Los Angeles, CA: University of California, Los Angeles
Location:
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
456 p., Ethnographic study of an Afro-Brazilian center in Salvador, Bahia Brazil contributes to theoretical conversations in the anthropology of the body, medical and psychological anthropology, and relational psychoanalysis.
The article discusses the oral histories of the Arará people in Perico and Agramonte, Cuba, and their roots in African cultural practices. The spiritual Arará religion is discussed. Emphasis is placed on similarities between African and Arará dances, social memory, and communication with the dead. Various Arará deities and religious objects are discussed. Many practitioners of the religion believe such objects came from Africa. Many of the oral stories revolve around the experiences of both African slaves and freed people at the España sugar refinery. It is believed the Arará people are descended from the African Ewe and Fon people, and therefore are strongly influenced by their religious customs.
