Santeria, the most common name given to a religious tradition of African origin that was developed in Cuba and then spread throughout Latin America and the United States. It centers on the personal relationship between practitioners and the orishas, the deities of the Yoruban nations of West Africa.
Santeria combines influences of Caribbean tradition, West Africa's Yoruba spirituality, and elements of Catholicism. Santeria evolved when African slaves were stolen from their homelands during the Colonial period and forced to work in Caribbean sugar plantations.
Is Santeria witchcraft? Discover the origins, rituals, and cultural significance of Santeria, and why it's often misunderstood as witchcraft.
Santeria (Santería in Spanish, meaning "Way of the Saints") is a set of related religious systems that fuse Roman Catholic beliefs with traditional Yorùbá beliefs, that over time became a unique religion in its own right.
Santeria is a lesser known religion that evolved out of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Still popular in Cuba, here's what it is and what followers believe.
Today, roughly 70 percent of Cubans observe one or more Santeria or other religious practices based in an African tradition. Elements of Santería and its African roots permeate Cuban culture, including by influencing Cuban art, food, music, and dance.
NBC 6 South Florida: Man charged after Santeria ritual ends in stabbing, fatal shooting in Hialeah: Police
A man has been arrested after a reported Santeria ritual led to a "heated dispute" at a Hialeah home that ended with him shooting and killing a person who stabbed a father and son, police said.
Man charged after Santeria ritual ends in stabbing, fatal shooting in Hialeah: Police