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Espiritista house altar, El Cobre, Cuba. |
Aside from the more well-known Santeria religion, there are other popular hybrid religious traditions and cults in Cuba practiced in private spaces and house temples. This house altar in El Cobre represents an eclectic tradition of Afro-Cuban, Christian and nineteenth century European Espiritism known in Cuba as Espiritismo.
The Virgin of Charity/Ochun is located in the left side of the triptich with Saint Barbara/Chango at the center and the Virgin of Regla/Yemaya on the right. The Virgin of Charity is but one figure in a more eclectic pantheon of Christian and Santeria saints and other figures such as an American Indian at the extreme left in a lower level of the altar's hierarchy. At the center of the altar there is a gold goblet with a wafer representing the "Holy Sacrament." In Christianity, the sacramental cup, when consecrated, is the holy vessel for the Eucharist or the "body of Christ"--the "sacrificial lamb of God." Note the arrangement of vessels, shells and sacred objects, as well as the Saint Lazarus, at the base of the altar where animal sacrifices are sometimes performed. Compare to the enshrinement of Ochun in a more focused Santeria altar below.
Santeria altar to Ochun in Casa del Caribe, Santiago de Cuba
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