The religion of Santería, as it is popularly known, has its primary origins among the Yoruba peoples of central Nigeria and neighboring regions of West Africa. Santería centers on interaction with a complex and richly defined pantheon of spirit beings who are referred to interchangeably as the orichas or “the saints.” While all of these spirits embody the aché or life force of the High God Olofi, each oricha’s inherent power is associated with particular aspects of nature and the cosmos as well as specific domains of human thought and activity. The spirit is said to “own” these physical, spiritual, and social dimensions of our world. Taken together, the orichas mirror “the variety and possible ways of being in the world,” both creative and destructive, and offer practitioners a barometer of sorts, a means to weigh different existential options and strike a sense of balance in their lives. The images included in this exhibition document the ritual feeding of Santiago’s orichas as well as the magnificent temporary altars or “thrones” that are periodically created and offered up to these spirits.

The sister Afro-Cuban religion of Palo Monte, which literally means “trees of the forest,” is rooted in the cultural, linguistic, and ritual practices of Bantu-speaking peoples from Kongo and Angola in West-Central Africa. Cubans use the term Congo to identify religious and other forms of expressive behavior with origins in this part of Africa. The Palo Monte religion is steeped in the powers of the dead and the practical and mystical forces that charge the natural world. These energies coalesce in Congo-Cuban ideas about el monte or “the forest.” Physically and conceptually rich, this sacred terrain is the dwelling place of the powers that infuse the Palo universe and the source of many of the materials—leaves, plants, trees, and other substances—essential to Palo religious practice.

The central icon of this religion is the prenda, a cauldron densely packed with forest branches, animal remains, stones, earth, human bones, and other primarily organic elements. Energized by a spirit of the dead, each of these power assemblages also serves as the home of a particular Palo spirit. Santiago’s prendas are the focus of daily ritual attention. A visually arresting series of photographs conveys the drama of the yearly sacrifice to these forces and documents Santiago’s possession by the formidable Palo spirit, Sarabanda.