Hierarchy Without a Head: Observations on Changes in the Social Organization of Some Afroamerican Religions in the United States, 1959-1999 With Special Reference to Santeria

This paper is concerned with the social organization of Santeria, as well as somerelated Afro-American religions observed on the eastern coast of the United States.The author specifies several levels of context and analysis and, as the result of twodecades of fieldwork, is able to provide a description of Santeria social organization atthe local, regional, national, and international levels as well as over the course oftime. The author finds that the social organization of Santeria is best understood as areticulate network that overlaps at times with the social organizations of some otherreligious groups. Paradoxically, Santeria is strongly hierarchical at the local level, yetlargely acephalous at higher more inclusive levels than the local. The data presentedhere indicate how and why such a structure is significant in the constitution and main-tenance of this religious system; how the structure has changed and grown over time;and the direction in which it seems to be evolving, and evolution marked by variability,and differing rates of change and involvement in movement-like activities.