|
Books > Religion & Spirituality > Non-Christian religions > Ethnic or tribal religions > General
Vodou is among the most misunderstood and maligned of the world's
religions. Mama Lola shatters the stereotypes by offering an
intimate portrait of Vodou in everyday life. Drawing on a 35 year
long friendship with Mama Lola, a Vodou priestess, Karen McCarthy
Brown tells tales spanning five generations of Vodou healers in
Mama Lola's family, beginning with an African ancestor and ending
with Claudine Michel's account of working with Mama Lola after the
Haitian earthquake. Out of these stories, in which dream and vision
flavor everyday experience and the Vodou spirits guide decision
making, Vodou emerges as a religion focused on healing brought
about by mending broken relationships between the living, the dead,
and the Vodou spirits. Deeply exploring the role of women in
religious practices and the related themes of family and of
religion and social change, Brown provides a rich context in which
to understand the authority that urban Haitian women exercise in
the home and in the Vodou temple.
In The Postsecular Sacred: Jung, Soul and Meaning in an Age of
Change, David Tacey presents a unique psychological study of the
postsecular, adding a Jungian perspective to a debate shaped by
sociology, philosophy and religious studies. In this
interdisciplinary exploration, Tacey looks at the unexpected return
of the sacred in Western societies, and how the sacred is changing
our understanding of humanity and culture. Beginning with Jung's
belief that the psyche has never been secular, Tacey examines the
new desire for spiritual experience and presents a logic of the
unconscious to explain it. Tacey argues that what has fuelled the
postsecular momentum is the awareness that something is missing,
and the idea that this could be buried in the unconscious is
dawning on sociologists and philosophers. While the instinct to
connect to something greater is returning, Tacey shows that this
need not imply that we are regressing to superstitions that science
has rejected. The book explores indigenous spirituality in the
context of the need to reanimate the world, not by going back to
the past but by being inspired by it. There are chapters on
ecopsychology and quantum physics, and, using Australia as a case
study, the book also examines the resistance of secular societies
to becoming postsecular. Approaching postsecularism through a
Jungian perspective, Tacey argues that we should understand God in
a manner that accords with the time, not go back to archaic,
rejected images of divinity. The sacred is returning in an age of
terrorism, and this is not without significance in terms of the
'explosive' impact of spirituality in our time. Innovative and
relevant to the world we live in, this will be of great interest to
academics and scholars of Jungian studies, anthropology, indigenous
studies, philosophy, religious studies and sociology due to its
transdisciplinary scope. It would also be a useful resource for
analytical psychologists, Jungian analysts and psychotherapists.
This book explores the understudied and often overlooked subject of
African presence in India. It focuses on the so-called Sidis,
Siddis or Habshis who occupy a unique place in Indian history. The
Sidis comprise scattered communities of people of African descent
who travelled and settled along the western coast of India, mainly
in Gujarat, but also in Goa, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Sri Lanka
and in Sindh (Pakistan) as a result of the Indian Ocean trade from
the thirteenth to nineteenth centuries. The work draws from extant
scholarly research and documentary sources to provide a
comprehensive study of people of African descent in India and sheds
new light on their experiences. By employing an interdisciplinary
approach across fields of history, art, anthropology, religion,
literature and oral history, it provides an analysis of their
negotiations with cultural resistance, survivals and collective
memory. The author examines how the Sidi communities strived to
construct a distinct identity in a new homeland in a polyglot
Indian society, their present status, as well as their future
prospects. The book will interest those working in the fields of
history, sociology and social anthropology, cultural studies,
international relations, and migration and diaspora studies.
Often spoken at the end of a prayer, a well-known Sioux phrase
affirms that we are all related." Similarly, the Sioux medicine
man, Brave Buffalo, came to realize when he was still a boy that
the maker of all was Wakan Tanka (the Great Spirit), and ...in
order to honor him I must honor his works in nature." The
interconnectedness of all things, and the respect all things are
due, are among the most prominentand most welcomethemes in this
collection of Indian voices on nature. Within the book are
carefully authenticated quotations from men and women of nearly
fifty North American tribes. The illustrations include historical
photographs of American Indians, as well as a wide selection of
contemporary photographs showing the diversity of the North
American natural world. Together, these quotations and photographs
beautifully present something of nature's timeless message.
Valeri 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
society--and a central focus for Valeri--is 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.
Chieftaincy in Ghana is an extensive account of the many roles of
chiefs in modern society. A. Kodzo Paaku Kludze provides detailed
accounts and analyses of the law practices, rituals, and customs of
chieftaincy. Kludze begins his study with a historical account
bringing his analyses to the present, and speculates on the future
of chieftaincy in its formal and informal roles in the changing
social milieu. The author's close personal background and
association with chieftaincy allows him to shed light on the
mysterious practices and supernatural connections. Kludze offers an
authoritative and comprehensive study of chieftaincy in the context
of the modern social, political, and legal institutions of Ghana.
China has a large number of indigenous ethnic minorities, some
of which have large populations. Many of these minorities have
animist, local religions, which are closely bound up with their
ethnic culture. The revival of religion generally in China in
recent years has been paralleled by a revival of religion amongst
the ethnic minorities. This has caused a renewal of long-standing
tensions between majority Han and non-Han minorities, the latter
often having endured for a long time policies designed to suppress
their separate ethnic identities and make them conform to majority
Han norms. This book, based on extensive original research among
the Bai people, a people with a population of around five million,
explores these important issues. It considers how majority-minority
ethnic relations have evolved over time, discusses amongst many
other issues how local religions emphasise ancestor cults which
reinforce minorities sense of their separate ethnicity, and
concludes by assessing how these important issues are likely to
develop."
Indigenous and African Diaspora Religions in the Americas explores
spirit-based religious traditions across vast geographical and
cultural expanses, including Canada, the United States, Haiti, the
Dominican Republic, Cuba, Trinidad and Tobago, Mexico, Brazil, and
Chile. Using interdisciplinary research methods, this collection of
original perspectives breaks new ground by examining these
traditions as typologically and historically related. This curated
selection of the traditions allows readers to compare and highlight
convergences, while the description and comparison of the
traditions challenges colonial erasures and expands knowledge about
endangered cultures. The inclusion of spirit-based traditions from
a broad geographical area emphasizes the typology of religion over
ethnic compartmentalization. The individuals and communities
studied in this collection serve spirits through ritual, singing,
instruments, initiation, embodiment via possession or trance,
veneration of nature, and, among some indigenous people, the
consumption of ritual psychoactive entheogens. Indigenous and
African diaspora practices focused on service to ancestors and
spirits reflect ancient substrates of religiosity. The rationale to
separate them on disciplinary, ethnic, linguistic, geographical, or
historical grounds evaporates in our interconnected world. Shared
cultural, historical, and structural features of American
indigenous and African diaspora spirit-based traditions mutually
deserve our attention since the analyses and dialogues give way to
discoveries about deep commonalities and divergences among
religions and philosophies. Still struggling against the effects of
colonialism, enslavement, and extinction, the practitioners of
these spirit-based religious traditions hold on to important but
vulnerable parts of humanity's cultural heritage. These readings
make possible journeys of recognition as well as discovery.
The Kebra Nagast is a sacred text originally written in 14th
century Ethiopia. It tells the story of how the Queen of Sheba met
the biblical King Solomon, and relates the birth of her son,
Menilek, who became the legendary king of Ethiopia. A work of
incredible cultural significance, The Kebra Nagast is far more than
simply a piece of literature - it is a testament to richness of
Ethiopian tradition and culture. In addition to its importance in
Ethiopian traditions, the Kebra Nagast has become a key text for
Rastafarians. The Kebra Nagast: The Lost Bible of Rastafarian
Wisdom and Faith is the latest title in the Essential Wisdom
Library series, which brings sacred texts from all traditions to
modern readers. This new edition of the book includes a foreword by
Ziggy Marley, which explores the importance of the Kebra Nagast as
a powerful and sacred text both in Rastafarian tradition and in a
broader sense. A clean, fresh design and inside cover printing give
this ancient text modern appeal.
More than a quarter of the world's religions are to be found in the
regions of Australia, Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia, together
called Oceania. The Religions of Oceania is the first book to bring
together up-to-date information on the great and changing variety
of traditional religions in the Pacific zone. The book also deals
with indigenous Christianity and its wide influence across the
region, and includes new religious movements generated by the
responses of indigenous peoples to colonists and missionaries, the
best known of these being the Cargo Cults' of Melanesia.
The authors present a thorough and accessible examination of the
fascinating diversity of religious practices in the area, analysing
new religious developments, and provideing clear interpretative
tools and a mine of information to help the student better
understand the world's most complex ethnologic tapestry.
"The sacred texts of Ifa, repository of the accumulated wisdom
of countless generations of Yoruba people, are an invaluable source
not only for all students of African oral literature and Yoruba
civilization, but also for future generations interested in the
continuing vitality of Ifa divination and a Yoruba way of life and
thought." Henry Drewal
This landmark study of Ifa, the most important and elaborate
system of divination of the Yoruba people of Nigeria, remains a
monumental contribution to scholarship in anthropology, folklore,
religion, philosophy, linguistics, and African and African-American
studies."
ANCIENT MYSTERIES / AFRICAN STUDIES"The Dogon creation myth
reflects the nuances of cutting-edge scientific cosmology, and
finally this is being recognized. A quintessential read for anyone
wishing to learn the truth about this fascinating subject."--Andrew
Collins, author of From the Ashes of AngelsThe Dogon people of
Mali, West Africa, are famous for their unique art and advanced
cosmology. The Dogon's creation story describes how the one true
god, Amma, created all the matter of the universe. Interestingly,
the myths that depict his creative efforts bear a striking
resemblance to the modern scientific definitions of matter,
beginning with the atom and continuing all the way to the vibrating
threads of string theory. Furthermore, many of the Dogon words,
symbols, and rituals used to describe the structure of matter are
quite similar to those found in the myths of ancient Egypt and in
the daily rituals of Judaism. For example, the modern scientific
depiction of the unformed universe as a black hole is identical to
Amma's Egg of the Dogon and the Egyptian Benben Stone.The Science
of the Dogon offers a case-by-case comparison of Dogon descriptions
and drawings to corresponding scientific definitions and diagrams
from authors like Stephen Hawking and Brian Greene, then extends
this analysis to the counterparts of these symbols in both the
ancient Egyptian and Hebrew religions. What is ultimately revealed
is the scientific basis for the language of the Egyptian
hieroglyphs, which was deliberately encoded to prevent the
knowledge of these concepts from falling into the hands of all but
the highest members of the Egyptian priesthood. The Science of the
Dogon also offers compelling newinterpretations for many of the
most familiar Egyptian symbols, such as the pyramid and the scarab,
and presents new explanations for the origins of religiously
charged words such as Jehovah and Satan.LAIRD SCRANTON is an
independent software designer who became interested in Dogon
mythology and symbolism in the early 1990s. He has studied ancient
myth, language, and cosmology for nearly ten years and has been a
lecturer at Colgate University. He also appears in John Anthony
West's Magical Egypt DVD series. He lives in Albany, New York.
The Knowledge Seeker tells the story of the developing
Indigenous-run education movement and calls forth the urgent need
to teach about Indigenous spirituality.
In 2011, Trinidad declared a state of emergency. This massive state
intervention lasted for 108 days and led to the rounding up of over
7,000 people in areas the state deemed "crime hot spots." The
government justified this action and subsequent police violence on
the grounds that these measures were restoring "the rule of law."
In this milieu of expanded policing powers, protests occasioned by
police violence against lower-class black people have often
garnered little sympathy. But in an improbable turn of events, six
officers involved in the shooting of three young people were
charged with murder at the height of the state of emergency. To
explain this, the host of Crime Watch, the nation's most popular
television show, alleged that there must be a special power at
work: obeah. From eighteenth-century slave rebellions to
contemporary responses to police brutality, Caribbean methods of
problem-solving "spiritual work" have been criminalized under the
label of "obeah." Connected to a justice-making force, obeah
remains a crime in many parts of the anglophone Caribbean. In
Experiments with Power, J. Brent Crosson addresses the complex
question of what obeah is. Redescribing obeah as "science" and
"experiments," Caribbean spiritual workers unsettle the moral and
racial foundations of Western categories of religion. Based on more
than a decade of conversations with spiritual workers during and
after the state of emergency, this book shows how the reframing of
religious practice as an experiment with power transforms
conceptions of religion and law in modern nation-states.
The Soul of the Indian is Charles A. Eastman's exploration and
documentation of religion as he experienced it during the late
nineteenth century. A Dakota physician and writer who sought to
bring understanding between Native and non-Native Americans,
Eastman (1858-1939) became one of the best-known Native Americans
of his time and a significant intellectual figure whose clarity of
vision endures today. In a straightforward manner Eastman
emphasizes the universal quality and personal appeal of his Dakota
religious heritage. First published in 1911, The Soul of the Indian
draws on his childhood teaching and ancestral ideals to counter the
research written by outsiders who treated the Dakotas' ancient
worldviews chiefly as a matter of curiosity. Eastman writes with
deep respect for his ancestors and their culture and history,
including a profound reverence for the environment, animals, and
plants. Though written more than a century ago, Eastman could be
speaking to our own time with its spiritual confusion and
environmental degradation. The new introduction by Brenda J. Child
grounds this important book in contemporary studies.
"Nelson spent a year among the Koyukon people of western Alaska,
studying
their intimate relationship with animals and the land. His
chronicle of
that visit represents a thorough and elegant account of the
mystical
connection between Native Americans and the natural
world."--"Outside"
"This admirable reflection on the natural history of the Koyukon
River
drainage in Alaska is founded on knowledge the author gained as a
student
of the Koyukon culture, indigenous to that region. He presents
these
Athapascan views of the land--principally of its animals and
Koyukon
relationships with those creatures--together with a measured
account of his
own experiences and doubts. . . . For someone in search of a native
American expression of 'ecology' and natural history, I can think
of no
better place to begin than with this work."--Barry Lopez, "Orion
Nature "
"Quarterly"
"Far from being a romantic attempt to pass on the spiritual lore of
Native
Americans for a quick fix by others, this is a very serious
ethnographic
study of some Alaskan Indians in the Northern Forest area. . . . He
has
painstakingly regarded their views of earth, sky, water, mammals
and every
creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. He does admire their
love of
nature and spirit. Those who see the world through his eyes using
their
eyes will likely come away with new respect for the boreal forest
and those
who live with it and in it, not against it."--"The Christian
Century"
"In "Make Prayers to the Raven" Nelson reveals to us the Koyukon
beliefs and attitudes toward the fauna that surround them in their
forested
habitat close to thelower Yukon. . . . Nelson's presentation also
gives
rich insights into the Koyukon subsistence cycle through the year
and into
the hardships of life in this northern region. The book is written
with
both brain and heart. . . . This book represents a landmark: never
before
has the integration of American Indians with their environment been
so well
spelled out."--Ake Hultkrantz, "Journal of Forest History"
|
|