Intercultural Experience Fieldwork Report: Santeria in the Cuban Culture
The topic I chose to study and write my research paper about is the Santeria religion, specifically Cuban immigrants in Miami as well as some first generation Americans who are descendants of native Cubans. My goal was to learn more about the secretive religion that many people seem to automatically fear and hate and provide evidence that the religion is in fact a peaceful one that aims to improve humans to become the best persona they can be. In order to accurately depict the religion, I had to do much research online, only to find out that most of the information online is written by everyday people who do not practice the religion as their own, due to this, I had to …show more content…
All the Saints found in Santeria have a Catholic Saint that is equivalent to the “Santo”, which is how the followers of Santeria address their Saints. Each Santo has their own “Pataki”, which is the story of the “Orisha”, which is the proper term to use when speaking of a Santo in terms of Santeria, and these “Patakis” describe the Santo in depth allowing the Santeros to understand the Santo and cater their worship to each specific Santo in order to please them. Santeria worship is mainly practiced by an initiated member that has received the first blessing, which is basically the initiation into the religion. Once someone has become initiated, they speak directly to the Santos in order to help them along the follower’s life. The Santos have the power to do many beautiful things, but they may also do very horrible things if mistreated. Some of the common blessings the Santos bestow on their followers is the ability to see into one’s future, allow one to rid their “fate” or path in life of any evil that may be affecting them or will affect them in the future. The Santos all have specific topics that they may help people with, ranging from employment all the way to avoiding certain death, like a terminal illness for example. The religion is not focused on cursing others or causing harm to people, however, there is a side of Santeria exists due to the fundamental rule of Dualism, which is commonly known as “Palo”, that has the ability to harm others, although not intended to do so, there are few who perform these “Black Magic”
The topic I chose to study and write my research paper about is the Santeria religion, specifically Cuban immigrants in Miami as well as some first generation Americans who are descendants of native Cubans. My goal was to learn more about the secretive religion that many people seem to automatically fear and hate and provide evidence that the religion is in fact a peaceful one that aims to improve humans to become the best persona they can be. In order to accurately depict the religion, I had to do much research online, only to find out that most of the information online is written by everyday people who do not practice the religion as their own, due to this, I had to …show more content…
All the Saints found in Santeria have a Catholic Saint that is equivalent to the “Santo”, which is how the followers of Santeria address their Saints. Each Santo has their own “Pataki”, which is the story of the “Orisha”, which is the proper term to use when speaking of a Santo in terms of Santeria, and these “Patakis” describe the Santo in depth allowing the Santeros to understand the Santo and cater their worship to each specific Santo in order to please them. Santeria worship is mainly practiced by an initiated member that has received the first blessing, which is basically the initiation into the religion. Once someone has become initiated, they speak directly to the Santos in order to help them along the follower’s life. The Santos have the power to do many beautiful things, but they may also do very horrible things if mistreated. Some of the common blessings the Santos bestow on their followers is the ability to see into one’s future, allow one to rid their “fate” or path in life of any evil that may be affecting them or will affect them in the future. The Santos all have specific topics that they may help people with, ranging from employment all the way to avoiding certain death, like a terminal illness for example. The religion is not focused on cursing others or causing harm to people, however, there is a side of Santeria exists due to the fundamental rule of Dualism, which is commonly known as “Palo”, that has the ability to harm others, although not intended to do so, there are few who perform these “Black Magic”