Indigenous peoples: religions Books

Book SynopsisAn analysis of Navajo creation and origin myths that shows the Navajo religion is as complete and nuanced an attempt to answer humanity's big questions as the religions brought to North America by Europeans. It discusses certain parallels between Navajo religious ideas and contemporary scientific cosmology.Table of ContentsLIST OF TABLES ACKNOWLEDGMENTS PART 1: BACKGROUND 1. Introduction 2. Historical Background PART 2: THE MYTHS 3. The Underworlds 4. The Emergence and the Present World 5. Tricksters North and South 6. Two Traditions PART 3: THE VERITIES 7. The Creation 8. Good and Evil, Order and Chaos 9. Men, Women, and Men-Women 10. Envoy APPENDIX: CLASSIFICATION OF NAVAJO SINGS ACCORDING TO LELAND WYMAN AND CLYDE KLUCKHOHN REFERENCES

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Book SynopsisIn this thought-provoking new book, Bruce Lerro offers a speculative reconstruction of the sacred beliefs and practices of cultures existing between 30,000 and 500 B.C.E. Lerro describes how material changes in various social formationsincluding hunting-gathering bands and horticulturalists in villageswere responsible for the shift from magic to realism, from the belief in earth spirits to faith in sky gods. Drawing from such diverse theorists as Marx and Engels, Vygotsky, Piaget, and George Herbert Mead, Lerro critiques and transforms mechanical, humanistic, new age, and countercultural perspectives on the history of sacred traditions. This study of comparative religion and mythology has important applications for the fields of archaeology, evolutionary anthropology, sociology, political science, and comparative psychology.Trade ReviewWell researched and teeming with ideas, Bruce Lerro's From Earth Spirits to Sky Gods makes an important contribution to Western cultural history. * ISLE: Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment *This is a magnificent and original work with important implications for our understanding of social evolution. -- Christopher Chase-Dunn, Johns Hopkins University

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Book SynopsisExamines the position of women in African religious movements, and the ways in which women have broken through in the religious sphere to rise to leadership in spite of problems created by gender. The rate of proliferation of these religious movements and their impact on the health delivery system and on national development are of key importance.Trade ReviewBrigid Sackey offers readers an original and important examination. . . . Sackey's book is a fine resource for scholars and students. * African Studies Review *Table of ContentsChapter 1 Researching African Independent Churches Chapter 2 Antecedents and Proliferation of African Independent Churches Chapter 3 Religion and Changing Gender Discourse Chapter 4 Encountering the Divine: Women's Religious Experiences Chapter 5 Women in Religion and Health Chapter 6 Case Studies of Healing in African Independent Churches Chapter 7 New Directions in Gender Relation and Religion Chapter 8 Conclusions

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Book SynopsisBrigid M. Sackey''s book is a comprehensive analysis of gender relations in religion in Ghana, using gendered anthropological tools of rare insight and originality. The book chronicles the efforts of men and women who bring a repackaged and customized Christianity and health delivery to meet with the specific cultural needs. Sackey disabuses notions of the helplessness of women in Ghana specifically (and Africa in general) as it highlights women''s initiatives and assertiveness as healers and leaders of the churches they have founded, in addition to their increased involvement and participation in gender discourses and social change. Sackey also addresses the question of HIV and the AIDS epidemic, detailing how the churches, through the specific leadership of women, are supporting a national campaign on the disease. Basing her research on an exhaustive library of oral history, ethnography, theory, and case studies, Sackey has brilliantly chronicled the relentless proliferation of and innovations in African Independent Churches, and their impact on the national health delivery system and its development.Trade ReviewBrigid Sackey offers readers an original and important examination. . . . Sackey's book is a fine resource for scholars and students. * African Studies Review *Table of ContentsChapter 1 Researching African Independent Churches Chapter 2 Antecedents and Proliferation of African Independent Churches Chapter 3 Religion and Changing Gender Discourse Chapter 4 Encountering the Divine: Women's Religious Experiences Chapter 5 Women in Religion and Health Chapter 6 Case Studies of Healing in African Independent Churches Chapter 7 New Directions in Gender Relation and Religion Chapter 8 Conclusions

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Book SynopsisMargaret Mitchell Armand presents a cutting edge interdisciplinary terrain inside an indigenous exploration of her homeland. Her contribution to the historiography of Haïtian Vodou demonstrates the struggle for its recognition in Haïti's post-independence phase as well as its continued misunderstanding. Through a methodological, original study of the colonial culture of slavery and its dehumanization, Healing in the Homeland: Haitian Vodou Traditions examines the sociocultural and economic oppression stemming from the local and international derived politics and religious economic oppression.While concentrating the narratives on stories of indigenous elites educated in the western traditions, Armand moves pass the variables of race to locate the historical conjuncture at the root of the persistent Haïtian national division. Supported by scholarships of indigenous studies and current analysis, she elucidates how a false consciousness can be overcome to reclaim cultural identity and pridTrade ReviewArmand offers the first study of which . . . focus[es] on what she designates as the social (and racial) class/es of the 'Affranchi/bourgeois/elite,' and their often extremely private and/or secretive commitment to Vodou values. . . .Armand’s book resonates with Madelaine Hron’s work on storytelling and healing; Ren´e Lemarchand’s claims on the importance of 'reckoning' in the reconciliation process; and Patrick Bellegarde-Smith’s and Claudine Michel’s scholarship on the contemporariness of Vodou as a means to negotiate a new world order. For those readers unfamiliar with Vodou and working professionally with Haitian clients, the book is a thorough and concise introduction to a Vodou way-of-being; and for 'Haitianists,' Armand’s book. . . .offers a courageously self-reflexive look at the role of the elite, both historically and in the present, in edifying Haiti through a mise-en-oeuvre of a Vodou philosophy. * Nova Religio: The Journal Of Alternative And Emergent Religions *Margaret Mitchell Armand’s seminal work demonstrates the necessity for continued scientific research on the legacy of the Taínos in order to showcase, to the rest of the World, the knowledge that the people of the Caribbean wanted to transmit to the conquistadors at the end of the fifteenth century for the good of humanity. -- Ginette Pérodin Mathurin, Senior Researcher and Coordinator, Haïtian Indigenous Research CenterHealing in the Homeland is a compelling Haitian story of conflict resolution and of decolonization. It is a narrative of the epistemological, ontological, pedagogical and psychological basis upon which to recreate and redeem a nation 209 years in the making. The tasks of creating a sovereign nation and people with a sovereign imagination and agency, made possible by the most radical modernizing revolution of the modern age, are not easy, entangled as they are in Western colonial dysfunctional culture and African marginality. Dr. Margaret Mitchell Armand, a dispute resolution specialist, has done well to weave a story of redemption guided by a conceptual/theoretical lens that is not only Haiti’s but for all peoples who were mired in colonial dystopia. -- Clinton Hutton, University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Jamaica and author of The Logic & Historical Significance of the Haitian Revolution & the Cosmological Roots of Haitian FreedomTable of ContentsIntroduction: Mèt Kafou: Master of the Crossroads Chapter 1: Loko Atisou: The Power of Knowing Chapter 2: Lenglensou: The Architects of the Inferno and the Victims Chapter 3: The Audacity of Faith Keeps the Drums Beating Chapter 4: The Poto Mitan of Decolonization: The Healing Process Chapter 5: Gran Bwa: The Power of a Single Story, Part I Chapter 6: Azaka Mede: The Power of a Single Story, Part II Chapter 7: Milokan: United We Are in the Realms of the Lwas Epilogue: The Gedes

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Book SynopsisRastafari Reasoning and the RastaWoman: Gender Constructions in the Shaping of Rastafari Livity examines the complex ways that gender and race shaped a liberation movement propelled by the Caribbean evolution of an African spiritual ethos. Jeanne Christensen proposes that Rastafari represents the most recent reworking of this spiritual ethos, referred to as African religiosity. The book contributes a new perspective to the literature on Rastafari, and through a historical lens, corrects the predominant static view of Rastafari women.In certain Rastafari manifestations, a growing livity developed by RastaMen eventually excluded women from an important ritual called Reasoninga conscious search for existential and ontological truth through self-understanding performed in a group setting. Restoring agency to the RastaWoman, Christensen argues that RastaWomen, intimately in touch with this spiritual ethos, challenged oppressive structures within the movement itself. They skirted official reTrade ReviewThis book is an excitingly meticulous exercise in 'lived religion,' one that reveals RastaWomen confronting the movement's numerous restrictions. . . .[The author's] work is a small but not minor part of her life's legacy . . . It is a lovely gift to Rastafari as they move into a new era. It is highly recommended. * Religious Studies Review *Christensen’s Rastafari Reasoning and the Rasta Woman adds another brick to the small but rising wall of gendered analyses of the Rastafari…. This book is a succinct treatment of Rastafari: a refresher if you know the literature, and a good place to start if you do not. The discussion of the Rastafari gender transition between the 1940s to 1970s, for example, draws on well-known material but weaves it together in fresh ways. Readers will find that the book has a conversational tone and that the content easily digested. Scholars of Rastafari should read it. In addition, the book would serve well graduate and undergraduate students learning about Jamaica, Black religions, gender and history, and the Rastafari. * Nova Religio: The Journal Of Alternative And Emergent Religions *Table of ContentsChapter One: African Religiosity Chapter Two: The Afro-Creole Village Chapter Three: Emergence of Rastafari Chapter Four: Reasoning and the Rastaman Woman Chapter Five: Taking Root Chapter Six: "From the Cross to the Throne" Chapter Seven: The Arrival of RastaWoman

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Book SynopsisThe Ifugao of Northern Luzon, the Philippines, are famous for their extensive system of irrigated rice terraces, and previous anthropological accounts of the Ifugao have stressed their immense importance for social life. This book attempts to go against the grain and approach Ifugao society through an often overlooked element, namely their pigs. By a detailed ethnographic description of Ifugao cultural practices related to kinship, animism, prestige, and death, Pigs and Persons in the Philippines shows how pigs are involved in the constitution and re-constitution of relations between humans and between humans and spirits. Remme draws upon theories of relationality, performativity, and assemblages to argue that the exchange and consumption of pig meat have the ontological effect of enacting persons. He also shows how pigs are the prime means of engaging in relations with spirits and argues further that prestige can be understood as a heterogeneous assemblage of relations of which pigs play a central role. While pigs are thus constitutively involved in the enactment of persons, Remme also shows how they are operative in the re-constitution of relations that occurs at death. In documenting these practices, Remme argues for a relational understanding of personhood that goes beyond inter-human relations and includes relations with nonhuman beings, including spirits, and animals.Trade ReviewThe book is nicely written. Certainly, it is a product of scholarly work, with a solid theoretical and historical backdrop. Anthropologists will find this book useful, particularly on the theoretical discussions of social differentiation. * Anthropos *This compelling contribution to the anthropological literature adds both ethnographic granularity and theoretical depth to studies of the Ifugao. . . .He persuasively argues throughout this engaging and skillfully researched work. . . .Within this evolving branch of the discipline, the complexities and contradictions underlying the interpenetrative linkages between humans and animals are laid bare in a way that has previously not received much in the way of scholarly attention . . . It is within this context that the relational personhood Remme examines among the Ifugao assumes particular significance. * American Ethnologist *Jon Henrik Remme’s book is fascinating both in terms of the ethnographic material he presents on the human relationship with pigs among the Ifugao—something which merits much more attention throughout SE Asia, where pigs are widely of considerable nutritional, social, and cosmological significance—and in terms of his focus on the ways in which pigs and humans are entangled, are part of each other and constitute each other. He draws on the relational philosophy of Deleuze and Guattari in his focus on the way in which pigs are involved in human ‘becoming,' as well as drawing on recent multi-species anthropology. I found his extension of both analytical approaches into what he describes as their 'dark' sides—prompted, as he says, by the punctuation of his fieldwork by the screams of dying pigs—interesting and thought-provoking in relation to its implications for understanding the boundaries of living beings, both spatially and temporally, in the context of a relational approach to understanding the meaning of 'being a being.' -- Monica Janowski, University of LondonPigs and Persons in the Philippines is a treasure trove of ethnographically nuanced and theoretically sophisticated analysis. Through an innovative re-reading of the Ifugao through their pigs, Remme makes an original and powerful contribution to the ethnography of Southeast Asia and the anthropology of personhood and sociality. The book traces the intricate ways in which domesticated pigs mediate Ifugao relations with human and non-human consociates across the spheres of kinship, ritual, and politics. Through lively and engaging prose it vividly evokes the concrete processes whereby Ifugao selves and society are constituted through exchange of pigs, and makes a compelling case for how kinship and spirit relations are constructed through the practices through which they are enacted. -- Kenneth Sillander, University of HelsinkiAn avid and marvelously thorough account of human and porcine entanglements in Batad, Ifugao. -- Harold C. Conklin, Yale UniversityTable of ContentsChapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Pigs Make Kin Chapter 3: Pigs and Human-Bā’i Relations Chapter 4: Pigs and Social Differentiation Chapter 5: Unmaking a Person Chapter 6: Conclusion

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Book SynopsisThis book celebrates a number of Guadalupan sermons that serve as the fundamental source of the Mexican people''s unique spiritual devotion and identity. These sermons were preached, published, and circulated among the populace of Mexico in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. They proclaim an unshakable conviction that the peoples of the American continent are the uniquely blessed recipients of God''s, and especially Mary''s, favor. In their modern sense, these sermons provide a wealth of information on Mexican theology, spirituality, and religious self-understanding at a pivotal time in a people''s culture.Trade ReviewSchulte's study lifts out of obscurity a body of undervalued texts. * Catholic Library World *Table of ContentsChapter 1 God's Providential Plan for the Peoples of Mexico Chapter 2 Mary's Presence and Mission in Mexico Prior to America's Initial Evangelization Chapter 3 Mary's Presence and Mission in Mexico During America's Initial Evangelization Chapter 4 Marys Presence and Mission in Mexico Subsequent to America's Initial Evangelization Chapter 5 Mexico's Mission in Salvation History

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Book SynopsisOne hundred years after the birth of Karl Rahner, the contributors to this book ask whether and how RahnerOs theology can address new religious and cultural realities in the twenty-first century, particularly those realities found on what has come to be called Othe Pacific Rim.OTrade ReviewAnyone who has ever thought that Rahner's theology is dated or does not have anything useful to say to the world outside of Europe should read this book from cover to cover. Essays after essays convincingly show how Rahner is relevant to the 'Pacific Rim'—the world bathed by the Pacific Ocean—and to the burning religious issues of today: religious pluralism, inculturation, interrreligious dialogue, popular religion, etc. Rahner beyond Rahner is required reading for every course on the thought of this theological giant of the twentieth century. -- Peter Phan, Ignacio Ellacuria Chair of Catholic Social Thought, Georgetown UniversityInspired by the groundbreaking work of Karl Rahner, these essays offer fascinating insights into the theological and, indeed, spiritual challenges represented by cultural and religious pluralism in the world today. In so doing, this collection also deepens our appreciation of the amazing fecundity of Rahner’s thought as a resource whose influence will be felt for generations to come. -- Roberto Goizueta, Professor of Theology, Boston CollegeAn excellent resource for a graduate course on Rahner's theology. * Theological Studies *The critical perspectives presented in this volume point to the direction in which Catholic studies in general and Rahner studies in particular have been moving in the past decade. It is encounter in action imbued with the spirit of the great theologian delighting in the continuing creative and courageous engagement with his thought and the questions of the day. -- Susan Abraham, Assistant Professor of Theology, St. Bonaventure University, NYTable of ContentsPart 1 Preface Part 2 Introduction: Improbable Encounters? Part 3 Part One: Encounters with Religions Chapter 4 Rahner beyond Rahner: A Comparative Theologian's Reflections on Theological Investigations Chapter 5 The Body of Blessing Chapter 6 Constraints on the Theological Absorption of Plurality Chapter 7 Karl Rahner's Legacy and the Prospects for Muslim-Christian Understanding Part 8 Part Two: Encounters with Cultures Chapter 9 From the Kulturkampf to China's Cultural Christians Chapter 10 Guadalupe's Challenge to Rahner's Theology of Symbol Chapter 11 Rethinking Rahner on Grace and Symbol: New Proposals from the Americas Chapter 12 Religious Disillusionment in a Land of Illusions Part 13 Part Three: Encounters with Theology, Ethics and Spirituality Chapter 14 Rahner's Theology of the Cross Chapter 15 Rahner, Ethics and Cultures Chapter 16 Rahner and the Avatar: The Challenge from Popular Religions Chapter 17 The Stillpoint: Autoeroticism or Grace? Part 18 Afterword: Where Do We Go From Here? Rahner in the Pacific Rim and Beyond

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Book SynopsisOne hundred years after the birth of Karl Rahner, the contributors to this book ask whether and how RahnerOs theology can address new religious and cultural realities in the twenty-first century, particularly those realities found on what has come to be called Othe Pacific Rim.OTrade ReviewAnyone who has ever thought that Rahner's theology is dated or does not have anything useful to say to the world outside of Europe should read this book from cover to cover. Essays after essays convincingly show how Rahner is relevant to the 'Pacific Rim'—the world bathed by the Pacific Ocean—and to the burning religious issues of today: religious pluralism, inculturation, interrreligious dialogue, popular religion, etc. Rahner beyond Rahner is required reading for every course on the thought of this theological giant of the twentieth century. -- Peter Phan, Ignacio Ellacuria Chair of Catholic Social Thought, Georgetown UniversityInspired by the groundbreaking work of Karl Rahner, these essays offer fascinating insights into the theological and, indeed, spiritual challenges represented by cultural and religious pluralism in the world today. In so doing, this collection also deepens our appreciation of the amazing fecundity of Rahner’s thought as a resource whose influence will be felt for generations to come. -- Roberto Goizueta, Professor of Theology, Boston CollegeAn excellent resource for a graduate course on Rahner's theology. * Theological Studies *The critical perspectives presented in this volume point to the direction in which Catholic studies in general and Rahner studies in particular have been moving in the past decade. It is encounter in action imbued with the spirit of the great theologian delighting in the continuing creative and courageous engagement with his thought and the questions of the day. -- Susan Abraham, Assistant Professor of Theology, St. Bonaventure University, NYTable of ContentsPart 1 Preface Part 2 Introduction: Improbable Encounters? Part 3 Part One: Encounters with Religions Chapter 4 Rahner beyond Rahner: A Comparative Theologian's Reflections on Theological Investigations Chapter 5 The Body of Blessing Chapter 6 Constraints on the Theological Absorption of Plurality Chapter 7 Karl Rahner's Legacy and the Prospects for Muslim-Christian Understanding Part 8 Part Two: Encounters with Cultures Chapter 9 From the Kulturkampf to China's Cultural Christians Chapter 10 Guadalupe's Challenge to Rahner's Theology of Symbol Chapter 11 Rethinking Rahner on Grace and Symbol: New Proposals from the Americas Chapter 12 Religious Disillusionment in a Land of Illusions Part 13 Part Three: Encounters with Theology, Ethics and Spirituality Chapter 14 Rahner's Theology of the Cross Chapter 15 Rahner, Ethics and Cultures Chapter 16 Rahner and the Avatar: The Challenge from Popular Religions Chapter 17 The Stillpoint: Autoeroticism or Grace? Part 18 Afterword: Where Do We Go From Here? Rahner in the Pacific Rim and Beyond

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Book SynopsisThis is a powerful, first-hand account of a religious ministry that reaches out to console, heal, and build the lives of poor and desperate immigrants who come to the United States in search of a better life. Daniel G. Groody talked with immigration officials, ''coyote'' smugglers, and immigrants in detention centers and those working in the fields. The picture that emerges starkly contrasts with the negative stereotypes about Mexican immigrants: Groody discovered insights into God, family, values, suffering, faith, and hope that offer a treasury of spiritual knowledge helpful to anyone, even those who are materially comfortable but spiritually empty. This book has a message that reaches across borders, divisions, and preconceptions; it reaches all the way to the heart.Trade ReviewGroody argues that spiritual as well as physical cures are needed for people who risk death in an inhospitable desert, who undergo the psychological death of leaving their families and culture and who experience alienation in a society often rejecting them in a language they do not understand. * The Catholic Telegraph *Border of Death, Valley of Life is an engaging and thoughtful look at the physical and spiritual struggles of Mexican immigrants. Through personal stories, the reader walks in their footsteps, experiences their emotions and fears, and observes the beginning of their spiritual renewal. -- Cruz Bustamante, Lieutenant Governor of CaliforniaAnyone who is serious about the challenges facing our increasingly multicultural Church in the United States will welcome Father Groody's insights. By opening up for us the riches of a Mexican immigrant spirituality, he helps us better understand and respond to the Gospel imperative to welcome the stranger in our midst. -- Roger Cardinal Mahony, Archbishop of Los AngelesDaniel Groody speaks at the intersection of the grassroots and the academy, spirituality and theology. Weaving sharp speculative skill together with a passion for people struggling to create a home in an alien land, Groody provides a thoroughgoing systematic reflection rooted in the spiritual experience of Mexican immigrants on the border. An invigorating reading of Christian faith from the heart of a suffering people. -- Michael Downey, editor of the New Dictionary of Catholic SpiritualityIn Border of Death, Valley of Life, Daniel Groody unveils a hidden image, i.e. the heart of the humanity of Mexican immigrants. This unveiling shows how Mexicans, guided by the living images of Jesus and La Virgen de Guadalupe move from broken hearts to flowering hearts, from strangerhood to spiritual community. Seldom, if ever, have the dangerous crossings and spiritual crossings of Mexican immigrants been rendered so honestly and so hopefully as in this book. The diverse and profound voices of the border crossers is joined to the pastoral voice of the author to suggest that a living theology has been created in the desert of Aztlan. -- David Carrasco, Harvard UniversityMillions of U.S. immigrants—and not only Mexican immigrants—owe Groody a debt of gratitude not only for his personal love and care for them but also for his profound and touching reflections on how immigrants can turn their sufferings of living in a foreign land into a source of spiritual transformation. His chapters on Corazon rehabilitado and Corazon animado are the richest writings on the spirituality of migration I have been privileged to read. I wish this book had been available when I came to this country as a refugee. It should be put in the hands of every immigrant and refugee as well as in the hands of those who work for and with them. -- Peter C. Phan, former President, Catholic Theological Society of AmericaDaniel Groody has succeeded in translating the heart of the immigrant into a profound, compassionate spiritual narrative. He beautifully weaves together the life of the spirit with a passion for justice as he writes about the humanity and dignity of the undocumented immigrant. Not only does he speak about the transformation of a people but also he completely transformed the way I think about Catholic theology and spirituality. I deeply respect, admire and celebrate the work of this creative and inspired theologian. -- Sandra Cisneros, author of The House on Mango StreetIt is a remarkable study that requires follow-up by other scholars of spirituality, practical theology, community development, and social ethics. -- Allan Figueroa * America: The Jesuit Review of Faith & Culture *Describes the Mexican immigrants' life in detail, gives a moving account of their religious devotion, especially at a four-day retreat, and shows the profound influence on their culture of devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe. * Theory Digest *This thoughtful and moving book, written with both scholarly care and pastoral commitment, documents the suffering, hope and spirituality of poor Mexican immigrants in the United States. Groody's direct experience of the reality he describes, and his academic gifts, lend a rare authority to his writing. * The Way *Border of Death, Valley of Life represents a pioneering work of the spiritual lives of Mexican immigrants. Groody's book is clearly written, and photographs documenting the border crossing, religious shrines, and retreat activities provide a visual perspective on the topic. * Western Historical Quarterly *Groody is to be commended for lifting up the evangelizing witness of a people that have all too often been designated as needing only to be evangelized. * The Journal Of Religion *Table of ContentsChapter 1 Corazon Destrozado, The Crushed Heart: The Dynamics of Mexican Emigration and Immigration Chapter 2 Corazon Rehabilitado, The Rehabilitated Heart: The Dynamics of Healing and Empowerment Chapter 3 Corazon Animado, The Animated Heart: The Dynamics of Conversion and Transformation Chapter 4 Corazon Florido, The Flowering of the Heart: The Dynamics of Inculturation and Mission Chapter 5 Appendix: The Nican Mopohua—The Guadalupe Story

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Book SynopsisThe authors contend that in Africa there exists only one religion with a vast array of 'denominations.' African religion is expressed in a different way by each of the denominations, which creates confusion for those who believe that there are more than one African religion.Table of ContentsPart 1 Preface Part 2 Acknowledgements Chapter 3 The God of Gods Chapter 4 Divine Rulers: Representing God on Earth Chapter 5 Sacrifices and Prayers in African Religion Chapter 6 The Ancestral World: Seeing the Unseen Chapter 7 The Concept of Evil Chapter 8 Servants: Explaining the Inexplicable Chapter 9 Rituals: Making Possible the Impossible Chapter 10 Spirit Conquering Matter Chapter 11 The Spear Master's Sory Part 12 References Part 13 Bibliography of African Religious Sources Part 14 Index

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Book SynopsisThis work addresses the growing challenge of contextuality within Christianity in the setting of the vibrant and dynamic Caribbean. The challenge results from the recognition that all religious practices are conditioned by the geographical, ethnic, socio-economic, and cultural frameworks in which they emerge. This contextuality should inform the way theological diversity within Christianity is addressed, as well as the way Christian formulations are considered in relation to other religions. The text offers conceptual support for the position that Christian theologizing in the Caribbean requires that the context''s religious diversity be engaged and that insights from other religions be explored. Processing this position through an examination of religious dynamics within the English-speaking sub-region, the prominent attempt at contextually sensitive Christianity (Caribbean Revisionist Christianity) with the associated theological orientation (Caribbean Theology) is analyzed in relation to formulations and practices from other dominant religions in the area-Afro-Caribbean Religion, Hinduism, and Islam. Epistemological analysis exposes the complexity of the religious life and a framework is proposed for inter-religious engagement. This framework engenders contextually sensitive pluralism and demands that theology be pursued in dialectical mode. The dialectical approach is then dramatized in an inter-religious dialogue on God.Table of ContentsPart 1 Preface Chapter 2 Introduction: Establishing the Groundwork Chapter 3 Dominant Religious Forms in the Caribbean Chapter 4 A Comparative Analysis of Religious Knowledge in Caribbean Religions Chapter 5 An Epistemic Framework for Inter-Religious Engagement Chapter 6 Constructing Contextual Theology in Dialectical Mode Chapter 7 Dramatizing Dialectical Engagement: An In-Religious Dialogue on God Part 8 Epilogue Part 9 Index Part 10 About the Author

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Book SynopsisIn Africa and the New Face of Mission, Ebelebe argues that the mission theory and practice of the Irish Spiritans in Igboland (1905-1970) was forged in the socio-political and faith environment of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century Ireland; an environment that produced a Church that was sacramentized, devotional, conservative, and clerical. It was this Church that the Irish Spiritans took to Igboland, and the Church that has largely endured there until now. The author considers this regrettable and calls for inculturation as the only way forward. He highlights the significant contribution of the Igbo Catholic Church to the growing pool of missionaries from the South and argues that for this Church to be truly Igbo, it must be selective in what it reclaims from its Irish Heritage and must draw from the resources of Igbo traditional culture and religion. In this way, the Church can better equip its growing number of missionaries to other nations.Trade ReviewNot restricted simply to critiquing the past, Ebelebe's study outlines future pastoral initiatives that would solidify achievements and enrich other cultural contexts. -- Michael A. Fahey, S.J., Department of Theology, Boston CollegeAmerican as well as Nigerian readers will find Ebelebe's arguments challenging and his style charming....[a] valuable contribution. -- Patrick W. Carely, William J. Kelly, S.J. Chair in Catholic Theology * Marquette University, Milwaukee *Dr. Ebelebe brings to bear his respected and sharp intellectual acumen, extensive and dogged research, and felicitous expression....This book will reward the general reader, but professors and students of missiology and Catholic theology will find it especially valuable. -- James Chukwuma Okoye, C.S.Sp., Carroll Stuhlmueller Professor of Old Testament * Catholic Theological Union *This book opens with a powerful and poignant foreward. . . . It provides good insight into the cultural context in which the Christian message was eventually immersed. . . . This volume makes significant contributions to the larger discourse on mission studies. Ebelebe writes with clarity and conviction. His study provides an important African perspective on the theology and raison d'etre of mission, on which the future of the Christian church necessarily rests. -- Akintunde E. Akinade * International Bulletin of Mission Research, January 2010 *This is a pioneer study. . .an intimate journey into the missiological soul of the Congregation. -- Ogbu.U. Kalu * Mccormick Theological Seminary, Chicago, Henry Winters Luce Professor of World Christianity and Mission *This is a fascinating book.... I was amazed at the number of different insights that he had, pointing out things I had not even considered.... It has an excellent bibliography and an index. * Missiology: An International Review *Table of ContentsChapter 1 Foreword Chapter 2 Preface Chapter 3 Introduction Chapter 4 Chapter 1: Igbo Culture at the Time of Encounter with Christianity Chapter 5 Chapter 2: The Irish Spiritans Chapter 6 Chapter 3: The Sources of the Irish Spiritan Mission Theology in Igboland Chapter 7 Chapter 4: The Mission Theology of the Irish Spiritans in Igboland Chapter 8 Chapter 5: Mission Theology Today: The Major Trends Chapter 9 Chapter 6: The Igbo Catholic Church and the Changing Face of Mission Today Chapter 10 Conclusion Chapter 11 Bibliography Chapter 12 Appendix 1: Map of Nigeria Chapter 13 Appendix 2: Map of Igboland Chapter 14 Index Chapter 15 About the Author

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Book SynopsisAfrican spirituality among the Akan people of Ghana can be defined as a developmental quest to achieve ancestorhood in heaven (Samanadzie) after first attaining eldership and wisdom in the corporeal world (Wiadzie). The African life, then, is a cycle. A human originates in the Samanadzie as a spiritual personality (?saman) after being joined by a spirit (Sunsum). At birth, a newborn is endowed with a soul (?kra), becoming a living being (?kratsiasifo). During adulthood, a person embarks on an ethical existence (?bra b?), the successful application of which leads a community to confer an eldership title (Nana) on an adult. Upon death, a Nana is again transformed into an ?saman and judged at the Samanadzie. If found worthy, the ?saman joins the eternally esteemed company of the Ancestors (Nananom Nsamanfo), with the most powerful of them allkings and queen motherstransformed into deities.Table of ContentsPart 1 Preface Part 2 PART I: PERSONALITY FORMATION Chapter 3 Chapter 1: The First People Chapter 4 Chapter 2: Personality Perspectives Chapter 5 Chapter 3: Gods In The Flesh Chapter 6 Chapter 4: God Is Life Part 7 PART II: STAGES OF AFRICAN SPIRITUALITY Chapter 8 Chapter 5: Transient Being Chapter 9 Chapter 6: Spiritual Personality Chapter 10 Chapter 7: Education Chapter 11 Chapter 8: Ethical Existence Chapter 12 Chapter 9: Eldership Chapter 13 Chapter 10: The Ancestors Part 14 Endnotes Part 15 Glossary Part 16 Bibliography Part 17 Index Part 18 About the Author

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Book SynopsisAfrican religion is ancestor worship; it revolves around the dead, now thought to be alive and well in heaven (the Samanadzie) and propitiated by the living on earth. For the Akan, the ancestors' stool is the emblem of the ancestors (Nananom Nsamanfo). Led by their kings and queen mothers as living ancestors, the Akan periodically propitiate the ancestors' stools housing their ancestors. In return, the ancestors and deities influence the affairs of living descendants, making ancestor worship as tenably viable as any other religion.This second edition updates the scholarship on ancestor worship by demonstrating the centrality of the ancestors' stool as the ultimate religious symbol. In addition, all chapters have been expanded. A new chapter has been added to show how ancestor worship is pragmatically integrative, theologically sound, teleological as well as soteriological, with a highly trained clerical body and elders as mediators.Trade ReviewAnthony Ephirim-Donkor’s African Religion Defined is a masterfully written and insightful study of African religious experience. He offers a richly detailed examination of Akan cosmology and practices laced with engaging personal accounts. The book represents a major contribution to the field of Akan studies and to discussions about the nature and meaning of African religion. . . . The work will be useful in both undergraduate and graduate school courses and will challenge students and scholars to reexamine categories and assumptions about African religions. -- Samuel I. Britt, Gordon Poteat Professor of Asian Studies and Religion, Furman University, South CarolinaChallenging the notion in some quarters that equate African religions with animism, Ephirim-Donkor examines the religious and cultural practices of the Akan . . . and argues that ancestor worship as practiced by the people is quite similar to other world religions. Influenced by the works of Clifford Geertz and Wallis Budge, Ephirim-Donkor maintains that the souls of the Akan dead are symbolically housed in the ancestors’ stool, the very seat and embodiment of temporal and spiritual power among the Akan. . . . This exciting volume, which includes a completely new chapter written for this edition, is a must-have for those interested in African religions. -- Baffour K. Takyi, professor of sociology, the University of Akron, OhioTable of ContentsGuide to Pronunciation Preface Chapter 1: Cosmology Chapter 2: Ancestor Worship Chapter 3: Witchcraft Chapter 4: Sacrifices Chapter 5: Living Ancestors Chapter 6: The Ancestors’ Stool Notes Glossary Selected Bibliography Index About the Author

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Book SynopsisThis book examines alleged superhuman powers predominantly associated with smith/artisans in five African societies. It discusses their ritual and social roles, mythico-histories, symbols surrounding their art, and changing relationships between these specialists and their patrons. Needed but also feared, these smith/artisans work in traditionally hereditary occupations and in stratified but negotiable relationships with their rural patron families. Many of them now also work for new customers in an expanding market economy, which is still characterized by personal, face-to-face interactions. Rasmussen maintains that a framework integrating anthropological theories of witchcraft, alterity, symbolism, and power is fundamental to understanding local accusations and tensions in these relationships. She also argues that it is critical to deconstruct and disentangle guilt, blame, and envyconcepts that are often conflated in anthropology at the expense of falsely accused witch figures. The fTable of ContentsPreface Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter 1 Tezma Power and Tuareg Inaden Smith/Artisans Chapter 2 Inaden Origins, Histories, and Professional Practices Chapter 3 Powers, Tensions, and Mediations Chapter 4 Q’alb Power and Amhara Buda/Tayb Smith/Artisans Chapter 5 Echar Power and Bidan M’Allemin Smith/Artisans Chapter 6 Beshengu Power and Kapsiki Rerhe Smith/Artisans Chapter 7 Nyama Power and Mande Nyamakala Smith/Artisans Conclusions Bibliography Index Author Biography

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Book SynopsisThis book examines alleged superhuman powers predominantly associated with smith/artisans in five African societies. It discusses their ritual and social roles, mythico-histories, symbols surrounding their art, and changing relationships between these specialists and their patrons. Needed but also feared, these smith/artisans work in traditionally hereditary occupations and in stratified but negotiable relationships with their rural patron families. Many of them now also work for new customers in an expanding market economy, which is still characterized by personal, face-to-face interactions. Rasmussen maintains that a framework integrating anthropological theories of witchcraft, alterity, symbolism, and power is fundamental to understanding local accusations and tensions in these relationships. She also argues that it is critical to deconstruct and disentangle guilt, blame, and envyconcepts that are often conflated in anthropology at the expense of falsely accused witch figures. The fTable of ContentsPreface Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter 1 Tezma Power and Tuareg Inaden Smith/Artisans Chapter 2 Inaden Origins, Histories, and Professional Practices Chapter 3 Powers, Tensions, and Mediations Chapter 4 Q’alb Power and Amhara Buda/Tayb Smith/Artisans Chapter 5 Echar Power and Bidan M’Allemin Smith/Artisans Chapter 6 Beshengu Power and Kapsiki Rerhe Smith/Artisans Chapter 7 Nyama Power and Mande Nyamakala Smith/Artisans Conclusions Bibliography Index Author Biography

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Book SynopsisThis edition updates the scholarship on ancestor worshipwith the addition of three new chapters. Beginning with Akan theology and ending with sacrifices, the study examines Akan conception of God, the abosom (gods and goddesses) relative to creation, centrality of the ancestors' stool as the ultimate religious symbol housing the soul of the Akan, and organized annual propitiatory festivities carried out among the Akan in honor of the ancestors (Nananom Nsamanfo) and abosom. The book, therefore, serves as an invaluable resource for those interested in the phenomenon of African religion, because it provides real insight into ancestor worship in ways that are meaningful, practical, systematic, and as a way of life by an Akan Traditional ruler (?dikro) and a professor of Africana studies.Trade ReviewAnthony Ephirim-Donkor’s African Religion Defined is a masterfully written and insightful study of African religious experience. He offers a richly detailed examination of Akan cosmology and practices laced with engaging personal accounts. The book represents a major contribution to the field of Akan studies and to discussions about the nature and meaning of African religion….The work will be useful in both undergraduate and graduate school courses and will challenge students and scholars to reexamine categories and assumptions about African religions. -- Samuel I. Britt, Gordon Poteat Professor of Asian Studies and Religion, Furman University, South CarolinaChallenging the nation in some quarters that equate African religions with animism, Ephirim-Donkor examines the religious and cultural practices of the Akan…and argues that ancestor worship as practiced by the people is quite similar to other world religions. Influenced by the works of Clifford Geertz and Wallis Budge, Ephirim-Donkor maintains that the souls of the Akan dead are symbolically housed in the ancestors’ stool, the very seat and embodiment of temporal and spiritual power among the Akan….This exciting volume, which includes three new chapters, is a must have for those interested in African religions. -- Baffour K. Takyi, professor of sociology, the University of Akron, OhioTable of ContentsGuide to Pronunciation Preface Chapter 1: Akan Theology Chapter 2: The Abosom Chapter 3: Cosmology Chapter 4: Ancestor Worship Chapter 5: Annual Festivals Chapter 6: Ancestors’ Stool Chapter 7: Becoming a Living Ancestor Chapter 8: Witchcraft Chapter 9: Sacrifices Glossary Bibliography Index About the Author

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Book Synopsis"Ramón Medina Silva, a Huichol Indian shaman priest or mara'akame, instructed me in many of his culture's myths, rituals, and symbols, particularly those pertaining to the sacred untiy of deer, maize, and peyote. The significance of this constellation...Trade Review"This study is based on observation, verbatim texts of myths, ethnographic data, participation in the rituals, and other publications of Huichol ethnology. The peyote complex is expertly set in the wider context of Huichol religion, society, and history. The study concludes with a review of . . . theories of Turner, Geertz, and Lévi-Strauss, which, in turn, are synthesized to provide the basis for sophisticated analysis of meaning and function of the deer-maize-peyote symbol-ritual complex. . . . Should be useful to all seriously interested in understanding alien world views."—Choice"This is a beautiful book, recording with loving care how one thoughtful Huichol Indian wanted to see the world."—Review of Books and Religion"Barbara G. Myerhoff's splendid study . . . is a sensible participant-observer account . . . of a shamanic priest and his small party of pilgrims as they journey to their original homeland, now a distant sacred center, in search of peyote."—Benjamin Ray, History of Religions"Myerhoff's book will be a classic in the anthropology of religion."—Christian Scholar's ReviewTable of Contents1. Ramón and Lupe2. Ethnographic and Historical Background3. Huichol Religion4. The Peyote Hunt as an Event5. The Deer-Maize-Peyote Complex6. The Purpose and Meaning of the Peyote HuntBibliography Index

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Book SynopsisTells the life story of Mandu da Silva, the last living jaguar shaman among the Baniwa people in the northwest Amazon. In this original and engaging work, Robin M. Wright, who has known and worked with da Silva for more than thirty years, weaves the story of da Silva's life together with the Baniwas' society, history, mythology, cosmology, and jaguar shaman traditions.Trade Review"Mysteries of the Jaguar Shamans is a tour de force, a remarkable work of deep understanding and expressive skill that should become a classic of Amazonian ethnography."—Donald Pollock, Anthropos"Complex, detailed, fascinating, and well-written."—Rebecca R. Stone, Journal of Anthropological Research "No ethnographer has ever written so extensively on a single shaman of the northwest Amazon. . . . A monumental study!"—S. D. Glazier, Choice"What Mysteries of the Jaguar Shamans of the Northwest Amazon will be most remembered for is the essential connection between myths, religious roles, social organization, and physical places. . . . Any anthropologist interested in shamanism or animism should take note of it."—Jack David Eller, Anthropology Review DatabaseTable of Contents List of IllustrationsForewordAcknowledgmentsIntroductionPart 1. Shamans, Chanters, Sorcerers, and Prophets1. "You Are Going to Save Many Lives": The Life Story of Mandu da Silva, Hohodene Jaguar Shaman, coauthored by Manuel da Silva and Ercilia Lima da Silva2. Mandu's Apprenticeship and a Jaguar Shaman's Powers of World-Making3. "You Will Suffer Along Our Way": The Great Suffering in Mandu's LifePart 2. Shamanic Knowledge and Power in the Baniwa Universe4. Creation, Cosmology, and Ecological Time5. Mythscapes as Living Memories of the AncestorsPart 3. Transmission of Shamanic Knowledge and Power6. The Birth of the Child of the Sun, Kuwai7. Death and Regeneration in the First Initiation Rites, Kwaipan8. A Struggle for Power and Knowledge among Men and WomenPart 4. Revitalization Movements in Traditional and Christianized Communities9. The House of Shamans' Knowledge and Power, the House of Adornment, and the Pamaale School ComplexConclusionAppendix 1. Letter Authorizing Reproductions of Kuwai-ka WamundanaAppendix 2. Description of The Mysterious Body of KuwaiNotesBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisBuilding on recent research that questions the “cultural” conquest of Mesoamerica, Eleanor Wake shows that colonial Mexican churches also reflected the beliefs of the indigenous communities that built them.

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Book SynopsisOffers readers a rare, in-depth look at the nahualtocaitl and the native cosmogonies, beliefs, and medical practices they reveal. Through close reading of four incantations - for safe travel, maguey sap harvesting, bow-and-arrow deer hunting, and divination through maize kernels - Díaz Balsera shows the nuances of a Nahua spiritual world.Trade ReviewIn Guardians of Idolatry Viviana Díaz Balsera opens a new and unique window on the spirituality of the natives of Central Mexico before and after the conquest. This highly readable and engaging study will be of great value for a wide range of scholars. A significant accomplishment."" - John F. Schwaller, author of The History of the Catholic Church in Latin America: From Conquest to Revolution and Beyond

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