It is a religion whose origins are African and Cuban, Santeria has its beginnings in West Africa in the Yoruba people, but when the slave trade was handled, these Africans took root in Cuba, Haiti, Panama, and many other countries, and in this way they brought with them their religion and animistic beliefs.
The Santeria is a fusion between Catholicism and the Yoruba religion, there is a legend that the Spanish masters owned African slaves did not allow these to practice their religion, and taught them about the Catholic Church, which the Spaniards not They expected is that the Africans achieved similarities between the Catholic and Yoruba saints, or rather they believed that these saints were different manifestations of their own gods, so in the same way they began to pray to them but thinking about their traditional religion, of this they managed to deceive their masters. However, they inadvertently created this religion where European and African elements are mixed.
This religion is also known as the Rule of Osha-Ifá, the santeros (this is how believers and people belonging to this religion are known) believe and worship a unique God, who is responsible for the creation of the universe, is known as Olodumare, they believe that since he created everything that exists in the same way everything must return to him, it is the energy that is called ashé, this is the power of your God, ashé is also considered as a blessing, grace or virtue. After Olodumare there are those that Catholics know as saints but the santeros call them Orishas, which are a group of Yoruba gods, they are attributed the conduction of natural forces and therefore those that also direct human life, These orishas are guides for people so that they can live harmoniously in the world and feel good spiritually.
The santeros have different ways of communicating with the orishas, and it is through prayers, rites and divination, in Santeria they make offerings to their saints, in which many times sacrifices are included, mostly animals, possessions are also made by trance. The orishas are protectors of the human race, they believe that one of those orishas chooses them to be a kind of guardian angel, that is why it is known that each santero has a saint. The best known orishas are: Yemayá, major orisha, mother of life and some gods, owner of the sea and the moon, she is the Virgin of Regla. EleguaHe is the Holy Child of Atocha. Obatalá is the Virgin of Las Mercedes. Chango is Santa Bárbara, and so on many more.
