Date:  11-15-88  07:05
From:  Ammond Shadowcraft
To:    All 
Subj:  Santeria. part 1 of 9


EID:71f9 116ab42d

                 "The Afro-Antillian Religion of the Lucumis..." 
                                    by JSR:. 
 
    On the history of Santeria... 
  
     It was in the days of the conquest...manpower was needed  to 
cultivate  the  land  and to work hard,  very  hard.  The  native
inhabitants  of  this  newly   discovered land  enslaved  by  the conquerors
were dying by the hundreds every day. The solution, to bring  slaves from
Africa...it was the XVI century.  Slaves  were brought by the thousands
during the XVI-XIX centuries to the  new world, to what is today Central and
south America, the Caribbean and the southern  portion  of  North  America. 
These slaves came mainly from the south western  coastal  region of Africa, 
region in were the nations of the Yorubas, Arara and Lucumi dwelled. 
 
     These Africans were strong,  clever, highly independent hard 
working  beings  who were also very  religious.  Among  the  many brought to
the new world there were artisans,  musicians and most important:   priests, 
 doctors  and  sorcerers  who  were  three independent  classes  often 
confused  as being  the  same  thing. Priests  were in charge of the
religious life of the  members  of his nation or tribe; doctors took care of
the physical health and sorcerers  were a kind of "outlaw priests" who almost
 invariably lived  outside  of the villages.  Doctors and priests  worked  in
common  accord:  the doctor took care of the physical  while  the priest 
took 
 care of the spiritual.  Many  times  however,  both functions   were  
performed  by the priest but not the other way around. The sorcerer offered
his services for any  purpose;  that is,  to perform  good  or evil,  being
to perform  evil  that his services were most often sought. 
 
     Secret  societies  or Brotherhoods formed a  very  important 
part  of  the  communal life.  Men formed  artisans  brotherhoods, hunting 
and  fishing brotherhoods in were the art  of  each  was taught.  Women  also
had their own "Sisterhoods" in were the arts and skills of becoming a good
wife were taught.  There were  also religion oriented brotherhoods whose
members had to belong to the 
"clergy".  Even  the  sorcerers  belonged and promoted their  own 
versions of these brotherhoods. 
 
     These nations lived very close to the coast, for fishing and 
hunting game was ample and also because they felt protected  from the  
attacks  of  several other warrior  nations  that  lived inland.  As  a 
matter  of  fact many  of  the  slaves  who  were eventually  brought  to 
the 
 new world  were  prisoners  of  war belonging  to defeated tribes on wars
with other African  nations who sold them to the slave traders.  But their
security was short lived...because the white men came. 

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 * Origin: SMARTNet - Who says OPUS can't Fly? (Opus 1:128/23)