Indigenous peoples: religions Books

Book SynopsisThe result of sixteen years of research in Talmudic, gnostic, cabalistic, apocalyptic, patristic, and legendary texts, the classic reference work on angels is beautifully illustrated and its reissue coincides with the resurgence of belief in angels in America. Simultaneous.

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Book SynopsisPresents the story of the Oglala Lakota visionary and healer Nicholas Black Elk (1863–1950) and his people during momentous twilight years of the nineteenth century. It offers readers much more than a precious glimpse of a vanished time. Black Elk’s searing visions of the unity of humanity and Earth, conveyed by John G. Neihardt, have made this book a classic that crosses multiple genres.Trade Review“Black Elk Speaks is an extraordinarily human document—and beyond that the record of a profoundly spiritual journey, the pilgrimage of a people toward their historical fulfillment and culmination, toward the accomplishment of a worthy destiny.”—N. Scott Momaday “An American classic.”—Western Historical Quarterly “If any great religious classic has emerged in [the twentieth] century or on this continent, it must certainly be judged in the company of Black Elk Speaks.”—from Vine Deloria Jr.’s foreword Table of ContentsMaps Foreword Preface to the 1932 Edition Preface to the 1961 Edition Preface to the 1972 Edition Introduction by Philip J. Deloria National and International Honors Received by John G. Neihardt Black Elk Speaks1. The Offering of the Pipe 2. Early Boyhood 3. The Great Vision 4. The Bison Hunt 5. At the Soldiers’ Town 6. High Horse’s Courting 7. Wasichus in the Hills 8. The Fight with Three Stars 9. The Rubbing Out of Long Hair 10. Walking the Black Road 11. The Killing of Crazy Horse 12. Grandmother’s Land 13. The Compelling Fear 14. The Horse Dance 15. The Dog Vision 16. Heyoka Ceremony 17. The First Cure 18. The Powers of the Bison and the Elk 19. Across the Big Water 20. The Spirit Journey 21. The Messiah 22. Visions of the Other World 23. Bad Trouble Coming 24. The Butchering at Wounded Knee 25. The End of the Dream 26. Author’s Postscript Appendixes1. Gallery of Photographs 2. Gallery of the Drawings by Standing Bear, Black Elk’s Friend 3. Transcript of Letter from John G. Neihardt to Nick Black Elk, November 6, 1930 4. Transcript of Letter from John G. Neihardt to Julius House, August 10, 1930 5. “A Great Indian Poet” from Of Making Many Books, June 20, 1931 6. “John G. Neihardt and Nicholas Black Elk” by Raymond J. DeMallie 7. “John G. Neihardt beyond Black Elk” by Alexis N. Petri8. “Neihardt and Black Elk” by Lori Utecht 9. Comparison of the Transcript and Draft of “Origin of the Peace Pipe” 10. Lakota Words Used in the Text Notes References Index

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Book SynopsisWork with your shadows from a shamanistic point of view with Granddaughter Crow''s four-step system. Organized by the four cardinal directions and the animal guides associated with each one?raven, snake, owl, and wolf?this book helps you find the beauty within your shadow without fear or shame. Each of the four main chapters features a variety of ways to explore each direction and animal through guided meditation and trance work. Discover stories, exercises, and journal prompts that enhance your journey. Delve into the shadow medicine wheel; study how the time of day, season, and landscape impact your experiences; and use tools that become extensions of yourself. Granddaughter Crow provides everything you need to approach, recognize, understand, and accept your shadow.

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Book SynopsisNative American Religions: Teaching and Learning on Stolen Land is an introduction to the religious life of Native American people in North America. Weaving together historical, ethnographic, theoretical, and legal materials, the book focuses on how religion is politicized in North America in the Native American context. Noting that no Native language actually has a word translatable to âœreligion,â as the sacred and the secular are not separate spheres in Native traditions, and that religion is a colonial construct, the book adopts theories and methods from Native American and Indigenous studies to understand Native American and Indigenous religious traditions.Written with the student in mind, this cutting-edge volume brings together 17 Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars of various career stages to offer a theoretical framework through which to think about the role of religion in US-Native relations alongside real world case studies. This book introduces students to the histories of Native American peoples, including discussion of Indigenous intellectual traditions, Indigenous sovereignty movements, and practices such as cultural appropriation and land acknowledgement, to make the case that Native American religions are a political phenomenon. With student-friendly pedagogy throughout, including discussion questions and âœfurther resourcesâ lists, it is a must-read for all students and teachers of Native American Religions, Religion in America, or Indigenous Studies.

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewA collection of ten of the most brilliant and important essays on ritual yet written. These papers by Victor Turner... are all seminal and distinguished. * American Anthropologist *

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Book SynopsisA reissue of a much-loved classic, from one of America's most celebrated novelists, winner of the prestigious National Book Award for Fiction in 2012.Seeking direction and enlightenment, Lipsha Morrissey, a charismatic young drifter, answers his grandmother's summons to return to his birthplace. As he tries to settle into a challenging new job on the reservation, he falls passionately in love for the first time. But the object of his desire, the beautiful Shawnee Ray, is in the midst of deciding whether to marry his boss, the wealthy reservation entrepreneur, Lyman Lamartine.Matters are further complicated when Lipsha discovers that Lyman is his rival in more ways than one. In league with an influential group of aggressive businessmen, Lyman has chosen to open a gambling complex on reservation land a development which threatens to destroy the community's fundamental links with the pastTrade Review‘Louise Erdrich is the most interesting American novelist to have appeared in years.' Philip Roth ‘Erdrich’s prose has a compelling pulse to it. It is fluent and seductive, with the vigour and erotic potency of good rock music.’ Sunday Times 'Beautiful … ‘The Bingo Palace’ shows us a place where love, fate and chance are woven together like a braid.' New York Times ‘In its empathy, its poetry and its sheer narrative power, 'The Bingo Palace' confirms Erdrich as one of the greatest composers writing today.’ Independent on Sunday 'The power of Louise Erdrich's writing lies in the clear access she has to her characters' thoughts and feelings, and her ability to translate those feelings into words that are both poetic and unforced. ‘The Bingo Palace’ is a beautiful novel, mysterious and revelatory, from a powerful American voice.' Erica Wagner, The Times

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Book SynopsisFocusing on three diverse indigenous traditions, Native American Religious Traditions highlights the distinct oral traditions and ceremonial practices; the impact of colonialism on religious life; and the ways in which indigenous communities of North America have responded, and continue to respond, to colonialism and Euroamerican cultural hegemony.

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Book SynopsisGathering a wide range of traditional African myths, this compelling new collection offers tales of heroes battling mighty serpents and monstrous birds, brutal family conflict and vengeance, and desperate migrations across vast and alien lands. From impassioned descriptions of animal-creators to dramatic stories of communities forced to flee monstrous crocodiles, all the narratives found here concern origins—whether of the universe, peoples or families. Together, they create a kaleidoscopic picture of the rich and varied oral traditions that have shaped the culture and society of successive generations of Africans for thousands of years, throughout the long struggle to survive and explore this massive and environmentally diverse continent.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout historTable of ContentsAfrican Myths of OriginIntroductionA Note on the TextList of MapsPart I. Some General ThemesStories About Hunters1. The San Peoples of Southern Africa2. Pygmies of The Central African Forests3. The Songhay Hunters of the Niger River4. The Origin of Hunters' Associations: Sanen and Kontron of the Manden5. How Hunters Learned about Magic6. The Animal Bride I: The Changed Skin7. The Animal Bride II: SirankomiThe Cattle-Herders8. Khoi-Khoi Cattle Stories9. Fulbe Stories of Cattle10. The Maasai of East Africa11. The Great Lakes I: The Origin of Cattle (Rwanda)12. The Great Lakes II: The Story of Wamara (BaHaya)13. The Chagga of East Africa: MurileTricksters14. Uthlakanyana, the Zulu Child Trickster15. Stories of Moni-Mambu of the BaKongo16. Ture, the Zande Trickster17. Eshu of the Yoruba18. Legba of the Fon19. Ananse the Spider, of the AshantiPart II. Stories of Kingdoms and PeoplesAncient Africa20. Egyptian Stories21. EthiopiaPeoples of the Upper Nile and East Africa22. The Oromo of Southern Ethiopia23. The Shilluk of Southern Sudan24. The Luo of Sudan and Uganda25. The Gikuyu of Kenya26. The Swahili of the CoastKingdoms of the Great Lakes27. The Kingdom of Bunyoro28. The Kingdom of Buganda29. The Kingdom of Rwanda30. The Kingdom of BurundiCentral East Africa31. Nsong'a Lianja, Hero of the Mongo32. The Kuba Kingdom of the Bushoong: Mboom and Woot33. The First Kings of the Luba34. The Kingdoms of the Lunda35. The Bemba of ZambiaThe Peoples of Southern Africa36. The Shona of Zimbabwe37. The Nguni Peoples of Southern Africa: Zulu, Xhosa, Swazi38. The Khoi-Khoi: Stories of Heitsi-EibibThe Central Atlantic39. The Yaka of the Kwango River40. The Kingdom of Kongo41. The Fang of Gabon and Cameroon42. Jeki la Njambe of the Duala43. The Bamun Kingdom of CameroonFrom the Forest to the Niger44. The Igbo45. The Kingdom of the Nupe: Tsoede46. The Jukun Kingdom of the Kororofa47. The Bachana and Bata of the Upper BenueThe Peoples of the Coast48. The City of Benin49. The Yoruba of South-western Nigeria50. Borgu and the Legend of Kisra51. The Fon and the Kingdom of Dahomey52. The Akan-Ashanti and the Baule of the ForestThe Mossi Plateau53. The Founding of Gonja54. A Dagomba Hero55. The Mossi of Burkina Faso56. The Dogon of the Bandiagara EscarpmentLake Chad and the Central Sudan57. The Sara and Sow of Lake Chad58. The Kingdom of Bagirmi59. The Kingdoms of Kanem and Bornu60. The HausaThe Kingdoms of the Western Sudan61. The Songhay Peoples of the Middle Niger62. The City of Djenne63. The Soninke64. The Maninka and the Empire of Mali65. The Bamana of the Middle NigerThe Peoples of Senegambia66. The Mandinka of Senegambia67. The Sereer of Senegal68. Njaajaan Njaay and the Wolof69. The Futa Tooro70. Malick Sy and Bondu71. The Tuareg of the SaharaSources and Further ReadingIndex

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"This is in short an extraordinary book, a corrective for anyone who Orientalizes shamanic ritual." * European Journal of Korean Studies *"[A]n interesting encounter with popular religion in the changing circumstances of Cheju." * Journal of Asian Studies *"[A] welcome contribution to an arena that has long needed to study monetary transactions in ritual." * Asian Ethnology *"[T]he book is inspiring and innovative in terms of the deep and detailed analysis of the multiple meanings of reciprocity in the context of shamanistic rituals." * Acta Koreana *"An insightful and valuable contribution to the study of Korean shamanism, it should find a place on the shelf of anyone who wants to have a better and more complete understanding of this living tradition." * Journal of American Folklore *"[C]learly one of the best books on musok out there." * Religious Studies Review *

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Book SynopsisWhite Eagle''s teaching gives insights into the entire angelic kingdom, from the guardian angels who trigger the miracles in our lives to the great beings who are masters of the rays of creation. He speaks of the angels of creativity with whom we may work, and the angels operating in the rhythms of nature with whom we may find harmony.This book can enhance the life of any reader who learns through it to walk a path of co-operation and creativity with the angels.

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Book SynopsisGoes beyond the stereotypes to restore Vodou to its proper place as a powerful shamanic tradition• Provides practical exercises and techniques from the Vodou tradition that can be used as safe and effective means of spiritual healing and personal transformation• Shows how to remove evil spirits and negative energies sent by others• Written by a fully initiated Houngan (Vodou shaman)Providing practical exercises drawn from all aspects and stages of the Vodou tradition, Vodou Shaman shows readers how to contact the spirit world and communicate with the loa (the angel-like inhabitants of the Other World), the ghede (the spirits of the ancestors), and djabs (nature spirits for healing purposes). The author examines soul journeying and warrior-path work in the Vodou tradition and looks at the psychological principles that make them effective. The book also includes exercises to protect the spiritual self by empowering the soul, with techniques of soul retrieval, removing evil spirits and negative energies, overcoming curses, and using the powers of herbs and magical baths.

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Book SynopsisA ceremonial journey to reconnect with the essence of indigenous spirituality and awaken to its beauty, power and potential in contemporary society.In this book, Apela Colorado, the inspirational authority on indigenous wisdom, shares her lifelong journey of connecting with the essence of indigenous spirituality and culture. From China to Alaska, Benin to France, Apela recounts her passionate work to communicate, conserve, and celebrate sacred indigenous ways, all while reawakening to the wisdom of her Native American and French Gaul ancestors and reclaiming her own truth, healing, and story.With gentle grace and generous insight, this book lovingly teaches us to honor the power, beauty, and potential of indigenous wisdom, and explores how it continues to resonate in modern life. Apela's experiences form a ceremony of remembrance and renewal, a spiritual guide to help you reconnect to the wisdom of your ancestors, apply sacred ways of knowing and being to your life, and reclaim your own Creation Story.

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Book SynopsisAnimism' is now an important term for describing ways in which some people understand and engage respectfully with the larger-than-human world. Its central theme is our relationship with our other-than-human neighbours, such as animals, plants, rocks, and kettles, rooted in the understanding that the term 'person' includes more than humans. Graham Harvey explores the animist cultures of Native Americans, Maori, Aboriginal Australians and eco-Pagans, introducing their diversity and considering the linguistic, performative, ecological and activist implications of these different animisms.Trade ReviewThe strengths of this book are its fluid and engaging [...] writing, its openly committed stand on the central question, i.e., whether or not animals, plants, rivers, etc. are persons; and its use of major ethnographic sources as evidence, together with conversations with indigenous peoples. -- Professor Stewart Guthrie, Fordham UniversityHarvey's insightful and balanced study challenges both earlier studies of animism and more recent critics who argue that scholars should throw out the term altogether. This is a fascinating and passionate study of lifeworlds in which things are 'very much alive' and in which relation to non-human others is considered central. -- Sarah M. Pike, California State University, Chico, author of Earthly Bodies, Magical Selves: Contemporary Pagans and the Search for Community

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Book SynopsisAn updated introduction to the religions developed in the Caribbean regionCreole Religions of the Caribbean offers a comprehensive introduction to the overlapping religions that have developed as a result of the creolization process. Caribbean peoples drew on the variants of Christianity brought by European colonizers, as well as on African religious and healing traditions and the remnants of Amerindian practices, to fashion new systems of belief. From Vodou, Santería, Regla de Palo, the Abakuá Secret Society, and Obeah to Quimbois and Espiritismo, the volume traces the historicalcultural origins of the major Creole religions, as well as the newer traditions such as Rastafari. This third edition updates the scholarship by featuring new critical approaches that have been brought to bear on the study of religion, such as queer studies, environmental studies, and diasporic studies. The third edition also expands the regional considerations of the diaspora to the US Latinx communities thTrade ReviewCreole Religions of the Caribbean approaches readers as if they were out-of-town guests at a dinner party, thoroughly acquainting them with the topics of conversation and encouraging them to mingle among the liveliest characters. -- The Journal of ReligionBravo! A well-written text that de-mystifies Creole spiritual practices and places them in historical perspective . . . a major contribution. -- Multicultural ReviewProvides a unique sociocultural, historical and political analysis of Caribbean religion. -- Centro JournalOffers an excellent . . . multidisciplinary introduction to the scholarship in this area of study. -- New West Indian Guide

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Book SynopsisSince the early-modern encounter between African and European merchants on the Guinea Coast, European social critics have invoked African gods as metaphors for misplaced value and agency, using the term “fetishism” chiefly to assert the irrationality of their fellow Europeans. Yet, as J. Lorand Matory demonstrates in The Fetish Revisited, Afro-Atlantic gods have a materially embodied social logic of their own, which is no less rational than the social theories of Marx and Freud. Drawing on thirty-six years of fieldwork in Africa, Europe, and the Americas, Matory casts an Afro-Atlantic eye on European theory to show how Marx’s and Freud’s conceptions of the fetish both illuminate and misrepresent Africa’s human-made gods. Through this analysis, the priests, practices, and spirited things of four major Afro-Atlantic religions simultaneously call attention to the culture-specific, materially conditioned, physically embodied, and indeed fetishisticTrade Review"J. L. Matory provides a critical and provocative account of how the concept of the fetish has been appropriated and used as a key concept in the writings of Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud. The work is especially strong in demonstrating the fantastical appropriations of the idea of the fetish, plucked from the complex and rich contexts of meaning and agency in transatlantic black religion. . . . . A fascinating, readable, and wandering book. . . . Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty." -- G. E. Marcus * Choice *"Matory’s The Fetish Revisited is a masterful work, stunning in its erudition, ambitious argument, and prodigious ethnographic detail." -- Laura S. Grillo * Journal of the American Academy of Religion *"The Fetish Revisited is an important book and a pleasure to read." -- Steven Engler * Studies in Religion *"... [Matory] offers important insights into the Afro-Atlantic origins and makings of fetishes and into the unequal relations they comprise. One of the great merits of this book is that it takes Afro-Atlantic things, practices, and voices as theory and not merely as something to be described and analyzed." -- Benedikt Pontzen * Anthropos *"Matory's The Fetish Revisited is a well-researched and provocative work that combines academic research with a deep intellectual reflection in a work mainly directed to the disciples of Freud and Marx, but amazingly insightful into the fields of religious studies, anthropology, ethnology and meta-theory." -- Cyril-Mary Pius Olatunji and Fracis Kayode Fabidun * Marx and Philosophy Review of Books *Table of ContentsA Note on Orthography ix Preface xi Introduction 1 Part I. The Factory, the Coat, the Piano, and the "Negro Slave": On the Afro-Atlantic Sources of Marx's Fetish 41 1. The Afro-Atlantic Context of Historical Materialism 45 2. The "Negro-Slave" in Marx's Labor Theory of Value 60 3. Marx's Fetishization of People and Things 78 Conclusion to Part I 91 Part II. The Acropolis, the Couch, the Fur Hat, and the "Savage": On Freud's Ambivalent Fetish 97 4. The Fetishes That Assimilated Jewish Men Make 103 5. The Fetish as an Architecture of Solidarity and Conflict 117 6. The Castrator and the Castrated in the Fetishes of Psychoanalysis 145 Conclusion to Part II 165 Part III. Pots, Packets, Beads, and Foreigners: The Making and the Meaning of the Real-Life "Fetish" 171 7. The Contrary Ontologies of Two Revolutions 175 8. Commodities and Gods 191 9. The Madeness of Gods and Other People 249 Conclusion to Part III 285 Conclusion. Eshu's Hat, or An Afro-Atlantic Theory of Theory 289 Acknowledgments 325 Notes 331 References 339 Index 349

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Book SynopsisThis lively and learned book traces the history of the concept of evil and its personification as the Devil from ancient times to the period of the New Testament and across cultures and civilizations.Trade ReviewAll readers... will be enriched and stimulated by this honestly presented biography of the Evil One. The Devil, in religious myth, personal vision, and mystical reality, offers invaluable material for reflection and meditation. * Studia Mystica *Russell is not only a conscientious historian, anxious to examine in texts, myths, legends, art and literature the persistence and transformation of a particular idea. He is also an introspective essayist who acknowledges his own continuing struggle to understand the nature and source of evil. -- Robert Coles * New York Times Book Review *This fascinating story of 'the Devil' explores the concept and personification of evil (defined as 'the infliction of pain on sentient beings') from its ancient beginnings into New Testament times. * Seventeenth Century News *This is a serious work by a first-rate medievalist who has turned his eyes to antiquity in order to elucidate the sources of man's experience of the evil one. The result is scholarly, readable, and comprehensive.... Russell's notations are copious and impressive, attesting to the vast amount of research that has gone into this study. The text is richly illustrated with some fifty well-chosen plates.... An exceptionally lucid study and a major contribution to the field. * Review of Books and Religion *Table of ContentsPreface1. The Question of Evil2. In Search of the Devil3. The Devil East and West4. Evil in the Classical World5. Hebrew Personifications of Evil6. The Devil in the New Testament7. The Face of the DevilSelected BibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisAddresses broader issues such as power relations within Caribbean slavery, multiculturalism, and the forms of religious accommodation to cultural change. This book examines the religion's transatlantic route through Cuban Santeria, Puerto Rican Espiritismo, and Black Nationalism.Table of ContentsAcknowledgments I. Introduction THE PROCESSUAL FRAMEWORK PHASES OF RELIGIOUS DEVELOPMENT CONTINUITY AND CHANGE II. Africa THE OLD RELIGION THREE BROTHERS QUARREL, AND THEIR HOMES ARE INVADED BY STRANGERS III.Cuba: Pre-Santeria and Early Santeria (1492-1870) THE CONQUEST CULTURE THE CATHOLIC RELIGION THE SUGAR BOOM AND EXPANSION OF SLAVERY LUCUMI ETHNICITY SYNCRETISM OF AFRICAN AND EUROPEAN RELIGIONS TRANSFORMATION OF THE OLD RELIGION IV. Cuba: Santeria (1870-1959) AN ECONOMIC TRANSITION THE SUPPRESSION OF THE CABILDOS ESPIRITISMO AFRO-CUBANISM THE AMBIVALENCE OF REPRESSION AND RESISTANCE CUBAN POSTSCRIPT V. Santeria in the United States (1959-1982) SPIRITS IN EXILE NEW FORMS IN NEW YORK VI. Continuity and Change PROBLEMS OF COLLECTIVE MEMORY PROBLEMS OF SYNCRETISM Bibliography Index Illustrations follow page 31 and page 120

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Book SynopsisReligion, Culture and Spirituality in Africa and the African Diaspora explores the ways in which religious ideas and beliefs continue to play a crucial role in the lives of people of African descent. The chapters in this volume use historical and contemporary examples to show how people of African descent develop and engage with spiritual rituals, organizations and practices to make sense of their lives, challenge injustices and creatively express their spiritual imaginings. This book poses and answers the following critical questions: To what extent are ideas of spirituality emanating from Africa and the diaspora still influenced by an African aesthetic? What impact has globalisation had on spiritual and cultural identities of peoples on African descendant peoples? And what is the utility of the practices and social organizations that house African spiritual expression in tackling social, political cultural and economic inequities? The essays in this volumTable of Contents1 Introduction: Mapping Religious Expressions and Spirituality of African Descendant Communities, William Ackah; Section 1: Religious Expressions, Traditions and Identities; 2 Church Women’s Legacy of Power: Case of U.S. African Methodist Episcopal Church, Jualynne E. Dodson; 3 Blacksmith’s Razor and the Vulture’s Head: African Spirituality and the Emancipation of Africa, Kofi Asare Opoku; 4 A Tale of Two Worlds: An Early Nineteenth Century Encounter between the Akan and the Danes and The Rise of Protestantism in West Africa, Ebenezer Ayesu; 5 The Resurgence of the Presbyterian and Anglican Missions in Calabar, Ekwutosi Essien Offiong; 6 Pain and the Black Garment: Pastoral Responses to African Widowhood, Elijah Baloyi; 7 An Act of Theological Negritude: Kwame Bediako on African Christian Identity, Tim Hartmann; Section 2: Arts, Aesthetics and Culture; 8 From Selma to Ferguson: Embodied Performance, Social Change and Political Organizing within the United States, Joy R. Bostic; 9 Sounds of Blackness? Struggles for Freedom in 21st Century Congregational Songs in South London, Pauline E. Muir; 10 The Cornel West Theory: prophetic criticism and the cultural production of hip hop, Michael Brandon McCormack; 11 Politically Freed Yet Mentally Enslaved! Reflecting on Psalm 8 by way of Steve Biko’s Notion of Black Beauty, Madipoane Masenya (Ngwan’a Mphahlele); 12 Rape, Rage and Culture: African Men’s Indigenous Knowledge and Resolutions to the Rape Crisis, Baba Amani Olubanjo Buntu; 13 Responding to Black Youth Invisibility: The Black Church Nurturing the Artist Within, Sarah Farmer; 14 Mariama Ba’s So Long a Letter and the Educational Empowerment of Muslim Women, Rizwana Latha

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Book SynopsisSacred Places in the Arctic and Beyond brings together indigenous and non-indigenous scholars, rightsholders, and practitioners to explore the status and management of sacred places, which are important as both tangible and intangible cultural heritage. It acknowledges the critical functions and roles that sacred places play in connection with local people, traditions, beliefs, and practices, as identity markers, places of cultural transmission and memory, and locations that support ecosystems and biodiversity.Four chapters present case studies from the Arctic, and four more widen the geographical coverage to North America, South America, Africa and Europe, each describing the cultural contexts and Indigenous cosmologies of sacred places in their respective regions. The studies raise issues of access to sacred places, destruction and disruption caused by extractive industries and tourism, and implications of these challenges for their management. The book concludes with three chapters that call for policy reappraisals. They address the problem of how Western-orientated discourses and organisational structures frame legislation about, and management of, sacred places in ways which are seldom compatible with how Indigenous people understand these places and engage with them. Major themes from the case studies are integrated with ideas from cultural ecology and legal pluralism into a framework to inform future policy.

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Book SynopsisThis volume by a Cherokee teacher, former pastor, missiologist, and historian brings Indigenous theology into conversation with Western approaches to history and theology. Written in an accessible, conversational style that incorporates numerous stories and questions, this book exposes the weaknesses of a Western worldview through a personal engagement with Indigenous theology. Randy Woodley critiques the worldview that undergirds the North American church by dismantling assumptions regarding early North American histories and civilizations, offering a comparative analysis of worldviews, and demonstrating a decolonized approach to Christian theology. Woodley explains that Western theology has settled for a particular view of God and has perpetuated that basic view for hundreds of years, but Indigenous theology originates from a completely different DNA. Instead of beginning with God-created humanity, it begins with God-created place. Instead of emphasizing individualism, it emphasizes a corporateness that encompasses the whole community of creation. And instead of being about the next world, it is about the tangibility of our lived experiences in this present world. The book encourages readers to reject the many problematic aspects of the Western worldview and to convert to a worldview that is closer to that of both Indigenous traditions and Jesus.Table of ContentsContentsIntroduction1. The Myths of History and Progressive CivilizationsQuestion and Response2. Comparing Western and Indigenous WorldviewsQuestion and Response3. Decolonizing Western, Christian TheologyQuestion and ResponseClosing InterviewIndex

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Book SynopsisFrom Indigenous scholar Yuria Celidwen comes a first-of-its-kind book about our aspiration for sustainable, collective flourishing through Indigenous wisdom, traditions, and practices that bridge Indigenous and Western knowledges and ways.How do we cultivate happiness? When facing the monumental challenges of our world, we often end up disconnecting in order to focus on our mental health. Dr. Yuria Celidwen explains this focus on our own state of mind alone is precisely why so many of us struggle to flourish. What's been overlooked is the Indigenous perspective of relationality, she says. It is the understanding that happiness is only possible in community, when we cultivate our relationships toward all kin, from human to more-than-human, and to our living Earth.Dr. Celidwen's research shows the tremendous benefit of integrating Indigenous approaches into our approach to well-being, while recognizing the gains made by Western positive psychology, mindfulness,

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Book SynopsisReligious and spiritual writings have always made reference to beings from the spiritual hierarchies, especially those known in Christian tradition as Angels. These spirits are the closest to human beings and act as our invisible guides and companions. They influence the life of the individual as well as the evolution of humanity and the cosmos. From his own clairvoyant vision, Rudolf Steiner confirmed the existence of such spiritual beings and showed how modern minds could gain access to their world. As he explains in these inspiring lectures, it is important for us to understand and cooperate with the work of the Angels today as this is crucial for the further development of humanity.

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Book SynopsisThis study reveals an unorganized and previously unacknowledged religion at the heart of American culture. Nature, Albanese argues, has provided a compelling religious center throughout American history.

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Book SynopsisOver a lifetime of studying Cuban Santeria and other religions related to Orisha worship - a practice also found among the Yoruba in West Africa. This title provides an analysis of these assumptions, in the process offering an incisive critique both of the anthropology of religion and of scholarship on the cultural history of Afro-Atlantic World.Trade Review"The Cooking of History is an extraordinary contribution to the study of Africa and its New World diaspora, the most important book published in this field during recent decades. Stephan Palmie shows the possibilities of a historical anthropology not derived from or contingent on the originary program of Melville Herskovits. The work accounts for the increasing complexity of the African diaspora and its increasing pertinence - or perhaps I should say impertinence - in the ways anthropologists and historians study and represent the world." (David William Cohen, University of Michigan)"

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Book SynopsisValeri presents an overview of Hawaiian religious culture, in which hierarchies of social beings and their actions are mirrored by the cosmological hierarchy of the gods. As the sacrifice is performed, the worshipper is incorporated into the god of his class. Thus he draws on divine power to sustain the social order of which his action is a part, and in which his own place is determined by the degree of his resemblance to his god. The key to Hawaiian societyand a central focus for Valeriis the complex and encompassing sacrificial ritual that is the responsibility of the king, for it displays in concrete actions all the concepts of pre-Western Hawaiian society. By interpreting and understanding this ritual cycle, Valeri contends, we can interpret all of Hawaiian religious culture.

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Book SynopsisAccording to the people of the Mueda plateau in northern Mozambique, sorcerers remake the world by asserting the authority of their own imaginative visions of it. This work explores the issues provoked by this equation. A key theme of the author's research into sorcery is that one sorcerer's claims can be challenged or reversed by other sorcerers.Trade Review"At its core, this very significant book is a meditation on how to understand discourses on and around sorcery on the Mueda plateau in Mozambique. Here, Harry West is concerned with the question of how Muedans use sorcery discourse, both 'to speak about the world and to act within it.' I found this book consistently fascinating, subtle, and deeply grounded in local understandings of a complex and ambiguous world and in anthropological theory." - Donald Brenneis, University of California, Santa Cruz"

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Book SynopsisThis book is a groundbreaking account of Rastafari, demonstrating that it provides a normative conception of Blackness for people of African descent that resists Eurocentric and colonial ideas.Trade ReviewFor anyone wishing to understand the complexities of how Rastafari came about…this book is an essential read. * Ethnic and Racial Studies *Vivaldi Jean-Marie's extraordinary study of Rastafari has the virtues of historically situating the movement while articulating its philosophical dimensions without fetish but with the virtue and respect of critique. Rastafari Cosmology, Culture, and Consciousness is a must read not only for anyone interested in Rastafari and the complex history of Jamaican struggles for freedom that led to its emergence but also for all interested in the contradictions and humanity of communities struggling for liberation. -- Lewis R. Gordon, author of Fear of Black ConsciousnessThis is a highly engaging work of intellectual history that illuminates the origins, originality and future of the Afrocentric thought of the Rastafarians of Jamaica. Moving deftly through earlier expressions of intellectual and cultural resistance—the Maroons, Myalism, Obeah, Revivalism, and Garveyism—Jean-Marie's account is both comprehensive and highly revealing. Written with great clarity, it is a must for scholars of Caribbean religious and philosophical thought. -- Paget Henry, author of Caliban’s Reason: Introducing Afro-Caribbean PhilosophyAn Ethos of Blackness takes a unique approach to the social and religious history of Rastafari, showing how the practice identifies, advances, and meets the ideals of Blackness broadly while remaining rooted within Jamaican society. Jean-Marie reevaluates Rastafari in its development and practice within the framework of cosmology to explain its origin, evolution, and, to some extent, its future. -- Iyabo Osiapem, William & MaryTable of ContentsPreface1. Resistance to British Colonialism and the Rise of Two Forms of Subjectivity in “Yamaye”2. The Genealogy of Rastafari Cosmology and Its Distinctive Ethos of Blackness3. Rastafari Cosmology, Natural Artifacts, and the Ethos of Blackness4. Rastafari’s Theology of Blackness: A Eurocentric God Cannot Love Africans and People of African Descent5. Rastafari I-Talk and Black Consciousness6. The Limit of Rastafari Cosmology: Gender Inequality and the Failure to Liberate Rasta WomenNotesBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisThis book is a groundbreaking account of Rastafari, demonstrating that it provides a normative conception of Blackness for people of African descent that resists Eurocentric and colonial ideas.Trade ReviewFor anyone wishing to understand the complexities of how Rastafari came about…this book is an essential read. * Ethnic and Racial Studies *Vivaldi Jean-Marie's extraordinary study of Rastafari has the virtues of historically situating the movement while articulating its philosophical dimensions without fetish but with the virtue and respect of critique. Rastafari Cosmology, Culture, and Consciousness is a must read not only for anyone interested in Rastafari and the complex history of Jamaican struggles for freedom that led to its emergence but also for all interested in the contradictions and humanity of communities struggling for liberation. -- Lewis R. Gordon, author of Fear of Black ConsciousnessThis is a highly engaging work of intellectual history that illuminates the origins, originality and future of the Afrocentric thought of the Rastafarians of Jamaica. Moving deftly through earlier expressions of intellectual and cultural resistance—the Maroons, Myalism, Obeah, Revivalism, and Garveyism—Jean-Marie's account is both comprehensive and highly revealing. Written with great clarity, it is a must for scholars of Caribbean religious and philosophical thought. -- Paget Henry, author of Caliban’s Reason: Introducing Afro-Caribbean PhilosophyAn Ethos of Blackness takes a unique approach to the social and religious history of Rastafari, showing how the practice identifies, advances, and meets the ideals of Blackness broadly while remaining rooted within Jamaican society. Jean-Marie reevaluates Rastafari in its development and practice within the framework of cosmology to explain its origin, evolution, and, to some extent, its future. -- Iyabo Osiapem, William & MaryTable of ContentsPreface1. Resistance to British Colonialism and the Rise of Two Forms of Subjectivity in “Yamaye”2. The Genealogy of Rastafari Cosmology and Its Distinctive Ethos of Blackness3. Rastafari Cosmology, Natural Artifacts, and the Ethos of Blackness4. Rastafari’s Theology of Blackness: A Eurocentric God Cannot Love Africans and People of African Descent5. Rastafari I-Talk and Black Consciousness6. The Limit of Rastafari Cosmology: Gender Inequality and the Failure to Liberate Rasta WomenNotesBibliographyIndex

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Trade Review"I for one am glad he combined scholarship and chutzpah." -- Martin E. Marty. "The book's most immediate contribution is the lucid and rather graceful way that enormously complex notions, such as culture, symbol, modernization, religion, and, of course, popular religion, are unfolded in the American historical context." -- Journal of the Church and State

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Book SynopsisA bold new reconsideration of Hoodoo belief and practiceTrade Review"Mojo Workin' is a key contribution to the study of Hoodoo in America, with some energizing new ideas about its origins, early expression, and broader religious aspects."--Journal of American Folklore"Hazzard-Donald set out to demonstrate the need to include African American Hoodoo in the study of African American religion in the New World. The search she presents in her work clearly validates the belief that there is a strong connection between African American Hoodoo and African American religion. . . . The author provides a great deal of research and analysis that is sure to aid scholars, students, and enthusiasts."--Journal of Folklore Research "Hazzard-Donald's formulation of Hoodoo's evolution represents a new chronology for its study and transformation over time. It's a valuable contribution to the growing number of volumes concerned with African-based traditional spiritual beliefs in the New World."--American Studies"A powerful reinterpretation of African American Hoodoo. This comprehensive volume will be an important tool for anyone interested in African American folk belief and the supernatural."--Jerrilyn McGregory, author of Downhome Gospel: African American Spiritual Activism in Wiregrass Country"This tradition has been little studied especially within the fields of religious studies. Instead it has been left to anthropologists, sociologists, and certain popular cultural reports to present what have been incomplete and often offensive materials. This work has done an exemplary job of correcting that lacuna… A significant contribution to the literature of African-based traditions in the United States." --Religious Studies Review"The book presents possibilities for reassessing some misunderstood aspects of the African American religious experience. It is with a profound respect for Hoodoo as a living practice that Hazzard-Donald brings a kind of moral authority to her scholarship. In so doing she also distills many of the polarizing dynamics present in Hoodoo-Conjure communities today."--Nova Religio

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewIfá Divination, Knowledge, Power, and Performance provides an invaluable glimpse into the richness of indigenous African spiritualities, even when they are transmitted into new geo-cultural environments as African-derived religiosities. . . . This book is a must read. * Reading Religion *Ifá Divination, Knowledge, Power, and Performance is a valuable addition to the scholarly literature on Ifá. The essays, with amazing depth and complexity, situate this practice and the religion it represents into a broader global context. * H-AfrArts *This is a rich book with diverse perspectives converging on Ifa divination as a complex knowledge system. It informs readers new to Ifa studies, challenges experts to question their presuppositions, and does all this with multidisciplinary acuity. * Magic, Ritual, and Witchcraft *Table of ContentsForeword / His Royal Highness Oba Okunade Sijuade Olubuse IIPreface / Jacob K. Olupona and Rowland O. AbiodunIntroduction / Jacob K. Olupona and Rowland O. Abiodun with Niyi AfolabiPart I. Ifá Orature: Its Interpretation and Translation1. Ayajo as Ifá in Mythical and Sacred Contexts / Ayo Opefeyitimi2. Continuity and Change in the Verbal, Artistic, Ritualistic, and Performance Traditions of Ifá Divination / Wándé Abímblá3. Recasting Ifá: Historicity and Recursive Recollection in Ifá Divination Texts / Andrew Apter4. Ifá, Knowledge, Performance, the Sacred, and the Medium / Olasope O. Oyelaran5. "Writing" and "Reference" in Ifá / AdeìleìkeÌ AdeìeÌòkoòìPart II. Ifá as Knowledge: Theoretical Questions and Concerns6. Ifá: Sixteen Odù, Sixteen Questions / Barry Hallen7. Kín N'Ifá Wí?: Philosophical Issues in Ifá Divination / Olúfeìòmi Táíwò8. Diviner as Explorer: The Afuwape Paradigm / Rowland O. Abiodun9. "The Hunter Thinks the Monkey Is Not Wise. The Monkey Is Wise, But Has Its Own Logic": Multiple Divination Systems and Multiple Knowledge Systems in Yorùbá Religious Life / Mei-Mei Sanford10. Dagbon, Oyo, Kongo: Critical and Comparative Reflections on Sacrifice / Wyatt MacGaffey11. Ifá: The Quintessential Builder of Our Bank of Images / Akínwùmí Ìsola12. Odù Imole: Islamic Tradition in Ifá and the Yorùbá Religious Imagination / Jacob K. OluponaPart III. Ifá in the Afro-Atlantic13. Ifá Divination as Sacred Compass for Reading Self and World / Velma Love14. Ìtan Odù Òní: Tales of Strivers Today / John Mason15. Orunmila's Faithful Dog: Transmitting Sacred Knowledge in a Lucumí Orisha Tradition / Joseph M. Murphy16. Mofá and the Oba: Translation of Ifá Epistemology in the Afro-Cuban Dilogún / Ysamur M. Flores-Peña17. The Pai-de-santo and the Babaláwo: Religious Interaction and Ritual Rearrangements within Orisha Religion / Stefania Capone18. The Role of Women in the Ifá Priesthood: Inclusion versus Exclusion / M. Ajisebo McElwaine Abimbola19. Transnational Ifá: The "Readings of the Year" and Contemporary Economies of Orisa Knowledge / Kamari Maxine ClarkePart IV. Sacred Art in Ifá20. The Creatures of Ifá / Philip M. Peek21. Of Color, Character, Attributes, and Values of Orunmila / Bolaji Campbell22. Signs, Doors, and Games: Divination's Dynamic Visual Canon / Laura S. Grillo23. Ifá: Visual and Sensorial Aspects / Henry John Drewal24. Art, Culture, and Creativity: The Representation of Ifá in Yorùbá Video Films / Akintunde AkinyemiList of ContributorsIndex

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewIfá Divination, Knowledge, Power, and Performance provides an invaluable glimpse into the richness of indigenous African spiritualities, even when they are transmitted into new geo-cultural environments as African-derived religiosities. . . . This book is a must read. * Reading Religion *Ifá Divination, Knowledge, Power, and Performance is a valuable addition to the scholarly literature on Ifá. The essays, with amazing depth and complexity, situate this practice and the religion it represents into a broader global context. * H-AfrArts *This is a rich book with diverse perspectives converging on Ifa divination as a complex knowledge system. It informs readers new to Ifa studies, challenges experts to question their presuppositions, and does all this with multidisciplinary acuity. * Magic, Ritual, and Witchcraft *Table of ContentsForeword / His Royal Highness Oba Okunade Sijuade Olubuse IIPreface / Jacob K. Olupona and Rowland O. AbiodunIntroduction / Jacob K. Olupona and Rowland O. Abiodun with Niyi AfolabiPart I. Ifá Orature: Its Interpretation and Translation1. Ayajo as Ifá in Mythical and Sacred Contexts / Ayo Opefeyitimi2. Continuity and Change in the Verbal, Artistic, Ritualistic, and Performance Traditions of Ifá Divination / Wándé Abímblá3. Recasting Ifá: Historicity and Recursive Recollection in Ifá Divination Texts / Andrew Apter4. Ifá, Knowledge, Performance, the Sacred, and the Medium / Olasope O. Oyelaran5. "Writing" and "Reference" in Ifá / AdeìleìkeÌ AdeìeÌòkoòìPart II. Ifá as Knowledge: Theoretical Questions and Concerns6. Ifá: Sixteen Odù, Sixteen Questions / Barry Hallen7. Kín N'Ifá Wí?: Philosophical Issues in Ifá Divination / Olúfeìòmi Táíwò8. Diviner as Explorer: The Afuwape Paradigm / Rowland O. Abiodun9. "The Hunter Thinks the Monkey Is Not Wise. The Monkey Is Wise, But Has Its Own Logic": Multiple Divination Systems and Multiple Knowledge Systems in Yorùbá Religious Life / Mei-Mei Sanford10. Dagbon, Oyo, Kongo: Critical and Comparative Reflections on Sacrifice / Wyatt MacGaffey11. Ifá: The Quintessential Builder of Our Bank of Images / Akínwùmí Ìsola12. Odù Imole: Islamic Tradition in Ifá and the Yorùbá Religious Imagination / Jacob K. OluponaPart III. Ifá in the Afro-Atlantic13. Ifá Divination as Sacred Compass for Reading Self and World / Velma Love14. Ìtan Odù Òní: Tales of Strivers Today / John Mason15. Orunmila's Faithful Dog: Transmitting Sacred Knowledge in a Lucumí Orisha Tradition / Joseph M. Murphy16. Mofá and the Oba: Translation of Ifá Epistemology in the Afro-Cuban Dilogún / Ysamur M. Flores-Peña17. The Pai-de-santo and the Babaláwo: Religious Interaction and Ritual Rearrangements within Orisha Religion / Stefania Capone18. The Role of Women in the Ifá Priesthood: Inclusion versus Exclusion / M. Ajisebo McElwaine Abimbola19. Transnational Ifá: The "Readings of the Year" and Contemporary Economies of Orisa Knowledge / Kamari Maxine ClarkePart IV. Sacred Art in Ifá20. The Creatures of Ifá / Philip M. Peek21. Of Color, Character, Attributes, and Values of Orunmila / Bolaji Campbell22. Signs, Doors, and Games: Divination's Dynamic Visual Canon / Laura S. Grillo23. Ifá: Visual and Sensorial Aspects / Henry John Drewal24. Art, Culture, and Creativity: The Representation of Ifá in Yorùbá Video Films / Akintunde AkinyemiList of ContributorsIndex

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Perhaps no religion has been more maligned and misrepresented than Vodu, Vodún, Vaudou, or Voodoo. Spirit Service engages the top scholars of Vodún in the world to capture the diversity and vitality of this quintessential African religion in a single volume, while at the same time offering a timely and vigorous counternarrative and testament to the Black religious imagination in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Americas. Indeed, Spirit Service is a tour de force in scale and scope, examining themes as important as they are riveting—art, performance, ritual, healing, resistance, funerary rights. Each treatment captures a complexity of the whole that is Vodún—highlighting the profound ways in which this religion has continued to adapt, rebuild, and reclaim all that is African religion. A must-read for students of African studies, history, religious studies, anthropology, and performance studies."—Nwando Achebe, Jack and Margaret Sweet Endowed Professor of History, Michigan State University"The religious systems known as Vodu, Vodún, Vaudou, Voodoo, Gorovodu, and more have never been so thoroughly explored, interpreted, interrogated, and esteemed as by the writers of this lavish collection. The fourteen chapters in this volume provide extraordinarily diverse descriptions and narratives that allow readers to understand in abundant detail how Vodún (etc.) is not a single religion, but rather a vast global proliferation of sacred beliefs and practices that are in many ways related to one another, yet significantly different from place to place and through different historical periods. Readers will appreciate not only the diversity of forms and intentions of spirit service, but also that of the writers' relationships to their subjects, their closeness to the rituals or their more scientific distance, their identification (or not) with the community they study, their attention to performance, passion, aesthetics, rapture; and finally to political issues, class and race, state intervention, colonialism and its violence. This collection is an excellent and necessary addition to anthropology, history, and religious studies courses on Haiti, Voodoo in the U.S., African cultures, world religions, religious ritual and performance, art, and more."—Judy Rosenthal, Professor Anthropology Emeritus, University of Michigan, Flint"An impressive overview of Beninese Vodún and Haitian Vodou, this volume explores their various manifestations on both sides of the Atlantic. The essays in this anthology examine Vodún and Vodou's common history, their integration in their respective communities, their encounter with Christianity and Islam, and their remarkable adaptability to various social and economic changes. The Middle Passage and chattel slavery, and of late the migration of Vodún and Vodou to many parts of the world has transformed their sacred traditions to produce a multiverse of symbolic forms and has altered their beliefs and ritual practices. The authors examine the current forms of Vodún and Vodou as well as their continuity and discontinuity with their past. Vital for historians of religion, anthropologists, sociologists, and political scientists, this book is likely to be an authoritative collection of essays and an important resource for scholarly research for years to come."—Leslie G. Desmangles, Professor Religious Studies Emeritus, Trinity CollegeTable of ContentsIntroduction, by Christian Vannier and Timothy R. LandryPart I: Encounter1. Vodou Genesis: Africans and the Making of a National Religion in Saint-Domingue, by Terry Rey2. Universalism and Syncretism in Beninese Vodún, by Douglas J. Falen3. Crossing Currents: Gorovodu and Yewevodu in Contemporary Togo, by Eric James Montgomery4. A Prayer for a Muslim Spirit: Islam in Gorovodu, by Christian Vannier5. Where Have All the Ounsi Gone?, by Karen Richman6. Sailing between Local and Global: Vodou in the Modern and Contemporary Arts of Haiti, by Natacha Giafferi-DombrePart II: Engagement7. Taking Hold of a Faith, by Jeffrey E. Anderson8. The Physic(s)ality of Vodún and the (Mis)behavior of Matter, by Venise N. Adjibodou9. Vodou Skins: Making Bodily Surfaces Social in Haitian Vodou Infant-Care, by Alissa M. Jordan10. Spirited Forests and the West African Forest Complex, by Timothy R. Landry11. Vodou, an Inclusive Epistemology: Towards A Queer Eco-Theology of Liberation, by Nixon Cleophat12. Necroscape and Diaspora: Making Ancestors in Haitian Vodou, by Elizabeth McAlister13. Conclusion: Global Vodún and Vodou: Encounter and Engagement, by Eric James Montgomery and Timothy R. LandryIndex

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Book SynopsisV. S. Naipaul was born in Trinidad in 1932. He came to England on a scholarship in 1950. He spent four years at University College, Oxford, and began to write, in London, in 1954. He pursued no other profession.His novels include A House for Mr Biswas, The Mimic Men, Guerrillas, A Bend in the River, and The Enigma of Arrival. In 1971 he was awarded the Booker Prize for In a Free State. His works of nonfiction, equally acclaimed, include Among the Believers, Beyond Belief, The Masque of Africa, and a trio of books about India: An Area of Darkness, India: A Wounded Civilization and India: A Million Mutinies Now.In 1990, V. S. Naipaul received a knighthood for services to literature; in 1993, he was the first recipient of the David Cohen British Literature Prize. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2001. He lived with his wife Nadira and cat Augustus in Wiltshire, and died in 20Trade ReviewCompelling, insightful, often somberly beautiful. * Sunday Telegraph *Naipaul travels, he asks, he listens attentively and, above all else, he notices, often seeing what others do not or cannot. That acute gift has never left him . . . he is sustained by the old ideal of unadorned truth-telling. * New Statesman *The quality of Naipaul’s writing – simple, concise, engaging – rarely varies . . . Above all, Naipaul’s latest African journey is eyewitness reporting at its best. * Time *

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Book SynopsisPresenting a study of African American healing, this work sheds light on a variety of folk practices and traces their development from the time of slavery through the Great Migrations. Through conversations with black Americans, it demonstrates how herbs, charms, and rituals continue folk healing performances.Trade ReviewAn exploration of the history and practices of black healers and healing illuminating the vital cultural, intellectual, and spiritual expression of a people. This fine multidisciplinary work draws deeply and thoughtfully from the experiences and words of its subjects, offering alternative visions of human creativity, resistance, and community. -- Yvonne Chireau,author of Black Magic: Religion and the African-American Conjuring TraditionAfrican American Folk Healing is an insightful work that places folk healing within the context of larger spiritual, political, and intellectual movements. It illuminates the interconnectedness among activism, medicine, gender studies, folklore, and theology that influence the ways African American female healers work and live. * The Journal of African American History *Persuasively argued. . . . A fascinating study that makes a real contribution to discussions of health, wellness and faith in America. * Publishers Weekly *A readable book well suited for most academic libraries. * Choice *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction I Historical Paths to Healing1 Stories and Cures: De?ning African American Folk Healing 2 Healing, the Black Body, and Institutional Medicine: Contexts for Crafting Wellness3 Healing in Place: From Past to Present II Today's Healing Traditions4 Healing and Hybridity in the Twenty-First Century 5 Healing the Past in the Present 6 Religion, Spirituality, and African American Folk Healing 7 Hoodoo, Conjure, and Folk Healing Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index About the Author

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Book SynopsisAfrican immigration to North America has been increasing. This title focuses on new understandings and insights concerning the presence and relevance of African immigrant religious communities in the US. It describes key social and historical aspects of African immigrant religion in the US and builds a conceptual framework for theory and analysis.Trade ReviewAn excellent collection of essays. . . . Highly recommended. * Choice *African Immigrant Religions in America is a significant contribution, laying the foundation for what promises to be a rich field of study. -- Peter Pham,James Madison UniversityA masterful study of the role African immigrants play in shaping religion in the United States and Canada. This significant publication should be required reading for all those interested in understanding the links between ethnicity, transnationalism, and religion. -- Tite Tienou,Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, IllinoisA much needed scholarly study of firstgeneration African immigrants who have come voluntarily to America for the first time. In their search for better opportunities they have brought with them a wide diversity of religious and moral traditions as their legacy to the cultural life of this nation. This book will be a necessary resource for all who study contemporary religions in America. -- Peter J. Paris * Princeton Theological Seminary *This book challenges scholars to go beyond traditional explanations of migration from Africa . * Journal of American Academy of Religion *African Immigrant Religions in America . . . is a very important book, which has wide implications for sociology of immigration, race, ethnicity, gender, and international studies, in addition to religion. They compile an impressive and diverse array of experts on African immigrant religious communities. * Sociology of Religion *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction Jacob K. Olupona and Regina GemignaniI. Historical and Theoretical Perspectives1. Communities of Believers: Exploring African Immigrant Religion in the United States Jacob K. Olupona2. African Immigrant Churches in the United States and the Study of Black Church History David D. Daniels3. The Andrew SyndromeOgbu M.KaluII. Reverse Mission4. Non-Western Christianity in the Western WorldAkintunde Akinade5. Portable FaithElias BongmbaIII. Gender, Ethnicity, and Identity6. Gender, Identity, and Power in African Immigrant Evangelical Churches Regina Gemignani7. Gender and Change in an African Immigrant ChurchDeidre Helen Crumbley and Gloria Malake Cline-Smythe8. West African Muslims in AmericaLinda Beck9. African Religious Beliefs and Practices in DiasporaWorku NidaIV. Civic Engagement and Political Incorporation10. Transnationalism, Religion, and the African Diaspora in CanadaWisdom J. Tettey11. Singing the Lord's Song in a Foreign LandMoses Biney12. African Immigrant Churches and the New Christian Right Mojubaolu Olufunke Okome13. African Muslims in the United States14. Conclusion Jacob K. Olupona and Regina GemignaniContributors Index

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Book SynopsisFollowing their first contact in 1519, accounts of Aztecs identifying Spaniards as gods proliferated. But what exactly did the Aztecs mean by a god (teotl), and how could human beings become gods or take on godlike properties? This sophisticated, interdisciplinary study analyzes three concepts that are foundational to Aztec religion-teotl (god), teixiptla (localized embodiment of a god), and tlaquimilolli (sacred bundles containing precious objects)-to shed new light on the Aztec understanding of how spiritual beings take on form and agency in the material world. In The Fate of Earthly Things, Molly Bassett draws on ethnographic fieldwork, linguistic analyses, visual culture, and ritual studies to explore what ritual practices such as human sacrifice and the manufacture of deity embodiments (including humans who became gods), material effigies, and sacred bundles meant to the Aztecs. She analyzes the Aztec belief that wearing the flayed skin of a sacrificial victim during a sacred rite could transform a priest into an embodiment of a god or goddess, as well as how figurines and sacred bundles could become localized embodiments of gods. Without arguing for unbroken continuity between the Aztecs and modern speakers of Nahuatl, Bassett also describes contemporary rituals in which indigenous Mexicans who preserve costumbres (traditions) incorporate totiotzin (gods) made from paper into their daily lives. This research allows us to understand a religious imagination that found life in death and believed that deity embodiments became animate through the ritual binding of blood, skin, and bone.Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction. God-Bodies, Talk-Makers: Deity Embodiments in Nahua ReligionsChapter 1. Meeting the GodsChapter 2. Ethnolinguistic Encounters: Teotl and Teixiptla in Nahuatl ScholarshipChapter 3. Divining the Meaning of TeotlChapter 4. Gods in the Flesh: The Animation of Aztec TeixiptlahuanChapter 5. Wrapped in Cloth, Clothed in Skins: Aztec Tlaquimilolli (Sacred Bundles) and Deity EmbodimentConclusion. Fates and Futures: Conclusions and New DirectionsAppendix A. Ixiptla Variants in Early LexiconsAppendix B. A List of Terms Modified by Teo- in the Florentine CodexAppendix C. Turquoise, Jet, and GoldNotesBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisIn Queering Black Atlantic Religions Roberto Strongman examines Haitian Vodou, Cuban Lucumí/Santería, and Brazilian Candomblé to demonstrate how religious rituals of trance possession allow humans to understand themselves as embodiments of the divine. In these rituals, the commingling of humans and the divine produces gender identities that are independent of biological sex. As opposed to the Cartesian view of the spirit as locked within the body, the body in Afro-diasporic religions is an open receptacle. Showing how trance possession is a primary aspect of almost all Afro-diasporic cultural production, Strongman articulates transcorporeality as a black, trans-Atlantic understanding of the human psyche, soul, and gender as multiple, removable, and external to the body.Trade Review"Strongman’s contribution is an innovative deployment of cultural studies that looks at art, performance, film, and literature to research the religiosity of African diaspora communities in Latin America and the Caribbean. . . . The work is ultimately an important and sophisticated addition to the growing consideration of the transnational aesthetics that interconnect different kinds of queerness, blackness, and spirituality in the Americas." -- Solimar Otero * Journal of Folklore Research *"Strongman's expansion of transcorporeality is pivotal.… This book is a necessary read that contributes to the growing body of scholarship on gender and sexuality in African diasporic religions. . . . " -- Eziaku Nwokocha * Reading Religion *"[Strongman] pursues his materials with investigative prowess and scholarly verve, making this a major new reference point for scholarship on the subject." -- Kieth E. McNeal and Martin Tsang * New West Indian Guide *"Strongman's exploration of the body in literary genres provides an excellent framework for a new understanding of the body, transcending the Cartesian dialectics. Strongman's three case studies present indeed the 'full queer potentiality.'" -- Bettina E. Schmidt * Journal of Contemporary Religion *“Strongman’s audacity in exploring the evolution and intersection of Afro-Atlantic religiosity with queer bodies is a significant contribution to the literature and discourse on Afro-diasporic religions and cultural studies.... Strongman illustrates how scholarship can be expressive and an agent of radical transformation of social experience.” -- Mary Nyangweso * Hypatia *"Strongman’s work is a worthy and important effort. . . . I can only hope that future scholars will follow in Strongman’s footsteps, laboring to patch together the shattered mirror of queer Afro-diasporic affinities in spite of the logistic difficulties this labor presents." -- Marina Magloire * GLQ *"Queering Black Atlantic Religions ought to be a required read—a vade mecum—for those interested in studying expressions of Afro-diasporic religions found in the trans-Atlantic world and beyond. The work sheds light on the sophistication of these religious traditions and worldviews. In fact, even adherents of these religions in their original homes in Africa cannot ignore the dynamism inherent in these religions." -- SimonMary Asese Aihiokhai * Theology & Sexuality *"Strongman’s text is a valuable addition to the already rich corpus on Black Atlantic religions. Its significance is not limited to this subdiscipline, though. Readers from a wide range of disciplines, including anthropology, gender and sexuality studies, and religious studies will find much to consider and engage. Further, readers in art history and literary studies will likewise be challenged by Strongman’s attention to the role of religion in art, film, and literature." -- Alejandro S Escalante * Religion and Gender *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction: Enter the Igbodu 1 Part I. Vodou 1. Of Dreams and Night Mares: Vodou Women Queering the Body 27 2. Hector Hyppolite èl Même: Between Queer Fetishization and Vodou Self-Portraiture 49 Part II. Lucumí/Santería 3. A Chronology of Queer Lucumí Scholarship: Degeneracy, Ambivalence, Transcorporeality 103 4. Lucumí Diasporic Ethnography: Fran, Cabrera, Lam 133 Part III. Candomblé 5. Queer Candomblé Scholarship and Dona Flor's S/Exua/lity 181 6. Transatlantic Waters of Oxalá: Pierre Verger, Mário de Andrade, and Candomblé in Europe 212 Conclusion: Transcripturality 251 Notes 255 References 261 Index 273

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