as it transitioned into
the New World, the Spanish opposed its continuance with forced baptism and mass

attendance, but, in the end, the Yoruba strived to feel at peace with their Orishas.
Therefore, they found a way. They made Santeria.

Bibliography
Canizares, Raul
1993 Walking with the Night: The Afro-Cuban World of Santeria. Rochester,
Vermont: Destiny Book.
Clark Hine, Darlene, John McCluskey Jr., and David Barry Gaspar, eds.
1993 Santeria from Africa to the New World: The Dead Sell Memories. First
ed. Indianapolis, In: Indiana University Press.
M. Murphy, Joseph
1993 Africa. In Santeria: African Spirits in America. Pp. 7-20. Boston,
Massachusetts: Beacon Press.
McFadden, Robert
1980 Ritual Slaughter Halted in Bronx After Police Raid. New York Times
27(1):1.
R. Lux, William
1972 French Colonization in Cuba: 1791-1809. In The Americas. Pp. 57-61.
Verger, Pierre

2007 "The Yoruba High God: A Review of the Sources". Vol. 2.Black Madonna
Enterprises.