Teachings of the Santería Gods

Teachings of the Santería Gods
Author: Ócha'ni Lele
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 244
Release: 2010-06-24
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 1594779082

The first book to explore the sacred myths of Santería • Includes more than 100 myths, stories, and histories about the odu and the orishas • Reassembles the oral fragments from the African diaspora into coherent stories • Demonstrates that the African peoples, specifically the Yoruba, were deeply spiritual At the core of the diloggún--the sacred divination system of Santería--are the sacred stories known as the patakís, narratives whose themes are as powerful and relevant today as they were in the minds of the ancient Yoruba who safeguarded them. Each patakí is connected to one or more of the 16 odu, the principal creative forces of Santería. Some recount the lives of orishas on earth, others the lives of individuals in heaven, and some tell of the odu themselves, for even they once walked the earth as mortals. The first book to explore these ancient African stories in English, Teachings of the Santería Gods recounts more than 100 of these sacred parables, including many stories reassembled from the oral tradition of the African diaspora. Ranging from creation myths to what happens when a love potion works far too well, these stories share the wisdom and spirituality of the Yoruba people of ancient Africa and form the living, oral bible of one of the world’s fastest-growing faiths.

Sacrificial Ceremonies of Santería

Sacrificial Ceremonies of Santería
Author: Ócha'ni Lele
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 234
Release: 2012-08-22
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 1594775001

The first book to explore the history, methods, and thinking behind sacrifice in the growing Santería faith • Explains the animal sacrifice ceremony in step-by-step detail • Shares the ancient African sacred stories that reveal the well-thought-out metaphysics and spirituality behind the practice of animal sacrifice • Chronicles the legal fight all the way to its 1993 U.S. Supreme Court victory to establish legal protection for the Santería faith and its practitioners Tackling the biggest controversy surrounding his faith, Santería priest Ócha’ni Lele explains for the first time in print the practice and importance of animal sacrifice as a religious sacrament. Describing the animal sacrifice ceremony in step-by-step detail, including the songs and chants used, he examines the thinking and metaphysics behind the ritual and reveals the deep connections to the odu of the diloggún--the source of all practices in this Afro-Cuban faith. Tracing the legal battle spearheaded by Oba Ernesto Pichardo, head of the Church of the Lukumi of Babaluaiye, over the right to practice animal sacrifice as a religious sacrament, Lele chronicles the fight all the way to its 1993 U.S. Supreme Court victory, which established legal protection for the Santería faith and its practitioners. Weaving together oral fragments stemming from the ancient Yoruba of West Africa, the author reconstructs their sacred stories, or patakís, that demonstrate the well-thought-out metaphysics and spirituality behind the practice of animal sacrifice in the Yoruba and Santería religion, including explanations about why each animal can be regarded as food for both humans and the orisha as well as how sacrifice is not limited to animals. Shedding light on the extraordinary global growth of this religion over the past 50 years, Lele’s guide to the sacrificial ceremonies of Santería enables initiates to learn proper ceremony protocol as well as gives outsiders a glimpse into this most secretive world of the santeros.

Orishas: An Introduction to African Spirituality and Yoruba Religion

Orishas: An Introduction to African Spirituality and Yoruba Religion
Author: Clara Robinson
Publisher: Creek Ridge Publishing
Total Pages: 82
Release: 2021-08-14
Genre: Religion
ISBN:

Learn about the Yoruba people of Africa, Gods and the different Orishas The belief system of the Yoruba people, which may have originated millions of years ago in Nigeria, is regarded as one of the oldest religions in the world. It has since gained followers from all over the world, from the Caribbean to North America, and it’s easy to see why. Its oral interpretations have piqued the interest of many, ranging from majestic tales of the Orishas to life-changing teachings of reincarnation. And, while it has been modified or intertwined with other world religions everywhere else, this high form of spirituality is still practiced in its original form in Africa.

The Diloggún

The Diloggún
Author: Ócha'ni Lele
Publisher: Inner Traditions / Bear & Co
Total Pages: 636
Release: 2003-07-28
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 9780892819126

The first book on Santer�s holiest divination system, the Diloggun. Explores the lore surrounding this mysterious oracle, the living Bible of one of the world's fastest growing faiths. Examines each family of " odu" and how their actions affect the spiritual development of the individual. An indispensable guide to the mysteries of the orishas.

Diloggún Tales of the Natural World

Diloggún Tales of the Natural World
Author: Ócha'ni Lele
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 195
Release: 2011-09-21
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 1594778035

Sacred myths from Santería centered on nature and the natural world • Includes more than 40 myths, stories, and histories from the Lucumí tradition • Reassembles the oral fragments from the African diaspora into coherent stories • Demonstrates that the African peoples, specifically the Yoruba, had deep philosophies and metaphysics involving nature and the natural world Since ancient times the Yoruba of West Africa created sacred stories--patakís--to make sense of the world around them. Upon arrival in the New World, the Yoruba religion began to incorporate elements from Catholic and Native traditions, evolving into Santería, and new patakís were born, adding to the many chapters already found in the odu of the diloggun--the sacred oral teachings and divination system of the Yoruba, or Lucumí, faith. Comparable to the myths of ancient Greece and Rome and rich with jewels of wisdom like the I Ching, these Santería stories are as vast as the Hindu Vedas and as culturally significant as the parables in the Torah, Talmud, and Christian Bible. Diloggun Tales of the Natural World presents more than 40 patakís that shed light upon the worldview of Santería. Each story in this collection, reassembled from the oral tradition of the African diaspora, is centered on a spiritual principle in nature: the waxing and waning of the moon, solar and lunar eclipses, the phenomenon of shooting stars, the separation of sky and earth, and the origins of the animals and birds who play key roles in Santería symbology. Revealing the metaphysics, theology, and philosophy of the Yoruba people, this volume shows these stories to be as powerful and relevant today as they were to the ancient Yoruba who once safeguarded them.

Macumba

Macumba
Author: Serge Bramly
Publisher: City Lights Publishers
Total Pages: 240
Release: 1994-05-01
Genre:
ISBN: 9780872862869

Every January millions of people crowd the seashore to receive the blessings of lemanja, goddess of the sea. All year long in terreiros in Brazil and around the world, Orixa worshipers revel in the divine presence of the living Gods, directly...

Santeria

Santeria
Author: Miguel A. De La Torre
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Total Pages: 266
Release: 2004-08-23
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 146743177X

This book by Miguel De La Torre offers a fascinating guide to the history, beliefs, rituals, and culture of Santería — a religious tradition that, despite persecution, suppression, and its own secretive nature, has close to a million adherents in the United States alone. Santería is a religion with Afro-Cuban roots, rising out of the cultural clash between the Yoruba people of West Africa and the Spanish Catholics who brought them to the Americas as slaves. As a faith of the marginalized and persecuted, it gave oppressed men and women strength and the will to survive. With the exile of thousands of Cubans in the wake of Castro's revolution in 1959, Santería came to the United States, where it is gradually coming to be recognized as a legitimate faith tradition. Apart from vague suspicions that Santería's rituals include animal sacrifice and notions that it is a “syncretistic” form of Catholicism, most people in America's cultural and religious mainstream know very little about this rich faith tradition — in fact, many have never heard of it at all. De La Torre, who was reared in Santería, sets out in this book to provide a basic understanding of its inner workings. He clearly explains the particular worldview, myths, rituals, and practices of Santería, and he discusses what role the religion typically plays in the life of its practitioners as well as the cultural influence it continues to exert in Latin American communities today. In offering a balanced, informed survey of Santería from his unique “insider-outsider” perspective, De La Torre also provides insight into how Christianity and Santería can enter into dialogue — a dialogue that will challenge Christians to consider what this emerging faith tradition can teach them about their own. Enhanced with illustrations, tables, and a glossary, De La Torre's Santería sheds light on a religion all too often shrouded in mystery and misunderstanding.

Osogbo

Osogbo
Author: Ócha'ni Lele
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 219
Release: 2014-03-21
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 1620553449

By understanding osogbo, the spirits of misfortune, we can better overcome them and return to health and balance in our lives • Explains how misfortune works in this world as living spirits that plague humanity but are also a catalyst for self-development and conscious evolution • Shows that we can overcome osogbo through ebó, sacrifice, and hard work as prescribed by consulting the orishas through the casting of the diloggún • Shares more than 40 ancient African sacred stories about the spirits of osogbo Beginning with the story of his goddaughter's battle with stage IV cancer, Lucumi priest Ócha'ni Lele explains the role of osogbo, or misfortune, in our lives. While everyone seeks blessings in life, undeserved blessings make us weak and lazy. It is tragedy that encourages us to grow and persevere. Exploring the Lucumí beliefs regarding osogbo, he shows that the Lucumí faith is neither fatalistic nor defeatist but healing and life affirming. He shares more than 40 patakís--stories stemming from the ancient Yoruba of West Africa--about the different spirits of osogbo, who like the orishas once walked the earth in human bodies. He explains the place of these spirits within the 256 odu of the diloggún, the divination system used in Santería to receive guidance from the orishas. Lele shows that the spirits of osogbo are not only concepts but also real deities and that we can, if we understand their nature, fight them through ebó, sacrifice, and hard work. He reveals how the osogbos see themselves as entities of misfortune who stand against life and all that is good in the world, but in truth it is misfortune that strengthens us, misfortune that motivates us, and misfortune that brings great evolution to the world. As the author shows, “Without bitterness, one could not know sweetness.” Likewise, without misfortune in our lives, we would never know blessings or what it means to be blessed.

The Handbook of Yoruba Religious Concepts

The Handbook of Yoruba Religious Concepts
Author: Baba Ifa Karade
Publisher: Weiser Books
Total Pages: 162
Release: 2020-04-01
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 1633411346

An introduction to the spiritual source of the beliefs and practices that have so profoundly shaped African American religious traditions. Most of the Africans who were enslaved and brought to the Americas were from the Yoruba nation of West Africa, an ancient and vast civilization. In the diaspora caused by the slave trade, the guiding concepts of the Yoruba spiritual tradition took root in Haiti, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Brazil, and the United States. In this accessible introduction, Baba Ifa Karade provides an overview of the Yoruba tradition and its influence in the West. He describes the sixteen Orisha, or spirit gods, and shows us how to work with divination, use the energy centers of the body to internalize the teachings of Yoruba, and create a sacred place of worship. The book also includes prayers, dances, songs, offerings, and sacrifices to honor the Orisha.

Santeria: A Brief Beginners Guide to Santeria History, Practices, Deities, Spells and Rituals. a Condensed Santeria Guide for Be

Santeria: A Brief Beginners Guide to Santeria History, Practices, Deities, Spells and Rituals. a Condensed Santeria Guide for Be
Author: Riley Star
Publisher: Nrb Publishing
Total Pages: 90
Release: 2016-09-29
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9781941070789

If your knowledge of Santeria only goes so far as the reference in the 90s song by Sublime, you have a lot to learn. The word "Santeria" is translated from the Spanish for "worship of saints," though that translation alone doesn't really paint an accurate picture of what Santeria is all about. Not only does Santeria involve the worship of saints (called Orishas), but it is also a quest for enlightenment and kinship with God. What makes Santeria so unique is the fact that it is a syncretic religion - it combines the beliefs and practices of several religions, primarily the African Yoruba religion with Roman Catholic elements mixed in. Santeria involves a great many rituals and ceremonies, all of which are personalized according to the individual's destiny. If you are curious to learn more about this religion - and if you want to learn the truth behind the myths - this book is the perfect place for you to begin. Here you will find an overview of the Santeria religion and its history as well as information about its beliefs, practices, and rituals. By the time you finish this book you will have a thorough understanding of what Santeria is and how it is practiced. You may even decide to give it a try for yourself! A Brief Beginners Guide to Santeria History, Practices, Deities, Spells and Rituals