Santeria: The Religion: Faith, Rites, Magic

by Migene Gonzalez-Wippler, Whippler Migene Gonzalez, Migene González-Wippler

Book Overview

Brought to Cuba as slaves, the Yoruba people of West Africa preserved their religion's heritage by disguising their gods as Catholic saints and worshipping them in secret. The resulting religion is known as Santeria, a blend of primitive magic and Catholicism now practiced by an estimated five million Americans.

Santeria: The Religion is an informative and insightful examination of an African religion's survival in the New World. No one...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1567183298
• ISBN13: 9781567183290
• Release Date: September 2002
• Publisher: Llewellyn Publications
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 1.28 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

A tantalizing read.

Wippler delivers again with this none stop page turner, She has much converse swirling around her from the Elders of the Religion, Migene Gonzaliez wippler is not well liked among most elders but that is no reason to judge her based her ability to write a fanatic book based on the Afro-Cuben Religion- Santeria. Filled with wonderfully well-written stories of the powerful Orisha and personal accounts of spirit possession and even initiations. Also, a chapter on 'Making the saint' a very big taboo and much guarded secret kept tingly under oaths, allot was relived from this book- But, not being a santera herself, she does not know the all mysteries of making the saint but does relive a great deal in this book. If you are thinking about learning Santeria, I highly recommend this book- It will have you hooked from page one but also give you information that one needs to understand what Santeria really is. A beautiful colorful full Religion that can change your world forever. If after the you should like to read more on the subject I would also recommend books by: Baba Raul Canizares and my good friend Eric Lerner Such as: Babalu Aye: Santeria and the lord of pestilence. ... Happy reading- and be well. Ashe.

Informative and Realistic !

This is not a book that was written for those expecting spooky pulp horror stories. This is not a book about Voodoo. This intelligently written non-fiction describes a fascinating religion and the people that practice it. The insight into the daily life of an initiate is impressive. The descriptions of the Gods and Goddess, Their offerings and worship is clearly and beautifully written. The book is very informative and I would recommend it highly to anyone interested in Santeria.

A Must Have for Friends of The Religion

I am a student of world religions and have friends in the Yoruba, Candomble, Santeria religions and have found this book to of great understanding of how the religion is interpreted. This is a complex religion, not easily understood by a lay person and the author takes great strides in presenting the religion in a language that demystifies the shrouded religion. Any student of ecumenical studies or anyone that knows someone in The Religion, should read this book from cover to cover.

This is the most fascinating book I have read in a long tim

This is the most fascinating book I have read in a long time. I had the pleasure of being present during one of Ms. Gonzalez-Wippler's scholarly lectures on the subject of Santeria while I was a student at Columbia University, and she was both candid and supportive about the work of the santeros. THis book excelled all my expectations. She should be commended for her courage and admirable scholarship in presenting this much-misunderstood religion in a sympathetic and dignified manner. If you really want to know what Santeria is all about, you could not choose a better book. I strongly recommend it.

This is an excellent exposition by a brilliantg author.

This is an excellent exposition by a brilliant author of a badly misunderstood religion. Migene Gonzalez-Wippler was the first author to write about Santeria for en English-speaking audience, When she began her research ahe was not an initiate and most of the santeros she interviewed gave her wrong information purposefully. This reflected in her first book on the subject. Since then she has recived several of the initiations of Santeria and her books reflect not only her love but also her great respect for it. She was the first author on the subject to make correlations between the orishas of the Yoruba pantheon and the archetypes of the collective unconscious. This is a major contribution to the study of Santeria. The secrecy which is such an intrinsic part of Santeria was born of the need of the African slaves to hide their practices from their Spanish masters. This secrecy is no longer necessary and does a great disservice to the religion. If is more important to let the world know that Santeria is a valid and powerful religious system and not the shady and suspicious cult that most uninformed people think it is. Gonzalez-Wippler has dispelled much of these false misconceptions. Her books were largely resposible for the favorable decision made by the Supreme Court declaring Santeria a valid religion, protected by the American constiturion.Unfortunately, this religion attracts a great deal of fanatics and people of the lower classes, many of them with an ax to grind. None of their ill-intended comments can change the fact that this is one of the most thorough and brilliant books written on the subject. I strongly recoemmend this book to any INTELLIGENT person who wants to know what Santeria is all about. Also excellent is here book The Santeria Experience. =