A country with a Catholic majority
As in the rest of Latin America, the Spanish colonists left deep traces of their passage in Cuba, especially in terms of religious beliefs. One only has to visit Havana and its impressive string of churches to be convinced of the historical weight of Catholicism. Although Cuba is now a secular country, the Catholic religion nevertheless permeates a great deal of social behavior - Cubans are, on the whole, very fervent believers - and remains the dominant religion, even though there are fewer and fewer practicing Catholics. Little in agreement with the Marxist-Leninist doctrine presiding over the Cuban revolution, its practice was repressed for a long time, until 1991, when the IVth Congress of the Communist Party authorized believers to join the party. A few years earlier, in 1988, Fidel Castro, who was a Jesuit student in his youth, even approved the importation of 30,000 Bibles in Spanish and increased the quota of foreign religious authorized to visit the island.
While Catholicism is favored by the vast majority of Cubans, several tens of thousands of Protestants, of all persuasions, strengthen the island's religious population. As for the Jewish community, it is estimated that there are about a thousand people, mainly attending the synagogue in the Vedado district of Havana. Since 2015, the Cuban capital is also home to a mosque: the Mezquita Abdallah, located in Habana Vieja. If it is mainly frequented by Muslim expatriates living in Havana, a minority of Cubans converted to Islam also go there
But there is no doubt that if we talk about spirituality, it is the santería that Cubans turn to most willingly. This syncretic religion was born in the island from the forced alliance of the Catholic cult and the African animist cults. Its close relatives are the Brazilian Candomblé and the Haitian Voodoo.
Pope Francis and Cuba
From September 19 to 22, 2015 precisely, Pope Francis visited Cuba for the first time, for an official three-day visit. If he was the third pope to set foot on Cuban soil (John Paul II in 1998 and Benedict XVI in 2012) in 17 years, he was the first to do so in an optimistic context of opening up the island, the re-establishment of diplomatic relations with the United States having been acted on a few months earlier, on December 17, 2014. The welcome he received from the Cuban people was memorable: a popular jubilation equal to the religious fervor of Cuba, no doubt multiplied by the fact that Pope Francis is of Argentine origin, just like Che Guevara! Three great masses were celebrated by the Pope: the first one in the emblematic Revolution Square, in Havana; the second one on the Loma del Cruz hill, in Holguín, now topped by a huge Christian cross in commemoration of the event; the third one in the Basilica of the Virgen del Cobre, patron saint of Cuba, not far from Santiago de Cuba.
In parallel to these religious celebrations, Pope Francis met with Raúl Castro, who himself had visited the Pope in Rome a few months earlier. Immediately after his Cuban visit, the holy man headed to the United States, where he met with then-President Barack Obama. The latter would make an official visit to Havana in March 2016, six months later. A historic moment when we know that the previous visit of an American president went back to ... 1928! A miracle? A nice advance at the most... The real miracle would have been the lifting of the American embargo on Cuba. In 2022, the embargo is still in place. Will Joe Biden make history?
Another historic meeting that took place in Cuba is worth noting here. Not far from a millennium after the great schism between Eastern and Western Christians, which dates back to 1054, the heads of the two churches met for the first time in Cuba! It was in a lounge of the José Marti airport in Havana that, on February 12, 2016, Pope Francis - who had just landed in Havana for his second official visit to the island - and Patriarch Kirill (Cyril), the spiritual leader of the Orthodox, spoke in a meeting that lasted two hours. Although the road to reconciliation is still long, this historic moment marks the beginning of a thaw in relations between the Orthodox and Catholics.
Health
Related to Haitian voodoo, but also to Candomblé and Brazilian macumba, Santería is an Afro-Cuban religious system that originated from the syncretism between the Yoruba cult and Catholicism. The African slaves who were deported to the island several centuries ago brought with them their beliefs: the Yoruba cult (Nigeria, Cameroon and Dahomey). Evangelized by force and forbidden to practice their cult, these slaves, here as in Haiti or Brazil, managed to honor their gods by camouflaging them behind Catholic images, the only official religion at the time. Little by little, the santería developed deeply, until it became a complete and highly codified religious practice, but above all shared by the vast majority of Cubans. Let's take a closer look at what it is all about.
The practice of santería involves initiation ceremonies during which prayers, rituals and animal sacrifices are performed. When Cubans talk about these ceremonies, they talk about "doing the saint": hacer el santo. The purpose of a santería ceremony is to connect the mortal world with the world of the spirits, or more precisely the saints, the deities, called orishas. And this communication, this meeting point of the two worlds is made possible by the trance, made possible by the hypnotic sound of drums(toque de santo, saint's drum) and the heady chants of the participants. The body of the chosen one, like a vehicle, is then possessed by the spirit of an orisha. The chosen one struggles, his or her gaze is lost in the vagueness and acts under the influence of theorisha who inhabits it. A complex and trying process, the initiation can take place in case of illness or a serious problem to save a person. An initiation can also be organized at the request of the future initiate who wishes to deepen his knowledge and his belonging to the religion, or even become a priest or take an active part in the cult. Thus, the polychrome or monochrome colors of the bracelets or necklaces that hang around the wrists or necks of Cubans may indicate devotion to one of the orishas.
Each deity of the Santería is associated with a specific color. White represents Obbata la, symbol of wisdom and purity. The navy blue designates Yémaya, the virgin of Regla, patroness of the bay of Havana, goddess of the sea and navigation but also patroness of travels. Red and black are dedicated to Eleggua, lord of the ways, who opens and closes the doors of life. Red and white are the colors of Changó, the saint associated with virility, lightning and power. Yellow represents Ochún or the Virgin of Copper Charity, patroness of Cuba and goddess of love, beauty, voluptuousness and water... The Yoruba pantheon includes a multitude oforishas, and each is invoked in a particular situation. For example, Ochosi, the god of hunting, helps those who have problems with justice... If the orishas have human characteristics, there is one who has only divine attributes: Olofin, the supreme god. Olofin is in essence inaccessible and totally separate from the human world.
Small lexicon of the santería
Abakua. These are secret organizations originally found in Calabar (a region corresponding to the south of present-day Nigeria) and which developed strongly among the black population of Cuba from the 1830s. It is in the heart of these Abakua societies that the customs and rituals of the santería were forged, rituals that have deeply permeated Cuban culture. Specific instruments are used during Abakua ritual celebrations. The main drums are the bonkó enchemiyá, the bincomé, the obí-apá and the kuchi-yeremá. Other percussion instruments are also used, such as the itón, the erikundi and the ekué. The bell is called ekón.
Abebe. This fan made of vegetable fibers, often decorated and adorned with bells, is shaken to invoke theorisha with which it is associated.
Agogo. Liturgical bell used to invoke the orishas during a ceremony. According to theorisha, as for theadebe, theagogo is different.
Altar. It is the famous altar intended to pay homage to the orishas. It is found in many Cuban homes. Around thealtar are usually arranged tureens containing characteristic elements of the deities. Cubans are not stingy with their offerings: they leave many gifts (sweets, drinks, cigarettes...) to attract the protection of the orishas.
Babalao. The word means "father of the secret" and designates a priest of the santería. The babalao cult is dedicated to the god Ifá, whose domain is divination
Batá. The "batá" drums (which means "drum" in the Yoruba language) are the sacred drums of the Santería. As a result, they are the most important drums for Afro-Cubans. There are three different types of drums: Okónkolo, or Omelé, which is the smallest; Itótele, of intermediate size; and Iyá, the largest of the three and the one that leads. Made of two membranes, these three drums are played on both sides, with bare hands.
Bembe. The word designates the set of Afro-Cuban dances dedicated to the orishas but also, more generally, the ceremonial feast that accompanies these dances.
Cabildos. These mutual aid societies, which have existed since the 17th century, bring together the blacks of Cuba. Their functions are social, cultural and religious. The cabildos are the guarantors of the maintenance of African traditions in Cuba and are at the origin of the comparsas, these groups of dancers and singers who animate the streets during carnivals. Some cabildos became real secret societies similar to a black freemasonry, like the Abakua brotherhood, which is still powerful today.
Caracoles. These shells, called cowries in Africa, are used in divination rituals practiced in the santería.
Comparsa. A group of dancers, sometimes linked to a neighborhood or a city, marching in a carnival with a common choreography and costumes, and usually led by a leader marching with them
Palo Monte. Cult close to the Santeria, originating from the Congo, with many witchcraft rituals.
