Working the Spirit Ceremonies of the African Diaspora Murphy, Joseph M.

Beacon Press
Year of publishing: 1994
Place of publishing: Boston
ISBN: 0807012211
Language: English
Series: first

Murphy explores five contemporary religious practices, Cuba's Santeria, Brazil's Candomble, Haitian Vodou (voodoo), Jamaican Revival Zion, and the black church in the U.S., in terms of their common roots in African religions. He presents each on its own terms, clearly translating unfamiliar terms and ideas, leaving many of the similarities open to the reader to find. Only in the concluding chapter, titled "Working the Spirit," does he put these commonalities together. Murphy's strong points are in tracing the various ceremonies through their African slave roots back to their countries of origin and in showing how these ceremonies were used by slaves to evoke nourishing spirits and, later, to help them strive toward independence. This is a far-reaching and intriguing inquiry, though Murphy does rely heavily on others' fieldwork, much of it done several decades ago. Murphy's own expertise is in Vodou and Candomble, and on these subjects his writing really shines.

Volumes

MUR_9.2. (Available)

Keywords

Traditional Beliefs

Xoliswa Ndoyiya: Ukutya Kwasekhaya

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New arrivals

New titles in our library 12/2016

Our library has aquired a number of new and interesting books. Here is the list of the latest titles.

Blood Brothers: The Fatal Friendship Between Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X by Randy Roberts and Johnny Smith
Fashion Cities Africa by Hannah Azieb Pool
Frantz Fanon: Toward a Revolutionary Humanismby Christopher Lee
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty by Robinson, James A., Acemoglu, Daron
Shakespeare in Swahililand: Adventures With the Ever-Living Poet by Edward Wilson-Lee
A History of Modern Africa: 1800 to the Present by Richard J. Reid
Authentically African: Arts and the Transnational Politics of Congolese Culture by Sarah Van Beurden
Children in Slavery through the Ages by by Gwyn Campbell, Suzanne Miers, Joseph C. Miller
Global Health in Africa: Historical Perspectives on Disease Control by Tamara Giles-Vernick
Rumba on the River: A History of the Popular Music of the Two Congos by Gary Stewart
Women and Slavery, Vol. 1: Africa, the Indian Ocean World, and the Medieval North Atlantic by Gwyn Campbell
Women and Slavery, Vol. 2: The Modern Atlantic by Gwyn Campbell
Cahier d'un Retour Au Pays Natal by Aimé Cesaire
Healing Traditions: African Medicine, Cultural Exchange and Competition in South Africa, 1820-1948 by Karen Elizabeth Flint
Global Education Policy and International Development: New Agendas, Issues and Policies by Antoni Verger
Black Skin, White Coats: Nigerian Psychiatrists, Decolonization, and the Globalization of Psychiatry by Matthew M. Heaton