# Afro-Caribbean ## Afro-Caribbean Traditions ![Afro-Caribbean Traditions](/sites/g/files/omnuum10836/files/styles/hwp_21_9__1920x825/public/2025-05/hero1.png?itok=CwjR9-Vv) ## Essays [### From Africa to America ](/from-africa-to-america) During the brutality of the transatlantic slave trade many enslaved Africans brought their spiritual and religious traditions to the United States and the Caribbean. These traditions were maintained in subtle ways in the United States, most notably in the... [### "Santeria": La Regla de Ocha-Ifa and Lukumi ](/%E2%80%9Csanter%C3%ADa%E2%80%9D-the-lucumi-way) Once known as "Santería," La Regla de Ocha-Ifá and La Regla de Lukumí came to the United States with Cuban immigrants. Typically practiced in private ritual communities rather than public worship spaces, many practitioners in the U.S. encounter a lack of... [### Vodou, Serving the Spirits ](/vodou-serving-the-spirits) Vodou or Vodún (meaning "spirit" or "god" in the Fon and Ewe languages of West Africa) is a blending (syncretism) of African religious traditions and Catholicism. In the United States, Vodou religious ceremonies are often performed in private community... [### Jamaican Religion ](/jamaican-religion) Jamaican religious traditions in the United States include Obeah, Jamaican Revivalism or Pukumina, and Rastafari. Obeah is a system of herbal and spiritual technology to cure diseases and offer protection. The Pukumina tradition is more structured than... [### The Kingdom of Oyotunji ](/the-kingdom-of-oyotunji) Oyotunji African village was founded in 1970 in Sheldon, South Carolina by Walter Eugene King. It is a religious and cultural community for African American practitioners of the West African Yoruba faith. At its height, the village was home to over 200... ## Images ![Botanica San Miguel Boston](/sites/g/files/omnuum10836/files/pluralism/files/top_1_afrocaribbean.jpg) ![Performance of Vévé Ritual in New York City](/sites/g/files/omnuum10836/files/pluralism/files/top_2_afrocaribbean.jpg) ![“Santeria,” The Lucumi Way](/sites/g/files/omnuum10836/files/pluralism/files/top_3_afrocaribbean.jpg) ![The Flower of Abomey Society](/sites/g/files/omnuum10836/files/pluralism/files/top_4_afrocaribbean.jpg) ![Altar for Vodou Ritual](/sites/g/files/omnuum10836/files/pluralism/files/top_5_afrocaribbean.jpg) ![Ritual Objects at Botanica San Miguel](/sites/g/files/omnuum10836/files/pluralism/files/bottom_1_afrocaribbean.jpg) ![Elders and Youth of Oyotunji African Village](/sites/g/files/omnuum10836/files/pluralism/files/bottom_2_afrocaribbean.jpg) ![Ritual Candles For Sale in Botanica San Miguel](/sites/g/files/omnuum10836/files/pluralism/files/bottom_5_afrocaribbean.jpg) ![Elders of Oyotunji in Ceremonial Dress](/sites/g/files/omnuum10836/files/pluralism/files/bottom_4_afrocaribbean.jpg) ## Glossary [### Haitian Vodou ](/haitian-vodou) [### Toque de Santo ](/toque-de-santo) [### Manbo ](/manbo) [### Afro-Caribbean religions ](/afro-caribbean-religions) [### Revivalist ](/revivalist) [### divining ](/divining) [### Toque de Egun ](/toque-de-egun) [### Rastafarian ](/rastafarian) [ More arrow\_circle\_right ](/afro-caribbean-glossary-terms) ## Selected Publications Download 3 citations download- [BibTeX](/bibcite/export?pager_style=no_pager&number_of_items=3&sort_field=bibcite_year--desc&taxonomy_filters%5Bfield_hwp_c_cities1%5D&taxonomy_filters%5Bfield_hwp_c_religioustradition%5D%5B0%5D%5Btarget_id%5D=169118&&&format=bibtex) - [EndNote X3 XML](/bibcite/export?pager_style=no_pager&number_of_items=3&sort_field=bibcite_year--desc&taxonomy_filters%5Bfield_hwp_c_cities1%5D&taxonomy_filters%5Bfield_hwp_c_religioustradition%5D%5B0%5D%5Btarget_id%5D=169118&&&format=endnote8) - [EndNote 7 XML](/bibcite/export?pager_style=no_pager&number_of_items=3&sort_field=bibcite_year--desc&taxonomy_filters%5Bfield_hwp_c_cities1%5D&taxonomy_filters%5Bfield_hwp_c_religioustradition%5D%5B0%5D%5Btarget_id%5D=169118&&&format=endnote7) - [Endnote tagged](/bibcite/export?pager_style=no_pager&number_of_items=3&sort_field=bibcite_year--desc&taxonomy_filters%5Bfield_hwp_c_cities1%5D&taxonomy_filters%5Bfield_hwp_c_religioustradition%5D%5B0%5D%5Btarget_id%5D=169118&&&format=tagged) - [Marc](/bibcite/export?pager_style=no_pager&number_of_items=3&sort_field=bibcite_year--desc&taxonomy_filters%5Bfield_hwp_c_cities1%5D&taxonomy_filters%5Bfield_hwp_c_religioustradition%5D%5B0%5D%5Btarget_id%5D=169118&&&format=marc) - [PubMedId](/bibcite/export?pager_style=no_pager&number_of_items=3&sort_field=bibcite_year--desc&taxonomy_filters%5Bfield_hwp_c_cities1%5D&taxonomy_filters%5Bfield_hwp_c_religioustradition%5D%5B0%5D%5Btarget_id%5D=169118&&&format=pubmed_id) - [RIS](/bibcite/export?pager_style=no_pager&number_of_items=3&sort_field=bibcite_year--desc&taxonomy_filters%5Bfield_hwp_c_cities1%5D&taxonomy_filters%5Bfield_hwp_c_religioustradition%5D%5B0%5D%5Btarget_id%5D=169118&&&format=ris) ### 2023 Tsang, Martin, ed. *[Spirited Diasporas: Personal Narratives and Global Futures of Afro-Atlantic Religions](/publication/spirited-diasporas-personal-narratives-and-global-futures-afro-atlantic-religions)*. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2023. Tsang, Martin, ed. *[Spirited Diasporas: Personal Narratives and Global Futures of Afro-Atlantic Religions](/publication/spirited-diasporas-personal-narratives-and-global-futures-afro-atlantic-religions)*. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2023. ### 2022 Price, Charles. *[Rastafari: The Evolution of a People and Their Identity](/publication/rastafari-evolution-people-and-their-identity)*. New York: New York University Press, 2022. Price, Charles. *[Rastafari: The Evolution of a People and Their Identity](/publication/rastafari-evolution-people-and-their-identity)*. New York: New York University Press, 2022. ### 2020 Rodriguez, Olavo Ale, and Jon Griffin. “[Bata Drums –The Sacred Drums of Cuba — Salsa Blanca](/publications/%E2%80%9Cbata-drums-%E2%80%93-sacred-drums-cuba-%E2%80%94-salsa-blanca%E2%80%9D)”. Salsa Blanca. Rodriguez, Olavo Ale, and Jon Griffin. “[Bata Drums –The Sacred Drums of Cuba — Salsa Blanca](/publications/%E2%80%9Cbata-drums-%E2%80%93-sacred-drums-cuba-%E2%80%94-salsa-blanca%E2%80%9D)”. Salsa Blanca. [ See more publications arrow\_circle\_right ](/publications?f%5B0%5D=bibcite_reference_hwp_c_religioustradition%3A169118) ## Selected Links [### African and Black Diaspora: An International Journal ](https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rabd20/current) [### Journal of African Diaspora Archaeology and Heritage ](https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/yjaf20/current) [### Asociación Cultural Yoruba USA Miami Facebook Page ](https://www.facebook.com/asoculyoruba.org/) [### Asociación Cultural Yoruba de Cuba Facebook Page ](https://www.facebook.com/asyorubacuba/) [### Dance of the African Diaspora ](https://danceinteractive.jacobspillow.org/themes-essays/african-diaspora/) [ See more links arrow\_circle\_right ](/links?f%5B0%5D=hwp_c_religioustradition%3A169118) ### Explore Afro-Caribbean Traditions in Greater Boston Recent Caribbean immigration to Greater Boston has brought with it a number of African-inspired religions, including Santeria from Cuba and Vodou from Haiti. It is difficult to determine the size of the Afro-Caribbean religious population in Boston as ceremonies are rarely publicized and often take place in private homes. Practitioners frequent botánicas—stores that supply the religious objects for Santeria and Vodou practice—a number of which are present in the Boston area. [ Learn More arrow\_circle\_right ](/afro-caribbean-traditions-in-boston) ![Map of Afro-Caribbean Centers in Boston](/sites/g/files/omnuum10836/files/styles/hwp_1_1__480x480/public/pluralism/files/afro-caribbean_boston_map.jpg?itok=h3mqxCxK)