Suffused with the pious certitude of the True Believer, but unlikely to win converts.
A Santería priestess and college professor explains her conversion to the ancient African religion.
Vega (African and Hispanic Studies/Baruch Coll.), who did not know that she had been “born into a family that practiced Espiritismo and Santería until [she] was grown up,” employs a sort of cut-and-paste technique. Each of her chapters contains three parts: an introductory story about one of the orishas (divinities), a portion of her spiritual autobiography, and a summary (e.g., “A Message from My Elders”) that identifies the significance of both. By the end, readers will have a fair understanding of the beliefs and rituals of this polytheistic religion that was brought to the Western Hemisphere by the African slaves—particularly by the Yoruba (from present-day Nigeria). The author claims that these enslaved people retained vestiges of their religion despite the baptisms and conversions forced upon them by their Christian captors. “Our elders,” she writes, “ingeniously hid the sprits and orishas behind Catholic images.” She tries to be generous with other, more conventional religions, but these efforts are somewhat gratuitous, as she later describes the “relentless onslaught of Christian and Muslim faiths” on the followers of Santería. And (squeamishly? prudently?) she never describes the ritual of animal sacrifice that plays a part in her religion. She does, however, fill her story with emotional accounts of visiting with the spirits of her deceased relatives (the rooms are invariably filled with white light, her spine tingles with electricity, and everyone weeps and hugs warmly afterwards), and she manifests an unquestioning spiritualism, revealing that her own personal orishas have advised her to get organized, have regular dental checkups, and avoid fried foods. An appendix includes the complex pantheon of Santería and provides instructions for creating your own altar.
Suffused with the pious certitude of the True Believer, but unlikely to win converts.Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2000
ISBN: 0-345-42137-X
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2000
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
