Similarities, adaptations, and syncretism of African religions in the Caribbean during the 18th and 19th centuries. Orisha religion of Trinidad: Worship of Shango in Trinidad and Tobago

Pamela Martínez Garduño

SAP Southern Studies, 2025

Abstract: Between the 16th and 19th centuries, the transatlantic slave trade brought millions of enslaved Africans to the Caribbean, where they coexisted with indigenous peoples and European colonizers in a deeply multicultural space. In Trinidad and Tobago, this interaction gave rise to complex processes of adaptation and religious syncretism. African traditions, particularly the Yoruba religion, not only survived colonial repression but were also transformed upon coming into contact with Catholicism and other cultural practices present in the Lesser Antilles.The colonial history of both islands—marked by disputes between Spain, France, Holland, and Great Britain—consolidated a plantation society based on African slave labor. In this context, the Yoruba worldview, centered on the worship of the orishas, found fertile ground for its reconfiguration in Trinidad. The orisha Shango, deity of thunder and justice, became a central figure in the local cult, to the point that in Trinidad, the term “Shango” came to designate the entire Orisha tradition. Despite the censorship and punishment imposed by the colonial authorities, religious practices preserved essential elements such as divination, spiritual possession, and the ritual use of herbs. Syncretism with Catholicism allowed it to survive: Shango was associated with Christian saints, and practices such as baptism were incorporated. These transformations did not imply a loss of identity but rather a strategic reconfiguration. The experience of Trinidad and Tobago shows that the African diaspora actively rebuilt its religious universe, adapting it to new social and political conditions without abandoning its original cultural matrix.

Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cwf:ssarti:ss202533

DOI: 10.62486/ss202533

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