Spiritism as a religious belief and practice spread in Cuba in the second half of the XNUMXth century, arriving from France.
The spiritist beliefs that arrived on the island were based on the books published by the French writer Allán Kardec, who dedicated himself to the study of paranormal phenomena.
Although in its beginnings it was a cult detached from traditional Catholicism and expressions of African origin, the always permanent syncretism in Cuba due to the mixture of cultures soon adapted it to the religious expressions of the Island.
Those who decided to practice these beliefs called themselves spiritualists and also mediums or those who communicate with the souls of the deceased.
Cuban spiritists and transculturation
Although at the beginning of the cult, those who dedicated themselves to the practice of spiritualism, in its orthodox form, called themselves scientists, in Cuba the mythical-magical beliefs associated especially with the Afro-Cuban culture prevailed, for which the practitioners recognized themselves as spiritualists.
The Cuban spiritists, they were inclined towards the use in their sessions of objects such as crosses, flowers, images and water as elements of worship and spiritual communication.
The best-known form of the practice of spiritism in Cuba today is what is known as “cruzao” (crusader), the result of the syncretism of spiritist practices with religious expressions of African origin, especially the rule of Ocha (Santeria).
The spiritualists on the island, they also practice other tendencies such as fortune telling, palmistry and other divinatory expressions.
These have a common denominator, warding off bad energies, healing illnesses and opening the astral through rites such as "sanctification" and "dispossession."
Spiritualism organized in Cuba
Spiritism in Cuba was organized and gained strength in the western part of the country. Some spiritualists they dedicated themselves to the study of Kardecian works and others adapted the beliefs to other religious expressions.
In 1904 the Cuban Theosophical Society was founded in Havana, and today it continues to be the main institution spiritualist on the island.
Currently, several spiritualists in Old Havana they dedicate themselves to reading good fortune to tourists. Others join the yoruba cults to reveal past, present and future.
And many are Healers who offer their service of communication with the deceased before the existence of some evil.
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