Finding Home in a Foreign Land: Initiation and Possession in Santería, Candomblé, and Voudou

Abstract

In the forming of new syncretic religions, the slaves had to adjust certain rituals to accommodate new surroundings. However, the traditional belief systems are far from obsolete. As George Eaton Simpson writes:

The religious behavior of these persons of African descent in the Caribbean sector of the diaspora has been part of their attempt to identify with forces in the universe greater than themselves, to express themselves, to escape—at least temporarily and imaginatively—from rejection, discrimination, and exploitation, and, in some cases, to change their life situations.¹

To survive the constant influence of the dominant regional religions, adaptations had to be made to conform to the social conditions of specific locations. Although the slave trade was successful in upsetting the African social structure, threats and the thought of isolation have failed to hinder derived religions from thriving. In many cases, the religion of the Africans was draped in the belief system of the dominating whites; if religion could not be practiced publicly, it would be done so secretly. In the following pages, we will explore the growing interest in initiation, possession, and the healing processes of Cuban Santería, Brazilian Candomblé, and Haitian Vodou in an attempt to uncover why many seek the essence of home away from home.