African Originated Religions Practiced in Foreign Countries
The African diasporic religion known as Candomblé originated in the sixteenth century and spread to Brazil in the nineteenth. It emerged from a process of syncretism amongst numerous West African traditional faiths, including the Gbe, Yoruba, and Bantu. A small amount of Roman Catholic Christianity has influenced this. Candomblé is based on autonomous terreiros (houses), with no central authority in charge. Because Brazilians love to dance, music and dance play a significant role in Candomblé rituals. The term Candomblé literally means “dance in honor of the gods.” The African diasporic religion known as Santería, or Regla de Ocha, originated in Cuba in the late 1800s. It developed as a result of a process of syncretism including Spiritism, the Catholic branch of Christianity, and the traditional Yoruba religion of West Africa. Santería is not governed by a single body, and its practitioners—known as creyentes—are highly diverse. Santería is practiced in the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and other Caribbean nations. Even though Candomblé is popular in Brazil. Santería professes the existence of an all-encompassing deity called Olodumare or Olorun. Adherents hold that although this divinity is indifferent to human issues, it created the universe. Since this creator deity is not reachable by humans, there aren’t any significant offerings made to it.This deity shares similarities with the Christian Trinity; Olodumare symbolizes the divine essence of everything that exists, while Olorun is thought to be the creator of all beings. These two aspects of the divinity are understood slightly differently. Worship deities (ORIŚAS) in Candomblé and Santería: OLODUMARE (GOD) ORUNMILA (the ORISHA of Wisdom&Knowledge) IFA OLOKUN (Oracle) IYE MAJA (Mermaid) OSHUN (River Goddess) OBATALA (The creator) OGUN (god of iron) SHANGO (god of Thunder) ÒYA (river…