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The co-op bookstore for avid readers
El Monte: Notes on the Religions, Magic, and Folklore of the Black and Creole People of Cuba
First published in Cuba in 1954 and appearing here in English for the first time, Lydia Cabrera's El Monte is a foundational and iconic study of Afro-Cuban religious and cultural traditions. Drawing on conversations with elderly Afro-Cuban priests who were one or two generations away from the transatlantic slave trade, Cabrera combines ethnography, history, folklore, literature, and botany to provide a panoramic account of the multifaceted influence of Afro-Atlantic cultures in Cuba. Cabrera details the natural and spiritual landscape of the Cuban monte (forest, wilderness) and discusses hundreds of herbs and the constellations of deities, sacred rites, and knowledge that envelop them. The result is a complex spiritual and medicinal architecture of Afro-Cuban cultures. This new edition of what is often referred to as "the Santería bible" includes a new foreword, introduction, and translator notes. As a seminal work in the study of the African diaspora that has profoundly impacted numerous fields, Cabrera's magnum opus is essential for scholars, activists, and religious devotees of Afro-Cuban traditions alike.
Book Details
- Publisher: Duke University Press
- Publish Date: May 26th, 2023
- Pages: 680
- Language: English
- Edition: undefined - undefined
- Dimensions: 10.00in - 7.00in - 1.36in - 2.54lb
- EAN: 9781478018735
- Categories: • Anthropology - Cultural & Social• Folk & Tribal• Caribbean & West Indies - Cuba
About the Author
Lydia Cabrera (1899-1991) was a renowned Cuban writer, folklorist, and artist who wrote dozens of books documenting Afro-Cuban culture and religion. David Font-Navarrete is Assistant Professor in the Department of Music, Multimedia, Theatre, and Dance at Lehman College, City University of New York.
Praise for this book
"A monumental compendium. . . . includes a priceless, botanical encyclopaedia that will be an essential resource for herbalists everywhere."--Gavin O'Toole "Latin American Review of Books" (6/14/2023 12:00:00 AM)
"That Lydia Cabrera's magnum opus El Monte is finally available in an English translation is a reason to celebrate. . . . Font-Navarrete must be complimented for his remarkable sensitivity in navigating Cabrera's often highly idiosyncratic prose, his careful footnotes, and not the least his excellent 'Translator's Notes, ' tellingly subtitled 'Reading El Monte in the Twenty-First Century.'"--Stephan Palmié "Journal of Religion" (7/1/2024 12:00:00 AM)
"Approached as a compendium of religious knowledge, a work of literature, a historical source or an experimental, outsider ethnography, this marvelous translation makes El Monte more accessible to English-language readers."--Kristina Wirtz "Latin American Research Review" (6/1/2024 12:00:00 AM)
"The first English translation of an ethnographic masterwork on the constellation of religious traditions of the African diaspora in Cuba. . . . David Font-Navarrete's translation work is masterful. . . ."--Zachary Schwarze "Religious Studies Review" (3/1/2024 12:00:00 AM)
"A real treasure."--Richard Price and Sally Price "New West Indian Guide" (1/1/2024 12:00:00 AM)