Religious Traditions in Latin America

Santeria

Rastafarianism

Voodoo

Definition: This is a syncretic

religion which means it is a
blend of two or more religious
beliefs to create a new
system. This type of religion
is found in the Caribbean
based off of Yoruba beliefs.

Definition: This began in 1930

in Jamaica. Marcus Garvey
founded Rastafarianism along
with Haile Selassie. Garvey
predicted a black messiah. A
prince named Ras Tafari
became emperor of Ethiopia
from 1930-1974 which proved
Garveys prediction.

Definition: This is a cult

originated in Haiti and
practiced in the caribbean,
combining Roman catholic
rituals with traditional
african magical and
religious rights. This is
usually characterized with
sorcery and possession.

Beliefs: Followers of this

religion refer to their god as
Olorun or owner of
heaven, and they also
believe he created the whole
universe. Santerians also
believe in lesser guardians
called Orisha.

Symbolism: A symbol for

Rastafarianism shows a lion on
the ethiopian flag colored
green, red and yellow. A lion is
used to represent the strength
and pride of the Rastas.

Location: Followers of this

religion can be found in
Jamaica, the Dominican
Republic, Brazil, and the
United States.

Beliefs: Santerians believe in

animal sacrifices. The
animals blood is gathered
and sacrificed to Orisha. Most
animal sacrifices involve
chickens. These sacrifices
are used for good luck and
forgiveness of sins.

Beliefs: Rastas do not believe

in an afterlife, instead they
believe in Zion which is
heaven on Earth. Rastas also
believe in the concept of
everliving which is the feeling of
immortality spiritually and
physically.

Origin: The history of

Voudon originated with
slaves who combined West
African traditions with
Roman Catholicism. A law
of 1685 told slave owners to
forbid the use of voodoo
and to christianize their
slaves within eight days of
their arrival.

Beliefs: Santerians believe

dancing during a ritual can
lead to the possession of
Orisha. The person
possessed then speaks and
acts as Orisha.

Beliefs: Rastas believe in the

ritual use of marijuana, the
wearing of ones hair in
dreadlocks, the avoidance of
alcohol, and vegetarianism. A
prime example of a Rasta is
Bob Marley.

Effect: Voodoo has

affected television with its
belief in zombies and dolls.
Many voudon followers say
it is easy to take their
practice out of context.

Religion: Priest are called

Santeros or Babalochas. To
become a priest, one must
learn how to sing and dance
to certain songs and also
perform proper healing
methods. They are trained for

Beliefs: Another custom

performed by Rastas is the
disbelief in Babylon. This is the
structure of white power held in
Europe and the Americas.
Rastas resist Babylon because
it one enslaved their people

Misc: Even though there is

no evidence, it is said that
African priests punished a
person by using magic to
turn them into a zombie,
using them for farm work or
labor on sugar plantations.

many years at a time to learn

the oral traditions of the faith.

and still continue to hold them

down in poverty.

Location: Its been proven by

author Migene Gonzalez Wipler that over one-hundred
million people practice
Santeria. Other estimates
have said there is one
hundred thousand
practitioners in the United
States. In Florida, Santerian
are commonly found in
Miami.

Religion: Rastafarianism holds

a sacred bible which is called
the Holy Piby. This book was
written by Robert Athlyi from
1913 to 1917 and published in
1924. This book was written to
be the christian holy bible but
written differently to change
distortions made by white
leaders during its translation
into english.

Origin: There is no specific

founder of voodoo. Also,
there is no specific date of
its origin. Even though there
is no known history of
voodoo, it has impacted
schools world wide.
Schools that teach voodoo
include places like Africa,
Louisiana, and Haiti.

Effect: In industrial places

such as the United States,
police have found people
performing magic rituals and
have led to unneeded
investigations. This situation
commonly occurs to people
who are hispanic.

Structure: Today, there are 3

divisions in rastafarianism. All
of them agree on the basic
principles of the divine status of
Haile Selassie and black
power.

Beliefs: Voodoo dolls are

mostly associated with
voodoo. The doll represents
a person under a spell
during a religious
ceremony. These dolls are
usually made of potatoes,
clay, branches, roots, or
clothes.

Religion: The religion of

Santeria structures off of
building relationships with the
ones around you and the
spirits in heaven. They also
believe they have a destiny
before they are born and
seek for the gods help
achieve this destiny.

Beliefs:Rastas believe in the

judeo-god Jah which is based
off of judaism and christianity
along with old testament laws
and the book of revelation.
Rastas believe Jah was
manifested on Earth as a black
Jesus.

Gods: All spirits in voudon

are called Loa. MarinetteBois Sech is a very evil
spirit. Gede is the spirit of
family, death, and fertility.
Baron is the god of death
and the giver of life. He is
looked upon as the most
important spirit.

Gods: Santerians have many

gods they worship upon.
Echu is the guardian of the
crossroads, and punishes all
who disrespect him. Obatala
is the god who created the
world. Yemaya is queen of
the seas and motherhood.
Chango is god of strength
and is represented by
thunder and lightning. Oggun
is the god of all materials
made of iron and mineral.

Religion/Structure: In 1968,
the twelve tribes of Israel was
founded by Dr. Vernon
Carrington. This is considered
the most liberal of the
Rastafarian orders. Members
are free to choose any church
of their choosing and each
member belongs to one of the
twelve tribes or houses. These
tribes or houses are
determined by birth year and
color.

Spells: Today, many spells

exist from when voodoo
was first originated.
Purposes for these spells
include love, luck, money,
revenge, marriage, hate,
house, pregnancy, weight
loss and curses. These
spells can be very
dangerous if used the
wrong way.

Religion: Santeria has no

Customs: Rastas use

Death: There have been

history of a holy book.

Instead, holy speeches are
given off the top of a
practitioners head.

marijuana for medical and

spiritual purposes. It is used
during two rituals called
nyabinghi and reasonings. Both
purposes bring spiritual
relaxation and medical help.

multiple cases of voodoo

followers that have
mysteriously died after
being cursed. A curse can
occur when a member of a
house disobeys a head
chief's order. A prime
example of this in New
Zealand is when a Maori
woman ate a forbidden fruit
and died the next day.

Rasta: http://www.religionfacts.com/a-z-religion-index/rastafarianism.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/rastafari/
http://www.uri.org/kids/other_rasta.htm
Santeria: http://www.religioustolerance.org/santeri3.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/santeria/beliefs/orishas.shtml
http://www.kabiosile.org/santeria
Voodoo: http://www.livescience.com/40803-voodoo-facts.html
http://www.religionfacts.com/a-z-religion-index/voodoo.htm
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-human-beast/201209/voodoo-death-i