Living Santeria

In Living Santería: Rituals and Experiences in an Afro-Cuban Religion, Smithsonian anthropologist Michael Atwood Mason provides a rare "scholar-practitioner" perspective on the faith, drawing from both his academic training and his personal 1992 initiation as a priest in Cuba. Rather than focusing solely on history, the book explores the "lived experience" of practitioners, detailing how rituals like dilogún divination and initiation ceremonies transform an individual's identity and social subjectivity. By interweaving intimate personal narrative with rigorous ethnographic analysis, Mason illustrates how devotees harness ashé (divine power) to navigate their daily lives, offering a unique look at how Santería functions as a contemporary religious system in both Cuba and the United States.