DIVINE WOMEN IN SANTERIA: HEALING WITH A GENDERED SELF
By
ELIZABETH TRACY
A Thesis submitted to the
Department of Religion
In partial fulfillment of the
Requirements for the degree of
Master of Arts
Degree Awarded:
Spring Semester 2005 
https://diginole.lib.fsu.edu/islandora/object/fsu:176047/datastream/PDF/view

ABSTRACT
This paper addresses the formation of gender identity through the presence of female
deities and related mythology. Using the theory developed by Luce Irigaray in “Divine
Women”, it proposes that women need a religious mythology that includes complex
females in order to create a whole self and to build a healthy society. In order to
demonstrate an example of this theory, the paper examines the way that divine women
are created in the stories of Santeria as well as how through ritual, female (and male)
practitioners gain a better sense of self; they are able to become divine women through
their human characteristics, are able to heal through an enhanced intimacy with the
deities and through a deeper connection to their selves, their bodies and their
environment