Guide To Afro Cuban Herbalism

Guide to Afro-Cuban Herbalism is aimed to serve as a reference tool for practitioners of the various african based traditions such as Afro-Cuban Orisha/Ifa Worship, Vodou, Camdomble, et al. This book provides extensive information on the medicinal, religious and magical uses of 700 plants.

Discover the roots of modern-day herbal remedies, plant medicine, holistic rituals, natural recipes, and more that were created by African American herbal healers throughout history. This first-of-its-kind herbal guide takes you through the origins of herbal practices rooted in African American tradition—from Ancient Egypt and the African tropics to the Caribbean and the United States. Inside you’ll find the stories of herbal healers like Emma Dupree and Henrietta Jeffries, who made modern American herbalism what it is today. After rediscovering the forgotten legacies of these healers, African American Herbalism dives into the important contributions they made to the world of herbalism, including: Rituals for sacred bathing and skin care Herbal tinctures, potions, and medicine Recipes for healing meals and soul food And more! You’ll also find a comprehensive herbal guide to the most commonly used herbs—such as aloe, lavender, sage, sassafras, and more—alongside gorgeous botanical illustrations. African American Herbalism is the perfect guide for anyone wanting to explore the medicinal and healing properties of herbs.

In the early 19th century, Cuba emerged as the world’s largest producer of sugar and the United States its most important buyer. Barely documented today, there was a close commercial relationship between Cuba and the Rhode Island coastal town of Bristol. The citizens of Bristol were heavily involved in the slavery trade and owned sugarcane plantations in Cuba and also served as staff workers at these facilities. Available in print for the first time is a diary that sheds light on this connection. Mr. George Howe, Esquire (1791–1837), documented his tasks at a Bristolian-owned plantation called New Hope, which was owned by well-known Bristol merchant, slave trader, and US senator James DeWolf (1764–1837). Howe expressed mixed personal feelings about local slavery work practices. He felt lucky to be employed and was determined to do his job well, in spite of the harsh conditions operating at New Hope, but he also struggled with his personal feelings regarding slavery. Though an oppressive system, it was at the core of New Hope’s financial success and, therefore, Howe’s well-being as an employee. This book examines Howe’s diary entries in the thematic context of the local Costumbrista literary production. Costumbrismo both documented local customs and critically analyzed social ills. In his letters to relatives and friends Howe depicted a more personal reaction to the underpinnings of slavery practices, a reaction reflecting early abolitionist sentiments.

The Ritual Use of Plants in Lucumi Tradition is an in depth look at the importance of plants for the Lucumi community. Explains why certain plants have hierarchical position and power for healing and why they are essential for the completion of Lucumi rituals.Includes translations of over thirty patakins, with the English, Spanish, Anago and Latin scientific names and sixteen black and white photos. A CD with color photos of over fifty plants is available at www.oggunbemi.com. The author, Maria Oggunbemi is a student of Lucumi tradition, Osainista and Oba Oriate. She has extensively researched the language and the ethno-botany of the Lucumi religion as it is practiced in Cuba and the diaspora. Her first book, The Anago Language of Cuba focused on the language used in Lucumi rituals for songs, prayers, rituals of consecration, initiation healing and celebration."

In Caribbean history, the European colonial plantocracy created a cultural diaspora in which African slaves were torn from their ancestral homeland. In order to maintain vital links to their traditions and culture, slaves retained certain customs and nurtured them in the Caribbean. The creation of lace-bark cloth from the lagetta tree was a practice that enabled slave women to fashion their own clothing, an exercise that was both a necessity, as clothing provisions for slaves were poor, and empowering, as it allowed women who participated in the industry to achieve some financial independence. This is the first book on the subject and, through close collaboration with experts in the field including Maroon descendants, scientists and conservationists, it offers a pioneering perspective on the material culture of Caribbean slaves, bringing into focus the dynamics of race, class and gender. Focussing on the time period from the 1660s to the 1920s, it examines how the industry developed, the types of clothes made, and the people who wore them. The study asks crucial questions about the social roles that bark cloth production played in the plantation economy and colonial society, and in particular explores the relationship between bark cloth production and identity amongst slave women.

"This modern take on traditional witchcraft will introduce newcomers to the unique and vibrant traditions of magical practice. Drawing inspiration from Latin American and Afro-Caribbean regions, The Modern Art of Brujería takes readers on a journey through spirituality. Touching on historical colonial impact, this book offers new approaches to practicing traditional magic that support and uplift cultures that were once oppressed for their beliefs"--

Mineral wealth from the Americas underwrote and undergirded European colonization of the New World; American gold and silver enriched Spain, funded the slave trade, and spurred Spain's northern European competitors to become Atlantic powers. Building upon works that have narrated this global history of American mining in economic and labor terms, Mining Language is the first book-length study of the technical and scientific vocabularies that miners developed in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries as they engaged with metallic materials. This language-centric focus enables Allison Bigelow to document the crucial intellectual contributions Indigenous and African miners made to the very engine of European colonialism. By carefully parsing the writings of well-known figures such as Cristobal Colon and Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdes and lesser-known writers such Alvaro Alonso Barba, a Spanish priest who spent most of his life in the Andes, Bigelow uncovers the ways in which Indigenous and African metallurgists aided or resisted imperial mining endeavors, shaped critical scientific practices, and offered imaginative visions of metalwork. Her creative linguistic and visual analyses of archival fragments, images, and texts in languages as diverse as Spanish and Quechua also allow her to reconstruct the processes that led to the silencing of these voices in European print culture.

A combination of West African Healing Wisdom, spirituality, and modern science, presents a self-care healing guide in which Concepts such as Orisha Energies form the basis for diagnosis and treatment of chronic illnesses that most frequently threatened balanced health. The Yoruba people, a tribe in West Africa, are considered to be the oldest herbalists on the planet. After living in ancient benin for a time, they settle in Egypt , bringing with them an herbal, dietary, and healing drum system dating back 75,000 Years BC. Dr. Tariq Sawandi presents Yoruba medicine as a comprehensive system of healthcare that heals the whole person, mind, body, and spirit. Chapters include the history, philosophy, methodology, and medicinal usage of African and Caribbean herbs, Roots, gemstones, and sound to heal cancer, sickle cell anemia, high blood pressure, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, and other chronic diseases. This empowering book gives you many approaches to balanced health with easy-to-use charts, diagrams, and tables.