Santeria: Its Growth and Changes as a Result of its Major Relocations

In lieu of an abstract, below is the article\u27s first paragraph. Santeria is a religion native to Cuba. Santeria is a very spiritual religious way of life. Followers believe that everything has a spirit to it which must be honored and appeased in order to remain in that spirit\u27s good graces. Each spirit, or orisha, has his/her own special likes, dislikes, colors, herbs, foods, dances, etc. These must be presented in order to honor the orisha. Santeria stems from the African religion Yoruba and was forced to come to the New World because of the slave trade. The Yoruba religion and it\u27s followers survived the massive upheaval and adapted to the new environment it was forced into. The result was the formation of Santeria. The orisha believers are now facing their second major upheaval with their movement away from Cuba. Each of these translocations has opened up a whole new world of problems and obstacles that need to be overcome in order for believers to continue their traditions. Followers have adapted, and their religious beliefs have evolved to meet the demands and pressures of their new environments. A look into the history of the religion explains why an air of secrecy surrounds the religion, its beliefs and its rituals. Believers are reluctant to talk about, or reveal information about Santeria to outsiders for fear of persecution, which has followed the religion ever since it landed in the New World