Cover
title | : | Reinventing Religions : Syncretism and Transformation in Africa and the Americas |
author | : | Greenfield, Sidney M.; Droogers, A. F. |
publisher | : | Rowman & Littlefield |
isbn10 | asin | : | 0847688526 |
print isbn13 | : | 9780847688524 |
ebook isbn13 | : | 9780585383637 |
language | : | English |
subject | Blacks--Religion--Congresses, Syncretism (Religion)--Africa, Sub-Saharan--Congresses, Syncretism (Religion)--Latin America--Congresses, African-Brazilian cults--Congresses. |
publication date | : | 2001 |
lcc | : | BL2490.R45 2001eb |
ddc | : | 200/.89/96 |
subject | : | Blacks--Religion--Congresses, Syncretism (Religion)--Africa, Sub-Saharan--Congresses, Syncretism (Religion)--Latin America--Congresses, African-Brazilian cults--Congresses. |
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Reinventing Religions
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The above picture, taken in southern Brazil by photographer Peter Kloehn of New York City, is of an Umbanda altar on which are placed representations of the spirits believed to guide its members. Many of these supernatural beings are believed to incorporate in the leaders of the group when they enter into trance during rituals. This is when the spirits consult with and help the members of the group. The representation of Christian saints, orixs (deities) from Africa, and spirits of former slaves and other marginalized Brazilians on the same altar clearly depicts the syncretic mixing of the supernaturals venerated by the members of this group and is representative of the theme of Reinventing Religions.
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Reinventing Religions
Syncretism and Transformation in Africa and the Americas
Edited by Sidney M. Greenfield and Andr Droogers
ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD PUBLISHERS, INC.
Lanham Boulder New York Oxford
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ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD PUBLISHERS, INC.
Published in the United States of America by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
4720 Boston Way, Lanham, Maryland 20706
http://www.romanlittlefield.com
12 Hid's Copse Road, Cumnor Hill, Oxford OX2 9JJ, England
Copyright 2001 by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
All rights reserved . No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.
Cover photo is courtesy of Jualynne E. Dodson of the African Atlantic Research team of the University of Colorado, Boulder, and Jos Millet Batista, senior research associate of Casa del Caribe en Santiago de Cuba, March 2000.
The cover photograph, taken in Santiago de Cuba, comes from practitioners of the tradition of Regla de Palo. It shows a section of an altar that was displayed in a priest's home. The altar is both recognition and reverence of the Native American's first occupation of the land and spiritual space in the Americas. The other elements displayed, such as the rock, pieces of tree leaves, and sticks from the earth, are derived from the African religious heritage in Cuba.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Reinventing religions: syncretism and transformation in Africa and the Americas / edited by Sidney M.Greenfield and Andr Droogers.
p. cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8476-8852-6 (alk. paper) ISBN 0-8476-8853-4 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. BlacksReligionCongresses. 2. Syncretism (Religion)Africa, Sub-SaharanCongresses. 3. Syncretism (Religion)Latin AmericaCongresses. 4. Afro-Brazilian cultsCongresses. I. Greenfield, Sidney M. II. Droogers, A.F.
BL2490 .R45 2001 |
200'89'96dc21 |
00-059199 |
Printed in the United States of America
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials,
ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.
Page 5
To Ellie and Ineke ,
for their patience and support
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Contents
Introduction: A Symposium | 9 |
Sidney M. Greenfield and Andr Droogers |
1 Recovering and Reconstructing Syncretism | 21 |
Andr Droogers and Sidney M. Greenfield |
2 A Yoruba Healer as Syncretic Specialist: Herbalism, Rosicrucianism and the Babalawo | 43 |
Frank A. Salamone |
3 Population Growth, Industrialization and the Proliferation of Syncretized Religions in Brazil | 55 |
Sidney M. Greenfield |
4 Ethnicity, Purity, the Market and Syncretism in Afro-Brazilian Cults | 71 |
Roberto Motta |
5 Religious Syncretism in an Afro-Brazilian Cult House | 87 |
Sergio F. Ferretti |
6 The Presence of Non-African Spirits in an Afro-Brazilian Religion: A Case of Afro-Amerindian Syncretism? | 99 |
Mundicarmo M. R. Ferretti |
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7 The Reinterpretation of Africa: Convergence and Syncretism in Brazilian Candombl | 113 |
Sidney M. Greenfield |
8 Possession and Syncretism: Spirits as Mediators in Modernity | 131 |
Inger Sjrslev |
9 Joana's Story: Syncretism at the Actor's Level | 145 |
Andr Droogers |
10 Ragga Cowboys: Country and Western Themes in Rastafarian-Inspired Reggae Music | 163 |
Werner Zips |
11 Polyvocality and Constructions of Syncretism in Winti | 183 |
Ineke van Wetering |
12 Seeking Syncretism: The Case of Sathya Sai Baba | 201 |
Morton Klass |
Index | 215 |
|
About the Contributors | 229 |
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Introduction A Symposium
Religion, in its broadest sense, is fundamental in the lives and meaning systems of most people, especially those of Africa. It also has been at the heart of most encounters between Africans and outsiders. This book is about syncretism, specifically religious syncretism. Its focus is on the religious beliefs and practices of those alive today who are the products of the contact, mixing or interpenetration between Africans, Euro-Americans and others during the last five centuries.
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