In the Afro-Cuban Lukumi religious tradition - more commonly known
in the United States as Santeria - entrants into the priesthood
undergo an extraordinary fifty-three-week initiation period. During
this time, these novices - called iyawo - endure a host of
prohibitions, including most notably wearing exclusively white
clothing.A Year in White, sociologist C. Lynn Carr, who underwent
this initiation herself, opens a window on this remarkable
year-long religious transformation. In her intimate investigation
of the ""year in white"", Carr draws on fifty-two in-depth
interviews with other participants, an online survey of nearly two
hundred others, and almost a decade of her own ethnographic
fieldwork, gathering stories that allow us to see how cultural
newcomers and natives thought, felt, and acted with regard to their
initiation. She documents how, during the iyawo year, the ritual
slowly transforms the initiate's identity. For the first three
months, for instance, the iyawo may not use a mirror, even to
shave, and must eat all meals while seated on a mat on the floor
using only a spoon and their own set of dishes. During the entire
year, the iyawo loses their name and is simply addressed as
""iyawo"" by family and friends. Carr also shows that this
year-long religious ritual - which is carried out even as the iyawo
goes about daily life - offers new insight into religion in
general, suggesting that the sacred is not separable from the
profane and indeed that religion shares an ongoing dynamic
relationship with the realities of everyday life. Religious
expression happens at home, on the streets, at work and school.
Offering insight not only into Santeria but also into religion more
generally, A Year in White makes an important contribution to our
understanding of complex, dynamic religious landscapes in
multicultural, pluralist societies and how they inhabit our daily
lives.
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