Afro-diasporic · branch
Santería (Regla de Ocha / Lucumí)
Cuban orisha worship structured around divination, initiation and a strict ritual grammar, with Catholic saints as a historical overlay rather than as theology. Authority is earned through initiation and is not negotiable.
What makes it unusual
The axes on which this tradition sits furthest from the middle of the matrix — which is to say, the positions that actually distinguish it.
- A3 Pluralitymany powers and spiritsFurther toward "many powers and spirits" than most traditions in the matrix.
- B3 Institutional authorityclergy and tradition decideFurther toward "clergy and tradition decide" than most traditions in the matrix.
- D2 Centrality of ritualessential and prescribedFurther toward "essential and prescribed" than most traditions in the matrix.
- B2 Reading of sacred textmetaphorical, or no text at allFurther toward "metaphorical, or no text at all" than most traditions in the matrix.
All seventeen positions
Each cell carries a centre, a dispersion — how much internal variation the tradition genuinely tolerates — and the source the position rests on. Disagree with one? Say so; corrections are public and recorded.
The same seventeen values as a single shape, read clockwise from A1 at the top. The outline is where the tradition sits; the wider band around it is the variation it genuinely tolerates, so a tight outline is a tight tradition.
- position
- tolerated variation
A · The divine
| Axis | Position | Value | ±σ |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1 Divine realitynothing beyond the natural → a divine reality certainly exists | a divine reality certainly existsLucumí/Santería ritual practice and Brandon, Santeria from Africa to the New World | 1.00 | 0.03 |
| A2 Personhoodimpersonal principle or order → a personal being one can address | leaning a personal being one can addressLucumí/Santería ritual practice and Brandon, Santeria from Africa to the New World | 0.68 | 0.14 |
| A3 Pluralitystrictly one → many powers and spirits | many powers and spiritsLucumí/Santería ritual practice and Brandon, Santeria from Africa to the New World | 0.95 | 0.04 |
| A4 Locuswholly beyond the world → fully present within it | fully present within itLucumí/Santería ritual practice and Brandon, Santeria from Africa to the New World | 0.90 | 0.06 |
B · Knowledge and authority
| Axis | Position | Value | ±σ |
|---|---|---|---|
| B1 Source of truthrevealed and fixed → reason and direct experience | between revealed and fixed and reason and direct experienceLucumí/Santería ritual practice and Brandon, Santeria from Africa to the New World | 0.55 | 0.16 |
| B2 Reading of sacred textliteral and binding → metaphorical, or no text at all | metaphorical, or no text at allLucumí/Santería ritual practice and Brandon, Santeria from Africa to the New World | 0.88 | 0.08 |
| B3 Institutional authorityclergy and tradition decide → individual conscience decides | clergy and tradition decideLucumí/Santería ritual practice and Brandon, Santeria from Africa to the New World | 0.05 | 0.05 |
C · Self and destiny
| Axis | Position | Value | ±σ |
|---|---|---|---|
| C1 Survival of the selfends at death → continues in some form | continues in some formLucumí/Santería ritual practice and Brandon, Santeria from Africa to the New World | 0.90 | 0.08 |
| C2 Shape of timeone life, then judgment → cyclical return | between one life, then judgment and cyclical returnLucumí/Santería ritual practice and Brandon, Santeria from Africa to the New World | 0.58 | 0.20 |
| C3 The human conditionfallen and in need of rescue → ignorant but fundamentally sound | leaning ignorant but fundamentally soundLucumí/Santería ritual practice and Brandon, Santeria from Africa to the New World | 0.80 | 0.10 |
D · Practice
| Axis | Position | Value | ±σ |
|---|---|---|---|
| D1 Mechanism of the ultimate goodgiven as grace → achieved by effort or insight | between given as grace and achieved by effort or insightLucumí/Santería ritual practice and Brandon, Santeria from Africa to the New World | 0.58 | 0.16 |
| D2 Centrality of ritualessential and prescribed → optional or absent | essential and prescribedLucumí/Santería ritual practice and Brandon, Santeria from Africa to the New World | 0.02 | 0.03 |
| D3 The bodyto be disciplined → to be celebrated | leaning to be celebratedLucumí/Santería ritual practice and Brandon, Santeria from Africa to the New World | 0.70 | 0.13 |
E · World and others
| Axis | Position | Value | ±σ |
|---|---|---|---|
| E1 Exclusivityone true path → many valid paths | between one true path and many valid pathsLucumí/Santería ritual practice and Brandon, Santeria from Africa to the New World | 0.62 | 0.16 |
| E2 Origin of the cosmosan intentional act → beginningless or natural | leaning an intentional actLucumí/Santería ritual practice and Brandon, Santeria from Africa to the New World | 0.28 | 0.18 |
| E3 Locus of belonginga people, inherited → an individual choice | leaning a people, inheritedLucumí/Santería ritual practice and Brandon, Santeria from Africa to the New World | 0.25 | 0.15 |
| E4 Standing of naturecreation, given for use → animate and itself sacred | animate and itself sacredLucumí/Santería ritual practice and Brandon, Santeria from Africa to the New World | 0.88 | 0.08 |
Further reading
- Brandon, Santeria from Africa to the New World — The historical formation and the initiation structure at B3.
- Mason, Living Santería — Ritual practice observed rather than summarised.
Compared with
- Santería (Regla de Ocha / Lucumí) and Candomblé
- Santería (Regla de Ocha / Lucumí) and Haitian Vodou
- Santería (Regla de Ocha / Lucumí) and Yoruba Ifá
- Santería (Regla de Ocha / Lucumí) and Existentialism
- Santería (Regla de Ocha / Lucumí) and Philosophical Naturalism
- Santería (Regla de Ocha / Lucumí) and Secular Humanism
Where do you sit?
The questionnaire places your own answers on these same seventeen axes and reports how close you are to this tradition and to 64 others. Take it — eight to fourteen questions, nothing transmitted.