Voices of the Orishas

Product Description

This innovative ethnographic documentary demonstrates the survival and strength of the Yoruba cultural and religious heritage in the contemporary life of Caribbean African-Hispanics.

Filmed in Havana among Afro- Cubans who practice Santeria (African spiritism), the video documents an important Guemilere, a ritual ceremony that features dancing, singing, praying, and drum beating, and in which the pantheon of 22 deities, or Orishas, of the Yoruba religion are invoked. The ceremony re-creates a seminal Yoruba myth featuring the demigods Shango, Oggun, and Oya; through it Santero initiates render homage to the gods, ask for guidance in matters involving birth and death, and request permission to initiate new Santeros into the religion.

This informative and thought-provoking documentary will engage student interest and generate discussion in classes in cultural anthropology, African studies, Latin American and Caribbean studies, and comparative religion. It is essential viewing in any course dealing with the African Diaspora. It was produced by Alvaro Perez Betancourt.