From González-Wippler, an anthropologist and initiate in Santeria: a vivid exploration of that mysterious and misunderstand religion. Aided by learned santeros and the testimony of modern initiates, González-Wippler elucidates the basic practices and beliefs of an African religion that cloaked itself in the saints and rituals of Catholicism in order to survive. Brought to Cuba by Nigerian slaves, Yoruba—which in the New World transmuted into Santeria—involves the worship of a pantheon of gods, or orishas, that correspond to profound human archetypes: e.g., the god Eleggua, the Gatekeeper, corresponds to playful, outrageous, variable fate (the author speculates that Mozart was a child of Eleggua); Chango, the god of fire and thunder, is fiery, passionate, fearless energy (Beethoven, who died in a thunderstorm, was probably a true son of Chango). Theorizing that possession—when the god comes down and "mounts" an initiate—has to do with a believer tapping into a collective archetype, González-Wippler details the advanced initiations of asiento, and goes on to lovingly and lavishly detail the intricate arts of herbs, prediction, and magic in Santeria that allow people to talk to their gods, face to face. A fascinating book, valuable for its rare close-ups. Less scholarly but more seasoned and comprehensive than Joseph Murphy in Santeria (1988), González-Wippler acts as a protective but enthusiastic guide to this ancient religion of the African saints.
Pub Date: May 12, 1989
ISBN: 517-57154-4
Page Count: -
Publisher: Harmony
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
This is the sort of book that stirs one so deeply that it is almost impossible to attempt to convey the impression it leaves. It is the story of today's Exodus, of America's great trek, as the hordes of dispossessed tenant farmers from the dust bowl turn their hopes to the promised land of California's fertile valleys. The story of one family, with the "hangers-on" that the great heart of extreme poverty sometimes collects, but in that story is symbolized the saga of a movement in which society is before the bar. What an indictment of a system — what an indictment of want and poverty in the land of plenty! There is flash after flash of unforgettable pictures, sharply etched with that restraint and power of pen that singles Steinbeck out from all his contemporaries. There is anger here, but it is a deep and disciplined passion, of a man who speaks out of the mind and heart of his knowledge of a people. One feels in reading that so they must think and feel and speak and live. It is an unresolved picture, a record of history still in the making. Not a book for casual reading. Not a book for unregenerate conservative. But a book for everyone whose social conscience is astir — or who is willing to face facts about a segment of American life which is and which must be recognized. Steinbeck is coming into his own. A new and full length novel from his pen is news. Publishers backing with advertising, promotion aids, posters, etc. Sure to be one of the big books of the Spring. First edition limited to half of advance as of March 1st. One half of dealer's orders to be filled with firsts.
Pub Date: April 14, 1939
ISBN: 0143039431
Page Count: 532
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1939
Steinbeck's peculiarly intense simplicity of technique is admirably displayed in this vignette — a simple, tragic tale of Mexican little people, a story retold by the pearl divers of a fishing hamlet until it has the quality of folk legend. A young couple content with the humble living allowed them by the syndicate which controls the sale of the mediocre pearls ordinarily found, find their happiness shattered when their baby boy is stung by a scorpion. They dare brave the terrors of a foreign doctor, only to be turned away when all they can offer in payment is spurned. Then comes the miracle. Kino find a great pearl. The future looks bright again. The baby is responding to the treatment his mother had given. But with the pearl, evil enters the hearts of men:- ambition beyond his station emboldens Kino to turn down the price offered by the dealers- he determines to go to the capital for a better market; the doctor, hearing of the pearl, plants the seed of doubt and superstition, endangering the child's life, so that he may get his rake-off; the neighbors and the strangers turn against Kino, burn his hut, ransack his premises, attack him in the dark — and when he kills, in defense, trail him to the mountain hiding place- and kill the child. Then- and then only- does he concede defeat. In sorrow and humility, he returns with his Juana to the ways of his people; the pearl is thrown into the sea.... A parable, this, with no attempt to add to its simple pattern.
Pub Date: Nov. 24, 1947
ISBN: 0140187383
Page Count: 132
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1947
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