Africa & diaspora
Ifá and the orishas, vodun, Bantu traditions and diaspora religions as history and culture.
The Akan of Ghana: the Golden Stool and the adinkra symbols
Akan religion and symbols: Nyame and Asase Yaa, the ancestors, the Asante Golden Stool brought down from the sky, and the language of adinkra symbols.
Àṣẹ: the force that makes things happen in Yoruba thought
The Yoruba concept of àṣẹ: power of realisation, authority of the spoken word, energy of orisha and kings, and its survival in the diaspora as axé and aché.
The batá drums: Añá, the sacred voice of the orishas
Batá drums from Yorubaland to Cuba: iyá, itótele and okónkolo, the spirit Añá, consecrated drums, the oro seco and the tonal language the drums «speak».
Brazilian Candomblé: terreiro, nations and orixás
History of Bahian Candomblé: the Ketu, Jeje and Angola nations, life in the terreiro, initiation, the xirê and the relationship with Catholic saints.
The ciwara and the Bamana initiation societies of Mali
The jow initiation societies of Mali's Bamana: N'domo, Komo and Kore, the boli, and the ciwara, the antelope who taught farming, danced in pairs.
The Dogon of Mali: Amma, the Nommo, the masks and the Sigui
Dogon cosmology between sources and debate: Amma and the Nommo, Griaule and Ogotemmêli, the Awa mask society, the Sigui and the question of Sirius.
Egungun: the masquerades that bring ancestors back among us
The egungun masquerades of the Yoruba: layered cloth costumes, the cult society, the annual festivals and the meaning of the ancestors' return to the community.
Eshu, messenger of the crossroads, and the «devil» mistake
Eshu in Yoruba religion: messenger between humans and orisha, lord of crossroads and chance, and the history of the mistake that identified him with Satan.
Gelede: Yoruba masks in honour of «our mothers»
The gelede festival in Nigeria, Benin and Togo: carved masks, the night of Efe, satirical songs and ritual respect for the power of elderly women in Yoruba life.
The griots of the Mande world: the word, nyama and the Sunjata epic
Who the jeli, the griots of Mande West Africa, are: keepers of genealogies, of the nyama force of the word, of the kora and of the epic of Sunjata Keita.
Haitian Vodou: the lwa, the peristyle and the vèvè
Haitian Vodou beyond the stereotypes: Bondye and the lwa, the Rada and Petwo families, the peristyle with its poto mitan, vèvè drawn on the ground, Gede.
Ifá: Yoruba divination between opon, odu and babalawo
How Ifá, the Yoruba divination system, works: Orunmila, the opon tray, the opele chain, the 256 odu and the babalawo's role as a keeper of sacred verses.
Ile-Ife, the sacred city of origins and its royal heads
Ile-Ife in Yoruba myth and history: the descent of Oduduwa, the role of the Ooni, the copper-alloy and terracotta heads and the colonial prejudice about them.
The Kongo cosmogram: the sun, the kalunga and the two worlds
The Kongo cosmogram, Central Africa's cross in a circle: the kalunga line between living and dead, the four moments of the sun, its American traces.
Kongo minkisi and the nail-studded nkondi figures
What Central African minkisi are: containers of spiritual force, the role of the nganga, and the nkondi statues studded with nails to seal oaths.
Mami Wata, the water spirit between Africa and the wider world
Mami Wata, water spirit of West and Central Africa: the origin of her name, the image of the snake charmer, her shrines and her sisters in the diaspora.
Oshun and the Osogbo sacred grove: river, brass and honey
Oshun, Yoruba orisha of fresh waters: her symbols, the myth of her power, the Osogbo sacred grove, the yearly festival with the Arugba and her legacy.
Cuban Palo Monte: the Reglas de Congo and the nganga
Cuba's Reglas de Congo, the Bantu heritage of Palo Monte: the monte as sacred place, the nganga, the mpungu, the chalk-drawn firmas and the Mayombe branch.
The izangoma of southern Africa: the call of the ancestors
Zulu izangoma and Xhosa amagqirha: the call of the ancestors, the ukuthwasa apprenticeship, white beads, the drum and the reading of the bones.
Cuban Santería: a history of Regla de Ocha and the Lucumí
How Regla de Ocha, known as Santería, arose in Cuba: the Lucumí, the cabildos de nación, Catholic saints, initiation and divination with the diloggún.
Shango, the thunder orisha and the kingship of the Oyo empire
Shango between history and myth: the king of Oyo who became the thunder orisha, the double axe, thunderstones, red and white, and his path in the diaspora.
Brazilian Umbanda: caboclos, pretos-velhos and lines
Origins and structure of Umbanda, a twentieth-century Brazilian religion: African heritage, Spiritism and Catholicism, lines, caboclos and pretos-velhos.
The vodun of Dahomey and Benin: history of a religion
The vodun of the Fon and Ewe peoples: Mawu-Lisa, Legba, Dan, Hevioso, the kings of Abomey, Ouidah and the 10 January festival, far from popular stereotypes.
The Yoruba orisha: a pantheon between Olodumare and humans
Who the orisha of Yoruba religion are: Olodumare, Obatala, Ogun, Shango, Oshun, Yemoja and their role as a bridge between the human world and the divine.
Zār: spirits between the Horn of Africa, the Nile and the Gulf
Zār, a possession tradition from the Horn of Africa to Egypt and Iran: spirits with names and characters, women-led ceremonies, music, incense and a pact.