Multicultural Manners : Powerful Priest

Visiting hours are over and Samy bids farewell to his invalid mother at an L.A. hospital. As he walks to his car on a dimly lit street, he is accosted by two men wielding a big kitchen knife. They search him and remove all objects of value: wallet, gold chain, wedding band. Then they dig into his pockets and bring out a strange-looking object.

“What is this?” they ask.

“My charm,” Samy answers.

The men panic. They force Samy behind the wheel and have him drive to a desolate intersection. They return his belongings and jump out of the car. They say, “Look man, we don’t want any problems with you.”

What did it mean?

Samy’s charm, made of a hollow horn with various substances inside, signaled that he was a santero, a priest of the Santeria religion. This terrified the would-be muggers, who were apparently familiar with Santeria. They believed that Samy’s special powers would punish them for the theft. Like most people, the men had exaggerated notions about the Santeria religion based on sensationalized news reports, movie and TV portrayals.

Santeria is a bonafide religion with roots in West Africa and added elements from the Caribbean, where it is mostly practiced. In 1993 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Santeria animal sacrifices for religious purposes were legal. More than 100,000 Americans are adherents of this religion.