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Voodoo: Africa's Secret Power
Looks at the voodoo movement in West Africa, explains its trances, fetishes, gods, and ceremonies, and traces the influence of other religions
- GenresNonfiction
276 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1979
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 11, 2011
The documentary photography is amazing and overall is a good starting point for those interested in the Yoruba. The book unfortunately lacks a decent index.
December 1, 2024
Expert photographer tries to explain a religion
If I awarded stars on the basis of photographs, I’d certainly give this book five. However, I think the author’s very honest statement in his last paragraph speaks for itself. He says:
“I have written this book without wanting to reach some finding at the end.
All I’ve wanted to do is to show and convey what I have seen and experienced.”
Besides the photographs of people and objects involved in West African religious practice, you will read exactly what that statement promises. Chesi attempts to show and describe the complex of beliefs and practice that comprise a religion which he labels “voodoo”. He claims that it is different from traditional West African religion because that old religion was brought to Haiti and transformed by the impact of Christianity imposed on the slaves, who still adhered to their old beliefs as much as possible. Then it returned to West Africa. He says nearly nothing about what is different about “voodoo” from the so-called “traditional” religion. He makes a few pale references to Candomblé in Brazil too. The adherents to this religion even use Hindu symbols or images without probably knowing anything about what they mean in India. Never mind---there are no rules about how a religion should behave!
The author is a photographer, not an anthropologist, therefore he writes about his experiences, the ceremonies and practices he saw, and what important figures, artists, and common people told him. He cannot go much beyond this. Perhaps he couldn’t talk to most adherents except through an interpreter. Sometimes the text resembles a potpourri, changing topics very abruptly. But what I made out of the eclectic and sometimes spotty description is that so-called “Voodoo” is a different sort of religion than those which are based on ancient writings, on books, i.e. Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Confucianism, etc. Nothing is written down for Voodoo followers; each priest can interpret things the way he or she wants. They can even change direction day to day, as did Don Juan in Castaneda’s famous books. There are sacred objects called “fetishes”, people sacrifice animals, they go into trances and dance while so possessed. Magic and objects that protect from evil or cause evil are rife, the gods are neither good nor evil but both. Chesi attempts to explain a vast system of belief that exists in a far more flexible and almost impromptu form than any of the more-organized religions. I don’t think he’s very successful—the mass of information required a different sort of enquirer—but his experiences are interesting. And the photos are great.
If I awarded stars on the basis of photographs, I’d certainly give this book five. However, I think the author’s very honest statement in his last paragraph speaks for itself. He says:
“I have written this book without wanting to reach some finding at the end.
All I’ve wanted to do is to show and convey what I have seen and experienced.”
Besides the photographs of people and objects involved in West African religious practice, you will read exactly what that statement promises. Chesi attempts to show and describe the complex of beliefs and practice that comprise a religion which he labels “voodoo”. He claims that it is different from traditional West African religion because that old religion was brought to Haiti and transformed by the impact of Christianity imposed on the slaves, who still adhered to their old beliefs as much as possible. Then it returned to West Africa. He says nearly nothing about what is different about “voodoo” from the so-called “traditional” religion. He makes a few pale references to Candomblé in Brazil too. The adherents to this religion even use Hindu symbols or images without probably knowing anything about what they mean in India. Never mind---there are no rules about how a religion should behave!
The author is a photographer, not an anthropologist, therefore he writes about his experiences, the ceremonies and practices he saw, and what important figures, artists, and common people told him. He cannot go much beyond this. Perhaps he couldn’t talk to most adherents except through an interpreter. Sometimes the text resembles a potpourri, changing topics very abruptly. But what I made out of the eclectic and sometimes spotty description is that so-called “Voodoo” is a different sort of religion than those which are based on ancient writings, on books, i.e. Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Confucianism, etc. Nothing is written down for Voodoo followers; each priest can interpret things the way he or she wants. They can even change direction day to day, as did Don Juan in Castaneda’s famous books. There are sacred objects called “fetishes”, people sacrifice animals, they go into trances and dance while so possessed. Magic and objects that protect from evil or cause evil are rife, the gods are neither good nor evil but both. Chesi attempts to explain a vast system of belief that exists in a far more flexible and almost impromptu form than any of the more-organized religions. I don’t think he’s very successful—the mass of information required a different sort of enquirer—but his experiences are interesting. And the photos are great.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews