Unconventional Wisdom Has It

Some Hispanics Put Faith In Ancient, Unusual Rites

August 25, 1991|By Constanza Montana.

In the basement of a North Side home, a high priest of an ancient Nigerian religion known as Ifa lifts a 6-inch dagger and slices the neck of a baby goat. Nearby, two Cubans chant prayers softly. They are priests of Santeria, a Nigerian religion mixed with Spanish Catholicism four centuries ago.

The holy men are here to help a woman in her 30s who is seeking guidance on a career move.

The goat`s blood covers three ceremonial objects: a tall flowered vase, a small clay dish containing a cone-shaped figure with eyes made from seashells and a black iron caldron filled with small garden tools. The high priest, known as a babalawo, pours water over the goat`s neck and then takes a swig of gin and spits it over the objects as part of the ceremony.

By the end of the rite, three roosters have been sacrificed and a mixture of blood, feathers, palm oil, honey, gin and water cover the ceremonial figures.

For Hispanics throughout Chicago and the United States, Santeria priests, espiritistas (psychics) or curanderos (folk healers) are commonly accepted as alternatives to mainstream religious counseling, psychotherapy and medical treatment. No one knows how many people follow the practices, but experts who have studied the phenomenon agree that it is widespread in the Hispanic community. And in recent years, as the Hispanic population has soared, experts say the practice of these folk rites has spread, attracting Anglo converts.

High priest Hector Rodriguez says he has initiated 21 new babalawos, including one who is Greek and another who is Jewish.

Santeria and espiritismo have traditionally been practiced by Puerto Ricans and Cubans, while curanderismo is a Mexican custom. But in Chicago, with one of the nation`s most diverse Hispanic populations, the three folk religious systems often blend together.

But few speak openly about consulting the shadowy figures who act as a combination of doctor, priest and counselor. Their practices have

traditionally been cloaked in secrecy and condemned by the Catholic Church. Some of the practices such as animal sacrifice and the prescribing of folk remedies are illegal.

Chicago police, however, say no incidents of animal sacrifice have been officially reported in several years.

Many recent immigrants seek the help of these advisers because they are less expensive than doctors and the immigrants have a general fear of American institutions. But it is not only the poor who consult these quasi-religious figures. Lawyers, financial consultants and other professionals, even drug dealers, turn to Santeria priests, espiritistas and curanderos for guidance. The practices are so popular that major grocery store chains stock their shelves with a colorful selection of special votive candles used in many of the ceremonies.

``I go to a Cuban psychic,`` says Maria Bechily, a Cuban-born partner of Aranda/Bechily Inc., a Chicago public relations firm well-connected in local politics. ``I go about once a year because it`s part of my cultural heritage and background. They are the therapists and the psychiatrists of our culture, and they are not as expensive. Let`s not judge these people by Western understanding. They have a gift that they share, and these people are successful in what they do.``

The three practices were born in the New World, a mixture of Catholicism, European beliefs and African and Native American traditions. They are often mistakenly confused with witchcraft and Satanism.

Santeria, Spanish for ``worship of saints,`` was brought to the Caribbean by slaves from the West African Yoruba tribe. The Spanish conquistadores forced the slaves to practice Catholicism, but the slaves secretly substituted Yoruba deities for Catholic saints, providing the origin for the secret Santeria religion.

Curanderismo is a blending of 15th Century Spanish medicine and Catholicism with the magic, folk beliefs and traditional healing methods practiced by the Aztecs, Mayans and other Native American tribes.

Espiritismo practices evolved out of the beliefs of 19th Century French mystic Allan Kardec, who adapted the practices of spiritualism to

Christianity. European immigrants brought his books to Latin America, where his philosophy mixed with African folk beliefs, especially in Brazil, Cuba and Puerto Rico.

People turn to the three practices for health, psychological problems and even marriage counseling.

Santeros, espiritistas and curanderos share similar remedies that can often be found in botanicas, Hispanic health food shops. These stores carry a variety of herbs, perfumes, deer antlers, garlic, soaps, religious candles and figures used for everything from frightening away evil spirits to finding love and success to wreaking vengeance on one`s enemies.

Many Hispanics often turn to these folk advisers before going to an doctor, minister or a therapist. Others seek them out when religion, modern medicine or psychology cannot help.