Passage of darkness : the ethnobiology of the Haitian zombie / Wade Davis ; [foreword by Robert Farris Thompson ; preface by Richard Evans Schultes].

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Davis, Wade.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Zombiism--Haiti.

Zombiism.

Bizango (Cult).

Tetrodotoxin--Physiological effect.

Tetrodotoxin.

Haiti--Religious life and customs.

Haiti.

Haiti--Social life and customs.

Genre:

Ethnography.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (367 pages) : illustrations

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Chapel Hill : University of North Carolina Press, 1988.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Interdisciplinary in nature, this study reveals a netowrk of power relations reaching all levels of Haitian political life. It sheds light on recent Haitian political history, including the meteoric rise under Duvalier of the Tonton Macoute. By explaining zombification as a rational process within the context of traditional Vodoun society, Davis demystifies one of the most exploited of folk beliefs, one that has been used to denegrate an entire people and their religion.

Contents:

Cover; Contents; Foreword; Preface; Acknowledgments; Introduction; 1. The Historical and Cultural Setting; 2. The Haitian Zombie; 3. The Problem of Death; 4. The Poison; 5. The ""Antidote""; 6. Everything Is Poison, Nothing Is Poison: The Emic View; 7. Zombification as a Social Process; 8. The Bizango Secret Societies; Conclusion: Ethnobiology and the Haitian Zombie; Note on Orthography; Glossary; A; B; C; D; E; F; G; H; I; L; M; N; O; P; R; S; T; U; V; W; Z; Bibliography; Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 303-326) and index.

ISBN:

9798890879349

9780807887585

0807887587

OCLC:

657183758