Santería

Santería (săn'tərē`ə, sän'–), religion originating in W Africa, developed by Yoruba slaves in Cuba, and practiced by an estimated one million people in the United States. Blending African beliefs with those of Roman Catholicism, it fuses Christian saints with African deities (orishas). Rites are led by a priest or priestess, and reincarnation is a main belief. One of its most important rituals involves animal sacrifice, which was ruled a constitutional religious practice in a 1993 Supreme Court decision.

---

Santería

Religious movement that originated in Cuba. It combines West African Yoruba beliefs and practices with elements of Roman Catholicism. It includes belief in one supreme being, but worship and rituals centre on orishas, deities or patron saints (with parallels among the Roman Catholic saints) that combine a force of nature and humanlike characteristics. Practices may include trance dancing, rhythmic drumming, spirit possession, and animal sacrifice. Santería has a considerable following in the U.S., particularly in Florida and in other areas with large African and Hispanic populations. See also Candomblé; Macumba; Vodou.