Santería (Lukumí)

The Creed Archive Dialogues · Oct 20, 2026 · 35m

In the streets of nineteenth-century Havana, the steady beat of batá drums echoed behind closed doors while the scent of candle wax and incense drifted through barred windows. But what was really unfolding there? Beneath the watchful eyes of Spanish officials and Catholic clergy, an entirely different world was taking root—one that would outlast empires and rewrite the story of faith in the Caribbean.Santería, also called Lukumí or Regla de Ocha, did not begin on Cuban soil, but it was on this island that it transformed into a powerful, living tradition. Its story starts with the forced…