Queering Creole Spiritual Traditions: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Tran

Description

What roles do queer and transgender people play in the African diasporic religions? Queering Creole Spiritual Traditions: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Participation in African-Inspired Traditions in the Americas is a groundbreaking scholarly exploration of this long-neglected subject. It offers clear insight into the complex dynamics of gender and sexual orientation, humans and... Read more

What roles do queer and transgender people play in the African diasporic religions? Queering Creole Spiritual Traditions: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Participation in African-Inspired Traditions in the Americas is a groundbreaking scholarly exploration of this long-neglected subject. It offers clear insight into the complex dynamics of gender and sexual orientation, humans and deities, and race and ethnicity, within these richly nuanced spiritual practices.

Queering Creole Spiritual Traditions explores the ways in which gender complexity and same-sex intimacy are integral to the primary beliefs and practices of these faiths. It begins with a comprehensive overview of Vodou, Santeria, and other African-based religions. The second section includes extensive, revealing interviews with practitioners who offer insight into the intersection of their beliefs, their sexual orientation, and their gender identity. Finally, it provides a powerful analysis of the ways these traditions have inspired artists, musicians, and writers such as Audre Lorde, as well as informative interviews with the artists themselves.

In Queering Creole Spiritual Traditions, you will discover:

how the presence of androgynous divinities affects both faith and practice in Vodou, Candomble, Santeria, and other Creole religions
how the phenomenon of possession or embodiment by a god or goddess may validate queer identity and nurture gender complexity
who practices the African-derived spiritual traditions, what they believe, and who their deities are
how these faiths have influenced the art and aesthetic traditions of the West

This landmark book opens a fascinating new world of thought and belief. The authors provide rigorous documentation and faultless scholarly method as well as personal experience and the testimony of believers. Queering Creole Spiritual Traditions sheds new light on two widely different fields: LGBT studies and the theology of the African diaspora. A thorough bibliography points the way to further study, and an extensive photograph gallery provides a unique look at the believers and their practices. Every library with holdings in queer theory, African mythology, or sociology of religion should have this landmark volume. Read less

Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Background
Overview of Book
A Note About Terms
Chapter 1. Sources
Creole Spiritual Traditions: A Bird’s-Eye View
Sexual and Gender Complexity in Yorùbáland?
Other Possible African Influences
Possible Indigenous Influences of the Western Hemisphere
Chapter 2. Divinities and Spirits
Lwa of Vodou
Orishás of Yorùbá-Diasporic Spiritual Traditions
Spirits of Brazil
Chapter 3. Children of the Spirits
Divine Horses
Masisi and Madivin
Bigotry in the Vodou Community
A Bridge of the Spirits
Adés, Ekedes, and Others
Practitioners of Lucumí/Santería and Related Religions
Drag Queens, Transgender Persons, Transsexuals
Prohibitions and Discrimination with Yorùbá-Diasporic and Allied Communities
Divination and Interpretation
Challenges and Transformations
Relationships and Ceremonies of Union
HIV/AIDS, Afro Ashé, and Odô Yá
Notions of Self in African-Inspired Spiritual Traditions
Chapter 4. Snapshots
Practitioners of Vodou
Practitioners of Lucumí/Santería/Regla de Ocha, and Other Cuban- and Puerto Rican-Linked Traditions
Practitioners of Candomblé and Other Brazilian Traditions
Practioners of Orishá Reverence, the Ifá Tradition, and Bridge-Builders
Chapter 5. To Make the Spirit Manifest
Literature
Music
Visual Arts
Conclusion
Appendix A. Questionnaire
Appendix B. Interviews and Correspondence
Glossary
Bibliography
Index
Reference Notes Included

Author(s)

Biography

David Sparks, Randy P Lundschien Conner

Queering Creole Spiritual Traditions Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Participation in African-Inspired Traditions in the Americas

Description

Table of Contents

Author(s)

Biography

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