Santería is an African diasporic religion that developed among Afro- Cuban communities during the late 19th century. It arose through the syncretism of the Yoruba religion of West Africa, the Roman Catholic form of Christianity, and Spiritism. Santería is an initiatory tradition with no central authority. It is polytheistic and revolves around deities called oricha. Deriving their names and attributes from traditional Yoruba divinities, they are equated with Roman Catholic saints. Each human is believed to have a personal link to a particular oricha. Practitioners venerate the oricha at altars, where offerings include fruit, liquor, flowers and sacrificial animals. A central ritual involves practitioners drumming, singing, and dancing to encourage an oricha to possess one of their members and thus communicate with them. Healing rituals and the preparation of herbal remedies and talismans also play a prominent role. The number of initiates is estimated to be in the high hundreds of thousands.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santer%C3%ADa

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1609:

Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei demonstrated his first telescope to Venetian lawmakers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_Galilei

1758:

Seven Years' War: Prussian forces engaged the Russians at the Battle of Zorndorf in present-day Sarbinowo, Poland. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Zorndorf

1941:

Second World War: Soviet, British and Commonwealth armed forces invaded Iran to secure oil fields and Allied supply lines for the Soviet Union. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Soviet_invasion_of_Iran

2001:

American singer Aaliyah and several members of her record company were killed when their overloaded aircraft crashed shortly after taking off from Marsh Harbour Airport in the Bahamas. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001_Marsh_Harbour_Cessna_402_crash

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

or bust: (chiefly US, informal) Used to indicate one's intention to do everything possible to achieve a goal, with failure being the only alternative. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/or_bust

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Every writer hopes or boldly assumes that his life is in some sense exemplary, that the particular will turn out to be universal.   --Martin Amis https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Martin_Amis