Will be of interest not only to specialists in Afro-Cuban and African Diaspora religions; but also to medical anthropologists and students of anthropology; psychology; and religious studies. This work provides a particularly revealing entry way into the realities of contemporary Cuba.-- George Brandon; Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education; City University of New York Johan Wedel offers a visit inside the world of SanterÃa healing. Drawing upon extensive fieldwork in contemporary Cuba; including interviews with SanterÃa devotees; firsthand observations of divination sessions; and interviews with healed patients supplemented by comments from SanterÃa healers; Wedel demonstrates how SanterÃa healing is carried out and experienced by the participants. SanterÃa--with roots in Africa and the slave trade and rituals including divination; animal sacrifice; and possession trance--would seem an anachronism in the modern world. Still; Wedel argues; it offers treatment and ideas about illness that are flourishing and even spreading in the face of Western medicine. He shows that SanterÃa healing is best understood as a transformation of the self; allowing the patient to experience the world in a new way. He grounds his analysis of SanterÃa in lively and sometimes frightening narratives in which people reveal in their own words the experience of illness; sorcery; and healing. Wedel’s account will appeal to scholars and others interested in SanterÃa; Cuba; and religious healing. He shows that SanterÃa is not only a challenge to Western medical theory; but also an important contribution to our understanding of illness; suffering; and well-being. Johan Wedel is instructor in social anthropology at Göteborg University; Sweden.
#39654 in Books Starr; Kevin 2007-03-13 2007-03-13Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 7.90 x .94 x 5.10l; .63 #File Name: 081297753X416 pages
Review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Excellent overview of what California is..By JoseIf you are embarking on a journey to understand California; I would begin with this book.Sure; if this was meant to be a comprehensive history of California; it would be 1000s of pages long; however; it does provide certain episodes; and names in California history which gives the reader a starting point to explore further after this book.Highly recommend; especially to provide as a starting point to explore more in detail.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Your grandmother's atticBy Tiger76Pure Kevin Starr; so fans for his will love it. Short; easy read. Good introduction to his longer books. However; even though he knows absolutely every fact related to California; Starr is very short on analysis or synthesis. The book therefore reads like a collection of facts - kind of like going through your grandmother's attic. I love California and Starr is our historian of record; but ...0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. CALIFORNIA: A Grand Subject Made Enjoyably Graspable.By William J. TrinkleI just finished this book and really enjoyed its rollercoaster ride through California history. Starr has a good sense of how to contextualize topics that helps one see California from many views. As an example; he takes California's labor and union history starting with its earliest days up to near modern times; all in a swoop; but in a way that helps one better understsand both labor and union and California. He does similar journeys for other topics like California art and literature. Sometimes California can be such a grand topic that it is hard to grasp its true shape and contours. Starr does an excellent job of giving one person's summary of it; and helps to make the subject more easily graspable. It may not be for everyone; but I recommend Starr's California
