Shango

The Shango project is the fruit of a four year collaboration between myself and a Shango-Baptists congregation practicing in Brooklyn, New York, as well as Laventille and Claxton Bay Trinidad during the 1990’s. They are Spiritual-Baptist but also worship the Yoruba Orisha, and therefore refer to themselves as Shango-Baptists or Shangoists. 

 The religion has its roots in the Orisha worship practiced by the Nigerian people of the Yoruba tribe who were brought to the New World during the slave trade. As the slaves were not allowed to worship their Orisha (Yoruba deities) they began to disguise their ceremonies behind Christian services. Each African god was disguised behind a Catholic Saint: Ogun, the African Orisha of iron and war, was called St. Michael; Shango, the god of Thunder, became St. John; and Oshun, mistress of the sea, St. Philomena, etc. During the ceremonies, the Orisha are invited down through dance and drumming to possess or “ride” their specific devotees. One must wear and carry the particular color  and implement of one’s Orisha, and offer the appropriate sacrifices. In Trinidad, Shango is the foremost deity within the Orisha pantheon.

 In the New World one finds various offshoots of the mother religion practiced by the Yoruba people of Nigeria today. The most prominent of these being Santeria in Cuba and Puerto Rico, Vodou in Haiti, Candomblé in Brazil, and Shango in Trinidad. The main structure and basic foundation of the various strains are similar; however, they do differ slightly due to certain cultural influences which have come about because of geographic location. By this I mean influences other than their common influence from Catholicism. For example, Trinidad has a larger population of Hindu and Islamic devotees who arrived from India as indentured servants in the mid-nineteenth century. They have had a significant influence on all aspects of the country including the Shangoists as many have some Hindu or Muslim ancestry. I have tried to be mindful of the Hindu and Islamic elements included in the ceremonies.

 Our focus has been on the religious ceremonies and the complex rituals performed, of which little has been written or documented. It is a worship that has largely been passed down by word of mouth over many generations. This includes the songs that are still sung in Yoruba and the drums that are played during the ceremonies to summon and invite the Orisha. I am very grateful to have been able to live and work together with the group and document this project for over a four year period.