Santeria Enthroned: Art, Ritual, and Innovation in an Afro-Cuban Religion [Paperback]

David H. Brown (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0226076105 | ISBN-13: 978-0226076102 | Publication Date: October 15, 2003 | Edition: 1

Ever since its emergence in colonial-era Cuba, Afro-Cuban Santería (or Lucumí) has displayed a complex dynamic of continuity and change in its institutions, rituals, and iconography. In Santería Enthroned, David H. Brown combines art history, cultural anthropology, and ethnohistory to show how Africans and their descendants have developed novel forms of religious practice in the face of relentless oppression.

Focusing on the royal throne as a potent metaphor in Santería belief and practice, Brown shows how negotiation among ideologically competing interests have shaped the religion's symbols, rituals, and institutions from the nineteenth century to the present. Rich case studies of change in Cuba and the United States, including a New Jersey temple and South Carolina's Oyotunji Village, reveal patterns of innovation similar to those found among rival Yoruba kingdoms in Nigeria. Throughout, Brown argues for a theoretical perspective on culture as a field of potential strategies and "usable pasts" that actors draw upon to craft new forms and identities—a perspective that will be invaluable to all students of the African Diaspora.

American Acemy of Religion Award for Excellence in the Study of Religion (Analytical-Descriptive Category)

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Santería Enthroned has now set a new standard for scholarship on the aesthetic dimensions and historical development of this fascinating initiatory tradition. . . . Santería Enthroned gives much food for thought; indeed, this generously illustrated and superbly designed volume is a banquet for the eye as well as the intellect. . . . The fruit of twenty years’ labor, Brown’s study will stand the test of time and is easily the best account of Santería as created, lived, and lovingly elaborated to date. Glancing at the honey-toned cover . . . one is reminded that sometimes what glitters does turn out to be a full twenty-four carats, or at least to be worth its weight in gold.”—Elizabeth Pérez, History of Religions

(Elizabeth P�rez History of Religions )

“Brown has written a definitive study of Afro-Cuban religion. . . . This book is essential reading for scholars of religion and theologians who explore religion in the Americas.”—Michelle A. Gonzalez, Journal of Religion

(Michelle A. Gonzalez Journal of Religion )

"Brilliantly constructed, theoretically sophisticated. . . . Brown''s text exemplifies how we might use historical data for theoretical innovations that shed new light on the complexities of race, legitimacy, and people''s struggles over the authenticity of social and cultural change."—Kamari Maxine Clarke, Transforming Anthropology

(Kamari Maxine Clarke Transforming Anthropology )

"A deep and rich ethnographic treatment of this distinct religious tradition."

(Joseph M. Murphy Theological Studies )

"Santeria Enthroned presents an ambitious blend of archival research, visual analysis, oral-historical interviews, ethnography, ethnohistory, and the techniques of art history, applied to the problematic tension between continuity and innovation in Afro-Cuban religion. The book will stand as an essential reference for decades to vcome."

(Michael Stone H-Net Review )

"[Brown] combines the methods and materials of anthropology, art history, and social history among other disciplines, to consider what this case can contribute to the ongoing debate over the source of African diasporic cultural forms. . . . His analysis shatters any simplistic dichotomy of change versus continuity, and in doing so goes beyond any previous work on Santería to provide the most careful and historically nuanced account of this religion''s origins and contemporary practices yet written. . . . While it is essential reading for specialists in African diasporic and Caribbeanist history, comparative religion, visual anthropology, and ethnography, it would be most useful . . . for advanced undergraduate and graduate seminars. And yet I am tempted to press it upon anyone expressing any curiosity about Santería, precisely because it so carefully dissects and questions the assumed wisdom."

(Kristina Wirtz Museum Anthropology Review )

"Brown''s text is tremendously full, monumental in its scope, and seminal as a study of historical change over time . . . Essential reading for scholars of African-Caribbean art and religion. . . . It is also a key text for scholars of the African Diaspora."

(Heather Shirey African Arts )

"In this masterful volume, Brown has skilfully shown how innovation and tradition are, in many ways, reversible terms."

(Roger Sansi Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute )

From the Inside Flap

Ever since its emergence in colonial-era Cuba, Afro-Cuban Santería (or Lucumí) has displayed a complex dynamic of continuity and change in its institutions, rituals, and iconography. In Santería Enthroned, David H. Brown combines art history, cultural anthropology, and ethnohistory to show how Africans and their descendants have developed novel forms of religious practice in the face of relentless oppression.

Focusing on the royal throne as a potent metaphor in Santería belief and practice, Brown shows how negotiation among ideologically competing interests have shaped the religion's symbols, rituals, and institutions from the nineteenth century to the present. Rich case studies of change in Cuba and the United States, including a New Jersey temple and South Carolina's Oyotunji Village, reveal patterns of innovation similar to those found among rival Yoruba kingdoms in Nigeria. Throughout, Brown argues for a theoretical perspective on culture as a field of potential strategies and "usable pasts" that actors draw upon to craft new forms and identities—a perspective that will be invaluable to all students of the African Diaspora.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press; 1 edition (October 15, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226076105
• ISBN-13: 978-0226076102
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 8.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #714,793 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best, September 1, 2005

By 

P. Kucklick (Ohio, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Santeria Enthroned: Art, Ritual, and Innovation in an Afro-Cuban Religion (Paperback)

This is one of the best books written on the topic of Cuban popular religion. The author covers the history of Santeria remarkably well and his research is well-founded. Dispels a lot of the bogus mythology and mangled metaphysics surrounding the tradition and gives honor to the forebears of the Religion.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding History, April 18, 2008

By 

Cubaking (Arizona, La Habana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Santeria Enthroned: Art, Ritual, and Innovation in an Afro-Cuban Religion (Paperback)

Alafia, Mr. Brown's book is an important history of Orisha worship and Santeria that I can be comfortable in recommending. It is in depth and written from the perspective of a scholar who has done his research painstakingly. The footnotes are extensive even to the point of being a bit intrusive, yet it is all there. This is a book I would suggest for the seasoned practitioner of the religion or the serious student. Unlike many books on Orisha worship this is not a pamphlet it is a book in the true sense of the word. While it is too new to be a classic it is certainly well on its way to this venerable status.

Awo Ogbe Sa

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Resource on Santeria, September 24, 2008

By 

Nadezda Karuna Potter "Shakti Conjure" (Oakland, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Santeria Enthroned: Art, Ritual, and Innovation in an Afro-Cuban Religion (Paperback)

This is a wonderful resource on Santeria, and might serve well those readers who are interested in the field of African diasporic religions. This book is written from an anthropological point of view and the academic lingo is qite prominant. But if you can go beyond the academic approach you will find this book is a very valuble addition to your library.

Enjoy!
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