THE SEVEN AFRICAN POWERS
SIETE POTENCIAS
The religion of the West African Yoruba people was forced underground by centuries of slavery in the Americas. Several hybrid forms of worship, of which the best known is Santeria, were created by deliberate conflation of Yoruba spiritual entities with Catholic ones.
The Yoruba people of West Africa recognize three levels of spiritual force: one creator god called Olodumare; numerous nature or messenger spirits (similar to Christian angels) called the orishas, and the revered spirits of the dead, called the eggun. Under the yoke of Catholicism, Olodumare was identified with Jehovah, and the orishas were identified with various Catholic saints or angels. In the United States, Mexico, and the Caribbean, seven of the many orishas were combined into a commonly seen image called "The Seven African Powers;" however, there are more than seven orishas, and most of them are identified with more than one saint.
Wherever people of African descent were converted to Catholicism, different patron saintswere spontaneously identified with their own African deities and spirits. However, even though there was no central hierarchy to make the ascriptions, as far as the Yoruba orisha were conserned, the hagiography and iconic symbols associated with each deity and each saint produced a variable set of flexible lists of correspondences between nine of the orishas and more than a dozen Catholic saints:
According to Blair Whitmer,
Now, even as this Seven African Powers image was meeting general acceptance in the Cuban Santeria community that resulted in Italian production of it as a holy card, an entirely unrelated event was ocurring, namely, the immigration of a wave of Santeria-practicing Cubans to America during the late 1970s. Bearing the Seven African Powers image with them, these folks ran smack into the ongoing African-American social movement called African Cultural Nationalism.
http://www.luckymojo.com/sevenafricanpowers.html
SIETE POTENCIAS
The religion of the West African Yoruba people was forced underground by centuries of slavery in the Americas. Several hybrid forms of worship, of which the best known is Santeria, were created by deliberate conflation of Yoruba spiritual entities with Catholic ones.
The Yoruba people of West Africa recognize three levels of spiritual force: one creator god called Olodumare; numerous nature or messenger spirits (similar to Christian angels) called the orishas, and the revered spirits of the dead, called the eggun. Under the yoke of Catholicism, Olodumare was identified with Jehovah, and the orishas were identified with various Catholic saints or angels. In the United States, Mexico, and the Caribbean, seven of the many orishas were combined into a commonly seen image called "The Seven African Powers;" however, there are more than seven orishas, and most of them are identified with more than one saint.
Wherever people of African descent were converted to Catholicism, different patron saintswere spontaneously identified with their own African deities and spirits. However, even though there was no central hierarchy to make the ascriptions, as far as the Yoruba orisha were conserned, the hagiography and iconic symbols associated with each deity and each saint produced a variable set of flexible lists of correspondences between nine of the orishas and more than a dozen Catholic saints:
- Eleggua / Elegua: Messenger, Opener of the Way, Trickster
Saint Simon Peter
San Martin (Caballero)
Saint Anthony (of Padua)
El Nino de Atocha
Saint Expedite
Saint Michael Archangel - Obatala / Obatalia: Father-Mother of Humanity, Bringer of Peace and Harmony
Our Lady of Mercy
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel - Yemaya / Yemalia / Yemalla: Spirit of Motherhood, the Ocean, and the Moon
Our Lady of Regla
Mary, Star of the Sea (Stella Maris) - Oya: Female Warrior, Spirit of Wind, Storm, Thunder, and Magic
Our Lady of Candelaria
Saint Catherine
Saint Theresa - Oshun / Ochum: Lady of Love, Beauty, and Sexuality, Spirit of Fresh Water
Our Lady of Caridad del Cobre (Our Mother of Charity) - Chango / Shango / Xango / Sango: Fourth King of the Yoruba, immortalized as Spirit of Thunder
Saint Barbara
Saint Jerome - Ogun / Ogum: Lord of Metals, Minerals, Tools, War, Birds, and Wild Beasts
Saint John the Baptist
Saint Anthony (of Padua)
Saint George
San Pedro (Saint Simon Peter) - Orula / Orunmila: Teacher, Prophet
Saint John the Evangelist taking Jesus down from cross - Babaluaye: Spirit of Disease and Sickness, also Provider of Money to the Poor
Saint Lazarus of Dives
According to Blair Whitmer,
The phrase "The Seven African Powers" is misleading. These seven deities are only seven out of a large pantheon of Orishas. These are worshipped in several different religions brought to the New World including Santeria (in Cuba), Candomble (in Brazil), Arara (in Cuba) as well as many others. The phrase "Seven African Powers" is mostly predominant in African-American hoodoo; in Spanish-speaking nations, they are the Siete Potencias (Seven Powers).
As a priest in Santeria, I'm biased towards the belief that proper worship of Orishas requires the direct input and guidance of a priest in the chosen religion. The same is not necessarily true if they are simply being invoked for magical uses, but that's not really "worship" ... at least not in MY book. Personally, I would advise extreme caution in invoking an Orisha for magical uses without the associated religious practice and guidance from a priest.
However, regardless of what is "proper," hoodoo practitioners -- especially those who live in close proximity with Latin Americans -- do work with the Seven African Powers in a magical context, perceiving them as deities of luck, protection, and power. I have some opinions on how this practice has developed. This material is not substantiated by citations from scholarly materials, but rather is the result of my having lived through the times described and having witnessed these events. My information is not complete, however, and i welcome any additional comments.As a priest in Santeria, I'm biased towards the belief that proper worship of Orishas requires the direct input and guidance of a priest in the chosen religion. The same is not necessarily true if they are simply being invoked for magical uses, but that's not really "worship" ... at least not in MY book. Personally, I would advise extreme caution in invoking an Orisha for magical uses without the associated religious practice and guidance from a priest.
http://www.luckymojo.com/sevenafricanpowers.html