Book Description

Customer Reviews (1)

A Look Under The Surface
This is a refreshing work that views Vodun from an artistic and psychological perspective, versus a religious or Hoo-Doo search. There is alot of material here you won't readily find anywhere else about the culture of Vodun. There is also great information in one chapter on the realities and impact of the slave trade within Africa that provides a clearer perspective than most such articles.

A very excellent, and intellectual read I enjoyed and is well worth the price. Plainly, Ms. Blier put great effort and thought into this work, and it shows. This is one of the top 10 books a serious student of Vodou should aspire to have and read. ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description
This digital document is an article from African Arts, published by Thomson Gale on March 22, 2007. The length of the article is 3409 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Ewe ceramics as the visualization of Vodun.(research note)
Author: Lisa Aronson
Publication: African Arts (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 22, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 40Issue: 1Page: 80(6)

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Book Description
This digital document is an article from The Mississippi Quarterly, published by Mississippi State University on December 22, 1999. The length of the article is 6212 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The Antislavery Unconscious: Mesmerism, Vodun, and "Equality".(Critical Essay)
Author: Russ Castronovo
Publication: The Mississippi Quarterly (Refereed)
Date: December 22, 1999
Publisher: Mississippi State University
Volume: 53Issue: 1Page: 41

Article Type: Critical Essay

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Product Description
This study, focusing on select novels by women writers of the African Diaspora, illustrates that a surprising degree of commonality exists among works with obvious geographical, cultural, and linguistics differences an affirmation of the philosophical essence of the Vodun religion as an antidote to Western spiritual and cultural moribundity. A close reading Zora Neale Hurston s "Their Eyes Were Watching God", Simone Schwarz-Bart s "Pluie et Vent sur Telum??e Miracle", and Paule Marshall s "Praisesong for the Widow", demonstrates the way in which these works allude to the Vodun pantheon and ancestor veneration in order to valorize a worldview that recognizes the interconnectedness of all living things, visible and invisible. This is accomplished by locating each novel within its socio-political context and developing African diasporic literary tradition wherein African-derived beliefs have become sources of cultural resistance. After this reconstruction, the author is able to explicate the representation and function of Vodun as it is employed by each of the authors under consideration. ... Read more

Book Description
The reflexive approach and the concept of bimusicality have made possible this in-depth study of the Rada rite, the foundation of the complex and sensationalized religion of Haiti, Vodun. Fleurant returned to his native Haiti to immerse himself in the socio-cultural life of those who practice the religion that was brought to Haiti by the people captured in Africa from the 16th to the 18th centuries. Through total immersion in daily life culture and apprenticeship in the music culture (reflexive approach and concept of bimusicality), the author has accessed information and provided a descriptive analysis heretofore unavailable to scholars. From this privileged position, the author details the complexity, sophistication, and beauty of the ritual, music, and dance. The pioneering works on the music or the dance of Vodun have attempted to cover the whole ritual spectrum. Fleurant contends that the religion is too complex and too sensationalized to be treated in one volume and that each rite should be studied separately and in greater depth. Dancing Spirits examines drum rhythms, song tunes, and texts of the major Rada dances. A model of the Rada ceremony in Bopo, a community located some ten miles north of Port-au-Prince, serves as a guide to the reader not familiar with Vodun liturgy. The work challenges studies that do not delve deeply enough into this complex religion, and serves as a model for further studies. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

For the Poets and Musicians
This is a study of the songs, styles of dance and music frequently encountered at a Vodou service, with explanations thereof.

Where songs are quoted, they also are translated conveniently.

My interests don't run this way, however it was saved from being a dry read by being woven together with alot of history and wonderful descriptions of personal encounters the author had with significant people during research and all in all, this was the most interesting sections of the book and lifts it well above a mere study of form by breathing living substance into the topic.

I'm glad to have this book in my private collection.

If you aremusically inclined and interested in Vodou, this is a must have classic. ... Read more

Book Description
The 6th and 7th Books of Moses (originating from the same book) are often cited as being used by Vodun/Obeah practitioners. Although they claim to be Kabbalistic in nature, there is very little if any actual Kabbalah to be found in them. Rather this appears to be a traditional ritual magick system with incantations to summon and dismiss spirits to achieve worldly ends. Published in 1849, and translated into English in 1880, the 6th and 7th Books of Moses claim to include material from 1338, 1383 and 1501, including portions reputedly translated from the "Cuthan-Samaritan" language, which has been extinct since the 12th Century A.D., and about which very little is known. The most interesting aspects of this book are the unique illustrations of magickal seals, with letters in Hebrew and an unknown script; and the lists of names of demonic entities. ... Read more