Carnival of the Spirit: Seasonal Celebrations and Rites of Passage [Paperback]

Luisah Teish (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1994

Combining her own family traditions with those celebrated by the tribes of Africa and the Caribbean, the author of Jambalaya explores African spirituality, folk tales, festivals, and daily sacred celebrations. Original. $15,000 ad/promo. Tour.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Carnival of the Spirit  is a vibrant synergy of African spirituality, folktales and kitchen-table wisdom in an exuberant tribute to world holidays and nature's four seasons.

Luisah Teish serves up stories of her own family's traditions along with festivals from all over the world -- from the Lily Festival in Japan to the Yam Festival in West Africa, from intimate family gatherings to Mardi Gras in New Orleans and from traditional European holidays to sacred African rituals.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Harpercollins; 1st edition (September 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062508687
• ISBN-13: 978-0062508683
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,322,428 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A truly delightful and deeply moving sipritual experience, December 3, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Carnival of the Spirit: Seasonal Celebrations and Rites of Passage (Paperback)

Luisah Teish is amazing and this book really shows you that. Stories of her personal spiritual journey while at her family home in New Orlenes, on the bus in Africa and dealing with mryids of friends relatives everywhere provide a rich "real world" context for her journey towards spirit. The main focus is that Spirit is everywhere, and she emphasises this with wonderful cross cultural descriptions of celebrations from throughout the world. Ms. Teish shows us that it is our intentions and celebrations that connect us to the Spiritual world. She goes on to show us clearly that it is this connection to Spirit that forms the foundation for our physical world and can effect every aspect of our lives as a result. Although it is full of beautiful narative, this book is more of workbook or an extended meditation. It takes us on a journey through the seasonal year from a perspective of celebrating Sprit. There are many practical lessons to be learned from this book, including some very funny and quite powerful advice about what NOT to do when praying for abundance. Read it. You will feel like celebrating that you did.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Carnival of the Spirit by Osunmiwa Fatunmase (Luisah Teish), July 11, 2006

By 

Awo Onifade Sangodare "Ile Anago Ifa Orisa" (Phoenix,AZ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Carnival of the Spirit: Seasonal Celebrations and Rites of Passage (Paperback)

Iya Osunmiwa is a writer that has worked hard all of her life to bridge the Orisa spiritual concepts with the larger Metaphysical community of Shamans, Pagans, Wicca's, and even the New Age movement. She has taken those concepts that are allowed to be shared with those who have not gone through the sacred rituals of initiation within the Orisa or Ifa tradition. Her work is a blend of many of these traditions with an African flavor. She has been respectful of the many factions within the Diaspora in preparing her works. There is a bit of "Root Work", Home Remedies past down from grandmother to grand daughter. There's even a bit of Christian mystism in her use of candles and saints as they are used in the Curandismo path as well. She spent countless hours in search of many of those who contributed to her final composition and this was the inspiration for the title. For those seeking mainstream Orisa there are other works. For those who just want to add a bit of magic to their lives this book like her first one (Jambalaya) will help those who need to find empowerment. There are countless students that have taken her courses over the years that have gone on to become powerful women and persons that embraced their destiny to become writters, medicine persons, and healer in their own right. This book is a must have for your bookself after reading it you will return over and over again for the many rituals she has shared. May Oshun continue to inspire her to bring strength to those who seek their own path. Adupe Orunmila, Adupe Orisa, Adupe Egun for standing with her and helping her in her writtings. Ogbo ato. Ifa agbe e.

Alafia;
Awo Onifade Sangodare, one who she inspired along my path.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Spirits and Celebrations, November 5, 2000

By 

Zekeriyah (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Carnival of the Spirit: Seasonal Celebrations and Rites of Passage (Paperback)

I'm kind of mad this book is out-of-print since I read it once at a library and haven't been able to find it since. This book is filled with anecdotes and spiritual quests, as well as a large selection of spiritual traditions celebrated throughout the world. This book gives you a brief glimpse at various indigenous holidays throughout the world. Worth picking up if you find it by some miracle.