Here is a long-time-coming update - a paper I wrote for Colonial Africa, about the foundation of their colony in East Africa. Karl Peters is hysterically interesting, and evil.
---
The colonial territory of Tanganyika, an entity which would go on to become a major part of the Schutzgebiet Deutsch-Ostafrika , was a direct possession of the German Empire from 1891 to 1919. Prior to European colonization of the region, Tanganyika was a region split not only between many minor tribal entities: the Sultan of Zanzibar nominally claimed the coastal region and further inland as his territory, and the region fell under the British sphere of influence. As a result of years of nominal trade activity as well as the unsanctioned gathering of treaties by nationalist explorer Karl Peters, the German government was supplied was some claim to present at the Berlin Conference. Within days of the Conference’s decisions being passed down, the Germans moved quickly to establish control over the lands which they had gained “control” over through the further establishment of treaties as well as the use of military expansion and subjugation. Despite the treading of the German Empire’s colonial ventures along the boundaries of both regional powers such as the Zanzibari Sultanate and international ones such as Great Britain, Germany was able to forge the foundations of an economically exploitative colony in what is modern-day mainland Tanzania. The conclusion of constantly-shifting territorial demarcation treaties, the quashing of widespread rebellions as executed through the severe methods of the military-minded “Prussian” colonial administration, and the constant evolution of the East African colonial government throughout such events allowed for Tanganyika to develop into an economically prominent, if socially and racially repressive, German colony.
Before Tanganyika: Initial Interests and the Gesellschaft für Deutsche Kolonisation
Prior to the arrival of the Germans, the Swahili Coast, and by proxy Tanganyika, were linked to a much larger economic system which spread throughout the sea to its east. From the east coast of Africa, trading was conducted through the Arab-led Sultanate of Zanzibar up along the Arabian Peninsula as well as across the Indian Ocean to locales such as the Indian subcontinent. Known for its focus on the slave trade, the Sultanate of Zanzibar was an economically notable state which utilized its human resources in producing crops such as coconuts and cloves for export. This practice, though lucrative, drew the ire of the anti-slaving British Empire which had begun to gain influence in the East African coastal region due to its proximity to their trade routes to India. European powers were not completely hostile to the Sultanate for its practices: the British Empire established a consulate in Zanzibar City in 1841, as did France in 1844 and the German Hanseatic League in 1859. Missionaries and explorers used the Zanzibari Sultanate as a staging ground for inland expeditions, leading to geographical discoveries such as Mt. Kilimanjaro and linguistic developments like the translation of Kiswahili, the region’s common language, from Arabic script into Latin.
The call of the Berlin Conference heralded an enormous change in the vague interest that European had toward Tanganyika. By the 1880’s and the first inklings of the Berlin Conference, Sultan Barghash bin Said al-Busaid of Zanzibar found himself privy to the collapse of his nominal control over the Swahili Coast and his territories further inland. Trade-oriented city states declared their sovereignty from his rule at the same time as the great expansion of the Nyamwezi leader Mirambo, a military figure referred to as “the Napoleon of Africa” by Henry M. Stanley . Well before the Berlin Conference, procolonialist German statesmen had suggested East Africa as a potential venture for the newly unified state and, although Germany had the past option of economically dominating the ailing Zanzibari Sultanate, the state’s leadership refused the task in order to avoid sparking hostilities with Great Britain.
The Partitioning of Tanganyika: Peters, Zanzibar, and Dar es-Salaam
While the German state may not have readily acted out in favor of colonialism, at least one of its subjects touted an opposing view. Dr. Karl Peters, a German explorer and founder of the Gesellschaft für Deutsche Kolonisation , ventured into the coastal and semi-inland regions of Tanganyika at his own expense and, in 1884, began to establish treaties with local leaders that guaranteed economic access and effective ownership of large swaths of land to Peters himself. The contracts signed between Peters and local rulers are considered vague and heavily slanted by modern scholarship – so much so that Peters’ actions prompt authors such as Helmuth Stoecker to refer to Peters, an open admirer of British imperialist tactics, as a “psychopathic…criminal.” Despite the underhandedness of Peters’ methods, his efforts paid off: the lands between Lake Tanganyika and the Zanzibari Sultanate, which went far south enough to brush against the borders of Portuguese Mozambique, were now his property according to his treaties . At the next year’s monumental Berlin Conference, Germany nominated Peters’ agreements with local chiefs as evidence enough for German interest in the region and gained the committee’s approval for their colonization of the region. Peters’ Gesellschaft für Deutsche Kolonisation became the Deutsch-Ostafrikanische Gesellschaft (DOAG) , which operated the colony on an adminstrative and economic level as a protectorate of the German Empire.
The borders of Tanganyika fluctuated greatly over the course of its early years as the DOAG interacted with local polities. The colonial administration began to put pressure on the Sultanate of Zanzibar to give up its coastal territories in order to ensure the survivability of Tanganyika as a colony and, with British help, the Sultanate was coerced into leasing its coast at unfair costs for very long periods of time to the DOAG. New territories were added to Tanganyika as a result of treaties signed by Clemens Denhardt and Karl Juhlke, both associates of Dr. Peters, from within the territory of the Zanzibari Sultan (much to his displeasure). This allowed for the colonial company to expand its role past the few trading posts it administered and, with the use of gunboat diplomacy from both Germany and Portugal, new territories were gained and new borders emerged every several months after the establishment of the colony. To enforce the growing authority of the DOAG, mercenaries were hired and used to enforce the company’s authority; heavy taxes were levied against coastal trading villages within the German sphere of influence, leading to levels of unrest.
By 1890, the borders of Tanganyika and the rest of Deutsch-Ostafrika had stabilized through a series of treaties with the British – who acted not only in their own interest, but also in the interest of their semi-vassal the Sultan of Zanzibar – such as the Heligoland-Zanzibar Treaty of 1890, which led to the ceding of some German territories in exchange for more East African coast including Dar es-Salaam, the settlement which would come to act as Tanganyika’s colonial capital. As a result of these decisions, the German colony began to consolidate its power around a coastal city and acted economically while its greatest competitors – the Sultanate of Zanzibar and Great Britain – stood silent, either for inability to resist German efforts to usurp territory or unable to respond for diplomatic reasons .
The Abushiri Revolt: Unrest and Consequences
In establishing boundaries and cementing authority, the DOAG began to chafe against the coastal Arabs and inland Africans who had come under its initial colonial taxation. The colonial authority became known for its harsh treatment of local peoples in pertinence to human rights and religious practice. By 1888, these high levies and levels of mistreatment, as well as – according to Hatch – the German cooperation with the British effort to end the region’s prominent slave trade , led to unrest that became an open revolt. Helmuth Stoecker disagrees with Hatch’s assessment of the revolt and instead states that it had relatively little to do with German actions toward the slave trade, citing the participation of not only coastal Arabs but also inland tribal groups and urban aristocrats in opposing DOAG authority.
Led by the coastal Arab merchant Abushiri bin Salim, the “Abushiri Revolt” quickly spread across the southern portion of Tanganyika. DOAG agents were pushed out of their trading posts and villages and forced to flight from not only disgruntled city dwellers but also the thousands of Yao tribesmen who rallied against the German colonial presence. Characterized by German politicians as an “Arab rebellion” bent on collapsing the colony in favor of the slave trade , Chancellor Otto von Bismarck called for the spending of several million German marks and the appointment of Hermann Wissman, a veteran commander of mercenaries in Africa, to end the revolt; by 1890, the revolt had been quelled and Abushiri himself executed after being betrayed by local tribesmen.
The eventual end of the Abushiri Revolt led to major changes in Tanganyika. Wissman’s use of Sudanese mercenaries to fight Abushiri’s rebels had expanded upon his arrival to include the auxiliaries of smaller groups of local people. By the end of the conflict, several African rulers had begun to fight alongside the Germans; in the next few years, those chiefs would be afforded positions within the colonial government in a form of limited self-rule. Another major change came as a result of the DOAG’s failure to contain the Abushiri situation. This lapse in ability drew the ire of the German government, which saw the stability of Tanganyika as a matter of their own national prestige. The German government thus took state control of the Gesellschaft für Deutsche Kolonisation in 1891, consolidating its former territories – including Tanganyika – into the general Deutsch-Ostafrika administration. A final major change to take place after the Abushiri Revolt was the new emphasis on social promotion of the coastal people, who were mostly Afro-Arab Swahili people, through the use of a state-supported hierarchal system which employed maakida and majumbe to enforce German authority.
The Mkwawa Revolt: A Short Response to Early Administration
After the appropriation of Tanganyika into the German state’s colonial administration, a less major revolt conducted by the joined Hehe and Bena tribal confederations occurred. The Hehe and Bena had already been involved in fighting against German authority, as they had acted militarily against German coastal interests during the Abushiri Revolt. This particular unrest, though, was spurred on due to the perceivedly slanted preference afforded to the coastal peoples as opposed to the inland Africans who were largely removed from the emerging colonial power structure. The harshness of the colonial administration in achieving its goals – namely, complete economic productivity at the cost of the colonial subject’s well-being – led to the joining of the Hehe and Bena groups into a single resistant force against German forces in Tanganyika.
United by a leader known as Mkwawa in 1891, the unified Africans fought a prolonged guerrilla-style war against encroaching German colonial forces which lasted until 1898 despite the general surrender of a larger part of the tribal alliance in 1894. Mkwawa’s end came when he was betrayed by his forces after a new series of losses and, after being cornered by the Germans, committed suicide rather than submit to to the Europeans. His forces attempted to fight on, still displeased with the racist method in which they were being ruled, but were crippled in their efforts by the arrival of the rinderpest which decimated their herds and introduced a famine that would not be reduced in severity over the next few years.
The Maji-Maji Rebellion: Deutsch-Ostafrika’s Greatest Challenge
New methods of administration and governorship continued to gain unfavorable responses from the African colonial subjects of Deutsch-Ostafrika after the close of the Mkwawa Revolt. In 1898, the colonial administration – a body organized and run by former Prussian military governors, harsh in their methods and sometimes known for their overt racism - issued the “hut tax“, a demanded payment which punished those unable to afford it with forced labor. Financial matters were made more difficult with the appropriation of African lands for use by immigrants from Germany , who the colony readily accepted and incorporated into the hierarchal colonial framework – much to the chagrin of the readily-abused Africans. Yet another tax was levied against inland Africans, this time by the Afro-Arab maakida colonial forces who resided in higher social and administrative positions than any inland Tanganyikan. This left the Africans with less economic stability and assisted in the furthering of the idea that the colony would always possess a racist bent against African self-determination or accomplishment.
Taxation and suffering increased as the officers of Deutsch-Ostafrika began to solidify their goals as little more than purely economic. Within a short time, the colonial administration clarified that the hut tax had to be paid in colonial German marks, not in livestock or crops; this led to the effective dissolving of local product in Tanganyika, as colonial subjects were forced to sell their animals and produce at severely reduced prices to meet with strict colonial deadlines for the tax. When combined with the preexisting famine as a result of the rinderpest, this new hut tax plunged many colonial Africans into abject poverty and eventually forced labor as they were unable to consistently pay the high levy. The Africans were subsequently put to work on properties owned by German settlers, exacerbating the already tense racial situation in Tanganyika.
The simmering situation boiled over in July of 1905 when unrest broke out once more. The local Kilwa people grouped together into a confederacy, actively disassembling German authority through the destruction of colonial government outposts and the slaying of German settlers perceived to be government agents. According to the work of Prothero, this revolt was quite different from the others which had formerly occurred in Tanganyika: smaller tribes and villages unified into huge unions of African rebels, easily dwarfing the sizes of those groups which had acted against Germany in the past, and the Germans were actively blamed by the Africans for their unfair governance. John hatch disagrees, however, and states that the union of other groups such as the Ngoni into the main Rebellion did not occur in time, and the end result was to be expected even at the beginning of the conflict.
The Maji-Maji Rebellion, named for the maji used by its participants, was thus a striking out of inland Africans against not only Germans but also coastal Arabs and Africans who were viewed not only as general aliens to the region but also as oppressors and as instruments of the colonial government. According to John Hatch, Arab colonial agents were literally chased out of colonial settlements settlements in the Matumbi Hills by groups of African subjects .
The German response to the initial breakout of the Maji-Maji Rebellion was summarily brutal. Initially, colonial authorities commited wholesale slaughters of populations in response to similar actions by fighters among the rebels. Upon the spread of the rebellion to Dar es-Salaam, German authorities utilized the still young technology of machineguns in turning away the resistance, dispelling the myth of the maji and causing massive casualties. A scorched earth campaign was then conducted by the German forces, killing off the grand majority of the region’s cultivatable herds and crop goods. This came, as formentioned, at a time when the inhabitants of Tanganyika had already beens subject to the rinderpest as well as the forced underselling of the majority of African herds and the appropriation of African resources and land for the use of German settlers and colonial outlets. The result was a widespread famine which impacted not only the inland Africans but also those on the coast. Numbers of the African death toll varies: older sources such as Prothero list numbers as high as 120,000 casualties while more contemporary scholars like Khapoya claim that the number was closer to 75,000. Groups which were in regions that had seen much action during the Rebellion were hit the worst: the Pangwa tribesmen of Lake Nyasa had been reduced from approximately 30,000 people to less than 2,000 by the end of the Maji-Maji Rebellion.
German Response and Reform
The response of the German public to the conduct of colonial authorities in the Maji-Maji Rebellion led to a scandal and cries for a fairer form of colonialism. An investigation into the matter by the German government led to the exposure of gross misgovernment by colonial military officers which further shocked mainland Europe.
In accordance with its colonial failures, Germany immediately established a colonial office in Berlin, under the direction of Albrecht Freiherr von Rechenberg, which would revise and change the Empire’s colonial policies in East Africa. A distinct reformist, von Rechenberg put into effect sweeping changes as early as 1907 – the year the Maji-Maji Rebellion formally ended – such as the enforcement of more egalitarian methods of dealing with African colonial subjects and a promotion of African agricultural development with incentives for growing cash crops such as cotton. Also announced was a total ban on forced labor of African subjects, but this did not apply to public works projects for the colonial state. Military forces and colonial police would be bolstered by local auxiliaries, including sons and family members of local African chieftains, in order to further stabilize the colony and assist in the potential normalization of race relations.
von Rechenberg’s reforms were met with resistance from those Germans with a strong presence in Tanganyika. The Deutsch-Ostafrikanische Gesellschaft , the colonial company which had once ruled Tanganyika, was still quite prevalent in its economic activities and had established virtual monopolies over not only the region’s plantation economies but also had sway within the colonial administration. The DOAG was thus apprehensive about the reforms, which would place more economic power in the hands of the Africans who were generally outside of their own power structure. In addition, his acts were subsequently protested by German settlers in Tanganyika who claimed the new preference toward Africans disallowed their own economic productiveness. These complaints eventually led to von Rechenberg’s resignation. The impact of his work persisted, however, and the colonial administration he had reformed stayed in effect for the rest of Germany’s tenure in the region.
Conclusion
Repression and productivity are the two terms which best come to describe the process by which Tanganyika shifted from a barely defined treaty in the hands of a fierce nationalist explorer to the substantial colonial polity afforded to Germany at the beginning of the twentieth century. Local influences such as the Zanzibari Sultanate were pushed aside and marginalized in order to cement claims to the region, and peoples were suppressed via both machineguns and hut taxes. Famine seemed like a regular occurrence in German East Africa, in all cases brought on by the abuses of the colonial government. Ultimately, the economic productivity of the colony shone through as worth the trouble of constant rebellions – responses to the racist, repressive German method of colonial military government which killed untold thousands in the name of profit. Despite the additions of local people and new hierarchies throughout its existence, the German effort in Tanganyika would never achieve any form of the publicly-demanded egalitarian treatment. The colonial government, as short-lived in the grand scheme of Africa as it was, will always represent a panicked and violent period.
Works Cited
Hatch, John. Tanzania: a Profile. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1972.
Khapoya, Vincent B. The African Experience: An Introduction. New York: Longman, 2010.
Oliver, Roland and Anthony Atmore. Africa since 1800. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005.
Prothero, G.W. (editor). German African Possessions (Late). New York: Greenwood Press, 1920.
Stoecker, Helmuth. “German East Africa 1885 – 1906,” in German Imperialism in Africa: from the Beginnings until the Second World War, edited by Helmuth Stoecker, 93-113. Atlantic Highlands: Humanities Press International, 1986.
Stoecker, Helmuth. “German East Africa 1906 – 1914,” in German Imperialism in Africa: From the Beginnings until the Second World War, edited by Helmuth Stoecker, 148-160. Atlantic Highlands: Humanities Press International, 1986.
Yeager, Rodger. Tanzania: An African Experiment. Boulder: Westview Press, 1982.
---
There you go!
Showing posts with label africa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label africa. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Afro-Caribbean Religion In America: Immigrant Beliefs In An Immigrant's Nation (Pt. 2)
Here's the second part of that essay. I hope you enjoy it.
---
AFRO-CARIBBEAN RELIGIONS IN AMERICA: IMMIGRANT BELIEFS IN AN IMMIGRANT'S NATION (PT. 2)
The Haitian Revolution was one of the major pushes for Vodou’s entry into the United States and is thus an important historical event to observe in terms of Afro-Caribbean religious immigration. August 14th, 1791 is an important date in Vodou history: on it, Vodou “houngan” (priest) Dutty Boukman presided over a service with strong political overtones, urging the slaves and free blacks of Haiti to revolt[1]. In addition, a possessed woman at the ceremony named the eventual leaders of the Revolution while under the control of the Vodou figure “Ogoun” – an ancient war deity. Word of this event spread quickly among the slaves of Saint-Domingue; the Haitian Revolution began seven days after Boukman’s proclamation.[2] Once organized, the revolt was carried out under the leadership of Toussaint L’Ouverture, Henri Christophe and Jacques Dessalines – the men named by the woman at Dutty’s ceremony. The Revolution was the first large scale slave revolt in the Western Hemisphere to succeed, establishing a black-run state mostly free of European influence – Catholicism included. This allowed for a prospering and spreading of the Vodou faith across the island of Hispaniola, including into the Dominican capital of Santo Domingo (which traded hands multiple times during the course of the Haitian Revolution, eventually returning back to the Spanish crown). Although never officially sanctioned, Vodou became the most adhered-to religious practice in Haiti.[3] It is a probable concept that the black residents of Saint-Domingue may not have risen up against their colonial masters if it had not been for the unifying practice of Vodou.
The Haitian Revolution displaced many former residents into Louisiana and Florida, many of whom carried with them their Afro-Caribbean beliefs. After seeing the effect that the practice had upon the state of Saint-Domingue, American law enforcement hoped to prevent a similar situation with new immigrants by cracking down on the practice of Vodou[4]. Drum ceremonies were banned and large gatherings of black people (free or enslaved) were looked upon with suspicion from whites until the meetings, too, were banned. Many Americans found an intense displeasure with Vodou animal sacrifice, stating that it was a savage practice; however, in Haiti, “animal sacrifice” was conducted as part of a social event in which the food created from the sacrifice would be eaten by the community[5]. This practice continues within American Vodou communities despite public shock and opposition.
Several decades after the Haitian Revolution, French scholar Hypolite Rivail began work under the pseudonym of “Allen Kardec”; his works would eventually become known as “Spiritism”. Spiritism was a system of belief that incorporated many religious practices including adherence to spiritual communication as well as familiar Eastern concepts such as “karma”. These writings would have a major impact on two drastically different groups: well-to-do white Americans and Afro-Caribbean immigrants. Spiritism found itself popular with whites in the mid-nineteenth century due to a general societal interest in exotic, foreign imports; Vodou followers were empowered by Spiritism as it closely followed their own beliefs[6]. Both stressed the importance of spiritual communication, respect for the deceased and the necessity of esoteric spiritual gatherings. The incorporation of Spiritist beliefs eventually led to “Hoodoo” and its offshoot “New Orleans Voodoo” which combined the beliefs of Vodou with general American folk beliefs and Spiritism. Santeria, too, was impacted by Spiritism in the Caribbean.
Despite its similarity to Vodou, the rise of Spiritism would not prevent former Haitians from facing major difficulties as a result of their beliefs. American authorities continued to prevent a prospering of Vodou, which it viewed as rebellious and primitive. The United States Marines entered Haiti in 1915 due to general instability, taking control of the nation’s major cities and putting a major damper on the practice of Vodou there. Working as civil aid in conjunction with the United States, the Catholic Church conducted “antisuperstition campaigns”, destroyed places of worship and Vodou relics in an effort to do away with the syncretic belief[7]. This sent a notable message to the Haitian followers of Vodou in the United States, who were forced to practice their beliefs in secrecy in order to avoid persecution[8]. The many Haitians who left their island nation for the United States in mid-80’s due to unrest were seen and referred to by Americans as economically collapsed, AIDS-carrying magic-believers due to previous stereotyped views of Haitian immigrants[9].
Santeria’s development and treatment in the United States is a notably different experience than that of Vodou. The many slaves of the Spanish colony on Cuba were specifically of Yoruba descent, unlike the practitioners of Vodou who came from many locations on Africa’s western coast. The Spanish masters of Cuba believed it to be a monetary decision to simply replace slaves in Cuba as opposed to breed them as was done in the United States; this led to a strong foundation for Santeria, as the African influence was present next to the constant Catholic authority[10]. The Spanish imported slaves in staggering numbers due to the extremely profitable business of sugar cultivation and production based around the capital of Havana, allowing for many slaves of similar backgrounds to interact. Social clubs sanctioned by the Catholic Church were organized by African slaves and referred to as “cabildos” – this allowed for the prospering of a syncretic faith, in this case Santeria[11]. At this time in Santeria’s development, Cuba had much more of a white European presence and was not as racially polarized as Haiti. White Cubans were accepted into and adhered to the predominantly-African “La Regla de Ocha”, which was the largest cabildo in Havana[12]. Its members referred to themselves as “Lucumi” – a Yoruba slang term for “friend”[13]. The cabildos began to gain influence and were eventually feared by the Spanish crown as source of insurrection; this proved to be a likely assessment when clashes began in Cuba over independence with the cabildos acting as forums for dissent. The Catholic Church joined the Spanish crown and, eventually, the common people of Cuba were left without much help from their government or their religion. More white Cubans began to turn to Santeria due to their discontentment with Cuban society and Catholic religion[14]. Ongoing displeasure with Cuban politics and religion led to a number of practitioners of Santeria to escape the cities for the mountainous eastern region of Cuba, forming maroon communities which incorporated beliefs from many fleeing slaves on the island.
Becoming suspicious of the majority of slaves on Cuba, Spanish landowners made profits by exporting Santeria-practicing slaves to the United States. Santeria entered the United States in the nineteenth century at places of notable Afro-Cuban slave populations; such locations include as New York, New Orleans and Florida. American plantations required fewer slaves than the massive ongoing projects in the Caribbean, thus disallowing for a large spread of Santeria as had occurred on Cuba[15]. Afro-Cubans immigrated to South Florida in the 1800’s to work in regional factories; public records exist of their “Satanic” ceremonies. In Cuba, music had served as a major aspect of the practice of Santeria; in America, it acted as a signal flare within Caribbean communities that Santeria was present. It was brought to New York City in 1930’s; many popular Cuban musicians based out of New York at that time were practitioners of Santeria, such as Latin jazz figures Mario Bauza, Chano Pozo and Francisco “Machito” Grillo[16]. The 1959 Cuban Revolution initially pleased many Cuban Santeria practitioners by closing down vices such as prostitution and gambling, which led to the Revolution garnering much support from many Santeria communities. The Revolution then took a more liberal move – relationships were established with the anti-religious Soviet Union, and the reduction of church influence through reform in education and land worried many followers of Santeria[17]. This prompted many “Lucumi” – over 400,000 in total - to leave the country, mostly for the American city of Miami.
The mass arrival of Cuban immigrants to America – a new country with different practices and ideals than what they considered traditional – led to the formation of Cuban collectives as means of social survival. As had been experienced with Haitians, a language barrier existed between the immigrants and the already settled Americans; this dissuaded Cubans from joining Catholic congregations in New York and New Jersey, where they were discriminated against on ethnic basis by Irish and Italian congregations[18]. Although a 1910 American ban on African gatherings existed, purportedly out of fear of the insurrectionist tendencies of the Spanish cabildos, Cubans began to turn to Santeria out of survival. Many Cubans turned to Protestant Pentecostal communities due to the familiar practices such as “filling with the Spirit” and speaking in tongues which are comparable to Afro-Caribbean spiritual possession; other immigrants formed communities directly based on their Afro-Caribbean beliefs. Instead of practicing Santeria straightforwardly like followers of Vodou had done, they emphasized the Christian and Spiritist aspects of their religion while leaving less emphasis on African traditions[19]. This did not stop repression from forces of authority as well as popular opinion. In New York, practitioners of Santeria were constantly targeted for raids pertaining to animal abuse and charged with littering for offerings left in public places. Miami politicians criticized Santeria heavily and even went as far as to establish a mostly symbolic “Voodoo Squad” of janitors tasked with cleaning up remnants of Afro-Caribbean ceremonies, including dead animals[20].The earliest modern newspaper articles pertaining to Santeria were in New York Times in 1980, reporting a “Ritual Slaughter Halted in Bronx by a Police Raid” as well as “Police Seize Animals Prepared for Sacrifice by Cult in the Bronx”[21]. – The Florida Humane Society, as well as local churches, described Santeria as barbaric and a boil upon the Floridian community when asked to express an opinion on the subject[22].
Despite the suspicion surrounding it and its followers, Santeria proved to be remarkably adaptive to the United States’ social climate. Santeria began to be “Americanized”, resulting in redefinition of the faith due to impact of Eurocentric ideas and adaption to American statutes and ideals[23]. Over time, the beliefs became less specific with Cuba and the Spanish language became more disused for ceremonies[24]. A traditional practice for those hoping to be ordained into Santeria as a “babalowa” (priest) was that they would have to return to Cuba to do so; this restriction was also lifted and the process could be completed in the national confines of the United States. In addition, the general role of the babalowas was reduced as regular worshipers began to take central roles in ceremonies. Formerly central practices are changing: animal sacrifices were replaced or generally avoided, drumming ceremonies were toned down to not disrupt neighboring communities[25]. Santeria is still changing today, dropping its most archaic beliefs and gaining new ones as followers bring new views to the system and pressures are removed and applied.
The tribulations of Vodou and Santeria practitioners were shockingly unfair in many ways, from their original enslavement and attempts at forcefully converting them to their eventual persecution in the United States for representing the African religious fringe. The story of Afro-Caribbean religions is a very interesting journey – the slaves’ ability to combine their own religions with the beliefs forced upon them unfairly was an ingenious and natural adaptation to the situation. The repression of their beliefs in the United States can only be seen as a shameful practice, sensationalized by the media and politicians in order to gain attention at the cost of the safety and preservation of a peoples’ faith. This practice still continues today - despite Santeria’s respectable growth - as practitioners in the United States are still forced to act outside the public eye to avoid harassment and unjust shame. To reverse this, much effort must be expended in order to educate people on the unique and deeply interesting beliefs of Santeria and Vodou. It should come as natural to America, a nation known for its immigration, to come to know these belief systems, which are immigrant in origin. When this occurs it will be the first step in a long, tenuous path to acceptance for the repeatedly oppressed followers of Vodou and Santeria.
---
That's all. I sincerely hope my professor enjoys it and doesn't think it goes too crazy on the anthropology bent - the historical aspect of it really is the most interesting part. Ah well. It's just a draft anyway, and I'm sure she'll think it's interesting.
More stuff later.
---
AFRO-CARIBBEAN RELIGIONS IN AMERICA: IMMIGRANT BELIEFS IN AN IMMIGRANT'S NATION (PT. 2)
The Haitian Revolution was one of the major pushes for Vodou’s entry into the United States and is thus an important historical event to observe in terms of Afro-Caribbean religious immigration. August 14th, 1791 is an important date in Vodou history: on it, Vodou “houngan” (priest) Dutty Boukman presided over a service with strong political overtones, urging the slaves and free blacks of Haiti to revolt[1]. In addition, a possessed woman at the ceremony named the eventual leaders of the Revolution while under the control of the Vodou figure “Ogoun” – an ancient war deity. Word of this event spread quickly among the slaves of Saint-Domingue; the Haitian Revolution began seven days after Boukman’s proclamation.[2] Once organized, the revolt was carried out under the leadership of Toussaint L’Ouverture, Henri Christophe and Jacques Dessalines – the men named by the woman at Dutty’s ceremony. The Revolution was the first large scale slave revolt in the Western Hemisphere to succeed, establishing a black-run state mostly free of European influence – Catholicism included. This allowed for a prospering and spreading of the Vodou faith across the island of Hispaniola, including into the Dominican capital of Santo Domingo (which traded hands multiple times during the course of the Haitian Revolution, eventually returning back to the Spanish crown). Although never officially sanctioned, Vodou became the most adhered-to religious practice in Haiti.[3] It is a probable concept that the black residents of Saint-Domingue may not have risen up against their colonial masters if it had not been for the unifying practice of Vodou.
The Haitian Revolution displaced many former residents into Louisiana and Florida, many of whom carried with them their Afro-Caribbean beliefs. After seeing the effect that the practice had upon the state of Saint-Domingue, American law enforcement hoped to prevent a similar situation with new immigrants by cracking down on the practice of Vodou[4]. Drum ceremonies were banned and large gatherings of black people (free or enslaved) were looked upon with suspicion from whites until the meetings, too, were banned. Many Americans found an intense displeasure with Vodou animal sacrifice, stating that it was a savage practice; however, in Haiti, “animal sacrifice” was conducted as part of a social event in which the food created from the sacrifice would be eaten by the community[5]. This practice continues within American Vodou communities despite public shock and opposition.
Several decades after the Haitian Revolution, French scholar Hypolite Rivail began work under the pseudonym of “Allen Kardec”; his works would eventually become known as “Spiritism”. Spiritism was a system of belief that incorporated many religious practices including adherence to spiritual communication as well as familiar Eastern concepts such as “karma”. These writings would have a major impact on two drastically different groups: well-to-do white Americans and Afro-Caribbean immigrants. Spiritism found itself popular with whites in the mid-nineteenth century due to a general societal interest in exotic, foreign imports; Vodou followers were empowered by Spiritism as it closely followed their own beliefs[6]. Both stressed the importance of spiritual communication, respect for the deceased and the necessity of esoteric spiritual gatherings. The incorporation of Spiritist beliefs eventually led to “Hoodoo” and its offshoot “New Orleans Voodoo” which combined the beliefs of Vodou with general American folk beliefs and Spiritism. Santeria, too, was impacted by Spiritism in the Caribbean.
Despite its similarity to Vodou, the rise of Spiritism would not prevent former Haitians from facing major difficulties as a result of their beliefs. American authorities continued to prevent a prospering of Vodou, which it viewed as rebellious and primitive. The United States Marines entered Haiti in 1915 due to general instability, taking control of the nation’s major cities and putting a major damper on the practice of Vodou there. Working as civil aid in conjunction with the United States, the Catholic Church conducted “antisuperstition campaigns”, destroyed places of worship and Vodou relics in an effort to do away with the syncretic belief[7]. This sent a notable message to the Haitian followers of Vodou in the United States, who were forced to practice their beliefs in secrecy in order to avoid persecution[8]. The many Haitians who left their island nation for the United States in mid-80’s due to unrest were seen and referred to by Americans as economically collapsed, AIDS-carrying magic-believers due to previous stereotyped views of Haitian immigrants[9].
Santeria’s development and treatment in the United States is a notably different experience than that of Vodou. The many slaves of the Spanish colony on Cuba were specifically of Yoruba descent, unlike the practitioners of Vodou who came from many locations on Africa’s western coast. The Spanish masters of Cuba believed it to be a monetary decision to simply replace slaves in Cuba as opposed to breed them as was done in the United States; this led to a strong foundation for Santeria, as the African influence was present next to the constant Catholic authority[10]. The Spanish imported slaves in staggering numbers due to the extremely profitable business of sugar cultivation and production based around the capital of Havana, allowing for many slaves of similar backgrounds to interact. Social clubs sanctioned by the Catholic Church were organized by African slaves and referred to as “cabildos” – this allowed for the prospering of a syncretic faith, in this case Santeria[11]. At this time in Santeria’s development, Cuba had much more of a white European presence and was not as racially polarized as Haiti. White Cubans were accepted into and adhered to the predominantly-African “La Regla de Ocha”, which was the largest cabildo in Havana[12]. Its members referred to themselves as “Lucumi” – a Yoruba slang term for “friend”[13]. The cabildos began to gain influence and were eventually feared by the Spanish crown as source of insurrection; this proved to be a likely assessment when clashes began in Cuba over independence with the cabildos acting as forums for dissent. The Catholic Church joined the Spanish crown and, eventually, the common people of Cuba were left without much help from their government or their religion. More white Cubans began to turn to Santeria due to their discontentment with Cuban society and Catholic religion[14]. Ongoing displeasure with Cuban politics and religion led to a number of practitioners of Santeria to escape the cities for the mountainous eastern region of Cuba, forming maroon communities which incorporated beliefs from many fleeing slaves on the island.
Becoming suspicious of the majority of slaves on Cuba, Spanish landowners made profits by exporting Santeria-practicing slaves to the United States. Santeria entered the United States in the nineteenth century at places of notable Afro-Cuban slave populations; such locations include as New York, New Orleans and Florida. American plantations required fewer slaves than the massive ongoing projects in the Caribbean, thus disallowing for a large spread of Santeria as had occurred on Cuba[15]. Afro-Cubans immigrated to South Florida in the 1800’s to work in regional factories; public records exist of their “Satanic” ceremonies. In Cuba, music had served as a major aspect of the practice of Santeria; in America, it acted as a signal flare within Caribbean communities that Santeria was present. It was brought to New York City in 1930’s; many popular Cuban musicians based out of New York at that time were practitioners of Santeria, such as Latin jazz figures Mario Bauza, Chano Pozo and Francisco “Machito” Grillo[16]. The 1959 Cuban Revolution initially pleased many Cuban Santeria practitioners by closing down vices such as prostitution and gambling, which led to the Revolution garnering much support from many Santeria communities. The Revolution then took a more liberal move – relationships were established with the anti-religious Soviet Union, and the reduction of church influence through reform in education and land worried many followers of Santeria[17]. This prompted many “Lucumi” – over 400,000 in total - to leave the country, mostly for the American city of Miami.
The mass arrival of Cuban immigrants to America – a new country with different practices and ideals than what they considered traditional – led to the formation of Cuban collectives as means of social survival. As had been experienced with Haitians, a language barrier existed between the immigrants and the already settled Americans; this dissuaded Cubans from joining Catholic congregations in New York and New Jersey, where they were discriminated against on ethnic basis by Irish and Italian congregations[18]. Although a 1910 American ban on African gatherings existed, purportedly out of fear of the insurrectionist tendencies of the Spanish cabildos, Cubans began to turn to Santeria out of survival. Many Cubans turned to Protestant Pentecostal communities due to the familiar practices such as “filling with the Spirit” and speaking in tongues which are comparable to Afro-Caribbean spiritual possession; other immigrants formed communities directly based on their Afro-Caribbean beliefs. Instead of practicing Santeria straightforwardly like followers of Vodou had done, they emphasized the Christian and Spiritist aspects of their religion while leaving less emphasis on African traditions[19]. This did not stop repression from forces of authority as well as popular opinion. In New York, practitioners of Santeria were constantly targeted for raids pertaining to animal abuse and charged with littering for offerings left in public places. Miami politicians criticized Santeria heavily and even went as far as to establish a mostly symbolic “Voodoo Squad” of janitors tasked with cleaning up remnants of Afro-Caribbean ceremonies, including dead animals[20].The earliest modern newspaper articles pertaining to Santeria were in New York Times in 1980, reporting a “Ritual Slaughter Halted in Bronx by a Police Raid” as well as “Police Seize Animals Prepared for Sacrifice by Cult in the Bronx”[21]. – The Florida Humane Society, as well as local churches, described Santeria as barbaric and a boil upon the Floridian community when asked to express an opinion on the subject[22].
Despite the suspicion surrounding it and its followers, Santeria proved to be remarkably adaptive to the United States’ social climate. Santeria began to be “Americanized”, resulting in redefinition of the faith due to impact of Eurocentric ideas and adaption to American statutes and ideals[23]. Over time, the beliefs became less specific with Cuba and the Spanish language became more disused for ceremonies[24]. A traditional practice for those hoping to be ordained into Santeria as a “babalowa” (priest) was that they would have to return to Cuba to do so; this restriction was also lifted and the process could be completed in the national confines of the United States. In addition, the general role of the babalowas was reduced as regular worshipers began to take central roles in ceremonies. Formerly central practices are changing: animal sacrifices were replaced or generally avoided, drumming ceremonies were toned down to not disrupt neighboring communities[25]. Santeria is still changing today, dropping its most archaic beliefs and gaining new ones as followers bring new views to the system and pressures are removed and applied.
The tribulations of Vodou and Santeria practitioners were shockingly unfair in many ways, from their original enslavement and attempts at forcefully converting them to their eventual persecution in the United States for representing the African religious fringe. The story of Afro-Caribbean religions is a very interesting journey – the slaves’ ability to combine their own religions with the beliefs forced upon them unfairly was an ingenious and natural adaptation to the situation. The repression of their beliefs in the United States can only be seen as a shameful practice, sensationalized by the media and politicians in order to gain attention at the cost of the safety and preservation of a peoples’ faith. This practice still continues today - despite Santeria’s respectable growth - as practitioners in the United States are still forced to act outside the public eye to avoid harassment and unjust shame. To reverse this, much effort must be expended in order to educate people on the unique and deeply interesting beliefs of Santeria and Vodou. It should come as natural to America, a nation known for its immigration, to come to know these belief systems, which are immigrant in origin. When this occurs it will be the first step in a long, tenuous path to acceptance for the repeatedly oppressed followers of Vodou and Santeria.
[1] Bob Corbett, the Haitian Revolution of 1791-1803.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Long, 19.
[4] Long, 30.
[5] Long, 32.
[6] Long, 29.
[7] Long, 20.
[8] Long, 30.
[9] Long, 30.
[10] De La Torre, 165.
[11] Long, 24-25.
[12] Long, 25.
[13] Long, 24.
[14] De La Torre, 171.
[15] De La Torre, 166.
[16] Long, 31.
[17] De La Torre, 177.
[18] De La Torre, 177.
[19] De La Torre, 178.
[20] Long, 33.
[21] De La Torre, 209.
[22] De La Torre, 211.
[23] De La Torre, 206.
[24] Ibid.
[25] De La Torre, 223.
---
That's all. I sincerely hope my professor enjoys it and doesn't think it goes too crazy on the anthropology bent - the historical aspect of it really is the most interesting part. Ah well. It's just a draft anyway, and I'm sure she'll think it's interesting.
More stuff later.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Afro-Caribbean Religion In America: Immigrant Beliefs In An Immigrant's Nation (Part 1)
This is the first part of a paper I'm currently working on for my American Immigration (HIS) course at Rhode Island College. My original first draft saved awkwardly on a school computer today, rendering it incompatible with my system - forcing me to restart the entire paper, which was going to finish out at approximately ten pages. Eh. It's alright. I've rewritten a good portion of it and now I'm taking a break, so I figured I'd post it here while continuing to finish it.
I'll follow it up with Part 2 within the next day or two. Until then, enjoy.
---
As an introduction to this essay, some clarification is required for the uninformed. The terms “Santeria” and “Vodou” refer to similar but culturally different forms of religion that both stem from the comparable bases of regionally-similar African belief systems with Catholic folk influence. The names of the belief systems (that is, “Santeria” and “Vodou”) are not to be used interchangeably because they are distinctly different entities, a point which the writer will strive to display throughout the work. Both possess similar deities – be they “loa”, “vodu” or “orisha” - with distinctly human characteristics such as favorite foods and personalities; both forms of belief also stress constant appeasement of deities as well as honored ancestors. Spiritual possession is an honored event at many major celebrations in both “Santeria” and “Vodou” and animal sacrifice is indeed committed – painlessly and, for the most part, not wastefully. In addition, both belief systems are major aspects of Caribbean immigrant culture: they are not only religions but also function as parts of immigrant life as they provide means to communicate with likeminded individuals and establish links within a community.
The reader should try to familiarize themselves with the terms as well as the practices of the paper’s subject matter. “Santeria” is a belief system that draws on the same African traditions as other Afro-Caribbean religions but can find its origins closer to Cuba and other notable Spanish colonies. “Vodou” is often used as an umbrella term for Afro-Caribbean religions but can be applied specifically to denominations originating specifically Haiti and other French colonies; it is also spelled as “Voodoo”. This is not to be confused with “Hoodoo”, which is the traditional form of African-American folk practices as adapted from Vodou beliefs and ceremonies for use in the United States. “New Orleans Voodoo” is a variant of basic “Hoodoo” and is the most popularized of Afro-Caribbean traditions in the media, giving birth to myths such as the “cursed voodoo doll”. Hoodoo is similar in practice to the Trinidad-based beliefs of “Obeah” in that both are syncretist combinations of Christianity and African beliefs focusing around practical use of folk magic. Finally, and although mentioned only briefly, it is worth knowing that “Condomble” is an Afro-Brazilian religion that derives from Christianity and African beliefs and is comparable to Vodou or Santeria.
A final suggestion to the reader would be an advisement toward avoiding judgment of the belief systems before reading this work. Sensationalization and essentially racist fictionalization of Afro-Caribbean religions, especially through the medium of American movies and television, has pushed a large amount of the beliefs’ American practitioners into hiding. In order to get as much as possible out of this paper, the reader is advised to put themselves in the place of an impartial observer: take this information as it comes to you and treat the information in front of you as the first you have heard on the subject. Due to the dubious nature of provided information on Afro-Caribbean religions, there is a realistic chance that this will be the first time some light is shed on the subject for you.
---
AFRO-CARIBBEAN RELIGIONS IN AMERICA: IMMIGRANT BELIEFS IN AN IMMIGRANT'S NATION (PT. 1)
One of the cornerstones of the United States lies in the nation’s ideal of religious freedom – a concept that has not always stood strong once applied to reality. A concept derived during the ancient times of Antiquity, freedom of religious worship was touted by historical giants such Cyrus the Great, famous for extending his Persian Empire from the Bosporus to modern-day India – where another major figure, the Buddhist convert-emperor Asoka, ruled the Mauryan Empire which encompassed the grand amount of the Indian subcontinent. During the time of the Crusades, the Kingdom of Sicily was known for its tolerance toward Islam at the height of their persecution of Europe; hundreds of miles away, the Kurdish-Ayyubid military leader Saladin incorporated agents of all religions into his Middle East-encompassing government. Many examples of religious freedom throughout time exist – however, the list of religious bigotries rings louder as savage violences and penalties are levied against those who work against the religious mainstream. The persecution of Afro-Caribbean syncretic religious practitioners is one of the lesser-known and, sadly, most publicly adhered-to examples of anti-religious repression in modern time.
Afro-Caribbean syncretic belief systems are literal “immigrant religions”: Santeria and Vodou would not have come about without the forced immigration of Africans to the New World and their introduction to Catholic Christianity. The American reaction to the immigration of Santeria and Vodou practitioners – most of who were not of common American stock, being either Creole or free black – is in historical tune with the general reaction of the United States to new groups: ethnically-charged suspicion backed by willful cultural ignorance. However, the reaction to Afro-Caribbean practitioners is very poignant in that even the most prestigious figures and news publications, including the New York Times, proclaimed that the religious views of Vodou and Santeria practitioners were barbaric and primitive, fueled by blood sacrifices and Satan worshiping[1]. A worthy lesson for the citizens of the United States to learn would be the histories of these unique religious followers, for their beliefs are quite literally an immigration religion: a concept upon which the United States, a nation of immigrants, must look through heavy sensationalism to glimpse.
The origins of Santeria and Vodou, the two largest Afro-Caribbean belief systems with a major presence in the United States, are twofold: while many beliefs lie within the native practices of the African slaves imported to Caribbean colonies, Santeria and Vodou would not be what they are without missionary-taught Catholicism. Many slaves brought to the New World’s colonies; three major ethnic groups brought to the Catholic colonies of the French and Spanish were the Fon people of Dahomey in West Africa, the Yoruba people of Nigeria and the BaKongo of the modern-day Democratic Republic of the Congo. Large amount of slaves from West Africa made their way to Caribbean colonies as a result of the Egba/Owu Civil War as well as the military victories of Fulani Muslims who captured and enslaved the “Pagan” Africans. These groups and their belief systems would have the most major impact upon the syncretic practices which would eventually become Vodou (impacted equally by all three groups) and Santeria (impacted mostly by the Yoruba)[2]. A notable similarity between the three peoples’ belief systems, as well as many other systems of religion across Africa, is the belief in a supreme being supported by holy agents, known as “vodu”, “orisha” or “loa”. Another similarity between indigenous beliefs and folk Christianity was the use of “charms” in both belief systems. Soaps, beverages, jewelry and other miscellaneous objects were utilized by practitioners of African religions in order to act as “holy conduits”, channeling tribal deities and ancestral spirits to protect or preserve its possessor. Folk Christianity had become popular with Europeans at this point in history; major aspects included a belief of saints as almost minor deities as well an emphasis put on “charms” and spirits. ”. Artifacts such as saints’ bones, shards of the True Cross or martyr’s blood were believed to cure disease or provide safety from evil. African charms even had an impact on folk Christian practices: Kongo symbols can be seen in folk Christian charms from former European colonies and the utilized ingredients of folk Christian charms began to resemble traditional African charms upon the importation of slaves[3].
Another quality that lends ease to the process of syncretism was that Africans were well-versed in the incorporation of new deities and figures into their belief systems: victors in African tribal conflicts had their own deities that were incorporated into the pantheons of conquered peoples[4]. Catholicism also functioned as a shield of cover, so to speak, for the slaves; under the guise of Catholicism and their comparisons between the saints and their African deities, the slaves were able to continue the practice of their religions, albeit with new qualities. “Holy cards” were used to teach slaves about saints through the use of holy figures’ appearances and characteristics; this allowed slaves to make connections with own deities. In Yoruba mythology, Dambala was not similar with St. Patrick outside of an association with snakes. Shango is the Santeria orisha of manly characteristics and thunder but was linked to St. Barbara due to both figures’ association with lightning. Babalu Aye was the orisha of health and disease, leading slaves to compare him to St. Lazarus due to his condition of leprosy[5]. This historical conjuncture of interesting qualities on both sides, African slaves and Catholic masters, made it possible for the creation of Afro-Caribbean syncretic religions[6].
It should be noted that folk Christianity was primarily a Catholic practice in the New World and that Protestant Christians such as the British did not allow for much religious syncretism to occur in their colonies. One reason for this was that the Protestant Reformation heavily criticized the use of relics and “charms”; in Protestant eyes, they were a way of achieving what could only be accomplished through lengthy service to God[7]. Instead of using the indigenous beliefs of the Africans as a means of speedily converting slaves to Christianity, the Protestants labeled the African religions as blatant Satanism. Slave masters saw African cultural or religious activities to be primitive, outlawing music and prayer outside of strict Protestant religious activity. Protestantism eventually replaced the majority of the religious beliefs of Protestant-owned Africans as the slaves were forced to acculturate themselves into the society (and religion) of their masters[8].
Hope you enjoyed that. If not - well - don't read the second part when it goes up.
I've spent months researching this topic and although this paper doesn't do justice for the amount of time I spent on research, I enjoyed the process and got to know some very interesting people. I'll get back to work on the second part in order to either edit this entry or just slap another post onto the blog sometime soon.
Until then, enjoy yourself.
I'll follow it up with Part 2 within the next day or two. Until then, enjoy.
---
As an introduction to this essay, some clarification is required for the uninformed. The terms “Santeria” and “Vodou” refer to similar but culturally different forms of religion that both stem from the comparable bases of regionally-similar African belief systems with Catholic folk influence. The names of the belief systems (that is, “Santeria” and “Vodou”) are not to be used interchangeably because they are distinctly different entities, a point which the writer will strive to display throughout the work. Both possess similar deities – be they “loa”, “vodu” or “orisha” - with distinctly human characteristics such as favorite foods and personalities; both forms of belief also stress constant appeasement of deities as well as honored ancestors. Spiritual possession is an honored event at many major celebrations in both “Santeria” and “Vodou” and animal sacrifice is indeed committed – painlessly and, for the most part, not wastefully. In addition, both belief systems are major aspects of Caribbean immigrant culture: they are not only religions but also function as parts of immigrant life as they provide means to communicate with likeminded individuals and establish links within a community.
The reader should try to familiarize themselves with the terms as well as the practices of the paper’s subject matter. “Santeria” is a belief system that draws on the same African traditions as other Afro-Caribbean religions but can find its origins closer to Cuba and other notable Spanish colonies. “Vodou” is often used as an umbrella term for Afro-Caribbean religions but can be applied specifically to denominations originating specifically Haiti and other French colonies; it is also spelled as “Voodoo”. This is not to be confused with “Hoodoo”, which is the traditional form of African-American folk practices as adapted from Vodou beliefs and ceremonies for use in the United States. “New Orleans Voodoo” is a variant of basic “Hoodoo” and is the most popularized of Afro-Caribbean traditions in the media, giving birth to myths such as the “cursed voodoo doll”. Hoodoo is similar in practice to the Trinidad-based beliefs of “Obeah” in that both are syncretist combinations of Christianity and African beliefs focusing around practical use of folk magic. Finally, and although mentioned only briefly, it is worth knowing that “Condomble” is an Afro-Brazilian religion that derives from Christianity and African beliefs and is comparable to Vodou or Santeria.
A final suggestion to the reader would be an advisement toward avoiding judgment of the belief systems before reading this work. Sensationalization and essentially racist fictionalization of Afro-Caribbean religions, especially through the medium of American movies and television, has pushed a large amount of the beliefs’ American practitioners into hiding. In order to get as much as possible out of this paper, the reader is advised to put themselves in the place of an impartial observer: take this information as it comes to you and treat the information in front of you as the first you have heard on the subject. Due to the dubious nature of provided information on Afro-Caribbean religions, there is a realistic chance that this will be the first time some light is shed on the subject for you.
---
AFRO-CARIBBEAN RELIGIONS IN AMERICA: IMMIGRANT BELIEFS IN AN IMMIGRANT'S NATION (PT. 1)
One of the cornerstones of the United States lies in the nation’s ideal of religious freedom – a concept that has not always stood strong once applied to reality. A concept derived during the ancient times of Antiquity, freedom of religious worship was touted by historical giants such Cyrus the Great, famous for extending his Persian Empire from the Bosporus to modern-day India – where another major figure, the Buddhist convert-emperor Asoka, ruled the Mauryan Empire which encompassed the grand amount of the Indian subcontinent. During the time of the Crusades, the Kingdom of Sicily was known for its tolerance toward Islam at the height of their persecution of Europe; hundreds of miles away, the Kurdish-Ayyubid military leader Saladin incorporated agents of all religions into his Middle East-encompassing government. Many examples of religious freedom throughout time exist – however, the list of religious bigotries rings louder as savage violences and penalties are levied against those who work against the religious mainstream. The persecution of Afro-Caribbean syncretic religious practitioners is one of the lesser-known and, sadly, most publicly adhered-to examples of anti-religious repression in modern time.
Afro-Caribbean syncretic belief systems are literal “immigrant religions”: Santeria and Vodou would not have come about without the forced immigration of Africans to the New World and their introduction to Catholic Christianity. The American reaction to the immigration of Santeria and Vodou practitioners – most of who were not of common American stock, being either Creole or free black – is in historical tune with the general reaction of the United States to new groups: ethnically-charged suspicion backed by willful cultural ignorance. However, the reaction to Afro-Caribbean practitioners is very poignant in that even the most prestigious figures and news publications, including the New York Times, proclaimed that the religious views of Vodou and Santeria practitioners were barbaric and primitive, fueled by blood sacrifices and Satan worshiping[1]. A worthy lesson for the citizens of the United States to learn would be the histories of these unique religious followers, for their beliefs are quite literally an immigration religion: a concept upon which the United States, a nation of immigrants, must look through heavy sensationalism to glimpse.
The origins of Santeria and Vodou, the two largest Afro-Caribbean belief systems with a major presence in the United States, are twofold: while many beliefs lie within the native practices of the African slaves imported to Caribbean colonies, Santeria and Vodou would not be what they are without missionary-taught Catholicism. Many slaves brought to the New World’s colonies; three major ethnic groups brought to the Catholic colonies of the French and Spanish were the Fon people of Dahomey in West Africa, the Yoruba people of Nigeria and the BaKongo of the modern-day Democratic Republic of the Congo. Large amount of slaves from West Africa made their way to Caribbean colonies as a result of the Egba/Owu Civil War as well as the military victories of Fulani Muslims who captured and enslaved the “Pagan” Africans. These groups and their belief systems would have the most major impact upon the syncretic practices which would eventually become Vodou (impacted equally by all three groups) and Santeria (impacted mostly by the Yoruba)[2]. A notable similarity between the three peoples’ belief systems, as well as many other systems of religion across Africa, is the belief in a supreme being supported by holy agents, known as “vodu”, “orisha” or “loa”. Another similarity between indigenous beliefs and folk Christianity was the use of “charms” in both belief systems. Soaps, beverages, jewelry and other miscellaneous objects were utilized by practitioners of African religions in order to act as “holy conduits”, channeling tribal deities and ancestral spirits to protect or preserve its possessor. Folk Christianity had become popular with Europeans at this point in history; major aspects included a belief of saints as almost minor deities as well an emphasis put on “charms” and spirits. ”. Artifacts such as saints’ bones, shards of the True Cross or martyr’s blood were believed to cure disease or provide safety from evil. African charms even had an impact on folk Christian practices: Kongo symbols can be seen in folk Christian charms from former European colonies and the utilized ingredients of folk Christian charms began to resemble traditional African charms upon the importation of slaves[3].
Another quality that lends ease to the process of syncretism was that Africans were well-versed in the incorporation of new deities and figures into their belief systems: victors in African tribal conflicts had their own deities that were incorporated into the pantheons of conquered peoples[4]. Catholicism also functioned as a shield of cover, so to speak, for the slaves; under the guise of Catholicism and their comparisons between the saints and their African deities, the slaves were able to continue the practice of their religions, albeit with new qualities. “Holy cards” were used to teach slaves about saints through the use of holy figures’ appearances and characteristics; this allowed slaves to make connections with own deities. In Yoruba mythology, Dambala was not similar with St. Patrick outside of an association with snakes. Shango is the Santeria orisha of manly characteristics and thunder but was linked to St. Barbara due to both figures’ association with lightning. Babalu Aye was the orisha of health and disease, leading slaves to compare him to St. Lazarus due to his condition of leprosy[5]. This historical conjuncture of interesting qualities on both sides, African slaves and Catholic masters, made it possible for the creation of Afro-Caribbean syncretic religions[6].
It should be noted that folk Christianity was primarily a Catholic practice in the New World and that Protestant Christians such as the British did not allow for much religious syncretism to occur in their colonies. One reason for this was that the Protestant Reformation heavily criticized the use of relics and “charms”; in Protestant eyes, they were a way of achieving what could only be accomplished through lengthy service to God[7]. Instead of using the indigenous beliefs of the Africans as a means of speedily converting slaves to Christianity, the Protestants labeled the African religions as blatant Satanism. Slave masters saw African cultural or religious activities to be primitive, outlawing music and prayer outside of strict Protestant religious activity. Protestantism eventually replaced the majority of the religious beliefs of Protestant-owned Africans as the slaves were forced to acculturate themselves into the society (and religion) of their masters[8].
(TBC)
---[1] Miguel A. De La Torre, Santeria: the Beliefs and Rituals of a Growing Religion in America (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Company, 2004), 209.
[2] Carolyn M. Long, Spiritual Merchants: Religion, Magic and Commerce (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2001), 4.
[3] Long, 15.
[4] Long, 14.
[5] Long 18.
[6] Long, 5.
[7] Long, 12.
[8] De La Torre, 166.
Hope you enjoyed that. If not - well - don't read the second part when it goes up.
I've spent months researching this topic and although this paper doesn't do justice for the amount of time I spent on research, I enjoyed the process and got to know some very interesting people. I'll get back to work on the second part in order to either edit this entry or just slap another post onto the blog sometime soon.
Until then, enjoy yourself.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
