Santería or La Regla Ocha (Reign of the Orishas or deities) is the primeval and powerful Afro-Cuban religion now practiced worldwide.
As much a culture and a world-view as it is a religion, La Regla Ocha retains the rites, music and even much of the language as practiced when brought to the New World from Africa during the slave trade. This ancient body of shamanic wisdom was adapted to the modern urban world by these slaves, among them some of the greatest minds in history.
Hidden within the core of Santería is the ancient mystery known as Ifá, an immensely sophisticated system of knowledge and wisdom practiced by its high priests, the babalawos. According to Ifá, the entire universe is made up of knowledge in binary form brought together in groups of eight, much like modern computer programs. And all the knowledge and power of the universe can be found within the 256 living binary odduns. Afro-Cuban Ifá contains the accumulated knowledge of thousands of babalawos in both Africa and the New World, particularly Cuba.
In August 1995 OrishaNet became the first Orisha website on the internet, and we remain the premier source of information about the Orishas and the traditions and heritage of La Regla Ocha (Santeria) and La Regla de Ifa. OrishaNet was created by Frank Baba Eyiogbe, a Babalawo and author of “Babalawo, Santería’s High Priests” with over 26 years experience in Ifa as a Babalawo (High Priest) and over 32 years as an Oricha Priest (Santero).