Your Psychic Reader on Santeria
Posted by Administrator in Psychic.Santería, also known as Lukumí or Regla de Ocha, is a set of related religious systems that fuse Catholic Christian beliefs with traditional Yoruba beliefs. In the Yoruba language, Lukumí means “friends” and also applies to descendants of Yorùbá slaves in Cuba, their music and dance, and the cubanized dialect of the Yorùbá language.
The term “Lukumi” is an authentic ancient designation still in use by present day Yoruba peoples of West Africa and their descendents in Cuba and the diaspora. The term Lukumi also refers to a vastly large number of religious followers or adherents who practice authentic Lukumi traditions as well as the most common syncretic form of the religion known as “Santeria”, which was established in Cuba dating back to around the mid-18th century. The term Lukumi derives from the word “Olukumi”, meaning my friend. The term Yoruba as a cultural designation only dates back to the mid-19th century colonialism. In modern day Nigeria, the Yoruba consists of several ethnic groups, including but not limited to: Egba, Egbado, Ijebu, Oyo, all who arrived in great numbers in Cuba. The Lukumi however derive from a region known as Ulcumi and Ulcami, which was contained within the vast Oyo Empire dating back as early as the 16th century, located just north north-west of Lagos. Cuban Lukumi also refer to their ancient African Kingdon as Ulkuman, another variation of Ulcumi. (Law,1977,p.5) (Mason,1992,p.2) (La Enciclopedia de IFA).
What we recognize as modern Yoruba today, in Cuba they were known as Lukumí, the more ancient and authentic designation. Lukumi Slaves and slaves from other regions of Western Africa were purposely segregated by slave owning families as a means of maintaining tribal and ethnic tensions between them during times of enslavement (see Midlo Hall’s 1992,2005). It is in this manner that Cuban Enslavement and the means of maintaining control over each of these cultural groups evolved. It wasn’t until the early part of the 18th century that the Spanish Government and the Catholic Church allowed for the creation of societies called cabildos. These cabildos were primarily used by the slaves as a means for entertainment and reconstruction of many aspects of their ethnic heritage, and were also intended as a means to institutionalize the interethnic animosities.
“The colonial period from the standpoint of African slaves may be defined as a time of perseverance. Their world quickly changed. Tribal kings and families, politicians, business and community leaders all were enslaved in a foreign region of the world. Religious leaders, their descendants, and the faithful, were now slaves. Colonial laws criminalized their religion. They were forced to become baptized and worship a new “Loving God” surrounded by a pantheon of saints. The early concerns during this period seem to indicate a need for individual survival. An ability to live on and not die under harsh plantation conditions. A sense of hope was sustaining the internal essence of what today is called Santeria, a misnomer for the indigenous religion of the Yoruba people of Nigeria.