Afro-Cuban Religious Arts
Popular Expressions of Cultural Inheritance in Espiritismo and SanterÃa
- 217 pages
- English
- PDF
- Available on iOS & Android
Afro-Cuban Religious Arts
Popular Expressions of Cultural Inheritance in Espiritismo and SanterÃa
About this book
This book profiles four generations of women from one Afro-Cuban religious family. From a plantation in Havana Province in the 1890s to a religious center in Spanish Harlem in the 1960s, these women were connected by their prominent roles as leaders in the religions they practiced and the dramatic ritual artwork they created. Each woman was a medium in Espiritismo—communicating with dead ancestors for guidance or insight—and also a santera, or priest of SanterÃa, who could intervene with the oricha pantheon.
Kristine Juncker argues that, by creating art for more than one religion, these women shatter the popular assumption that Afro-Caribbean religions are exclusive organizations. Most remarkably, the portraiture, sculptures, and photographs in Afro-Cuban Religious Arts offer rare glimpses into the rituals and iconography of these religions. SanterÃa altars are closely guarded, limited to initiates, and typically destroyed upon the death of the santera, while Espiritismo artifacts are rarely considered valuable enough to pass on. The unique and protean cultural legacy detailed here reveals insights into how ritual art became popular imagery, sparked a wider dialogue about culture inheritance, attracted new practitioners, and enabled the movement to explode internationally.
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Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Afro-Cuban Religious Arts
- Title
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of Plates
- List of Figures
- List of Tables
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Note on Orthography and Naming
- 1 Religious Pluralism and the Afro-Cuban Ritual-Arts Movement, 1899–1969
- 2 Tiburcia and the Nested Spaces of Afro-Cuban Ritual Arts, 1861–1938
- 3 Hortensia and Iluminada: Afro-Cuban Ritual Altars at the Crossroads
- 4 Iluminada and Carmen: Arts of Historical Desire in 1950s and 1960s Spanish Harlem
- Conclusion: Afro-Atlantic Arts and the Popular Sublime
- Appendix: Food for the Oricha
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index