Nation Dance

by Taylor, Patrick

• ISBN13: 9780253214317
• ISBN10: 0253214319
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-06-01
• Publisher: Indiana Univ Pr

Summary

Nation DanceReligion, Identity, and Cultural Difference in the CaribbeanEdited by Patrick TaylorAddresses the interplay of diverse spiritual, religious, and cultural traditions across the Caribbean.Dealing with the ongoing interaction of rich and diverse cultural traditions from Cuba and Jamaica to Guyana and Surinam, Nation Dance addresses some of the major contemporary issues in the study of Caribbean religion and identity. The book's three sections move from a focus on spirituality and healing, to theology in social and political context, and on to questions of identity and diaspora.The book begins with the voices of female practitioners and then offers a broad, interdisciplinary examination of Caribbean religion and culture. Afro-Caribbean religions, Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, and Christianity are all addressed, with specific reflections on Santería, Palo Monte, Vodou, Winti, Obeah, Kali Mai, Orisha work, Spiritual Baptist faith, Spiritualism, Rastafari, Confucianism, Congregationalism, Pentecostalism, Catholicism, and liberation theology. Some essays are based on fieldwork, archival research, and textual or linguistic analysis, while others are concerned with methodological or theoretical issues. Contributors include practitioners and scholars, some very established in the field, others with fresh, new approaches; all of them come from the region or have done extensive fieldwork or research there. In these essays the poetic vitality of the practitioner's voice meets the attentive commitment of the postcolonial scholar in a dance of "nations" across the waters.Patrick Taylor, Associate Professor in the Division of Humanities and in the Graduate Programme in Social and Political Thought at York University, Toronto, is past Deputy Director of the Centre for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean and Editor-in-Chief of the Caribbean Religions Project. He is author of The Narrative of Liberation: Perspectives on Afro-Caribbean Literature, Popular Culture and Politics and co-editor of Forging Identities and Patterns of Development in Latin America and the Caribbean. His articles have appeared in Callaloo, Studies in Religion, and other scholarly journals and books.May 2001224 pages, 1 b& w photo, 1 map, 6 1/8 x 9 1/4, bibl., indexcloth 0-253-33835-2 $39.95 L / 30.50paper 0-253-21431-9 $18.95 s / 14.50 books.ContentsAcknowledgmentsDancing the Nation: An Introduction,Patrick TaylorI. Spirituality, Healing and the DivineAcross the Waters: Practitioners Speak, Eva Fernandez, Yvonne B. Drakes, and Deloris SeiverightHow Shall We Sing the Lord's Song in a Strange Land? Constructing the Divine in Caribbean Contexts, Althea PrinceCommunicating with our Gods: The Language of Winti, Petronella BreinburgThe Intersemiotics of Obeah and Kali Mai in Guyana, Frederick Ivor CaseReligions of African Origin in Cuba: A Gender Perspective, María Margarita Castro FloresII. Theology, Society and PoliticsSheba's Song: The Bible, the Kebra Nagast and the Rastafari, Patrick TaylorThemes from West Indian Church History in Colonial and Post-Colonial Times, Arthur C. DayfootCongregationalism and Afro-Guyanese Autonomy, Juanita de BarrosEden after Eve: Christian Fundamentalism and Women in Barbados, Judith SoaresCurrent Evolution of Relations between Religion and Politics in Haiti, Laënnec HurbonIII. Religion, Identity, and DiasporaJamaican Diasporic Identity: The Metaphor of Yaad, Barry ChevannesIdentity, Personhood and Religion in Caribbean Context, Abrahim H. KhanSanfancón: Orientalism, Self-Orientalization, and "Chinese Religion" in Cuba, Frank F. SchererThe Diasporic Mo(ve)ment: Indentureship and Indo-Caribbean Identity, Sean Lokaisingh-MeighooCaribbean Religions: A Selected Bibliography

Author Biography

Patrick Taylor is Associate Professor in the Division of Humanities and in the Graduate Programme in Social and Political Thought at York University, Toronto. He is past Deputy Director of the Centre for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean and Editor-in-Chief of the Caribbean Religions Project. Author of The Narrative of Liberation: Perspectives on Afro-Caribbean Literature, Popular Culture and Politics and co-editor of Forging Identities and Patterns of Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, his articles have appeared in Callaloo, Studies in Religion, and other scholarly journals and books

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Dancing the Nation: An Introduction	1	(16)
Patrick Taylor
I. Spirituality, Healing, and the Divine
Across the Waters: Practitioners Speak	17	(8)
Eva Fernandez Bravo
Yvonne B. Drakes
Deloris Seiveright
How Shall We Sing the Lord's Song in a Strange Land? Constructing the Divine in Caribbean Contexts	25	(7)
Althea Prince
Communicating with Our Gods: The Language of Winti	32	(8)
Petronella Breinburg
The Intersemiotics of Obeah and Kali Mai in Guyana	40	(14)
Frederick Ivor Case
Religions of African Origin in Cuba: A Gender Perspective	54	(11)
Maria Margarita Castro Flores
II. Theology, Society, and Politics
Sheba's Song: The Bible, the Kebra Nagast, and the Rastafari	65	(14)
Patrick Taylor
Themes from West Indian Church History in Colonial and Post-colonial Times	79	(10)
Arthur C. Dayfoot
Congregationalism and Afro-Guianese Autonomy	89	(15)
Juanita De Barros
Eden after Eve: Christian Fundamentalism and Women in Barbados	104	(14)
Judith Soares
Current Evolution of Relations between Religion and Politics in Haiti	118	(11)
Laennec Hurbon
III. Religion, Identity, and Diaspora
Jamaican Diasporic Identity: The Metaphor of Yaad	129	(9)
Barry Chevannes
Identity, Personhood, and Religion in Caribbean Context	138	(15)
Abrahim H. Khan
Sanfancon: Orientalism, Self-Orientalization, and ``Chinese Religion'' in Cuba	153	(18)
Frank F. Scherer
The Diasporic Mo(ve)ment: Indentureship and Indo-Caribbean Identity	171	(22)
Sean Lokaisingh-Meighoo
Caribbean Religions: A Supplementary Bibliography	193	(14)
Contributors	207	(2)
Index	209