ABSTRACT
In the various ethnohistories of the Spiritual Baptist Faith and Orisha Work, the influence of traditional West African, and in particular Yoruba, religion was often stressed (see Chapters 2 and 5 above). In Chapter 10 I have shown that West Africans did indeed figure prominently in the history of Trinidad, first as slaves, and later as freepersons. The main ethnic groups were the Hausa, lbo, Rada, Mandingo, Kromanti, Temne, Congo and the Yoruba. These groups came from West Africa directly, and also from the other, mainly French and English, West Indian islands, starting in 1777 and continuing up to the present. It is from these latter migrations that the present African population in Trinidad is essentially derived. Regardless of their place of origin, however, most present-day Africans refer to themselves as "Africans," or "Yorubas." Among this group, these two terms have become synonymous with each other, and are used to describe those aspects of life which are perceived to have originated in Africa. In this chapter I will examine these claims of a West African provenance with regard to the Spiritual Baptist Faith and Orisha Work. To do this I will discuss these religions in relation to the various religions which have figured prominently in the history of Trinidad. As we have seen, West African religions were not the only religions to reach Trinidad in the nineteenth century. Other religions were introduced into Trinidad along with the waves of migrations from the other West Indian islands, North America, Europe and Asia. And still other religions were also deliberately introduced into Trinidad by the various Christian missionary societies, beginning in the nineteenth century and continuing up to the present.
