First there was the sea. Everything was dark. There was no sun, no moon, no people, no animals, no plants. Only the sea was everywhere.The ocean was the Mother. She was water and water everywhere and she was river, lake, creek, and ocean and she was everywhere. Thus, at the beginning there was only the Mother. Her name was Gaulchovang. The Mother was not people, nor thing, nor anything. She was Alum. She was the spirit of what was about to come and she was thought and memory. The Mother existed only in Altina, in the deepest world, alone.-Kogi mythologyThis Kogi account of the creation of the universe is just one of many accounts that exist within Latino/Latina religions and spiritual traditions. These narratives are complex and rich, and each account deserves years of serious study. No single tradition represents all of Latino culture. Because of its heterogeneity, many traditions in Latino culture range from Indigenous and African-based to Catholic, Jewish, and Protestant religions. Most literature on Latinos/Latinas assumes Catholicism to be the most influential religion for Latinos; however, some important Indigenous and Africanbased religions also exist in Latino culture, which are fairly unknown yet influential. We discuss only briefly Catholicism and Protestantism because these religions are widely known, and we refer the reader to the chapters on Judaism, Catholicism, and the Evangelical, Episcopalian, Mormon, and Pentecostal churches as all these exist among Latinos/Latinas. The bulk of this chapter is devoted to the Latino spiritual traditions based on Indigenous and African influences because little has been written about these hidden influences, and no extrapolation can be made from the European-397
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.