Afro-American Religions
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Afro-American Religions
African diaspora religions are a number of related Pagan beliefs that developed in the Americas in various nations of the Caribbean, Latin America and the Southern United States. They derive from Pagan traditional African religions with some influence from other religious traditions, notably Christianity and Islam. Characteristics Afro-American religions involve ancestor veneration and include a creator deity along with a pantheon of divine spirits such as the Orisha, Loa, Vodun, Nkisi and Alusi, among others. In addition to the religious syncretism of these various African traditions, many also incorporate elements of Folk Catholicism including folk saints and other forms of Folk religion, Native American religion, Spiritism, Spiritualism, Shamanism (sometimes including the use of Entheogens) and European folklore. Various "doctoring" spiritual traditions also exist such as Obeah and Hoodoo which focus on spiritual health. African religious traditions in the Americas can vary. ...
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Voodoo Altar New Orleans
Voodoo may refer to: Religions * African or West African Vodun, practiced by Gbe-speaking ethnic groups * African diaspora religions, a list of related religions sometimes called Vodou/Voodoo ** Candomblé Jejé, also known as Brazilian Vodum, one of the major branches (''nations'') of Candomblé *** Tambor de Mina, a syncretic religion that developed in northern Brazil * Cuban Vodú, a syncretic religion that developed in the Spanish Empire * Dominican Vudú, a syncretic religion that developed in the Spanish Empire * Haitian Vodou, a syncretic religion practiced chiefly in Haiti * Hoodoo (spirituality) or Rootwork, sometimes called ''Low-Country Voodoo'' * Louisiana Voodoo or ''New Orleans Voodoo'', a set of African-based spiritual folkways * Voodoo in popular culture, fictional characterizations of various forms of Voodoo Technology Aircraft * ''Voodoo'' (aircraft), a highly modified North American P-51 Mustang * McDonnell F-101 Voodoo, an American supersonic milita ...
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Folk Religion
In religious studies and folkloristics, folk religion, popular religion, traditional religion or vernacular religion comprises various forms and expressions of religion that are distinct from the official doctrines and practices of organized religion. The precise definition of folk religion varies among scholars. Sometimes also termed popular belief, it consists of ethnic or regional religious customs under the umbrella of a religion, but outside official doctrine and practices. The term "folk religion" is generally held to encompass two related but separate subjects. The first is the religious dimension of folk culture, or the folk-cultural dimensions of religion. The second refers to the study of syncretisms between two cultures with different stages of formal expression, such as the melange of African folk beliefs and Roman Catholicism that led to the development of Vodun and Santería, and similar mixtures of formal religions with folk cultures. Chinese folk religion, f ...
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Candomblé Jejé
Candomblé Jejé, also known as Brazilian Vodum, is one of the major branches (''nations'') of Candomblé. It developed in the Portuguese Empire among Fon and Ewe slaves. Vodums Jejé spirits are called ''Voduns'' (sing. ''Vodum''). According to tradition, they were introduced into the Kingdom of Dahomey from nearby lands by its founder King Adja-Tado, on the advice of a ''bokono'' (seer). Their cult was reorganized and uniformized by King Agajah in the 18th century. Jejé Vodums are sometimes cultuated in houses of other nations by different names. For instance, the Vodum Dan or Bessen is called Oxumarê in Candomblé Ketu. Conversely, the Ketu Orixás may be cultuated in Jejé houses, but retain their names. Voduns are organized into families: Bibliography * See also *Candomblé *Tambor de Mina (mixture of Dahomean religion, Yoruba Religion, Indigenous American, and European traditions, in Maranhão, Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative R ...
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Candomblé Bantu
Candomblé Bantu (also called Candomblé Batuque or Angola) is one of the major branches (''nations'') of the Candomblé religious belief system. It developed in the Portuguese Empire among Kongo and Mbundu slaves who spoke Kikongo and Kimbundu languages. The supreme and creative god is Nzambi or Nzambi a Mpungu. Below him are the Jinkisi or Minkisi, deities of Bantu mythology. These deities resemble Olorun and the other orishas of the Yoruba religion. Minkisi is a Kongo language term: it is the plural of Nkisi, meaning "receptacle". Akixi comes from the Kimbundu language term Mukixi. Etymology The word "Bantu" means "people"; it is a combination of ''ba'', a plural noun marker and ''-ntu'', meaning "person". "Banto" was a generic term used by the Portuguese in Brazil to describe people who spoke Bantu languages. Pantheon *Nzambi is the "sovereign master"; he created the earth, then withdrew from the world. Nzambi Mpungu remains responsible for rainfall and health. * Aluvai ...
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Candomblé
Candomblé () is an African diasporic religion that developed in Brazil during the 19th century. It arose through a process of syncretism between several of the traditional religions of West Africa, especially that of the Yoruba, and the Roman Catholic form of Christianity. There is no central authority in control of Candomblé, which is organised through autonomous groups. Candomblé involves the veneration of spirits known as ''orixás''. Deriving their names and attributes from traditional West African deities, they are equated with Roman Catholic saints. Various myths are told about these orixás, which are regarded as subservient to a transcendent creator deity, Oludumaré. Each individual is believed to have a tutelary orixá who has been connected to them since before birth and who informs their personality. An initiatory tradition, Candomblé's members usually meet in temples known as ''terreiros'' run by priests called ''babalorixás'' and priestesses called ''ialorixà ...
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Trinidad Orisha
Trinidad Orisha, also known as Shango, is a syncretic religion in Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean, originally from West Africa (Yoruba religion). Trinidad Orisha incorporates elements of Spiritual Baptism, and the closeness between Orisha and Spiritual Baptism has led to use of the term "Shango Baptist" to refer to members of either or both religions. Anthropologist James Houk described Trinidad Orisha as an " Afro-American religious complex", incorporating elements mainly of traditional African religion and Yoruba and incorporates some elements of Christianity (Catholicism and Protestantism), Hinduism, Islam (especially Sufism), Buddhism, Judaism (especially Kabbalah), Baháʼí, and Amerindian mythologies. "The religious practice involves a music-centered worship service, in which collective singing and drumming accompany spirit possession and animal sacrifice (typically goats, sheep, and fowl)." History Trinidad Orisha's beginnings and development in the Caribbean "ca ...
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Routledge
Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, and social science. The company publishes approximately 1,800 journals and 5,000 new books each year and their backlist encompasses over 70,000 titles. Routledge is claimed to be the largest global academic publisher within humanities and social sciences. In 1998, Routledge became a subdivision and imprint of its former rival, Taylor & Francis Group (T&F), as a result of a £90-million acquisition deal from Cinven, a venture capital group which had purchased it two years previously for £25 million. Following the merger of Informa and T&F in 2004, Routledge became a publishing unit and major imprint within the Informa "academic publishing" division. Routledge is headquartered in the main T&F office in Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxfordshire and ...
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Hoodoo (folk Magic)
Hoodoo is a set of spiritual practices, traditions, and beliefs created and concealed from slaveholders by enslaved Africans in North America. Hoodoo evolved from various traditional African religions, practices, and in the American South incorporated with various elements of indigenous botanical knowledge. Hoodoo is an African Diaspora tradition created during the time of slavery in the United States and is an esoteric system of African-American occultism. Many of the practices are similar to other African Diaspora traditions as the practices come from the Bakongo people in Central Africa. Over the first century of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, an estimated 52% of all kidnapped Africans (over 900,000 people) came from Central African countries like Cameroon, Congo, Angola, Central African Republic and Gabon. By the end of the colonial period, enslaved Africans were taken from Angola (40 percent), Senegambia (19.5 percent), the Windward Coast (16.3 percent), and the Gold Coa ...
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Obeah
Obeah, or Obayi, is an ancestrally inherited tradition of Akan witches of Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Togo and their descendants in the African diaspora of the Caribbean. Inheritors of the tradition are referred to as "obayifo" (Akan/Ghana-region spiritual practitioners) and its priests as "bayi komfo" and "bonsam komfo", which translates to "obeah priest/priestess". According to historians, Obeah (sometimes also spelled ''Obi'', ''Obeya'', or ''Obia'') is a system of spiritual healing and justice-making practices brought over by enslaved West Africans to the West Indies. Obeah is said to be difficult to define, as it is believed by some to not be a single, unified set of practices, since the word "Obeah" was historically not often used to describe one's own practices. Obeah is the justice-seeking arm of the Akan religion, and, in its original, traditional form (as opposed to its Caribbean form), is similar to other African diaspora religions such as Palo, Haitian Vodou, Santer ...
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European Folklore
European folklore or Western folklore refers to the folklore of the Western world, especially when discussed comparatively. The history of Christendom during the Early Modern period has resulted in a number of traditions that are shared in many European ethnic and regional cultures. This concerns notably common traditions based on Christian mythology, i.e. certain commonalities in celebrating Christmas, such as the various Christmas gift-bringers, or customs associated with All Souls' Day. In addition, there are certain apotropaic gestures or practices found in large parts of the Western world, such as the knocking on wood or the fingers crossed gesture. History Many tropes of European folklore can be identified as stemming from the Proto-Indo-European peoples of the Neolithic and Bronze Age, although may originate from even earlier traditions. Examples of this include the ‘Chaoskampf’ myth-archetype as well as possibly the belief in knocking on wood for good luck. The cul ...
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Entheogen
Entheogens are psychoactive substances that induce alterations in perception, mood (psychology), mood, consciousness, cognition, or behavior for the purposes of engendering spiritual development or otherwiseRätsch, Christian, ''The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants: Ethnopharmacology and Its Applications'' pub. Park Street Press 2005 in sacred contexts. Anthropological study has established that entheogens are used for religion, religious, Magic (supernatural), magical, shamanism, shamanic, or spirituality, spiritual purposes in many parts of the world. Entheogens have traditionally been used to supplement many diverse practices geared towards achieving Transcendence (religion), transcendence, including divination, meditation, yoga, sensory deprivation, healings, asceticism, prayer, trance, rituals, chanting, Imitation of sounds in shamanism, imitation of sounds, hymns like peyote songs, Drum circle, drumming, and ecstatic dance. The Psychedelic drug, psychedelic experience ...
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Shamanism
Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a Spirit world (Spiritualism), spirit world through Altered state of consciousness, altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct Non-physical entity, spirits or Energy (esotericism), spiritual energies into the physical world for the purpose of healing, divination, or to aid human beings in some other way. Beliefs and practices categorized as "shamanic" have attracted the interest of scholars from a variety of disciplines, including anthropologists, archeologists, historians, religious studies scholars, philosophers and psychologists. Hundreds of books and Academic publishing#Scholarly paper, academic papers on the subject have been produced, with a peer-reviewed academic journal being devoted to the study of shamanism. In the 20th century, non-Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Westerners involved in countercultural movements, ...
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