Lachatañeré,Rómulo (Author) and Ayorinde,Christine (Author)
Format:
Book, Whole
Publication Date:
2005
Published:
Princeton, NJ: M. Wiener Publishers
Location:
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
156 p, Distinguishes between the two most important religious forms - the Regla de Ocha (Santeria), which promotes worship of the Oshira (gods), and the traditional oracles that originated in the old Yoruba city of lle-lfe', which promote a more animistic worldview. Africans who were brought to Cuba as slaves had to recreate their old traditions in their new Caribbean context. As their African heritage collided with Catholicism and with Native American and European traditions, certain African gods and traditions became more prominent while others lost their significance in the new Afro-Cuban culture. This book, the first systematic overview of the syncretization of the gods of African origin with Catholic saints, introduces the reader to a little-known side of Cuban culture.
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
., 335 p., Contains the theoretical basis for understanding African spirituality organized in biblical format, sacred texts, philosophical and historical African tradition. In the first part the author focuses on the traditions and knowledge of the ancient African regions of Congo, Uângara, Takrur and Senegambia, Ethiopia and Zambezia. The second part of the book covers Brazil, the Caribbean, Suriname and the United States.
