A country with a Catholic majority
As in the rest of Latin America, the Spanish colonists left deep traces of their time in Cuba, not least in terms of religious beliefs. You only have 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 nonetheless permeates a great deal of social behavior - Cubans are, on the whole, very fervent believers - and remains the dominant religion, albeit in ever-diminishing numbers. Hardly in keeping with the Marxist-Leninist doctrine presiding over the Cuban revolution, its practice was long repressed, until 1991, when the IVth Congress of the Communist Party authorized party membership for believers. A few years earlier, in 1988, Fidel Castro, who was a Jesuit student in his youth, even approved the import of 30,000 Spanish-language Bibles and increased the quota of foreign religious authorized to visit the island.
While Catholicism is favored by the vast majority of Cubans, tens of thousands of Protestants of all persuasions bolster the island's religious population. The Jewish community is estimated to number around a thousand, mainly attending the synagogue in Havana's Vedado district. Since 2015, the Cuban capital has also been home to a mosque: the Mezquita Abdallah, located in Habana Vieja. While it is mainly frequented by Muslim expatriates living in Havana, a minority of Cubans who have converted to Islam also visit.
But there's no doubt that when it comes to spirituality, it's Santería that Cubans most readily turn to. This syncretic religion, born on the island from the forced alliance of Catholic and African animist cults, is closely related to Brazilian candomblé and Haitian voodoo.
Pope Francis and Cuba
From September 19 to 22, 2015 to be precise, Pope Francis visited Cuba for the first time, for an official three-day visit. While 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 the island's opening up, the re-establishment of diplomatic relations with the United States having been enacted a few months earlier, on December 17, 2014. The welcome he received from the Cuban people was memorable: popular jubilation on a par with Cuba's religious fervor, no doubt multiplied by the fact that Pope Francis is of Argentinean origin, just like Che Guevara! The Pope celebrated three major masses: the first on Havana's emblematic Plaza de la Revolución; the second on Holguín's Loma del Cruz hill, now topped by a huge Christian cross in commemoration of the event; and the third in the Basilica de la Virgen del Cobre, Cuba's patron saint, not far from Santiago de Cuba.
In parallel with these religious celebrations, Pope Francis held talks with Raúl Castro, who himself had visited the Pope in Rome a few months earlier. Immediately after his Cuban visit, the holy man headed for 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 you consider that the previous visit by an American president dated back to ... 1928! A miracle? A great step forward at best... The real miracle would have been the lifting of the US 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 mentioning here. Almost 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 at Havana's José Marti airport 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), spiritual leader of the Orthodox, held talks 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 Orthodox and Catholics.
Health
Related to Haitian voodoo, but also to Brazilian candomblé and macumba, santería is an Afro-Cuban religious system born of syncretism between the Yoruba cult and Catholicism. The African slaves who were deported to the island several centuries ago took their beliefs with them: the Yoruba cult (Nigeria, Cameroon and Dahomey). Forcibly evangelized and forbidden to practice their cult, these slaves, here as in Haiti and Brazil, managed to honor their gods by camouflaging them behind Catholic images, the only official religion at the time. Little by little, santería developed into a comprehensive and highly codified religious practice, shared by the vast majority of Cubans. Let's take a closer look.
The practice of santería involves initiation ceremonies, during which prayers, rituals and animal sacrifices are performed. When Cubans speak of these ceremonies, they mean "doing the saint": hacer el santo. The aim of a santería ceremony is to establish a link between the mortal world and that of the spirits, or more precisely, the saints and divinities known as orishas. And this communication, this meeting point between the two worlds, is achieved through trance, made possible by the hypnotic sound of drums(toque de santo, saint's drum) and the heady chanting 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 gaze lost in vagueness, and acts under the influence of theorisha who inhabits him. A complex and trying process, initiation can take place in the event 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 or her knowledge and membership of 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 from Cubans' wrists or necks may indicate devotion to one of the orishas.
Each Santería deity is associated with a specific color. White represents Obbata la, symbol of wisdom and purity. Navy blue designates Yémaya, the Virgin of Regla, patron saint of Havana Bay, goddess of the sea and navigation, and patron saint of travel. 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, each invoked in a particular situation. For example, Ochosi, the god of the hunt, comes to the aid of those in trouble with the law... While all orishas possess human characteristics, there is one who possesses only divine attributes: Olofin, the supreme god. In essence, Olofin is inaccessible and totally separate from the human world.
Small lexicon of the santería
Abakua. These secret organizations, originally found in Calabar (a region corresponding to the south of present-day Nigeria), developed strongly among Cuba's black population from the 1830s onwards. It was within 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, bincomé, obí-apá and kuchi-yeremá. Other percussion instruments include the itón, erikundi and ekué. The bell is known as the ekón.
Abebe. This fan made of plant fibers, often decorated with bells, is shaken to invoke theorisha with which it is associated.
Agogo. Liturgical bell used to invoke the orishas during a ceremony. Depending on theorisha, as with theadebe, theagogo is different.
Altar. This is the famous altar used to pay homage to the orishas. It is found in many Cuban homes. Around thealtar are tureens containing elements characteristic 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 secrecy" and designates a Santería priest. Babalao worship is dedicated to the god Ifá, whose domain is divination.
Batá. Batá" drums (meaning "drum" in the Yoruba language) are the sacred drums of the santería. Consequently, they are the most important drums for Afro-Cubans. There are three different types: Okónkolo, or Omelé, which is the smallest; Itótele, of intermediate size; and Iyá, the largest of the three and the one in charge. Composed 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 17thcentury , 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, groups of dancers and singers who liven up the streets during carnivals. Some cabildos are transformed into veritable secret societies akin to black freemasonry, like the Abakua brotherhood, which is still powerful today.
Caracoles. These shells, known as cowries in Africa, are used in divination rituals practiced in the santería.
Comparsa. A group of dancers, sometimes linked to a neighborhood or town, marching in a carnival with a common choreography and costumes, and usually led by a leader marching with them.
Palo Monte. A cult close to Santería, originating in the Congo, with many witchcraft rituals.
