Holy Week and Santeria, should religious activity cease?

Holy Week is a holiday religious Very important in Christian culture, it commemorates the last days of Jesus Christ from the time he entered Jerusalem until his resurrection.

During the last week of Lent these celebrations are held, this year 2023 already began on Sunday, April 2 and ends on the 9th, which is Easter Sunday.

These festivities that date from the year 325 are specified for the entire Catholic environment and are celebrated once a year.

However, before Christ and the ancients welcomed the arrival of spring, for them this was a hopeful stage after the catastrophes produced by the harsh and cold winter.

Spring is synonymous with everything that flourishes and is reborn in the meadows and forests, it represents fertility in crops, and with it, reproduction in animals also begins. Its meaning is the representation of life, hope and rebirth.

Why in some religious houses are the Orishas usually covered or not worked with them?

During Holy Week the Catholic Saints are in mourning for the death of Christ, but in reality this has nothing to do with the Yoruba religion or the Rule of Osha-Ifá, popularly known as Santeria.

But dear friend, customs endure and that's how it has been done since the days of andilanga (In the conga language it means long ago or from remote times).

The truth is that there is no Yoruba tradition that dictates that the Orishas cover themselves at Easter, because in reality one religion has nothing to do with another.

As everybody know, religious syncretism fostered to that in one way or another the Catholic Saints were compared with the Oshas or Orishas.

The persecution, slavery and everything that our ancestors suffered It gave rise to them, in order to escape, not be persecuted and to be able to celebrate with their Orishas, it occurred to them to make similarities, that is, to unite the characteristics of their African deities with those that were more or less similar to that of the Catholic Saints and thus syncretism emerges.

Now, centuries have passed and Afro-Cuban culture continues with its legacy, following in the footsteps of our ancestors.

Our ancestors went through many vicissitudes and they left as a legacy their strength and their life full of beautiful advice and religious messages, and syncretism has also been part of its history.

The reality is that many and important are the precepts within our religion and one of them is based on respect, we must learn to respect others in words, actions and thoughts, even those with an evil heart and our enemies.

My opinion about our Yoruba religion at Easter:

Just because in my religious house or yours things are done in a specific way, does not mean that others should do the same or similar.

Each one is a world and the word respect is important for everyone and especially for the religious.

In my case, I respect this week, I cover my saints and I don't ask them, nor do I do rituals for them to rest.

In short, whatever religion we profess, respect must always prevail without offense or harmful criticism.

Since the times of our African ancestors, syncretism has existed and many of us learned it that way.

Our ancestors did it because of the oppression they were subjected to, but it continued to this day, it is the decision of each religious to respect it or not.

Whether or not Holy Week is respected today in some Ilé Osha (religious houses) does not mean that we are disrespectful, or that we do not believe in our Oshas and Orishas.

We are all brothers and we must bless each other, without causing disagreements and fights. May love and peace always be with us. Blessed Easter.