Santería: from Slavery to Slavery
Santería: From Slavery to Slavery Kent Philpott This, my second essay on Santería, is necessitated for two reasons. One, requests came in for more information about the religion; and two, responses to the first essay indicated strong disagreement with my views. I will admit that my exposure to Santería,1 at that point, was not as thorough as was needed. Now, however, I am relying on a number of books about the religion, all written by decided proponents, plus personal discussions with a broad spectrum of people. In addition, I have had more time to process what I learned about Santería as I interacted with the following sources: (1) Santería the Religion,by Migene Gonzalez-Wippler, (2) Santería: African Spirits in America,by Joseph M. Murphy, (3) Santería: The Beliefs and Rituals of a Growing Religion in America, by Miguel A. De La Torre, (4) Yoruba-Speaking Peoples, by A. B. Ellis, (5) Kingdoms of the Yoruba, 3rd ed., by Robert S. Smith, (6) The Good The Bad and The Beautiful: Discourse about Values in Yoruba Culture, by Barry Hallen, and (7) many articles that came up in a Google search on the term "Santería,” from varying points of view. My title for the essay, "From Slavery to Slavery," did not come easily. I hope to be as accepting and tolerant of other belief systems as I can be. However, the conviction I retained after my research was one I knew would not be appreciated by those who identified with Santería. Santería promises its adherents freedom but succeeds only in bringing them into a kind of spiritual, emotional, and mental bondage that is as devastating as the slavery that originally brought West Africans to the New World in the first place.
[Show full text]