Afro-American religion

Example of Louisiana-Tradition Voodoo altar inside a temple in New Orleans.

Afro-American religions (also known as African diasporic religions or New World traditions) are a number of related religions that developed in the Americas in various nations of Latin America, the Caribbean, and the southern United States. They derive from African traditional religions (of West and Central Africa), Indigenous American, and European traditions and beliefs.

Characteristics

Afro-American religions involve ancestor veneration, and include a supreme creator along with a pantheon of divine spirits, such as the Orisha, Loa, Nkisi, and Alusi, among others. In addition to the syncretism of these various African traditions, many New World religions incorporate elements of Indigenous American, European, Kardecist, Spiritualist, Christian, Islamic, Judaic, Hindu, and Buddhist traditions.

List of traditions

Afro-American Religions
Religion	Location	Ancestral roots	Also practiced in	Remarks
Candomblé	Brazil	Yoruba	Argentina, Colombia, Uruguay, Venezuela, United States
Umbanda	Brazil	Yoruba	Argentina, Uruguay, Venezuela, United States
Quimbanda	Brazil	Kongo	Argentina, Uruguay, United States
Santería	Cuba	Yoruba	Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela
Cuban Vudú	Cuba	Fon, Ewe	Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, United States
Palo	Cuba[1]	Kongo	Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, United States
Abakuá	Cuba	Ekpe	United States	Secret society of the Annang, Efik, Ibibio, Ekoi, and Igbo.
Dominican Vudú	Dominican Republic	Fon, Ewe	United States
Haitian Vodou	Haiti	Fon, Ewe	Canada, Dominican Republic, United States
Obeah	Jamaica	Igbo, Akan	Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Virgin Islands, United States	Similar to Hoodoo folk magic. Derives from the Igbo 'obia' (or dibia, Igbo: doctoring) traditions.[2]
Kumina	Jamaica	Kongo	United States
Winti	Suriname	Akan	Guyana, Netherlands, United States
Spiritual Baptist	Trinidad and Tobago	Yoruba	Bahamas, Barbados, Canada, Jamaica, United States
Trinidad Orisha	Trinidad and Tobago[3]	Yoruba	United States
Louisiana Voodoo	Southern United States	Fon, Ewe	United States

Other closely related regional faiths include:

• Puerto Rican Vudú or Sanse (Fon and Ewe, Puerto Rico)
• Comfa (mixture of Igbo, Akan, Kongo, and Yoruba knowledge traditions, along with Indigenous American, Asian, and European elements, Guyana)
• Xangô de Recife (Yoruba, Brazil)^[4]
• Xangô do Nordeste (Yoruba, Brazil)
• Tambor de Mina (Yoruba, Brazil)
• Santo Daime (folk Catholicism and Spiritism, Brazil)
• Espiritismo (mixture of Indigenous American, African, European, and Asian beliefs, Puerto Rico)
• Hoodoo (mixture of West African, Indigenous American, and European traditions, Mississippi Delta)

See also

• African traditional religion

References

1. For an extended discussion on Palo's history, see: Dodson, Jualynne E. (2008). Sacred spaces and Religious Traditions in Oriente Cuba. UNM Press.
2. Eltis, David; Richardson, David (1997). Routes to slavery: direction, ethnicity, and mortality in the transatlantic slave trade. Routledge. p. 88. ISBN 0-7146-4820-5.
3. Houk, James (1995). Spirits, Blood, and Drums: The Orisha Religion in Trinidad. Temple University Press.
4. Xango de Recife

External links

• Roots and Rooted