Regla de Ocha-Ifá in Cuba

Record summary

Regla de Ocha-Ifá, widely called Santería or Lucumí, developed in Cuba through the interaction of Yoruba-derived ritual systems, other African traditions, Catholic institutions, and changing Cuban social conditions. Its identifiable components include orisha devotion, initiation, divination, sacrifice, ritual specialists, and sacred houses. It matters for comparison because its long history is documented through ethnography, oral transmission, and diaspora practice rather than a single founding episode. Researchers must distinguish Ocha from Ifá and avoid treating Catholic correspondences as proof of simple syncretism.