The Afro-Cuban religion of Santeria is the product of the encounter between Yoruba Orisha worship and Spanish Catholicism in Cuba. Enslaved Africans hid their beliefs and customs with those imposed by the Spanish colonists. From the 16th century through the 19th century, close to one million Africans from West and Central Africa were captured and transported to Cuba. The trade in African people increased during the late 18th and 19th centuries, with the growth of the island’s plantations. During this period, the Yoruba (from what is now southwestern Nigeria and eastern Benin) were one of the principal ethnic groups to be brought to the island. In Cuba the Yoruba, or Lukumí, had a major cultural influence on the Africans of various ethnic backgrounds. The Orishas are the deities that the Yoruba people honored, revered and called upon for guidance. The Orishas are all children of the most high god, Olodumare. The Orishas act as Olodumare's emissaries and handle problems for humans on earth. They rule over the forces of nature and are called upon for healing and blessings.

He is one of the most 'popular' of the orishas. Shangó rules over lightning, thunder, fire, the drums and dance. He embodies passion, virility and power. He also symbolizes war and dance. He is a warrior deity and is often represented by a double headed axe. Shangó took the form of the fourth Alafin (supreme king) of Oyó on Earth for a time. He is married to Obba but has relations with the godesses Oyá and Oshún. The legend states that Shangó traded the gift of divination which was his originally with Orunla whose gift was the gift of dance. He is an extremely hot blooded and strong-willed orisha that loves dance, drumming, women, song and eating. His colors are red and white and his numbers are four and six.

She is the mother and the giver of life. She rules all the seas, oceans, lakes and naturally is the patron of sailors and fishermen. Being the great mother, Yemayá also rules women and pregnancies. She, and the root of all the paths or manifestations, Olokun is the source of all riches which she freely gives to her little sister Oshún. Her number is seven for the seven seas, her colors are blue and white, and she is most often represented by the fish who are her children. Courtesy of TOSalsa.com

Oshún is the goddess of love, fertility, beauty, sensuality and art. Her symbols are mirrors, jewelry, honey, golden silks and the peacock. She is the owner of sweet water: rivers, lakes, waterfalls, and rain. She is also known as "The Mother of Secrets". She is prayed to for love, marriage, fertility, and the delivery of healthy babies. The goddess is extremely generous to mankind but also possesses an extraordinary temper. In most cases, she teaches the people to overcome their difficulties through kindness and negotiation. Her colors are gold, bright yellow and orange. Her favorite foods or offerings are: honey, pumpkin, sweets, and champagne. Her number is five. Courtesy of TOSalsa.com

Elegbá or Ellegwá stands behind all doors and is the owner of all roads. The messenger between the human beings and the orishas, the owner of the crossroads and opportunities and choices made in life, nothing can be accomplished without Eleggwá and he is always the first Orisha to be honored and envoked during ceremonies. He is also known as the trickster and can be respresented as a child. He protects homes against danger. His favorite gifts are candies, candles, toys, rum and cigars. His colors are red, black and sometimes a little white.

Oggún is the god of iron, war and labor. He is a warrior and blacksmith. He lives in the forest with his best friend Ochosi. Oggún is the guardian of the oath. He crafted tools and gave them to mankind in order that they might form civilization. He works with Elegguá to clear the roads to make people's goals easier. His colors are green, black and sometimes a little red.

Ochosi is the third member of the group known as the Warriors, and is received along with Eleggwá, Oggún and Osun in order to protect the warrior initiates and to open and clear their roads. Ochosi is the hunter and the scout of the orishas and assumes the role of translator for Obbatalá with whom he has a very close relationship. His colors are blue and yellow.

Oyá is the ruler of the winds, the whirlwind and the gates of the cemetery. Her number is nine which recalls her title of Yansa or "Mother of Nine" in which she rules over the egun or dead. She is also known for the colors of maroon, flowery patterns and nine different colors. She is a fierce warrior who rides to war with Shangó (sharing lightning and fire with him) and was once the wife of Oggún. Courtesy of TOSalsa.com

The Orisha of peace, harmony and purity. He is the father of most of the orishas and the creator of humankind. He represents purity, cleanliness and wisdom. Obbatalá rules the head and his color is white. Obbatalá is said to have descended from heaven on a chain to mould the first humans. He fashioned human beings while he was under the influence of palm wine and created some humans with deformities. Because of this he is the patron of all deformed, crippled and handicapped people. He is the owner of all heads and the mind. He is the source of all that is pure, wise peaceful and compassionate.

Babalúu Ayé is the deity of smallpox, leprosy, venereal diseases, and in general all skin diseases. His name means father of the world and he likes working with the dead. He symbolizes the long trips, foreign countries, philosophy, laws, religion, high hierarchy, profecy, the miracles, abstract mind, adventures, among others. His colour is lilac and his number is seventeen, although also four, eleven, and thirteen. His animals are flies and mosquitos, and he provides protection against diseases like leprosy, smallpox, siphilis, cholera, and many others.

The Ijesha were a Yoruba ethnic sub-group from southwestern Nigeria. The term Iyesa (yesa, yeza, illesa, ijesa, iyesá), as used in Cuba, refers to a religious practice, family of drums, and associated type of rhythm. The traditons are closely related to what are considered Lucumi (Yoruba-derived) traditions, but there are rhythms and songs unique to Iyesá. The Iyesa rhythms have been adapted to the batá drums, although they were not traditionally played on batá, and batá drummers now play rhythms they refer to as Iyesá. There are also specific songs from the Iyesá tradition that are used along with these rhythms. These are often played for Oshún, Eleggwá, and several other Orishas. There is also a rhythm played on congas that is called Rumba Yesa, that may be a derivation or simplification of the more traditional ones.

Batá are a set of three double-headed, hourglass-shaped drums. The largest iyá (mother), [E-Yah], is the master drum. The iyá calls the rhythms in, calls changes and conversations. Next in size, the itótele (means: follows completely), [E-Toe-Teh-Lay], follows the direction of the iyá answering the conversation calls and rhythm changes. The smallest drum okónkolo [O-Kon-Ko-Lo], sometimes referred to as Omele [O-May-Lay (strong child)], for the most part plays ostinato patterns, also changing rhythms from the calls of the iyá.

Palo's description

The makuta drums, brought to Cuba by Congo or Bantu people, are yet another forebear of the conga drums. These drums may have a tubular, cylindrical or barrel-shaped body. They have a single head with the lower end open. The head is tensioned by the heat of a fire since the membrane is tacked onto the shell of the drum. In Cuba, the word makuta indicates a festive gathering. The term also refers to a kind of ritual staff . This staff or makuta is used at certain moments in the ceremony to strike the ground in a rhythmic accompaniment to a song or dance. The staff houses the supernatural power on which are centered all the activities of the Palo Order.

The most common form of secular Congo music during the 19th century incorporated the use of Yuka drums. Played in groups of three, they were made by hollowing out tree trunk sections of various sizes and nailing on cowhide heads. The largest and master drum is called the caja [Kah-Hah], which in typical Congo fashion is held between the legs of the drummer. Another musician plays a pair of sticks against the body of the caja, often on a piece of tin that has been nailed to the base of the drum. This stick is called the guagua or cajita, which may also be played on a separate instrument. The middle drum is called the mula [Mu-Lah], and the smallest is the cachimbo [Kah-Cheem-Bo]. A guataca is played as a time-keeper, and the caja player often wears a pair of wrist rattles. Yuka dancing featured the vacunao, a pelvic movement also found in Congo-derived dance styles elsewhere in the Americas.

In Cuba, peoples from southeastern Nigeria and southwestern Cameroon were known as Carabalí or Bríkamo, and they included the Ejagham, Efik, Ibibio, and others. The Ngbe society became known as Abakuá, after the word Abakpa, a term by which the Ejagham of Calabar were designated. It took root in the Havana area and in Matanzas, where it became a considerable force in local politics. In eastern Cuba, two Carabalí cabildos still exist in the city of Santiago de Cuba, and play an important role in that city's carnival. The Abakuá leopard-masker, the íreme, has practically come to symbolize Afro-Cuban folklore.

The people known in Cuba as the Arará came from Dahomey, what is today the Benin Republic. They included Fon, Popo and Ewe groups, as well as some conquered peoples to their north. Arará cabildos were founded in Cuba as far back as the 17th century, and their names reflect regional and ethnic differences - hence the denominations Arará Dajomé, Arará Sabalú and Arará Magino. The second is a reference to Savalu, a town in northern Dahomey that was conquered by the Fon. It was inhabited by the Mahi people, recalled in the cabildo name Magino. Many members of the Mahi priesthood were sent into slavery in the Americas, and they had an especially strong impact on Haiti vodun. The name Arará is derived from the Dahomean city of Allada, and is related to the term Rada found in Haiti and to Arrada on the tiny island of Carriacou in the Grenadines. In both cases the name refers to Dahomean styles of drumming. Other outposts of Dahomean culture in the Americas include houses in the Brazilian cities of São Luis do Maranhão, Salvador, Recife and Porto Alegre. In Cuba the Arará were always a minority overshadowed by the Lucumí, and their distinctive cultural identity is now in danger of disappearing. Arará centers are still to be found in Ciudad de Matanzas, Jovellanos, Máximo Gomez and el Perico, all in Matanzas. One characteristic of Arará music is the use of hand clapping and body percussion.

The rumba is a set of rhythms and their associated dances, with three main divisions: the yambú, the guaguancó, and the columbia. According to some Kongo elders, the modern rumba grew out of older rhythms that had been played on the yuka drums. The yambú is performed in slow tempo and is often thought of as an old people's dance. The dancer's gestures may mimic old age and/or the difficulty of daily tasks. And in yambú, you don't perform the pelvic movement. The guaguancó is the modern, urban form of rumba. Its opening section, usually wordless vocal flourish reminiscent of southern Spanish singing, is called la diana, the Spanish word for reveille. After an elaboration of the text, called decimar, a chorus enters with a repeated refrain in the section called the capetillo, and here the dance element "breaks out": a couple, dancing apart, simulates the man's pursuit of his female partner, and her attempts to turn away and cover herself. The vacunao symbolizes his sexual conquest. The columbia began in the rural areas of Matanzas, and is a male solo dance that features many acrobatic and mimetic movements. This may be the most complex form of rumba. In it, the dancer imitates ball players, bicyclists, cane-cutters, and a variety of other figures. He may also reproduce steps of the Abakuá íreme.

In Santiago de Cuba, cabildos and neighborhood groups took to the streets in June and July in masked celebrations known as fiestas de mamarrachos, which extended from St. John's Day (June 24) to St. Ann's Day (July 26). In Havana, the cabildos held public celebrations on the Dia de los Reyes, or Epiphany (January 6), thus creating that city's first Black carnival. In both cities, these Catholic holidays were opportunities for the public display of African dress, dance and musical instruments. Carnival has of course expanded from these beginnings, adding such elements as floats, allegorical dances, figures from contemporary popular culture, and dance bands. Yet there is a constant re-historicizing of the event, with reminders of its African roots. In the Havana carnival, for example, one can still see carved guardian figures similar to those that appeared in old cabildo processions described by Fernando Ortiz. In another sort of historical reminder, carnival in Cuba now coincides with July 26, St. Ann's Day. It was on that date in 1953 that Fidel Castro and his troops attacked the Moncada barracks in Santiago while the city was absorbed in celebration. Cuban carnival now commemorates that event nationally.

Bailes Campesinos' description.

Comparsa's description.

Pilon's description.

Mozambiques's description.