African Religions In Latin America example essay topic

In sum, the survival of Santeria, as in other African religions in Latin America has been its malleability that has allowed it to adapt to new environments. Other African religious systems or magic-religious associations prominent in Cuba and in the Cuban Diaspora are Palo Monte or Palo Mayombe, a cult derived from the Congo of Central Africa. Sometimes accused of practicing black magic or witchcraft rites, pale ros (priests consecrated to Palo Monte) because of the use of human remains and potent herbs or spells for harmful purposes. Vodoun (also spelled Vaud un or Voodoo) is a word springing from the Fon tribe of Southern Dahomey meaning spirit, deity or image. It encompasses an exceedingly complex conglomerate of cults and rites of diverse African ethnic groups mixed with Catholic practices. These beliefs, rituals and magical practices with complicated symbols have developed for thousands of years and impregnate the Haitian atmosphere "with a rich, mystical aroma of Africa.

(Rigaud) Originating in Haiti, Vodoun is also of great importance in Cuba, where its influence is felt in the Easternmost regions of Orient since a sizable number of French settlers and Africans, both slave and free, migrated during and after the Haitian struggles for independence. It has also achieved considerable influence in the Dominican Republic where it has acquired its own characteristics and became known as Gaga. Like Santeria, Vodoun emerged as a reaction of the oppressed slaves to the religious and political domination of their colonial masters and, as such, it has become inextricably intertwined with the political life of this nation, affecting the daily lives of the people even to our day. Vodoun meetings and associations, just as the secular and religious in Cuba, served as the focus of slave rebellions and political and underground activities. The role of priest, called hogan for the male and mambo for the female, is part priest, part doctor and part counselor.

Vodoun has greatly influenced Haitian arts both in mural paintings and carved statues. Besides these art forms, Haitian voodoo flags are admired for their beauty and symbolism. Draco vo dou is one of the most celebrated genres of Vodoun sacred arts. Haitian plastic art has also been tremendously influenced by this mysterious and vital religion which is both a religious system and a way of life. This characteristic adaptability in the African mentality springs from a respect for spiritual power wherever it originates and accounts, for the openness of its religions to syncretism, parallelism or simultaneous practice with other traditions and for the continuity of a distinctive religious consciousness. (Raboteu) In reviewing the many African based religious phenomena in the Caribbean, which are a veritable ever-changing kaleidoscope, they emerge as multi-faceted gems, which can be examined from various points of view and diverse approaches, a living tribute to man's and woman's ingenuity, creativeness, and spirit of survival.

Art and Religion It is estimated that approximately 40% of the millions of Africans who landed in Americas between 1500 and 1870 were from Central Africa, culturally influenced by the Congo civilization. Thus, Congo traditions are pervasive in the Americas. Congo beliefs and iconography are based on sacred protective medicines, mink isi, which are used for physical and social harmony and healing. Altars are found at riverbanks, in forests and cemeteries, and at other borders between worlds. They are often surrounded by pottery, ideographic writing and sacred medicines. The cyclical evolution of the soul that keeps transforming and returning is crucial to understanding Congo iconography.

A dramatic and heavily coded continuation of Congo beliefs and icons occurs in the Southern United States, where Congo-American versions of the nk isi (singular of mink isi), or medicines of the gods, take characteristic forms. Altars everywhere are sites of ritual communication with the supernatural. They mark the boundary between heaven and earth, the living and the dead, the ordinary and the world of the spirit. Elevated or grounded, simple or elaborate, communal or personal, altars focus the faithful in worship. They provide an arena for offerings and requests they act to channel positive and negative forces. The Yoruba term for altar, face of the gods, and the Congo concept of altar as a crossroads or border between worlds, are the operative metaphors used throughout the exhibition.

Using the altar as a vehicle for historical reconstruction, the exhibition explores how, despite the destruction and disruption caused by the slave trade and the imposition of Christianity and foreign culture, African people and their descendants in the Americas maintained the essential elements of African religious traditions through improvisations and adaptations to local context. Face of the Gods presents approximately 18 altars made up of more than one hundred examples of African and African American works of art. Some of the altars are reconstructions, based on field photos, using loan objects from altar artists, national and international museums, and private collectors. Altars have also been installed with the assistance of distinguished artists / traditional leaders like Jos Bedi a of Cuba, B albino de Paula from Brazil, and Felipe Garcia Villa mil of Cuba. Face of the Gods begins outside the museum where Palo Mayombe ground drawings, or firms, have been applied to the pavement. Palo (stick in Spanish) is a Congo-based religion in Cuba; Mayombe, a location in Western Zaire.

These signs are considered the signatures of spiritual entities associated with the Palo religion. Drawn on chalk or sometimes gunpowder, they are used to attract and incorporate those powers for protection and health.