ebooks European Immigrants in the American West: Community Histories (Historians of the Frontier and American West) by From Brand: University of New Mexico Press in History

Description

Centered on the former slaving port of Ouidah; Benin; Dana Rush's research extends through Togo to Ghana; a region where exchanges of histories; ideas; and belief systems are given material forms. This is a land where Shango; Jesus; and the Buddha are all gods of Vodun; where Hindu and Vodun deities co-exist in symbiosis; where the spirits of people enslaved 150 years ago are paid tribute by the children of their long-lost masters; and where Haitian; Brazilian; and Cuban images; artists; and spirits remain relevant to contemporary West African practices.The book is richly illustrated with color photographs of Vodun shrines; temple wall paintings; masquerades; and Hindu chromolithographs.This book is the first publication in a new series called "Critical Investigations of the African Diaspora." The series grows out of Issues in Critical Investigation; a Vanderbilt initiative to assist junior scholars through critical feedback from senior faculty; annual symposia; and prize competitions in the humanities and social sciences. Dana Rush's Vodun in Coastal Benin is the winner of the inaugural Anna Julia Cooper Prize in the Humanities.