The name by which it is known worldwide, Santería, arose almost as an outside label: the «religion of the saints», because of the apparent devotion to Catholic saints. Practitioners often prefer to speak of Regla de Ocha («rule of the orishas») or of the Lucumí religion. It is a tradition of Yoruba origin, rebuilt in Cuba by people deported from West Africa, and today found in many parts of the Americas and beyond.
Who the Lucumí were
In Cuba, Yoruba-speaking people were called Lucumí, a term of uncertain origin that over time became the name of a religious and linguistic identity. The liturgical language of Regla de Ocha, used in songs and prayers, is in fact called Lucumí: it derives from Yoruba but has developed independently over the generations.
The large-scale arrival of Yoruba people in Cuba took place mainly in the nineteenth century, when the sugar economy demanded an enormous workforce and the slave trade to the island remained intense. At that time, in West Africa, the wars linked to the decline of the Oyo empire were producing many captives.
The cabildos de nación
A decisive tool for preserving the traditions was the cabildos de nación. These were associations, permitted by the colonial authorities and linked to the Church, that brought together Africans of the same «nation» of origin. They provided mutual aid, organised festivities and took part in religious processions.
Under the protection of a patron saint, the cabildos went on playing drums, singing in African languages and honouring ancestral deities. In these spaces, tolerated but watched, the core of the future Regla de Ocha took shape.
Orishas and saints
In Regla de Ocha the deities are called orishas (in Cuban spelling, oricha). Each was associated with a Catholic figure who shared some trait of its iconography or character.
| Orisha | Symbolic domain | Traditional Catholic counterpart |
|---|---|---|
| Eleguá | Roads, thresholds, beginnings | Santo Niño de Atocha, Saint Anthony |
| Changó | Thunder, fire, kingship | Saint Barbara |
| Yemayá | Sea, motherhood | Virgen de Regla |
| Ochún | Rivers, sweetness, love | Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre |
| Obatalá | Purity, wisdom | Virgen de las Mercedes |
| Babalú Ayé | Illness and compassion | Saint Lazarus |
The pairing of Changó, a male deity, with Saint Barbara, a female figure, always strikes those who meet it for the first time. The bridge is iconographic: the saint is linked to lightning and is often depicted in red and white, the colours of the orisha.
Initiation: «hacerse santo»
The most important step in religious life is kariocha, the initiation by which the guardian orisha is «seated», that is, permanently placed, on the person's head. In everyday language it is called hacerse santo, «making saint». Before reaching it, the devotee usually receives some preparatory elements, such as the ritual necklaces (elekes) in the orishas' colours and the protection of the warriors.
After the ceremony, the new initiate, called iyawó, lives for a year according to precise rules: dressing in white, avoiding certain places and behaviours, following an etiquette of respect towards elders. It is a period of symbolic rebirth, in which the person learns to live alongside their orisha.
Two systems of divination
Regla de Ocha has two great oracular systems:
- the diloggún, divination with sixteen cowrie shells, practised by santeros and santeras;
- Ifá, reserved for the babalawos, priests of Orula, who use tools such as the divining chain (opelé) and the ritual tray.
In both cases, the figures obtained refer to a vast heritage of stories (patakí) and counsel, which the diviner interprets for the person consulting. Alongside these there is also the simpler coconut oracle, used for questions needing an immediate answer.
Music and festivals
Festivals in honour of the orishas, often called tambores or toques, are accompanied by drums, call-and-response singing between soloist and chorus, and dance. Each orisha has its own rhythms and steps; during the ceremony, an initiate may go into trance and be «mounted» by the deity, who then speaks and blesses those present.
From secrecy to the world
For much of its history Regla de Ocha was viewed with suspicion and at times persecuted. Cuban scholars such as Fernando Ortiz and Lydia Cabrera, in the first half of the twentieth century, documented its rites, stories and language, helping to gain recognition of its cultural value.
In the second half of the century, with Cuban migration to the United States, the religion took root in Miami, New York and elsewhere, later reaching Latin America and Europe as well.
In short
- «Santería» is the popular name of Regla de Ocha, a Cuban religion of Yoruba origin also called Lucumí.
- The cabildos de nación were decisive spaces for preserving drums, songs and deities.
- Each orisha was associated with a Catholic saint, often through iconographic affinities.
- Initiation (kariocha) is followed by a year as an iyawó dressed in white.
- Diloggún and Ifá are the two great divination systems of the tradition.
