Santería & Afro-Cuban Medicine

Santería (Lucumí) formed in Cuba when enslaved Yoruba people carried the Orisha spiritual system across the Atlantic and, over generations, syncretized it with Catholic saints and Cuban biodiversity.

Each Orisha (deity) governs specific plants and domains of healing, so plant medicine, ritual, and spiritual devotion function as a single integrated system rather than separate practices.

Santeros and santeras remain active spiritual-medical practitioners across Cuba, the wider Caribbean, and diaspora communities, with botánicas (shops selling ritual and herbal items) serving as an accessible entry point to the tradition's plant medicine.