Santerķa

Santerķa, a religion practiced extensively in Cuba, is derived from the religion of the Yoruba people of western Africa. It came to the new world with slavery. To hide their religious beliefs from disapproving masters, the slaves disguised their gods as Catholic saints. Thus, the religion is today an interesting mix of African religious beliefs and Roman Catholicism. In Cuba, many persons practice both religions simultaneously.

To find out more about Santerķa, please go to the following sites:

OrishaNet

and

Santeria, La Regla Lucumi

I have also posted a letter I received from an editor at Commercial Data International, Inc., disputing an assertion I had made that Roman Catholicism is little more than a fairly superficial veneer on an otherwise African religion. This letter offers some useful citations to the literature on Santerķa:

http://www.be.wvu.edu/divecon/econ/trumbull/santerialetter.html

 

Maintained by William N. Trumbull. Updated 8/11/99