Botanicas: Yoruban Supply Shops

Many of the Yoruban religions, especially Voodoo, require a large supply of various herbs, many of which are not native to Louisiana or even the Americas. So how would a practitioner go about acquiring these herbs and other supplies? The answer to that is specialty shops that focus on serving the needs of voodoo priests and practitioners. Due to the high commercialization of voodoo, these shops are known in Louisiana as voodoo shops and also cater to tourists. In New York and Miami, where Yoruban religions are practiced by a good number of people but not as commercialized, these shops are known as botánicas. They are almost always run by priests and priestesses of the religions and the herbs that they sell are partly used for rituals, and partly used for medicine. They also serve as small hubs of religious culture where members of Santería and Voodoo can network. Shops run by priests and priestesses also offer important services for practitioners such as consultations.