Matthew Pettway
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781496824967
- eISBN:
- 9781496824998
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781496824967.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, World Literature
Juan Francisco Manzano and Gabriel de la Concepción Valdés (also known as Plácido) were perhaps the most important and innovative Cuban writers of African descent during the Spanish colonial era.Both ...
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Juan Francisco Manzano and Gabriel de la Concepción Valdés (also known as Plácido) were perhaps the most important and innovative Cuban writers of African descent during the Spanish colonial era.Both nineteenth-century authors used Catholicism as a symbolic language for African-inspired spirituality.Likewise, Plácido and Manzano subverted the popular imagery of Neoclassicism and Romanticism in order to envision black freedom in the tradition of the Haitian Revolution.African religious knowledge subverted official Catholic dogma about redemptive suffering that might free the soul but leave the body enchained.Rather, Plácido and Manzano envisioned emancipation through the lens of African spirituality, which constituted a transformative moment in the history of Cuban letters.
Matthew Pettway examines how the portrayal of African ideas of spirit and cosmos in otherwise conventional texts recur throughout early Cuban literature and became the basis for Manzano and Plácido’s antislavery philosophy.Cuban debates about freedom and selfhood were never the exclusive domain of the white Creole elite.Pettway’s emphasis on African-inspired spirituality as a source of knowledge and a means to sacred authority for black Cuban writers deepens our understanding of Manzano and Plácido not as mere imitators but as aesthetic and political pioneers.Less
Juan Francisco Manzano and Gabriel de la Concepción Valdés (also known as Plácido) were perhaps the most important and innovative Cuban writers of African descent during the Spanish colonial era.Both nineteenth-century authors used Catholicism as a symbolic language for African-inspired spirituality.Likewise, Plácido and Manzano subverted the popular imagery of Neoclassicism and Romanticism in order to envision black freedom in the tradition of the Haitian Revolution.African religious knowledge subverted official Catholic dogma about redemptive suffering that might free the soul but leave the body enchained.Rather, Plácido and Manzano envisioned emancipation through the lens of African spirituality, which constituted a transformative moment in the history of Cuban letters.
Matthew Pettway examines how the portrayal of African ideas of spirit and cosmos in otherwise conventional texts recur throughout early Cuban literature and became the basis for Manzano and Plácido’s antislavery philosophy.Cuban debates about freedom and selfhood were never the exclusive domain of the white Creole elite.Pettway’s emphasis on African-inspired spirituality as a source of knowledge and a means to sacred authority for black Cuban writers deepens our understanding of Manzano and Plácido not as mere imitators but as aesthetic and political pioneers.
Andrew Apter
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780226506388
- eISBN:
- 9780226506555
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226506555.001.0001
- Subject:
- Anthropology, African Cultural Anthropology
This book challenges the seasoned trend of disavowing Africa in the Black Atlantic, showing how Yoruba cultural frameworks from West Africa remade black kingdoms and communities in the Americas. ...
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This book challenges the seasoned trend of disavowing Africa in the Black Atlantic, showing how Yoruba cultural frameworks from West Africa remade black kingdoms and communities in the Americas. Highlighting revisionary strategies and regenerative schemes that are grounded in the dialectics of ritual renewal, it revisits classic topoi in Afro-American studies such as Herskovits’s syncretic paradigm, the petwo paradox in Haitian Vodou, the historical conditions of orisha cult clustering, re-mappings of gender in plantation societies, and the rise of Lucumí and Nagô houses in Cuba and Brazil, in each case offering new interpretations based on cognate dynamics in Yorubaland. The book thereby argues for a critically reformulated culture concept, in this case distinctively “Yoruba,” which designates something real, somewhat knowable, eminently historical, and even indispensable for locating Africa in the Black Atlantic.Less
This book challenges the seasoned trend of disavowing Africa in the Black Atlantic, showing how Yoruba cultural frameworks from West Africa remade black kingdoms and communities in the Americas. Highlighting revisionary strategies and regenerative schemes that are grounded in the dialectics of ritual renewal, it revisits classic topoi in Afro-American studies such as Herskovits’s syncretic paradigm, the petwo paradox in Haitian Vodou, the historical conditions of orisha cult clustering, re-mappings of gender in plantation societies, and the rise of Lucumí and Nagô houses in Cuba and Brazil, in each case offering new interpretations based on cognate dynamics in Yorubaland. The book thereby argues for a critically reformulated culture concept, in this case distinctively “Yoruba,” which designates something real, somewhat knowable, eminently historical, and even indispensable for locating Africa in the Black Atlantic.
George Anastaplo
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813125336
- eISBN:
- 9780813135243
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813125336.003.0015
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
This chapter deals with the religious movement that was challenged by the Government of the United States in Reynolds v. United States (1878). It found, in biblical accounts of the lives of highly ...
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This chapter deals with the religious movement that was challenged by the Government of the United States in Reynolds v. United States (1878). It found, in biblical accounts of the lives of highly esteemed patriarchs, divinely sanctioned precedents for the polygamy permitted, perhaps even required, by the directives of an American Church. The chapter notes that this polygamy, in the Utah Territory of the United States, ran afoul of an Act of Congress. It also deals with another curious development seen in the animal-sacrifice case, Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc. v. City of Hialeah (1993). It notes that what is most curious about this case is the fact that the cult (known as the Santeria religion) dared to assert itself as it did, insisting upon the right to defy City of Hialeah directives that attempted to restrain some of the practices of this cult.Less
This chapter deals with the religious movement that was challenged by the Government of the United States in Reynolds v. United States (1878). It found, in biblical accounts of the lives of highly esteemed patriarchs, divinely sanctioned precedents for the polygamy permitted, perhaps even required, by the directives of an American Church. The chapter notes that this polygamy, in the Utah Territory of the United States, ran afoul of an Act of Congress. It also deals with another curious development seen in the animal-sacrifice case, Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc. v. City of Hialeah (1993). It notes that what is most curious about this case is the fact that the cult (known as the Santeria religion) dared to assert itself as it did, insisting upon the right to defy City of Hialeah directives that attempted to restrain some of the practices of this cult.
Henry B. Lovejoy
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- September 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781469645391
- eISBN:
- 9781469645414
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469645391.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Latin American History
This Atlantic world history centers on the life of Juan Nepomuceno Prieto (c. 1773–c. 1835), a member of the West African Yorùbá people enslaved and taken to Havana during the era of the Atlantic ...
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This Atlantic world history centers on the life of Juan Nepomuceno Prieto (c. 1773–c. 1835), a member of the West African Yorùbá people enslaved and taken to Havana during the era of the Atlantic slave trade. Richly situating Prieto’s story within the context of colonial Cuba, Henry B. Lovejoy illuminates the vast process by which thousands of Yorùbá speakers were forced into life-and-death struggles in a strange land. In Havana, Prieto and most of the people of the Yorùbá diaspora were identified by the colonial authorities as Lucumí. Prieto’s evolving identity becomes the fascinating fulcrum of the book. Drafted as an enslaved soldier for Spain, Prieto achieved self-manumission while still in the military. Rising steadily in his dangerous new world, he became the religious leader of Havana’s most famous Lucumí cabildo, where he contributed to the development of the Afro-Cuban religion of Santería. Then he was arrested on suspicion of fomenting slave rebellion. Trial testimony shows that he fell ill, but his ultimate fate is unknown. Despite the silences and contradictions that will never be fully resolved, Prieto’s life opens a window onto how Africans creatively developed multiple forms of identity and resistance in Cuba and in the Atlantic world more broadly.Less
This Atlantic world history centers on the life of Juan Nepomuceno Prieto (c. 1773–c. 1835), a member of the West African Yorùbá people enslaved and taken to Havana during the era of the Atlantic slave trade. Richly situating Prieto’s story within the context of colonial Cuba, Henry B. Lovejoy illuminates the vast process by which thousands of Yorùbá speakers were forced into life-and-death struggles in a strange land. In Havana, Prieto and most of the people of the Yorùbá diaspora were identified by the colonial authorities as Lucumí. Prieto’s evolving identity becomes the fascinating fulcrum of the book. Drafted as an enslaved soldier for Spain, Prieto achieved self-manumission while still in the military. Rising steadily in his dangerous new world, he became the religious leader of Havana’s most famous Lucumí cabildo, where he contributed to the development of the Afro-Cuban religion of Santería. Then he was arrested on suspicion of fomenting slave rebellion. Trial testimony shows that he fell ill, but his ultimate fate is unknown. Despite the silences and contradictions that will never be fully resolved, Prieto’s life opens a window onto how Africans creatively developed multiple forms of identity and resistance in Cuba and in the Atlantic world more broadly.
Graciela Chao Carbonero and Melba Núñez Isalbe (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780813034676
- eISBN:
- 9780813046303
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813034676.003.0005
- Subject:
- Music, Dance
Cuban dance researcher Graciela Chao Carbonero discusses how the African element penetrates all aspects of Cuban dance. She begins with the African-based danced religions of Cuba, Regla de Ocha or ...
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Cuban dance researcher Graciela Chao Carbonero discusses how the African element penetrates all aspects of Cuban dance. She begins with the African-based danced religions of Cuba, Regla de Ocha or Santería (the religion of the Yoruba orishas), Palo Monte and other Congolese-based sects, Arará, and Abakuá, and how steps from such traditions merge with secular Cuban folk dances such as carnival comparsas and sones miméticos and also influence the dances that descend from European contradanza. Chao delves into contemporary casino and casino rueda and the African underpinnings of such dances and also of Cuban modern dance, with its training technique, técnica cubana, developed by Ramiro Guerra and others, and of Cuban variety dance in clubs and pn television.Less
Cuban dance researcher Graciela Chao Carbonero discusses how the African element penetrates all aspects of Cuban dance. She begins with the African-based danced religions of Cuba, Regla de Ocha or Santería (the religion of the Yoruba orishas), Palo Monte and other Congolese-based sects, Arará, and Abakuá, and how steps from such traditions merge with secular Cuban folk dances such as carnival comparsas and sones miméticos and also influence the dances that descend from European contradanza. Chao delves into contemporary casino and casino rueda and the African underpinnings of such dances and also of Cuban modern dance, with its training technique, técnica cubana, developed by Ramiro Guerra and others, and of Cuban variety dance in clubs and pn television.
Michelle A. González
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780823241354
- eISBN:
- 9780823241392
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fordham/9780823241354.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
Through a synthesis of personal ethnography, sociological and theological reflection, author Michelle González takes aim at the Christocentric, church-focused, and hyperphilosophical discourse of ...
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Through a synthesis of personal ethnography, sociological and theological reflection, author Michelle González takes aim at the Christocentric, church-focused, and hyperphilosophical discourse of recent Latina/o theology. By focusing on three forms of popular religiosity, González aims to show that if Latina/o theologians are to address the religious needs of Latinas/os they must take seriously practices that church hierarchy and orthodox Catholic theology deride and frown on. Evil Eye, Santería, and Espiritismo are syncretic forms of Christianity that decenter religious practice, relocating it in ritual and communal memory. The chapter argues that if Latina/o theologians are to give credence to the epistemic productivity of Latina/o communities, they must challenge their orthodox Catholic assumptions, namely a focus on textual exegeses that presupposes a hierarchical system of knowledge certification that always devalues the experiences of subjects.Less
Through a synthesis of personal ethnography, sociological and theological reflection, author Michelle González takes aim at the Christocentric, church-focused, and hyperphilosophical discourse of recent Latina/o theology. By focusing on three forms of popular religiosity, González aims to show that if Latina/o theologians are to address the religious needs of Latinas/os they must take seriously practices that church hierarchy and orthodox Catholic theology deride and frown on. Evil Eye, Santería, and Espiritismo are syncretic forms of Christianity that decenter religious practice, relocating it in ritual and communal memory. The chapter argues that if Latina/o theologians are to give credence to the epistemic productivity of Latina/o communities, they must challenge their orthodox Catholic assumptions, namely a focus on textual exegeses that presupposes a hierarchical system of knowledge certification that always devalues the experiences of subjects.
Mercedes Cros Sandoval
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813030203
- eISBN:
- 9780813039565
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813030203.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Latin American Studies
This introduction to the Afro-Cuban religion called Santería explores how it emerged and developed in Cuba out of transplanted Yoruba beliefs, and continues to spread and adjust to changing times and ...
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This introduction to the Afro-Cuban religion called Santería explores how it emerged and developed in Cuba out of transplanted Yoruba beliefs, and continues to spread and adjust to changing times and contexts. Exploring every facet of Santería's worldview, the book examines how practitioners have adapted received beliefs and practices to reconcile them with new environments, from plantation slavery to exile in the United States. Offering a perspective based on a lifetime of research and firsthand knowledge, the book illuminates Santería as a theological system and as a vital, continuously evolving community. The adaptation process that gave birth to Santería was not the singular result of cultural resistance, the book argues, but a successful attempt to find meaning linked to alien religious elements in a way that appealed to a diverse following. Beginning with the transatlantic history of how Yoruba traditions came to Cuba and were established and adapted to Cuban society, the book provides a comparison of Yoruba and Cuban mythologies, followed by an overview of how Santería has continued to diffuse and change in response to new contexts and adherents—with an illuminating perspective on Santería among Cubans in Miami.Less
This introduction to the Afro-Cuban religion called Santería explores how it emerged and developed in Cuba out of transplanted Yoruba beliefs, and continues to spread and adjust to changing times and contexts. Exploring every facet of Santería's worldview, the book examines how practitioners have adapted received beliefs and practices to reconcile them with new environments, from plantation slavery to exile in the United States. Offering a perspective based on a lifetime of research and firsthand knowledge, the book illuminates Santería as a theological system and as a vital, continuously evolving community. The adaptation process that gave birth to Santería was not the singular result of cultural resistance, the book argues, but a successful attempt to find meaning linked to alien religious elements in a way that appealed to a diverse following. Beginning with the transatlantic history of how Yoruba traditions came to Cuba and were established and adapted to Cuban society, the book provides a comparison of Yoruba and Cuban mythologies, followed by an overview of how Santería has continued to diffuse and change in response to new contexts and adherents—with an illuminating perspective on Santería among Cubans in Miami.
Mercedes Cros Sandoval
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813030203
- eISBN:
- 9780813039565
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813030203.003.0003
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Latin American Studies
This chapter discusses other social and historical factors that undoubtedly contributed to the emergence of Santería. It looks at Regla Lucumí, which is the name of the other popular and most ...
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This chapter discusses other social and historical factors that undoubtedly contributed to the emergence of Santería. It looks at Regla Lucumí, which is the name of the other popular and most influential Afro-Cuban religion. Regla Lucumí is also known as Regla de Ocha and Regla de Santo, and is recognized as the religion of the babaorichas, iyaorichas, and omorichas. The chapter also looks at the divergent experiences of slaves in the city and the countryside, in order to provide an understanding of the embryonic processes in the birth of Santería.Less
This chapter discusses other social and historical factors that undoubtedly contributed to the emergence of Santería. It looks at Regla Lucumí, which is the name of the other popular and most influential Afro-Cuban religion. Regla Lucumí is also known as Regla de Ocha and Regla de Santo, and is recognized as the religion of the babaorichas, iyaorichas, and omorichas. The chapter also looks at the divergent experiences of slaves in the city and the countryside, in order to provide an understanding of the embryonic processes in the birth of Santería.
Mercedes Cros Sandoval
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813030203
- eISBN:
- 9780813039565
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813030203.003.0004
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Latin American Studies
This chapter discusses the different beliefs and practices of Santería. The most important belief is in the aché or ashe, which is a supernatural power, universal vibration, and immanent energy. The ...
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This chapter discusses the different beliefs and practices of Santería. The most important belief is in the aché or ashe, which is a supernatural power, universal vibration, and immanent energy. The ashe is assumed to be immanent in all humans and nature. The chapter looks at the hierarchical ordering of power in the ashe and the souls found in every individual (there are at least three). It also notes that the losses experienced by the Yoruban religion while adapting to the reality of Cuba affected the meaning and coherence of some beliefs and practices.Less
This chapter discusses the different beliefs and practices of Santería. The most important belief is in the aché or ashe, which is a supernatural power, universal vibration, and immanent energy. The ashe is assumed to be immanent in all humans and nature. The chapter looks at the hierarchical ordering of power in the ashe and the souls found in every individual (there are at least three). It also notes that the losses experienced by the Yoruban religion while adapting to the reality of Cuba affected the meaning and coherence of some beliefs and practices.
Mercedes Cros Sandoval
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813030203
- eISBN:
- 9780813039565
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813030203.003.0005
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Latin American Studies
This chapter discusses the powerful trend in Santería towards the need of initiates for the priesthood to go through further training and to acquire further powers by receiving new orichas. This ...
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This chapter discusses the powerful trend in Santería towards the need of initiates for the priesthood to go through further training and to acquire further powers by receiving new orichas. This trend might be the result of the ritualistic emphasis in Santería. Ritualism requires that priests learn to master extremely complicated procedures, to learn the many ingredients needed to perform ceremonies, and to consecrate amulets and other religious items. A number of controversies between the santeros and babalaos are also discussed.Less
This chapter discusses the powerful trend in Santería towards the need of initiates for the priesthood to go through further training and to acquire further powers by receiving new orichas. This trend might be the result of the ritualistic emphasis in Santería. Ritualism requires that priests learn to master extremely complicated procedures, to learn the many ingredients needed to perform ceremonies, and to consecrate amulets and other religious items. A number of controversies between the santeros and babalaos are also discussed.
Mercedes Cros Sandoval
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813030203
- eISBN:
- 9780813039565
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813030203.003.0006
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Latin American Studies
This chapter discusses beliefs regarding illness and death. The believers of Santería think that arun or disease is actually caused by both natural and supernatural factors. Santeros and santeras ...
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This chapter discusses beliefs regarding illness and death. The believers of Santería think that arun or disease is actually caused by both natural and supernatural factors. Santeros and santeras generally recommend their patients to see a physician about any ailment, but flowers, herbs, twigs, and leaves are still an intrinsic part of the philosophy of Santería. Death, on the other hand, is believed to live in cemeteries and even empty bottles. This chapter looks at the realm of the dead and other practices involving death, as well as some notable treatments of disease.Less
This chapter discusses beliefs regarding illness and death. The believers of Santería think that arun or disease is actually caused by both natural and supernatural factors. Santeros and santeras generally recommend their patients to see a physician about any ailment, but flowers, herbs, twigs, and leaves are still an intrinsic part of the philosophy of Santería. Death, on the other hand, is believed to live in cemeteries and even empty bottles. This chapter looks at the realm of the dead and other practices involving death, as well as some notable treatments of disease.
Mercedes Cros Sandoval
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813030203
- eISBN:
- 9780813039565
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813030203.003.0007
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Latin American Studies
This chapter discusses the different rituals of Santería and some of the components of the religion, such as temples, sacrifices, and religious images. It is noted that despite adverse circumstances, ...
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This chapter discusses the different rituals of Santería and some of the components of the religion, such as temples, sacrifices, and religious images. It is noted that despite adverse circumstances, the Afro-Cubans were able to preserve and transmit complex symbolic rituals, engage ritual music and dancing, and esoteric songs and prayers. It also discusses the fact that the degree of professionalism in rituals, music, and divination is the main indication that the santeros are well-trained priests.Less
This chapter discusses the different rituals of Santería and some of the components of the religion, such as temples, sacrifices, and religious images. It is noted that despite adverse circumstances, the Afro-Cubans were able to preserve and transmit complex symbolic rituals, engage ritual music and dancing, and esoteric songs and prayers. It also discusses the fact that the degree of professionalism in rituals, music, and divination is the main indication that the santeros are well-trained priests.
Mercedes Cros Sandoval
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813030203
- eISBN:
- 9780813039565
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813030203.003.0008
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Latin American Studies
This chapter discusses the oracles of Santería, who represent the process of divination. They are the means by which followers learn the wishes, recommendations, recriminations, and desires of the ...
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This chapter discusses the oracles of Santería, who represent the process of divination. They are the means by which followers learn the wishes, recommendations, recriminations, and desires of the orichas and of the dead. The followers strongly believe that consulting the orichas will allow them to learn measures that should be taken to preserve or restore health, and to keep, regain, or acquire anything that would make life more enjoyable.Less
This chapter discusses the oracles of Santería, who represent the process of divination. They are the means by which followers learn the wishes, recommendations, recriminations, and desires of the orichas and of the dead. The followers strongly believe that consulting the orichas will allow them to learn measures that should be taken to preserve or restore health, and to keep, regain, or acquire anything that would make life more enjoyable.
Mercedes Cros Sandoval
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813030203
- eISBN:
- 9780813039565
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813030203.003.0010
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Latin American Studies
This chapter discusses the Creator God, Olodamare, whom most believers of Santería view as an omnipotent god. He has no cult, no priests, and he does not possess believers during festivals because he ...
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This chapter discusses the Creator God, Olodamare, whom most believers of Santería view as an omnipotent god. He has no cult, no priests, and he does not possess believers during festivals because he is too powerful to possess any human head. The chapter provides a number of different views regarding this god, such as Olodamare being a vulnerable being who is suffering from old age.Less
This chapter discusses the Creator God, Olodamare, whom most believers of Santería view as an omnipotent god. He has no cult, no priests, and he does not possess believers during festivals because he is too powerful to possess any human head. The chapter provides a number of different views regarding this god, such as Olodamare being a vulnerable being who is suffering from old age.
Mercedes Cros Sandoval
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813030203
- eISBN:
- 9780813039565
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813030203.003.0011
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Latin American Studies
The believers of Santería have one thing in common with non-believers: their curiosity regarding the reasons for the presence of horror and pain. This chapter discusses a pataki that intends to ...
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The believers of Santería have one thing in common with non-believers: their curiosity regarding the reasons for the presence of horror and pain. This chapter discusses a pataki that intends to explain why the earth's sick arrogance brought rage and punishment through heaven and led to the beginning of evil on earth. It is also very important to understand the Yoruban worldview and the worldview of followers of Santería.Less
The believers of Santería have one thing in common with non-believers: their curiosity regarding the reasons for the presence of horror and pain. This chapter discusses a pataki that intends to explain why the earth's sick arrogance brought rage and punishment through heaven and led to the beginning of evil on earth. It is also very important to understand the Yoruban worldview and the worldview of followers of Santería.
Mercedes Cros Sandoval
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813030203
- eISBN:
- 9780813039565
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813030203.003.0016
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Latin American Studies
This chapter discusses the God of Thunder and Fire. In Africa he is known as Shango, who displays his wrath in the powerful thunderstorms and tornados that are seen along the West African coast. In ...
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This chapter discusses the God of Thunder and Fire. In Africa he is known as Shango, who displays his wrath in the powerful thunderstorms and tornados that are seen along the West African coast. In Cuban religion he is called Changó, and he is part of the lives and adventures of all the other important orichas due to the greatly reduced number of orichas in Santería.Less
This chapter discusses the God of Thunder and Fire. In Africa he is known as Shango, who displays his wrath in the powerful thunderstorms and tornados that are seen along the West African coast. In Cuban religion he is called Changó, and he is part of the lives and adventures of all the other important orichas due to the greatly reduced number of orichas in Santería.
Mercedes Cros Sandoval
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813030203
- eISBN:
- 9780813039565
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813030203.003.0024
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Latin American Studies
This chapter gives an outline of some of the ideals of moral behavior that inhere in Santería. This outline prevents any misrepresentations of the behavior of the orichas towards the more negative ...
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This chapter gives an outline of some of the ideals of moral behavior that inhere in Santería. This outline prevents any misrepresentations of the behavior of the orichas towards the more negative features of character and behavior. The reason for this is that the orichas, along with all the other creations of Olodumare, reflect the coexisting characteristics of good and evil as components of their basic nature.Less
This chapter gives an outline of some of the ideals of moral behavior that inhere in Santería. This outline prevents any misrepresentations of the behavior of the orichas towards the more negative features of character and behavior. The reason for this is that the orichas, along with all the other creations of Olodumare, reflect the coexisting characteristics of good and evil as components of their basic nature.
Mercedes Cros Sandoval
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813030203
- eISBN:
- 9780813039565
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813030203.003.0025
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Latin American Studies
This chapter discusses Santería during the twenty-first century. Due to the number of changes experienced by the Yoruban religion in Cuba, it survives and even serves as a vehicle for the retention ...
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This chapter discusses Santería during the twenty-first century. Due to the number of changes experienced by the Yoruban religion in Cuba, it survives and even serves as a vehicle for the retention of aspects of the Yoruban language, mythology, music, and dance within the framework of a partially retained Yoruban worldview. But although Santería was able to break through social, class, and racial boundaries, by the 1950s the followers of Santería were only a small minority in Cuba. However, the religion still exists, and has even demonstrated a flexibility to adjust to different ecosystems and cultural contexts while integrating participants of diverse racial and socioeconomic backgrounds in the Americas.Less
This chapter discusses Santería during the twenty-first century. Due to the number of changes experienced by the Yoruban religion in Cuba, it survives and even serves as a vehicle for the retention of aspects of the Yoruban language, mythology, music, and dance within the framework of a partially retained Yoruban worldview. But although Santería was able to break through social, class, and racial boundaries, by the 1950s the followers of Santería were only a small minority in Cuba. However, the religion still exists, and has even demonstrated a flexibility to adjust to different ecosystems and cultural contexts while integrating participants of diverse racial and socioeconomic backgrounds in the Americas.
Mercedes Cros Sandoval
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813030203
- eISBN:
- 9780813039565
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813030203.003.0026
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Latin American Studies
This chapter discusses some of the factors contributing to the observable trends in Santería. These factors are individualism, technicalism and professionalism, the opportunities for leadership in ...
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This chapter discusses some of the factors contributing to the observable trends in Santería. These factors are individualism, technicalism and professionalism, the opportunities for leadership in the priesthood, openness, and even the tensions between the babalaos and the oriatés. The rest of the chapter is focused on the trends of Afro-centrism and the issue of syncretism.Less
This chapter discusses some of the factors contributing to the observable trends in Santería. These factors are individualism, technicalism and professionalism, the opportunities for leadership in the priesthood, openness, and even the tensions between the babalaos and the oriatés. The rest of the chapter is focused on the trends of Afro-centrism and the issue of syncretism.
Kristine Juncker
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- January 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780813049700
- eISBN:
- 9780813050454
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813049700.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Latin American Studies
Afro-Cuban Religious Arts traces the religious art created by four generations of Afro-Caribbean women from Havana, Cuba, to Spanish Harlem, New York, from 1899 to 1969. Through an examination of ...
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Afro-Cuban Religious Arts traces the religious art created by four generations of Afro-Caribbean women from Havana, Cuba, to Spanish Harlem, New York, from 1899 to 1969. Through an examination of archives featuring photographs, notes, and surviving altar fragments belonging to Tiburcia Sotolongo y Ugarte, Hortensia Ferrer, Iluminada Sierra Ortiz, and Carmen Oramas Caballery, a history of women’s leadership roles within Afro-Cuban religious arts practices emerges. To this end, their work reveals the critical interaction between the arts of different Afro-Caribbean belief systems, particularly Espiritismo and Santería. With careful documentation of this work, these leaders created an impressive account of hybrid cultural identities that references African, native Caribe, and European cultural inheritances. This exploration of Caribbean Creole identity prompted critical dialogue among their audiences during highly turbulent social and political changes of the twentieth century. Such popular discourse proves to be exemplary of the dynamic exchange of histories that led to the explosion of African diasporic religious arts throughout the Americas and beyond.Less
Afro-Cuban Religious Arts traces the religious art created by four generations of Afro-Caribbean women from Havana, Cuba, to Spanish Harlem, New York, from 1899 to 1969. Through an examination of archives featuring photographs, notes, and surviving altar fragments belonging to Tiburcia Sotolongo y Ugarte, Hortensia Ferrer, Iluminada Sierra Ortiz, and Carmen Oramas Caballery, a history of women’s leadership roles within Afro-Cuban religious arts practices emerges. To this end, their work reveals the critical interaction between the arts of different Afro-Caribbean belief systems, particularly Espiritismo and Santería. With careful documentation of this work, these leaders created an impressive account of hybrid cultural identities that references African, native Caribe, and European cultural inheritances. This exploration of Caribbean Creole identity prompted critical dialogue among their audiences during highly turbulent social and political changes of the twentieth century. Such popular discourse proves to be exemplary of the dynamic exchange of histories that led to the explosion of African diasporic religious arts throughout the Americas and beyond.