Palo (religion)
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Palo, also known as Las Reglas de Congo, is an African diasporic religion that developed in Cuba during the late 19th or early 20th century. It arose amid a process of syncretism between the traditional Kongo religion of Central Africa, the Roman Catholic branch of Christianity, and Spiritism. An initiatory religion practised by paleros (male) and paleras (female), Palo is organised through small autonomous groups called munanso congo, each led by a tata (father) or yayi (mother).
A replica of a Palo nganga on display in a Cuban museum
A 19th or early 20th-century Bakongo nkisi; these Bakongo ritual objects, made from varied materials, developed into the Cuban nganga
A human skull and bones displayed in the Museo de Orishas in Havana. Human material remains are included in the nganga of Palo
Baba Raúl Cañizares, a Cuban priest of both Santería and Palo photographed with his ritual paraphernalia, including an nganga cauldron
African diaspora religions
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African diaspora religions, also described as Afro-American religions, are a number of related beliefs that developed in the Americas in various nations of the Caribbean, Latin America and the Southern United States. They derive from traditional African religions with some influence from other religious traditions, notably Christianity and Islam.
Example of Louisiana Voodoo altar inside a temple in New Orleans.