Everybody Wants To Be A Bruja But They Ain’t Really Bout That Life

Santera en Cuba

So listen. I’m ecstatic Beyonce has everybody wanting to get in touch with their “inner bruja” and shit. That’s spectacular! No. REALLY, it is!

“And I’ma let y’all finish” but REAL TALK- there’s a certain amount of accountability and responsibility that comes with being a “witch” and I can assure you that it isn’t always pretty. Typically, witches were the first to be killed when Europeans invaded Africa.

For the past year or so, we have been immersed in what is known as “Yoruba mythology”. I hate that term. I understand that this is coming from a purely tendentious point of view as I am a devoted Lucumisa.

In laymen’s terms. IT’S REAL AS FUCK. These faiths were originally practiced in secret because the Spanish, French and the British forbade them due to their powerful nature. The best way to suppress a group is to remove its strength. Our ancestors and Orishas were just that.

“ It’s proper name is Lucumi not Santeria or Brujeria. It has many variations from the different tribes who wound up in various places over here like Voodoo (US), Candomble (Brazil), Lucumi (Cuba), Voudoun (Haiti), Division 21 (Dominican Republic), etc . These faiths worship orisha, eggun (ancestors), and nature. It is polytheistic which goes back to my initial warning if you are reading this with a monotheistic mind. It’s how the Haitians defeated the French. It’s how our ancestors survived the worst atrocities known to humanity.”

This awakening has offered the masses a pulchritudinous view of traditions that were practiced in secret for centuries. I am here for the learning aspect of it but there is a flagrant disregard to the years of work, knowledge, learning and understanding that goes into these faiths. This isn’t something that you can learn from the internet. There are ceremonies, consecrations, and processes involved which can’t be…