Beads Body And Soul

The sights and sounds of the Yoruba cosmos are made manifest through the pervasive use of beads. This spectacular book represents a collaboration between art historian Henry John Drewal and Yoruba priest John Mason. From the forests of Africa a thousand years ago to the bustling cities of New York, Havana, and Salvador, today, Yoruba religion has used beads to convey the artistic spirit and deep connection to the other world that its practitioners feel. This illustrated volume traces the history of the beads, their use, and Yoruba aesthetics and artistry. .

Praying with Body and Soul involves the whole person: our senses, our bodies at rest or in motion, our imaginations, as well as our minds and emotions. By paying prayerful attention to the body people will not only recognize the ways in which they already pray, but will learn how to deepen their relationship with God. Each chapter includes questions for reflection, and practical exercises, such as drawing, walking meditation, fasting, making music, dancing, and praying in sickness and disability. This guide to prayer can be used by individuals, prayer partners, and small groups.

In the realm of African spiritual pathways, no tradition is so widely embraced and practiced as the West African religion Orisa. Awakened by her own spiritual journey, Tobe Melora Correal, an initiated priestess in the Yoruba-Lukumi branch of Orisa, guides us along this blessed road. FINDING THE SOUL ON THE PATH OF ORISA provides a fresh look at these ancient teachings and emphasizes introspection and inner work over the outward manifestations of Orisa’s practices. Correal debunks misconceptions surrounding the tradition, drawing us into a lushly textured, Earth-centered spiritual system—a compassionate and useful roadmap for revering God.

Twenty-eight African cultures are represented here by artifacts created to communicate with ancestors, spirits, and gods, about such issues as health, conception, and determination of guilt or innocence. Issued in conjunction with an April-July 2000 exhibit at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY, this catalog contains extensive ethnographic, descriptive, and interpretive text in connection with each of 50 pictured pieces, as well as a 13-page essay about divination in Sub-Saharan Africa (by John Pemberton III) and an introductory essay by LaGamma. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

An overview of the ongoing methods used to understand African history. Spurred in part by the ongoing re-evaluation of sources and methods in research, African historiography in the past two decades has been characterized by the continued branching and increasing sophistication of methodologies and areas of specialization. The rate of incorporation of new sources and methods into African historical research shows no signs of slowing. This book is both a snapshot of current academic practice and an attempt to sort throughsome of the problems scholars face within this unfolding web of sources and methods. The book is divided into five sections, each of which begins with a short introduction by a distinguished Africanist scholar. The first sectiondeals with archaeological contributions to historical research. The second section examines the methodologies involved in deciphering historically accurate African ethnic identities from the records of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. The third section mines old documentary sources for new historical perspectives. The fourth section deals with the method most often associated with African historians, that of drawing historical data from oral tradition. Thefifth section is devoted to essays that present innovative sources and methods for African historical research. Together, the essays in this cutting-edge volume represent the current state of the art in African historical research. Toyin Falola is the Jacob and Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in the Humanities and University Distinguished Teaching Professor at the University of Texas at Austin. Christian Jennings is a Doctoral Candidatein History at the University of Texas at Austin.

Squatting in the corner, washing a bowl full of chopsticks, the teenager looked blankly at the emaciated mother being bossed around as a servant.

This book examines the intersection of art, risk, and creativity in early African arts from the Yoruba center of Ife. It offers a unique lens into one of Africa's most important and least understood early civilizations, one whose historic arts have long been of interest to local residents and Westerners alike because of their tour-de-force visual power and technical complexity.

When youth and maturity are combined, it is difficult to tell an intuitive feeling. It may be that her tender face is born with a little cuteness, or a little charm caused by a casual glance at her smart eyes. But now, it seems to be the touch of her lips, a little arrogance