Old religions

“Santería, also known as Regla de Ocha, La Regla de Ifá, or Lucumí, is an Afro-American religion of Yoruba origin that developed in Cuba among West African descendants. Santería is a Spanish word that means the "worship of saints". Santería is influenced by and syncretized with Roman Catholicism”

“Voodoo is a religion that originates in West Africa. In the Americas and the Caribbean, it is thought to be a combination of various African, Catholic and Native American traditions. It is practiced around the world but there is no accurate count of how many people are Voodooists”

“Candomblé is an Afro-Brazilian religious tradition, practiced mainly in Brazil by the povo de santo. Candomblé originated in Salvador, Bahia at the beginning of the 19th century, when the first temple was founded”

Common thread of these religions is that they are all of Yoruba origin because of the people an the descendants who practice it, and like all religions, don’t believe all the negative hype (except believe those catholic priests have sick fucking habits). There is nothing inherently evil about these religions, in fact, quite the opposite because they are about life; but then bullshit and Hollywood films got involved and we have the idea that we have right now.

Another common thread is that all these religions were disguised under catholic saints. How is that possible? How could they have been intertwined with Christian religion? The answer is simple, and surprising to some; the Yoruba religion is monotheistic in nature. There is one big guy, “Olodumare also known as Olorun (Almighty) is the name given to one of the three manifestations of the Supreme God in the Yoruba pantheon and one and only god the Yoruba believe in”. You do not bother him for little things, that is what the helpers were for, just as saints are there to help the Christian god.

Sound familiar? Because religion is a human creation, truth is truth, and as humans, the ties that bind us are closer than we think, and sometimes closer than is convenient for some.

Things to think about…

Dr Flavius Akerele III