Description
Product ID: | 9780253061911 |
Product Form: | Paperback / softback |
Country of Manufacture: | US |
Title: | Spirit Service |
Subtitle: | Vodun and Vodou in the African Atlantic World |
Authors: | Author: Christian N. Vannier, Timothy R. Landry, Eric James Montgomery |
Page Count: | 346 |
Subjects: | Traditional African religions and spiritual beliefs, Tribal religions, Social groups: religious groups and communities, Sociology, Religious groups: social & cultural aspects, Sociology: customs & traditions |
Description: | Known in the Dominican Republic and Togo as Vodu, in Benin as Vodún, and in Haiti as Vodou, West African religion has, for hundreds of years, served as a repository of sacred knowledge while simultaneously evolving in response to human experience and globalization. Spirit Service: Vodún and Vodou in the African Atlantic World explores this dynamic religion, its mobility, and its place in the modern world. By examining the systems—ritual practices, community-based spirit veneration, and spiritual means of securing opportunity and well-being—alongside the individuals who worship, this rich collection offers the first comprehensive ethnographic study of West African spirit service on a broad scale. Contributors consider social encounters between African/Haitian practitioners and European / North American spiritual seekers, economies and histories, funerary rites and spirit possessions, and examinations of gender and materiality. Offering much-needed perspective on this historically disparaged religion, Spirit Service reminds us all that the gods are growing, assimilating, and demanding recognition and respect. |
Imprint Name: | Indiana University Press |
Publisher Name: | Indiana University Press |
Country of Publication: | GB |
Publishing Date: | 2022-06-07 |