Sacred Possessions
Sacred Possessions
Vodou, Santería, Obeah, and the Caribbean
Sacred Possessions is an unprecedented collection of thirteen comparative and interdisciplinary essays exploring the cross-cultural dynamics of African-based religious systems in the Caribbean. The contributors analyze the nature and liturgies of Vodou, Santeria, Obeah, Quimbois, and Gaga as they form one central cultural matrix in the region. They ask how these belief systems were affected by differing colonial histories and landscapes, and how they affected other cultural expressions (from the oral tradition to popular art and literature), and how they have been perceived and (mis)represented by the West.
The book is a unique contribution to the study of the Caribbean as a site of multiculturalism, demonstrating the linkages between anthropology, religion, literature, and popular culture. Also included are a stunning photoessay on Cuban Santeria, a glossary of terms, and an insightful introduction by the editors.
Introduction: Religious Syncretism and Caribbean Culture
Vodoun, or the Voice of the Gods
Women Possessed: Eroticism and Exoticism in the Representation of Woman as Zombie
"I Am Going to See Where My Oungan Is": The Artistry of a Haitian Vodou Flagmaker
La Regla de Ocha: The Religious System of Santeria
From The Sacred Wild to the City: Santeria in Cuba Today
From Monkey Tales to Cuban Songs: On Signification
Ifa and Interpretation: An Afro-Caribbean Literary Practice
Romantic Voodoo: Obeah and British Culture, 1797-1807
"An Article of Faith": Obeah and Hybrid Identities in Elizabeth Nunez-Harrell's When Rocks Dance
"Another Poor Devil of a Human Being...": Jean Rhys and the Novel as Obeah
The Shaman Woman, Resistance, and the Powers of Transformation: A Tribute to Ma Cia in Simone Schwarz-Bart's The Bridge of Beyond
Sorcerers, She-Devils, and Shipwrecked Women: Writing Religion in French-Caribbean Literature
Trans-Caribbean Identity and the Fictional World of Mayra Montero
Glossary
Works Cited
Notes on Contributors
Index
