African diaspora religions are a number of related Pagan beliefs that developed in the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

in various nations of the Caribbean,

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

and the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

. They derive from Pagan

traditional African religions The traditional beliefs and practices of African people are highly diverse beliefs that include various ethnic religions.Encyclopedia of African Religion (Sage, 2009) Molefi Kete Asante Generally, these traditions are oral rather than scriptura ...

with some influence from other religious traditions, notably

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

and

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

Characteristics

Afro-American religions involve ancestor veneration and include a

creator deity A creator deity or creator god (often called the Creator) is a deity responsible for the creation of the Earth, world, and universe in human religion and mythology. In monotheism, the single God is often also the creator. A number of monolatr ...

along with a

pantheon Pantheon may refer to: * Pantheon (religion), a set of gods belonging to a particular religion or tradition, and a temple or sacred building Arts and entertainment Comics *Pantheon (Marvel Comics), a fictional organization * ''Pantheon'' (Lone S ...

of divine spirits such as the Orisha,

Loa ( ), also called loa or loi, are spirits in the African diasporic religion of Haitian Vodou. They have also been incorporated into some revivalist forms of Louisiana Voodoo. Many of the lwa derive their identities in part from deities venerat ...

Vodun Vodun (meaning ''spirit'' in the Fon, Gun and Ewe languages, with a nasal high-tone ''u''; also spelled Vodon, Vodoun, Vodou, Vudu, Voudou, Voodoo, etc.) is a religion practiced by the Aja, Ewe, and Fon peoples of Benin, Togo, Ghana, and ...

Nkisi or (plural varies: , , or ) are spirits or an object that a spirit inhabits. It is frequently applied to a variety of objects used throughout the Congo Basin in Central Africa, especially in the Territory of Cabinda that are believed to conta ...

and

Alusi Arusi (also spelled Alusi or Arunsi) are spirits that are worshiped and served in the Igbo religion. There are many different Arusi and each has its own purpose and function. Ancestors The Igbo world is divided into several interconnected realm ...

, among others. In addition to the religious syncretism of these various African traditions, many also incorporate elements of

Folk Catholicism Folk Catholicism can be broadly described as various ethnic expressions and practices of Catholicism intermingled with aspects of folk religion. Practices have varied from place to place, and may at times contradict the official doctrines and pr ...

including

folk saint Folk saints are dead people or other spiritually powerful entities (such as indigenous spirits) venerated as saints, but not officially canonized. Since they are saints of the "folk", or the ''populus'', they are also called popular saints. Like o ...

s and other forms of

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 re ...

, Native American religion,

Spiritism Spiritism (French: ''spiritisme''; Portuguese: ''espiritismo'') is a spiritualist, religious, and philosophical doctrine established in France in the 1850s by the French teacher, educational writer, and translator Hippolyte Léon Denizard Riv ...

Spiritualism Spiritualism is the metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and Mind-body dualism, dualism) from ancient to modern. In the long nineteenth century, Spiritualism (w ...

, Shamanism (sometimes including the use of

Entheogen Entheogens are psychoactive substances that induce alterations in perception, mood, consciousness, cognition, or behavior for the purposes of engendering spiritual development or otherwiseRätsch, Christian, ''The Encyclopedia of Psychoac ...

s) and

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 ...

. Various "doctoring" spiritual traditions also exist such as

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 ...

and Hoodoo which focus on spiritual health. African religious traditions in the Americas can vary. They can have non-prominent African roots or can be almost wholly African in nature, such as religions like

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 ...

African diaspora religions in the present

The nature and composition of the African diaspora have undergone significant changes over time: from the forced migration of African captives of the Old and New Worlds to the voluntary emigration of free, skilled Africans in search of political asylum or economic opportunities; from a diaspora with little contact with the point of origin (Africa) to one that maintains active contact with the mother continent; all culminating in the birth of a unique African who straddles continents, worlds and cultures.

Defining diasporas

There are several conceptual difficulties in defining the African diaspora—indeed, in defining the term ''diaspora''. Contemporary theorizations of the term ''diaspora'' tend to be preoccupied with problematizing the relationship between diaspora and nation and the dualities or multiplicities of diasporic identity or subjectivity; they are inclined to be condemnatory or celebratory of transnational mobility and hybridity. In many cases, the term ''diaspora'' is used in a fuzzy, ahistorical and uncritical manner in which all manner of movements and migrations between countries and even within countries are included and no adequate attention is paid to the historical conditions and experiences that produce diasporic communities and consciousness—how dispersed populations become self-conscious diaspora communities.

List of religions and spiritual traditions

Brazil

* * Candomblé **

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 ...

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''). Accordin ...

** Candomblé Ketu * *

Macumba ''Makumba'' () is a term that has been used to describe various religions of the African diaspora found in Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. It is sometimes considered by non-practitioners to be a form of witchcraft or black magic. The ...

Quimbanda Quimbanda () is an Afro-Brazilian religion practiced primarily in the urban city centers of Brazil. Quimbanda practices are typically associated with magic, rituals with Exus, and Pombagiras spirits. Quimbanda was originally contained under the ...

Santo Daime Santo Daime () is a syncretic religion founded in the 1930s in the Brazilian Amazonian state of Acre by Raimundo Irineu Serra, known as Mestre Irineu. Santo Daime incorporates elements of several religious or spiritual traditions including Folk ...

Tambor de Mina Tambor de Mina is an Afro-Brazilian religious tradition, practiced mainly in the Brazilian states of Maranhão, Piauí, Pará and the Amazon rainforest. Terminology ''Tambor'' means drum in Portuguese, and refers to the importance of the ...

Umbanda Umbanda () is a syncretic Afro-Brazilian religion that blends traditional African religions with Roman Catholicism, Spiritism, and Indigenous American beliefs. Although some of its beliefs and most of its practices existed in the late 19th ce ...

Belize

Dugu

Colombia

* Colombian Yuyu * Lumbal�

Cuba

Abakuá Abakuá, also sometimes known as Ñañiguismo, is an Afro-Cuban men's initiatory fraternity or secret society, which originated from fraternal associations in the Cross River region of southeastern Nigeria and southwestern Cameroon. Abakuá ...

Arará religion The Arará people form an Afro-Cuban ethnoreligious group descended from the Dahomey kingdom of West Africa, and retaining an identity, religion, and culture separate from those of other Afro-Cuban peoples. Although, historically, the Arará peopl ...

* Cuban Vodú *

Palo Palo may refer to: Places * Palo, Argentina, a village in Argentina * Palo, Estonia, village in Meremäe Parish, Võru County, Estonia * Palo, Huesca, municipality in the province of Huesca, Spain * Palo, Iowa, United States, a town located wit ...

Santería Santería (), also known as Regla de Ocha, Regla Lucumí, or Lucumí, is an African diaspora religions, African diasporic religion that developed in Cuba during the late 19th century. It arose through a process of syncretism between the tradit ...

Curaçao

* Montamentu

Dominican Republic

Dominican Vudú Dominican ''Vudú'', or Dominican Voodoo, popularly known as ''Las 21 Divisiones'' (The 21 Divisions), is a heavily Catholicized syncretic shaman Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what ...

Grenada

* Big Drum Dance (Gwa Tambu)

Guatemala (Garifuna)

* Dugu

Guyana

Comfa Comfa (or Komfa) is a folk religion in Guyana also known as Spiritualism or Faithism. The word "Comfa" is used by non-practitioners as a generic term for spirit possession in Guyana. However, the word "Comfa" is also a term to define the greater ...

Haiti

* Haitian Vodou

Honduras

* Dugu

Nicaragua

* Dugu

Jamaica

Convince Convince, also known as Bongo or Flenke, is a religion from eastern Jamaica. It has roots in Kumina and Jamaican Maroon religion. History According to research by J. W. Pullis the religion originated in the Portland Parish in Jamaica in the m ...

Jamaican Maroon religion The traditional Jamaican Maroon religion, otherwise known as Kumfu, was developed by a mixing of West Africa, West and Central African Traditional African religions, religious practices in Maroons, Maroon communities. While the traditional reli ...

Kromanti dance Kromanti dance or Kromanti play (capitalised to Kromanti Dance or Kromanti Play) is a Jamaican Maroon religious ceremony practiced by Jamaican Maroons. It is rooted in traditional African music and religious practices, especially those of the Ak ...

Kumina Kumina is an Afro-Jamaican religion. Kumina has practices that include secular ceremonies, dance and music that developed from the beliefs and traditions brought to the island by Kongo enslaved people and indentured labourers, from the Congo r ...

Myal Myal is an Afro-Jamaican spirituality. It developed via the creolization of African religions during the slave era in Jamaica. It incorporates ritualistic magic, spiritual possession and dancing. Unlike Obeah, its practices focus more on the conne ...

* Rastafari **

Bobo Ashanti The Bobo Ashanti (also variously called Bobo Shanti and Bobo Shanty), also known as the Ethiopian African Black International Congress (EABIC), is a religious group originating in Bull Bay near Kingston, Jamaica. The title of Bobo Ashanti essenti ...

Nyabinghi Nyabinghi or Nyabingi is a prominent figure in the history of Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania, where religions or 'possession cults' formed around her. Probably via a 1930s article, the term "Nyabinghi" was introduced to Jamaica. There, it was adopted ...

Twelve Tribes of Israel The Twelve Tribes of Israel ( he, שִׁבְטֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל, translit=Šīḇṭēy Yīsrāʾēl, lit=Tribes of Israel) are, according to Hebrew scriptures, the descendants of the biblical patriarch Jacob, also known as Israel, thro ...

Puerto Rico

* Sansé

Espiritismo ''Espiritismo'' (Portuguese language, Portuguese and Spanish language, Spanish for "Spiritism") is a term used in Latin America and the Caribbean to refer to the folk religions, popular belief that Goodness and evil, good and evil spirits can af ...

Saint Lucia

Kélé ''Kélé'' is an Afro-Saint Lucian religion, originated from the Djiné people of the Babonneau region. Its primary deities are Ogun, Shango and Eshu. ''Kélé'' ceremonies include the drumming of the ''tanbou manman'' (''mother drum'') and the ...

Suriname

Winti Winti is an Afro-Surinamese traditional religion that originated in the colony Suriname, part of the Dutch Empire. It is a syncretization of the different African religious beliefs and practices brought in mainly by Akan and Fon slaves durin ...

The Bahamas

* Haitian Vodou * Rastafari

Trinidad and Tobago

Spiritual Baptist The Spiritual Baptist faith is a Christian religion created by enslaved Africans in the plantations they came to in the former British West Indies countries predominantly in the islands of a Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Tobago and th ...

* Rastafari *Vodonu/Rada (Dahomean Religion in Trinidad)

United States

* Hoodoo (Gullah Voodoo/Lowcountry Voodoo) *

Louisiana Voodoo Louisiana Voodoo (french: Vaudou louisianais, es, Vudú de Luisiana), also known as New Orleans Voodoo, is an African diasporic religion which originated in Louisiana, now in the southern United States. It arose through a process of syncreti ...

Venezuela

María Lionza María Lionza is the central figure in one of the most widespread new religious movements in Venezuela. The cult of María Lionza began in the 20th century as a blend of African, indigenous and Catholic beliefs. She is revered as a goddess of ...

* Venezuelan Yuyu

References

External links

Roots and Rooted
{{DEFAULTSORT:Afro-American Religion

Characteristics

African diaspora religions in the present

Defining diasporas

List of religions and spiritual traditions

Brazil

Belize

Colombia

Cuba

Curaçao

Dominican Republic

Grenada

Guatemala (Garifuna)

Guyana

Haiti

Honduras

Nicaragua

Jamaica

Puerto Rico

Saint Lucia

Suriname

The Bahamas

Trinidad and Tobago

United States

Venezuela

See also

References

External links