Divinity Atlas

Sacred Correspondences
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UNESCO World Heritage Status

This page groups sacred sites by whether UNESCO has formally recognized them. Wikipedia notes elsewhere that cultural traditions can be "recognized by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity," the same kind of international listing that applies to World Heritage sites. Browsing by UNESCO status lets a visitor see which sacred sites carry that international recognition and which do not.

Facts
Overview
What Defines This Grouping
Lucumi is served in ile, consecrated houses that are ordinary private homes, rather than in public temples. Its visible places are therefore the Catholic churches and shorelines where orisha and saint are honoured together; the house itself is not one of them. 2
Peoples and Traditions Covered
The Cuban houses were reconstituted through the cabildos de nacion, mutual-aid societies organised by African nation. Lucumi, of Yoruba derivation, is one Afro-Cuban institution among several and is not interchangeable with Kongo-derived Palo Monte or with the Abakua societies. 2
Status
Status Today
A living religion of Cuba and its diaspora, organised in houses that trace lines of initiation rather than in congregations. The ile is a private house and its ritual interior is closed to non-initiates. What is transmitted in initiation is not published, and this atlas records only that the institution exists. 2
Directory
Category
Sacred Sites 1
Learn More
Lucumi Sacred Sites

This small group gathers a sacred site of the Lucumi (Cuban Santeria) tradition, the Afro-Cuban religion descended from Yoruba worship, in which the orishas are served in consecrated houses of worship. It is a living religion of Cuba and its diaspora.

The browser will find the site the atlas classes here. The entry describes its significance within the living Lucumi tradition.

UNESCO World Heritage Status
Connections

Belongs to Tradition

Lucumi sites: the Cuban Lucumi tradition.

Source Santeria Enthroned: Art, Ritual, and Innovation in an Afro-Cuban ReligionDavid H. Brown
Sources
1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Tree
2. Santeria Enthroned: Art, Ritual, and Innovation in an Afro-Cuban Religion
David H. Brown, University of Chicago Press, 2003on the ile and the casa-templo
Divinity Atlas Directory Prose, First Edition Category Descriptions
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