Paul Christopher Johnson
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195150582
- eISBN:
- 9780199834358
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195150589.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, World Religions
Here, the religion of Candomblé is described. Candomblé is presented as a relatively stable system of meanings and practices. Johnson maps out the contour lines along which variations occur, the ...
More
Here, the religion of Candomblé is described. Candomblé is presented as a relatively stable system of meanings and practices. Johnson maps out the contour lines along which variations occur, the semiotic system linking historically disparate groups of practice. The key vectors of signification described include: (1) the orixás (orishas) and the digestive metaphor of exchange, (2) Africa, “Africa” and Afro‐Brazil, (3) gender and spirit possession, (4) axé and the terreiro, and (5) Candomblé in the context of a broader Brazilian religious field of spirit‐possession religions.Less
Here, the religion of Candomblé is described. Candomblé is presented as a relatively stable system of meanings and practices. Johnson maps out the contour lines along which variations occur, the semiotic system linking historically disparate groups of practice. The key vectors of signification described include: (1) the orixás (orishas) and the digestive metaphor of exchange, (2) Africa, “Africa” and Afro‐Brazil, (3) gender and spirit possession, (4) axé and the terreiro, and (5) Candomblé in the context of a broader Brazilian religious field of spirit‐possession religions.
Kenneth Schweitzer
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- March 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781617036699
- eISBN:
- 9781621030065
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781617036699.001.0001
- Subject:
- Music, Ethnomusicology, World Music
An iconic symbol and sound of the Lucumí/Santería religion, Afro-Cuban batá are talking drums that express the epic mythological narratives of the West African Yoruba deities known as orisha. By ...
More
An iconic symbol and sound of the Lucumí/Santería religion, Afro-Cuban batá are talking drums that express the epic mythological narratives of the West African Yoruba deities known as orisha. By imitating aspects of speech and song, and by metaphorically referencing salient attributes of the deities, batá drummers facilitate the communal praising of orisha in a music ritual known as a toque de santo. This book blends musical transcription, musical analysis, interviews, ethnographic descriptions, and observations from his own experience as a ritual drummer to highlight the complex variables at work during a live Lucumí performance. Integral in enabling trance possessions by the orisha, by far the most dramatic expressions of Lucumí faith, batá drummers are also entrusted with controlling the overall ebb and flow of the four- to six-hour toque de santo. During these events, batá drummers combine their knowledge of ritual with an extensive repertoire of rhythms and songs. Musicians focus on the many thematic acts that unfold both concurrently and in quick succession. In addition to creating an emotionally charged environment, playing salute rhythms for the orisha, and supporting the playful song competitions that erupt between singers, batá drummers are equally dedicated to nurturing their own drumming community by creating a variety of opportunities for the musicians to grow artistically and creatively.Less
An iconic symbol and sound of the Lucumí/Santería religion, Afro-Cuban batá are talking drums that express the epic mythological narratives of the West African Yoruba deities known as orisha. By imitating aspects of speech and song, and by metaphorically referencing salient attributes of the deities, batá drummers facilitate the communal praising of orisha in a music ritual known as a toque de santo. This book blends musical transcription, musical analysis, interviews, ethnographic descriptions, and observations from his own experience as a ritual drummer to highlight the complex variables at work during a live Lucumí performance. Integral in enabling trance possessions by the orisha, by far the most dramatic expressions of Lucumí faith, batá drummers are also entrusted with controlling the overall ebb and flow of the four- to six-hour toque de santo. During these events, batá drummers combine their knowledge of ritual with an extensive repertoire of rhythms and songs. Musicians focus on the many thematic acts that unfold both concurrently and in quick succession. In addition to creating an emotionally charged environment, playing salute rhythms for the orisha, and supporting the playful song competitions that erupt between singers, batá drummers are equally dedicated to nurturing their own drumming community by creating a variety of opportunities for the musicians to grow artistically and creatively.
Andrew Apter
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780226506388
- eISBN:
- 9780226506555
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226506555.001.0001
- Subject:
- Anthropology, African Cultural Anthropology
This book challenges the seasoned trend of disavowing Africa in the Black Atlantic, showing how Yoruba cultural frameworks from West Africa remade black kingdoms and communities in the Americas. ...
More
This book challenges the seasoned trend of disavowing Africa in the Black Atlantic, showing how Yoruba cultural frameworks from West Africa remade black kingdoms and communities in the Americas. Highlighting revisionary strategies and regenerative schemes that are grounded in the dialectics of ritual renewal, it revisits classic topoi in Afro-American studies such as Herskovits’s syncretic paradigm, the petwo paradox in Haitian Vodou, the historical conditions of orisha cult clustering, re-mappings of gender in plantation societies, and the rise of Lucumí and Nagô houses in Cuba and Brazil, in each case offering new interpretations based on cognate dynamics in Yorubaland. The book thereby argues for a critically reformulated culture concept, in this case distinctively “Yoruba,” which designates something real, somewhat knowable, eminently historical, and even indispensable for locating Africa in the Black Atlantic.Less
This book challenges the seasoned trend of disavowing Africa in the Black Atlantic, showing how Yoruba cultural frameworks from West Africa remade black kingdoms and communities in the Americas. Highlighting revisionary strategies and regenerative schemes that are grounded in the dialectics of ritual renewal, it revisits classic topoi in Afro-American studies such as Herskovits’s syncretic paradigm, the petwo paradox in Haitian Vodou, the historical conditions of orisha cult clustering, re-mappings of gender in plantation societies, and the rise of Lucumí and Nagô houses in Cuba and Brazil, in each case offering new interpretations based on cognate dynamics in Yorubaland. The book thereby argues for a critically reformulated culture concept, in this case distinctively “Yoruba,” which designates something real, somewhat knowable, eminently historical, and even indispensable for locating Africa in the Black Atlantic.
Keith E. McNeal
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780813037363
- eISBN:
- 9780813042121
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813037363.003.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Latin American Studies
The prologue launches the book with two anecdotes experienced by the author engaging with African and Hindu spirit mediums, which introduce the reader to the practice of trance performance as well as ...
More
The prologue launches the book with two anecdotes experienced by the author engaging with African and Hindu spirit mediums, which introduce the reader to the practice of trance performance as well as the local traditions of spirit mediumship in Trinidad focused upon here: Orisha Worship and Shakti Puja. The notion of ecstasy used throughout is also introduced.Less
The prologue launches the book with two anecdotes experienced by the author engaging with African and Hindu spirit mediums, which introduce the reader to the practice of trance performance as well as the local traditions of spirit mediumship in Trinidad focused upon here: Orisha Worship and Shakti Puja. The notion of ecstasy used throughout is also introduced.
Keith E. McNeal
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780813037363
- eISBN:
- 9780813042121
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813037363.003.0004
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Latin American Studies
This chapter focuses upon Shango as a popular Afro-Creole tradition, considering its social organization, ritual structure, and complex pantheon, as well as its symbolism, material culture, and ...
More
This chapter focuses upon Shango as a popular Afro-Creole tradition, considering its social organization, ritual structure, and complex pantheon, as well as its symbolism, material culture, and patterns of performance. It emphasizes the personal flexibility and on-the-ground dynamism of Orisha Worship as a subaltern religious form, probing its overlapping and complex interrelations with Christianity, Spiritual Baptism, Kabba, and Hinduism.Less
This chapter focuses upon Shango as a popular Afro-Creole tradition, considering its social organization, ritual structure, and complex pantheon, as well as its symbolism, material culture, and patterns of performance. It emphasizes the personal flexibility and on-the-ground dynamism of Orisha Worship as a subaltern religious form, probing its overlapping and complex interrelations with Christianity, Spiritual Baptism, Kabba, and Hinduism.
Mercedes Cros Sandoval
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813030203
- eISBN:
- 9780813039565
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813030203.003.0013
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Latin American Studies
This chapter discusses the Creator Gods, Obatala and Oduduwa, as they are worshipped in Africa and Cuba. The Obatala is the oldest and most important orisha in the Yoruba pantheon and is one of the ...
More
This chapter discusses the Creator Gods, Obatala and Oduduwa, as they are worshipped in Africa and Cuba. The Obatala is the oldest and most important orisha in the Yoruba pantheon and is one of the few gods that is known to all Yoruba-speaking people and their neighbors. The Oduduwa, on the other hand, is worshiped throughout Yorubaland and have contradictory myths and traditions regarding the divinity's gender and character.Less
This chapter discusses the Creator Gods, Obatala and Oduduwa, as they are worshipped in Africa and Cuba. The Obatala is the oldest and most important orisha in the Yoruba pantheon and is one of the few gods that is known to all Yoruba-speaking people and their neighbors. The Oduduwa, on the other hand, is worshiped throughout Yorubaland and have contradictory myths and traditions regarding the divinity's gender and character.
Kenneth Schweitzer
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- March 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781617036699
- eISBN:
- 9781621030065
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781617036699.003.0004
- Subject:
- Music, Ethnomusicology, World Music
This chapter begins by introducing the descriptive notation employed throughout this study. It then compares the author’s choices concerning pitch, timbre, rhythm, terminology, and other musical ...
More
This chapter begins by introducing the descriptive notation employed throughout this study. It then compares the author’s choices concerning pitch, timbre, rhythm, terminology, and other musical concepts with those of other scholars, and examines some of the difficulties in depicting these musical sounds and concepts. Two views of the batá repertoire are considered, the first of which divides all toques into two categories: those that typically appear in the oro igbodú; and all remaining toques. The second approach views the repertoire as a continuum, at one end of which are toques that reference Lucumí chants and songs, and which are generally dedicated to an individual orisha. Further along the continuum exist toques generally described as generic, but which retain a latent association with one or more orishas.Less
This chapter begins by introducing the descriptive notation employed throughout this study. It then compares the author’s choices concerning pitch, timbre, rhythm, terminology, and other musical concepts with those of other scholars, and examines some of the difficulties in depicting these musical sounds and concepts. Two views of the batá repertoire are considered, the first of which divides all toques into two categories: those that typically appear in the oro igbodú; and all remaining toques. The second approach views the repertoire as a continuum, at one end of which are toques that reference Lucumí chants and songs, and which are generally dedicated to an individual orisha. Further along the continuum exist toques generally described as generic, but which retain a latent association with one or more orishas.
Kenneth Schweitzer
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- March 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781617036699
- eISBN:
- 9781621030065
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781617036699.003.0005
- Subject:
- Music, Ethnomusicology, World Music
This chapter examines several aspects of batá pedagogy, focusing on the role of non-lexical verbal communication, the spatial relationships among the performers, and the micro- and macrostructures of ...
More
This chapter examines several aspects of batá pedagogy, focusing on the role of non-lexical verbal communication, the spatial relationships among the performers, and the micro- and macrostructures of the musical system. First, it examines the relationship between the okónkolo and the iyá, and draws on the associations between the okónkolo and mythology of the orisha Eleguá. The chapter then examines the macrostructure of the musical system, comparing the order in which toques are invariably played during the oro igbodú to the mythological stories of the warriors Eleguá, Ogún, and Ochosi. It is shown that many of the skills developed on the okónkolo are vital to learning the itótele. After these are examined, the chapter discusses the role of spatial relationships between the performers and the microstructure of the musical system simultaneously to illustrate the communication between the iyá and the itótele.Less
This chapter examines several aspects of batá pedagogy, focusing on the role of non-lexical verbal communication, the spatial relationships among the performers, and the micro- and macrostructures of the musical system. First, it examines the relationship between the okónkolo and the iyá, and draws on the associations between the okónkolo and mythology of the orisha Eleguá. The chapter then examines the macrostructure of the musical system, comparing the order in which toques are invariably played during the oro igbodú to the mythological stories of the warriors Eleguá, Ogún, and Ochosi. It is shown that many of the skills developed on the okónkolo are vital to learning the itótele. After these are examined, the chapter discusses the role of spatial relationships between the performers and the microstructure of the musical system simultaneously to illustrate the communication between the iyá and the itótele.
Bettina E. Schmidt
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199659289
- eISBN:
- 9780191764752
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199659289.003.0013
- Subject:
- Religion, Religious Studies, Philosophy of Religion
The chapter discusses how the Christian perception of sacrifice has affected Afro-American religions, in particular the Cuban Orisha religion in the USA (formerly called Santerìa) and Candomblé in ...
More
The chapter discusses how the Christian perception of sacrifice has affected Afro-American religions, in particular the Cuban Orisha religion in the USA (formerly called Santerìa) and Candomblé in Brazil. Many Afro-American religions require from their devotees offerings for the deities (ebó) as part of their regular rituals but also to ensure special requests for protection or support. The most controversial form of offering is the blood sacrifice, the ritual slaughter of animals, which became, as the chapter argues, the symbol of the paradigmatic other. The chapter shows how the misconceptions about animal sacrifice, in particular when transferred in a different cultural context and imposed by visual impressions, are used to enforce boundaries between religions.Less
The chapter discusses how the Christian perception of sacrifice has affected Afro-American religions, in particular the Cuban Orisha religion in the USA (formerly called Santerìa) and Candomblé in Brazil. Many Afro-American religions require from their devotees offerings for the deities (ebó) as part of their regular rituals but also to ensure special requests for protection or support. The most controversial form of offering is the blood sacrifice, the ritual slaughter of animals, which became, as the chapter argues, the symbol of the paradigmatic other. The chapter shows how the misconceptions about animal sacrifice, in particular when transferred in a different cultural context and imposed by visual impressions, are used to enforce boundaries between religions.
Andrew Apter
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780226506388
- eISBN:
- 9780226506555
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226506555.003.0004
- Subject:
- Anthropology, African Cultural Anthropology
This chapter engages the pioneering work of Pierre Verger, who undertook the first intensive comparison of Yoruba orisha worship in West Africa and Brazil, by examining the sociopolitical dimensions ...
More
This chapter engages the pioneering work of Pierre Verger, who undertook the first intensive comparison of Yoruba orisha worship in West Africa and Brazil, by examining the sociopolitical dimensions of orisha cult organization and change in two Ekiti Yoruba kingdoms. Comparison of the politico-ritual configurations of decentralized Ishan kingdom with those of centralized Ayede kingdom, and their very different historical transformations from circa 1845 to the present, reveals political segmentation, not "family" or lineage, as the dominant principle of cult organization, even if it is cast within lineage ideology. The orisha cult “clustering” which thus occurs in the Ekiti Yoruba highlands, a ritual characteristic which Verger attributes to innovation in Brazilian Candomblé, suggests that West African orisha worship is closer to its New World manifestations than has generally been acknowledged.Less
This chapter engages the pioneering work of Pierre Verger, who undertook the first intensive comparison of Yoruba orisha worship in West Africa and Brazil, by examining the sociopolitical dimensions of orisha cult organization and change in two Ekiti Yoruba kingdoms. Comparison of the politico-ritual configurations of decentralized Ishan kingdom with those of centralized Ayede kingdom, and their very different historical transformations from circa 1845 to the present, reveals political segmentation, not "family" or lineage, as the dominant principle of cult organization, even if it is cast within lineage ideology. The orisha cult “clustering” which thus occurs in the Ekiti Yoruba highlands, a ritual characteristic which Verger attributes to innovation in Brazilian Candomblé, suggests that West African orisha worship is closer to its New World manifestations than has generally been acknowledged.
Melissa Blanco Borelli
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- June 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780199968169
- eISBN:
- 9780190274757
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199968169.001.0001
- Subject:
- Music, Dance, Ethnomusicology, World Music
She is Cuba: A Genealogy of the Mulata Body traces the history of the Cuban mulata and her association with hips, sensuality and popular dance. It examines how the mulata choreographs her racialised ...
More
She is Cuba: A Genealogy of the Mulata Body traces the history of the Cuban mulata and her association with hips, sensuality and popular dance. It examines how the mulata choreographs her racialised identity through her hips and enacts an embodied theory called hip(g)nosis. By focusing on her living and dancing body in order to flesh out the process of identity formation, this book makes a claim for how subaltern bodies negotiate a cultural identity that continues to mark their bodies on a daily basis. Combining literary and personal narratives with historical and theoretical accounts of Cuban popular dance history, religiosity and culture, this work investigates the power of embodied exchanges: bodies watching, looking, touching and dancing with one another. It sets up a genealogy of how the representations and venerations of the dancing mulata continue to circulate and participate in the volatile political and social economy of contemporary Cuba.Less
She is Cuba: A Genealogy of the Mulata Body traces the history of the Cuban mulata and her association with hips, sensuality and popular dance. It examines how the mulata choreographs her racialised identity through her hips and enacts an embodied theory called hip(g)nosis. By focusing on her living and dancing body in order to flesh out the process of identity formation, this book makes a claim for how subaltern bodies negotiate a cultural identity that continues to mark their bodies on a daily basis. Combining literary and personal narratives with historical and theoretical accounts of Cuban popular dance history, religiosity and culture, this work investigates the power of embodied exchanges: bodies watching, looking, touching and dancing with one another. It sets up a genealogy of how the representations and venerations of the dancing mulata continue to circulate and participate in the volatile political and social economy of contemporary Cuba.
Victoria Fortuna
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- December 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780190627010
- eISBN:
- 9780190627058
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190627010.003.0007
- Subject:
- Music, Dance, Ethnomusicology, World Music
The epilogue examines the 2011 human rights march in Buenos Aires on the National Day of Memory for Truth and Justice (Día Nacional de la Memoria por la Verdad y la Justicia), the anniversary of the ...
More
The epilogue examines the 2011 human rights march in Buenos Aires on the National Day of Memory for Truth and Justice (Día Nacional de la Memoria por la Verdad y la Justicia), the anniversary of the start of the last military dictatorship (1976–83). It analyzes the author’s participation with Oduduwá Danza Afroamericana (Oduduwá Afro-American Dance), a group that brought together scores of volunteers to perform choreography based in Orishá dance. Orishá dance’s Yoruban origins and connection to the African diaspora made it an unexpected addition to the demonstration given the construction of Argentina as exceptionally white among Latin American nations. The group strove to connect Orishá dance’s link to the violence of the trans-Atlantic slave trade with Argentina’s history of political disappearance, as well as the country’s own violence against Afro-Argentines. Oduduwá’s project reiterates the importance of dance as both a political practice and one linked to memory.Less
The epilogue examines the 2011 human rights march in Buenos Aires on the National Day of Memory for Truth and Justice (Día Nacional de la Memoria por la Verdad y la Justicia), the anniversary of the start of the last military dictatorship (1976–83). It analyzes the author’s participation with Oduduwá Danza Afroamericana (Oduduwá Afro-American Dance), a group that brought together scores of volunteers to perform choreography based in Orishá dance. Orishá dance’s Yoruban origins and connection to the African diaspora made it an unexpected addition to the demonstration given the construction of Argentina as exceptionally white among Latin American nations. The group strove to connect Orishá dance’s link to the violence of the trans-Atlantic slave trade with Argentina’s history of political disappearance, as well as the country’s own violence against Afro-Argentines. Oduduwá’s project reiterates the importance of dance as both a political practice and one linked to memory.
Melissa Blanco Borelli
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- June 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780199968169
- eISBN:
- 9780190274757
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199968169.003.0003
- Subject:
- Music, Dance, Ethnomusicology, World Music
Chapter 1, Historicizing Hips, introduces the factors that set up a market for mulatas. The nineteenth century particularly set into circulation a rich banquet of mulata signifiers which came out of ...
More
Chapter 1, Historicizing Hips, introduces the factors that set up a market for mulatas. The nineteenth century particularly set into circulation a rich banquet of mulata signifiers which came out of the libidinal economies existing within plantations but not exclusively occurring within them. This chapter highlights the different social, historical and cultural factors that consolidated the mulata iconography into the twentieth century.Less
Chapter 1, Historicizing Hips, introduces the factors that set up a market for mulatas. The nineteenth century particularly set into circulation a rich banquet of mulata signifiers which came out of the libidinal economies existing within plantations but not exclusively occurring within them. This chapter highlights the different social, historical and cultural factors that consolidated the mulata iconography into the twentieth century.
