Sacrificial ceremonies of Santería : a complete guide to the rituals and practices

262 Pages·2012·2.07 MB·English

by  Lele

SPIRITUALITY/RELIGION $16.95 L
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“. . . this book is an absolute must-read! You will find here secrets never before E
revealed to the outside world . . . you simply cannot ignore this book.”
AARON LEITCH, author of Secrets of the Magickal Grimoires
“. . . very useful to students of religion, history, and folklore, as well as general read-
ers eager to know more about this complex religion. It will be a welcome addition
to academic and public libraries.”
CYNTHIA DUNCAN, Ph.D., professor of
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Hispanic studies at the University of Washington Tacoma and author of
Unraveling the Real: The Fantastic in Spanish American Ficciones a
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Tackling the biggest controversy surrounding his faith, Santería priest Ócha’ni Lele r
explains for the first time in print the practice and importance of animal sacrifice as a i
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religious sacrament. Describing the animal sacrifice ceremony in step-by-step detail,
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including the songs and chants used, he examines the thinking and metaphysics c
behind the ritual and reveals the deep connections to the odu of the diloggún—the i
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source of all practices in this Afro-Cuban faith.
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Tracing the legal battle spearheaded by Oba Ernesto Pichardo, head of the

Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye, over the right to practice animal sacrifice as a reli- C
gious sacrament, Lele chronicles the fight all the way to its 1993 U.S. Supreme Court
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victory, which established legal protection for the Santería faith and its practitioners.
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Weaving together oral fragments stemming from the ancient Yoruba of West Africa
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and from their descendants who were forcibly relocated to Cuba via the slave trade, m
the author reconstructs the sacred stories, or patakís, that demonstrate the well-
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thought-out metaphysics and spirituality behind the practice of animal sacrifice in the
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Santería religion. The patakís explain why each sacrificial animal can be regarded as
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food for both humans and the orishas as well as how the theme of sacrifice is central e
to this Afro-Cuban religion. s
Shedding light on the extraordinary global growth of this religion over the past
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50 years, Lele’s guide to the sacrificial ceremonies of Santería enables initiates to learn
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proper ceremonial protocol and gives outsiders a glimpse into this most secretive

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world of the santeros.
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ÓCHA’NI LELE has been immersed in the underground culture of orisha worship since n
1989. He made Ocha in 2000 and was crowned a priest of Oya. His other books include t
Diloggún Tales of the Natural World, Teachings of the Santería Gods, The Secrets of e
Afro-Cuban Divination, Obí: Oracle of Cuban Santería, and The Diloggún: The Orishas, r
Proverbs, Sacrifices, and Prohibitions of Cuban Santería. He lives in Winter Park, Florida. í
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Sacrificial
Ceremonies
Santería
of
“This book is an important work that can dispel the fears and false
assumptions about animal sacrifice held by the general public, and
Ocha’ni Lele chronicles in great detail the struggle for Santería to be
recognized as a legitimate religion by the Supreme Court. Practitioners
of the Yoruba, Santería, Candomble, and Lucumi traditions will bet-
ter understand their common origins and practices after reading this
book; and it will serve as a text for the thousands of initiates in priestly
training. This book is fully researched, the information is balanced and
integrated, and the writing voice is clear, humble, and humorous. It is an
excellent delineation of the deeper meanings secured within the sacred
Orature of the tradition.”
Luisah Teish, author of Jambalaya: The Natural
Woman’s Book of Personal Charms and Practical Rituals
and Founding Mother of Ile Orunmila Oshun
“Lele offers every reader insight into ceremonial sacrifice by opening the
door to a secret world of the Santeros. He challenges us to both under-
stand and practice authentic sacrifices through ritual and accomplishes
a rapport with the reader right from the start. Lele shows how noth-
ing is wasted in a life that includes spiritual sacrifice. And Lele wastes
nothing in this beautiful, intelligent, and researched presentation of the
sacrificial ceremonies of the Santeros. This book brought me a deeper
appreciation for the necessary sacrifices in my own spiritual practice and
for the unique heritage of his Lucimi faith. A book I highly recommend
for anthropologists and spiritual seekers who want an in-depth look into
this remarkable ceremony.”
Julie Tallard Johnson, MSW, LCSW,
author of Wheel of Initiation
Other BOOks By Ócha’ni LeLe
Diloggún Tales of the Natural World
How the Moon Fooled the Sun and
Other Santería Stories
Teachings of the Santería Gods
The Spirit of the Odu
The Diloggún
The Orishas, Proverbs, Sacrifices,
and Prohibitions of Cuban Santería
Obí
Oracle of Santería
The Secrets of Afro-Cuban Divination
How to Cast the Diloggún, the Oracle of the Orishas
Sacrificial
Ceremonies
Santería
of
A Complete Guide to the
RituAls And pRACtiCes
Ócha’ni Lele
Destiny Books
Rochester, Vermont • Toronto, Canada
Destiny Books
One Park Street
Rochester, Vermont 05767
www.DestinyBooks.com
Destiny Books is a division of Inner Traditions International
Copyright © 2012 by B. Stuart Myers
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in
any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission
in writing from the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Lele, Ócha’ni, 1966–
Sacrificial ceremonies of Santería : a complete guide to the rituals and practices /
Ócha’ni Lele.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
print ISBN 978-1-59477-455-3 — ebook ISBN 978-1-59477-500-0
1. Santeria—Rituals. 2. Sacrifice—Santeria. 3. Animal sacrifice. 4. Santeria—
Customs and practices. I. Title.
BL2532.S3L46 2012
299.67434 —dc23
2012014984

Text design and layout by Priscilla Baker
This book was typeset in Garamond Premier Pro with Agenda and Carumba used
as display typefaces
To send correspondence to the author of this book, mail a first-class letter to the
author c/o Inner Traditions • Bear & Company, One Park Street, Rochester, VT
05767, and we will forward the communication.
For my family in santo: godparents (Checo and
Coquí), brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, cousins,
and godchildren. I thank Olódumare every
day for the gift that you are.
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Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction: Work and Worship 1
1
The Sacrament of Sacrifice in the Lucumí Faith 13

An Overview
2
Olódumare and the Orishas 24

God in Lucumí Belief
3
First Phase of the Globalization of the Lucumí Faith 46

From Nigeria to Cuba
4
Second Phase of the Globalization of the Lucumí Faith 68

From Cuba to the United States
5
The Legal Battle for Lucumí in the United States 87

Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah
6
Preparations for Sacrifice 108

The Protocols of Lucumí Ritual
7
Blood and Honey 135

The Sacrificial Ritual
8
The Patakís behind the Sacrificial Tradition 160

Sacred Stories of the Lucumí

Notes 212

Bibliography 217

Glossary 220

Index 236