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Secrets, Gossip, and Gods - The Transformation of Brazilian Candomble (Paperback, New Ed)
Loot Price: R954
Discovery Miles 9 540
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Secrets, Gossip, and Gods - The Transformation of Brazilian Candomble (Paperback, New Ed)
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In this wide-ranging book Paul Christopher Johnson explores the
changing, hidden face of the Afro-Brazilian indigenous religion of
Candomble. Despite its importance in Brazilian society, Candomble
has received far less attention than its sister religions Vodou and
Santeria. Johnson seeks to fill this void by offering a
comprehensive look at the development, beliefs, and practices of
Candomble and exploring its transformation from a secret society of
slaves--hidden, persecuted, and marginalized--to a public religion
that is very much a part of Brazilian culture. Johnson traces this
historical shift and locates the turning point in the creation of
Brazilian national identity and a public sphere in the first half
of the twentieth century.
His major focus is on the ritual practice of secrecy in Candomble.
Like Vodou and Santeria and the African Yoruba religion from which
they are descended, Candomble features a hierarchic series of
initiations, with increasing access to secret knowledge at each
level. As Johnson shows, the nature and uses of secrecy evolved
with the religion. First, secrecy was essential to a society that
had to remain hidden from authorities. Later, when Candomble became
known and actively persecuted, its secrecy became a form of
resistance as well as an exotic hidden power desired by elites.
Finally, as Candomble became a public religion and a vital part of
Brazilian culture, the debate increasingly turned away from the
secrets themselves and toward their possessors. It is speech about
secrets, and not the content of those secrets, that is now most
important in building status, legitimacy and power in
Candomble.
Offering many first hand accounts of the rites andrituals of
contemporary Candomble, this book provides insight into this
influential but little-studied group, while at the same time making
a valuable contribution to our understanding of the relationship
between religion and society.
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