The slave ships also arrived in Cuba, thereby creating another large African population.
Here the rebel slaves were called "cimarrones" and they also had to win their freedom.
Their dominant beliefs were Yoruba,
which when syncretised created what is known today as "Regla de Ocha".
A religion, which to a greater or lesser degree, is practised by most of the population.
All the rituals of the Regla de Ocha
start with the smoking of herbs such as basil or siempre viva (everlasting flower).
Apart from the purification of the participants,
the spirits of plants, animals and men must always be present in Regla de Ocha
They wear white and worship the same deities as in the Haitian voodoo.
Olga holds the chicken which they are going to sacrifice to EXU.
The babalawo that she went to see, consulted the oracle to IFA
and he told her what to do.
She ran the risk of being deceived by a man.
The man officiating the ceremony throws the coconuts.
Depending on whether they fall face up or face down,
he will know if ECHU, who controls creation and is very close to OLOFI,
the Regla de Ocha God, allows the sacrifice.
Later, he gets the whole congregation to take part.
In this way, although it is he who carries out the sacrifice,
it will be everyone's responsibility.
The flowing of body fluids substitutes human life.
Life is given in order to preserve life and establish a unifying link with the supernatural order.
On these altars we can see the African Gods: OKUN, the warrior.
SANGO the OREXA of thunder and lightning,
or St. Barbara in syncretism.
The God of ancestors.
ORULA, intermediary of OLOFI, the sun,
and above this, OBATAIA, the Lord of the minds,
equivalent to Our Lady of Mercy.
And lastly St Lazarus, the saint of epidemics and diseases.
Before consulting the IFA, the oracle on which all Regla de Ocha revolves,
they call upon ORULA, that comes from the sun.
Here the ceremonies are held in houses; with the lack of houses that exists in Cuba,
a temple would be a luxury.
They drink the Rara-Ekuo, a soft drink made from corn
which protects them from the heat which comes down from heaven through the spirit ORULA.
Using a red cloth and a crate, the great spirit is trapped while the consultation is taking place.
The Yoruba IFA uses a very complicated prophecy technique.
More than a thousand deities may appear in the form of mathematical combinations.
The babalawo must interpret them correctly and identify the final answer to the consultation,
which will be the decision and order of ORULA.
The person officiating the ceremony shakes the seeds and marks one or two lines of different length,
depending on the number of seeds that are left in his left hand.
When ORULA appears all get down on their knees.
Now the Oracle can be consulted.