In search of ancient kings : Egúngún in Brazil / Brian Willson ; foreword by Robert Farris Thompson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Willson, Brian, author.

Thompson, Robert Farris, author of foreword.

Contributor:

George Clapp Vaillant Book Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Egúngún--Brazil.

Egúngún.

Yoruba (African people)--Brazil--Religion.

Yoruba (African people).

Egúngún.

Yoruba (African people)--Religion.

Religion.

Brazil.

Physical Description:

xx, 229 pages : illustrations (chiefly color) ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Jackson : University Press of Mississippi, [2021]

Summary:

"The Egúngún society is one of the least-studied and written-about aspects of African diasporic spiritual traditions. It is the society of the ancestors, the society of the dead. Its primary function is to facilitate all aspects of ancestor veneration. Though it is fundamental to Yorùbá culture and the Ifá/Òrìṣà tradition of the Yorùbá, it did not survive intact in Cuba or the US during the forced migration of the Yorùbá in the Middle Passage. Taking hold only in Brazil, the Egúngún cult has thrived since the early 1800s on the small island of Itaparica, across the Bay of Saints from Salvador, Bahia. Existing almost exclusively on this tiny island until the 1970s (migrating to Rio de Janeiro and, eventually, Recife), this ancient cult was preserved by a handful of families and flourished in a strict, orthodox manner. Brian Willson spent ten years in close contact with this lineage at the Candomble temple Xango Cá Te Espero in Rio de Janeiro and was eventually initiated as a priest of Egúngún. Representing the culmination of his personal involvement, interviews, research, and numerous visits to Brazil, this book relates the story of Egúngún from an insider's view. Very little has been written about the cult of Egúngún, and almost exclusively what is written in English is based on research conducted in Africa and falls into the category of descriptive and historical observations. Part personal journal, part metaphysical mystery, part scholarly work, part field research, and part reportage, In Search of Ancient Kings illuminates the nature of Egúngún as it is practiced in Brazil"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: pt. I NEVER TOO LATE

1. Introduction: From Long Island to Brazil

2. Diary 12006-2007: "She Is Standing Right Behind You"

3. Diary 2 2007: "I Miss You Already"

4. Diary 3 2008-2012: Obrigacao

5. Diary 4 2013: Amuxian

6. Diary 52016: Visiting the Matrix: A Trip to Itaparica

pt. II EGUNGUN: CUSTODIANS OF ENDLESS MEMORY

7. Ancient Kings Emerge

8. Origins of Egungun

9. Change and Continuity: From Africa to Brazil

10. A Mysterious Wind: Aparaka

11. Mother of Nine

pt. III ACROSS THE BAY OF ALL SAINTS

12. Timeline: A Miracle of Memory and Perseverance

13. "And Then There Was the Letter"

14. Conclusion.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the George Clapp Vaillant Book Fund.

Other Format:

Online version: Willson, Brian. In search of ancient kings

ISBN:

9781496834461

1496834461

9781496834454

1496834453

OCLC:

1224517609

Publisher Number:

99988113256