Cuban Santeria: Walking with the Night

by Raul J. Canizares

Overview

A revealing window into the secret and seductive world of Santeria.

• A Santeria priest discloses information never before revealed to outsiders.

• Removes the veil of occultism from Santeria to show it as a highly spiritual, thriving religion.

Initiated into the Santeria priesthood at the age of seven, Raul Canizares unveils in Cuban Santeria the secret and seductive world of this rapidly growing, yet largely misunderstood, Afro-Cuban religion. With the knowledge of an insider and the insight of a scholar, Canizares astutely examines the practice of Santeria, revealing many of its hidden dimensions while simultaneously providing a fascinating account of its unique textured mix of African, Cuban, and Catholic traditions.

The Cuban-born author describes the practices and rituals of the followers of Santeria--from magical herbal prescription and healing to spiritism and animal sacrifice--and explains how for many years the religion has been maintained under the guise of Catholicism to avoid religious persecution. Most initiates are sworn to a code of silence, but Canizares believes that the time has come to move Santeria, a religion of beauty and resilience, out of the darkness and into the light so that a more accurate picture of this rich tradition can emerge.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780892817627
Publisher:	Inner Traditions/Bear & Company
Publication date:	03/28/1999
Edition description:	Updated
Pages:	176
Sales rank:	121,521
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Raul Canizares (1955-2002) was head of the Santeria Temple Orisha Consciousness Movement in Manhattan and the author of Shango: An African-American Titan.

Table of Contents

Cuban Santeria
Walking with the Night
Preface
Acknowledgments
Foreword by William J. Heim
Introduction
Chapter 1 Mantilla
Chapter 2 Legacy
Chapter 3 Evolution and Survival of Santeria
Chapter 4 Hierarchy
Chapter 5 Syncretism or Dissimulation
Chapter 6 Santeria's Orishas
Chapter 7 Oro: Divine Music
Chapter 8 Santeria and Espiritismo
Chapter 9 Ebbo: Sacrifice
Chapter 10 The Secret of the Werewolf
Chapter 11 Ewe Orisha: The Use of Herbs and Plants in Santeria
Chapter 12 Charada China
Chapter 13 The Dark Side of Santeria
Chapter 14 Santeria: World Religion?
Appendix I Blacks in Cuba: An Overview
Appendix II Ifa
Glossary
Bibliography
Index

What People are Saying About This

William J. Heim, Ph.D.

The finest study in English to date of a faith on the brink of becoming a world religion.

From the Publisher

"The finest study in English to date of a faith on the brink of becoming a world religion."

"The author of this newest Santeria text is both a scholar of the faith and a devotee. Is there a tougher balance to maintain when writing about any religion? The fact is, Canizares executes the balancing act with considerable precision and charm, making this perhaps the finest introduction to the increasingly popular religion since Joseph Murphy's Santeria: an African Religion in America (Beacon, 1988)."

"Raul Canizares paints a colorful picture of Santeria's oral traditions and musical connections, and raises the curtain of mystery on a vivid and vital faith."

"A fascinating journey of a little known religious order that puts forward the perception that Santeria is a thoughtful and deliberate response of a thinking people to a hostile social environment."

"Raul Canizares has written an insightful overview of this religion."

"Canizares pierces through Santeria's outer shell to discuss its gods and initiations, rituals, history and legacy. . . . The narrative comes alive with anecdotes from the author's own involvement."

“Raul Canizares offers a truly unique perspective in this book - that of not only an active member of the religion of Santeria, but of a high-ranking member of that religion. . . . This book should be in the library of every religious educator, I know it will have a prominent place on my own library shelves.”

Editorial Reviews

"Canizares pierces through Santeria's outer shell to discuss its gods and initiations, rituals, history and legacy. . . . The narrative comes alive with anecdotes from the author's own involvement."

NAPRA Trade Journal

"The finest study in English to date of a faith on the brink of becoming a world religion."

William J. Heim

"The author of this newest Santeria text is both a scholar of the faith and a devotee. Is there a tougher balance to maintain when writing about any religion? The fact is, Canizares executes the balancing act with considerable precision and charm, making this perhaps the finest introduction to the increasingly popular religion since Joseph Murphy's Santeria: an African Religion in America (Beacon, 1988)."

The Beat

"Raul Canizares paints a colorful picture of Santeria's oral traditions and musical connections, and raises the curtain of mystery on a vivid and vital faith."

Islands

"A fascinating journey of a little known religious order that puts forward the perception that Santeria is a thoughtful and deliberate response of a thinking people to a hostile social environment."

What's on the Planet

"Raul Canizares has written an insightful overview of this religion."

Spirituality & Health

Raul Canizares offers a truly unique perspective in this book - that of not only an active member of the religion of Santeria, but of a high-ranking member of that religion. . . . This book should be in the library of every religious educator, I know it will have a prominent place on my own library shelves.

Mike Gleason

"Raul Canizares has written an insightful overview of this religion."

"The author of this newest Santeria text is both a scholar of the faith and a devotee. Is there a tougher balance to maintain when writing about any religion? The fact is, Canizares executes the balancing act with considerable precision and charm, making this perhaps the finest introduction to the increasingly popular religion since Joseph Murphy's Santeria: an African Religion in America (Beacon, 1988)."

"The finest study in English to date of a faith on the brink of becoming a world religion."

“Raul Canizares offers a truly unique perspective in this book - that of not only an active member of the religion of Santeria, but of a high-ranking member of that religion. . . . This book should be in the library of every religious educator, I know it will have a prominent place on my own library shelves.”

"A fascinating journey of a little known religious order that puts forward the perception that Santeria is a thoughtful and deliberate response of a thinking people to a hostile social environment."

"Canizares pierces through Santeria's outer shell to discuss its gods and initiations, rituals, history and legacy. . . . The narrative comes alive with anecdotes from the author's own involvement."

"Raul Canizares paints a colorful picture of Santeria's oral traditions and musical connections, and raises the curtain of mystery on a vivid and vital faith."

From the Publisher