THE DEAD SELL MEMORIES: AN ANTHROPOLOGICAL STUDY OF SANTERIA IN NEW YORK CITY (AFRO-CUBAN)

The thesis is an ethnography of an Afro-Cuban religious system, Santeria, which has been transplanted to the United States. Fieldwork was carried out in New York City, Newark, N.J. and Oyotunji Village, South Carolina between 1979 and 1981. Participant observation was supplemented by interviews with priests and devotees, life histories, and an array of primary and secondary written sources both historical contemporary.;The study yields the following conclusions: Historical development: Santeria developed as a form of religion distinct from both traditional Yoruba religion and official Roman Catholicism in Cuba's urban areas and among Afro-Cubans sometime between 1790 and 1850. With the advent of Kardecan Spiritism in Cuba in the late 19th century Santeria assumed its current form as a fusion of Yoruba, Roman Catholic and Spiritist elements. Yoruba religious elements dominate Santeria ritual and cosmology. Catholic elements are mainly those relating to the cult of saints, while traits from Espiritismo are present in both cosmology and ritual. Two aspects of social organization are discussed: (1) the ego-centered personal network of a priest(ess) and the fictive kinship system idiom in which it is expressed and (2) the hierarchy of priestly officials.;The relevance of the study of Santeria for future research on African-American religions, syncretism and infrastructure/superstructure relations is assessed.;Santeria is described in terms of its historical development, ideology, ritual and social Organization. The issue of African retentions is dealt with by exhaustively describing the manner in which particular traits are manifested in Santeria in Cuba and the U.S. and then working backwards toward the relevant African data. The thesis is illustrated and includes a compendium of herbs used in Santeria curing, magic and religious ritual as well as transcriptions of Santeria religious songs.