Spirit Service: Vodún and Vodou in the African Atlantic World

Author/Contributor(s):	Montgomery, Eric James ; Landry, Timothy R ; Vannier, Christian N ; Adjibodou, Venise N ; Anderson, Jeffrey E ; Cleophat, Nixon ; Falen, Douglas J ; Giafferi-Dombre, Natacha
Publisher:	Indiana University Press
Date:	06/07/2022
Binding:	Paperback
Condition:	NEW

Known in the Dominican Republic and Togo as Vodu, in Benin as Vodún, and in Haiti as Vodou, West African religion has, for hundreds of years, served as a repository of sacred knowledge while simultaneously evolving in response to human experience and globalization.

Spirit Service: Vodún and Vodou in the African Atlantic World explores this dynamic religion, its mobility, and its place in the modern world. By examining the systems--ritual practices, community-based spirit veneration, and spiritual means of securing opportunity and well-being--alongside the individuals who worship, this rich collection offers the first comprehensive ethnographic study of West African spirit service on a broad scale. Contributors consider social encounters between African/Haitian practitioners and European / North American spiritual seekers, economies and histories, funerary rites and spirit possessions, and examinations of gender and materiality.

Offering much-needed perspective on this historically disparaged religion, Spirit Service reminds us all that the gods are growing, assimilating, and demanding recognition and respect.