Initiation and passage
Santeria initiation (kariocha)
The week-long Lucumi initiation by which a person is crowned as a priest of an orisha. The details are closed to outsiders.
Presented by ClearTrust Customs described as customs, free to read.
Santeria, also called Regla de Ocha or Lucumi, is an Afro-Cuban religion formed from Yoruba traditions and Catholicism. Kariocha is the rite of initiation in which a person becomes a santero or santera, a priest of an orisha. It is the major initiation of the religion and is performed within a religious house by an elder godparent, the padrino or madrina.
This is an outline of a custom, said as belief and practice. It is not instruction, it does not say that the rite works, and it is not medical advice.
What goes into it
- Orisha shrineSpaceThe sacred space of a house.
- White clothingObjectWorn by the initiate.
- Herbs and omieroSubstanceUsed in the rite; not described here.
- OfferingsOfferingFruit, food and, in the religion, sacrificed animals.
- Drums and songsWordCall the orisha.
- Space
- Object
- Substance
- Offering
- Word
Each part has an equal wedge. The ring shows what goes into the rite, not how much. Colour is the part's role.
The steps, drawn
Each drawing shows the kind of act in that step. Details differ from place to place, family to family and practitioner to practitioner.
Step 1: Gather The candidate consults an elder and a reading names the orisha. Step 2: Cleanse A period of preparation and purification begins. Step 3: Gather The candidate enters a period of seclusion in the house. Step 4: Offer Offerings are made to the orisha by the priests. Step 5: Circle The new priest is presented to the community with drums and song. Step 6: Close A year of white clothes and rules follows.
What is said openly
The initiate spends several days in seclusion, wears white for about a year afterwards, and receives a reading to learn an orisha and a path. Animal sacrifice is part of the religion, performed by trained priests and carried out for the orisha and the community, and the meat is cooked and eaten. The rest of the ceremony is held within the house and is not published here.
Law and prejudice
Santeros have faced misrepresentation and police suspicion. In 1993 the United States Supreme Court, in Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah, struck down a city ordinance aimed at the religion's sacrifice. Cuba suppressed it at times after 1959 but it grew again.
Cost and caution
Initiation can cost several thousand dollars. Prospective initiates are told to approach established houses and be wary of anyone who promises results for money.
What it is for
- Becoming a priest
- Joining an orisha's family
- Spiritual protection
Who does it
Related entries
Also part of it, and being written: Orisha (The deities.), Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah (The Supreme Court case.).
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Sources and further reading
Original text and drawings by the EveryJaadu desk, written with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Closed or sacred detail is left out. If we have something wrong, tell us.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Santería: Jorge Royan, CC BY-SA 3.0, source