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9781496835611

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"With the publication of Benjamin Hebblethwaite's excellent new book we finally have such a historiographic tracing by a superb linguist and one of the best academics working on the religion today. . . . Vodou's complexity, richness, and roots have never been better represented than they are in this book. Highly recommended. An instant classic.--Terry Rey, Temple University ""New West Indian Guide"" A Transatlantic History of Haitian Vodou definitely makes an original contribution to the fields of Haitian studies, ethnomusicology, comparative religion, and Africana studies. At the center of the book is a transcription of lyrics from two albums of Vodou music released in 2004. In themselves, these lyrics in Haitian Kreyol with English translations by the author will be useful as primary sources for scholars and valuable listening aids for world music fans, but the book offers much more. Along with an interpretation of each song from both albums, the book develops an extensive historical and theoretical approach that allows the author to read the lyrics as sacred texts that reveal key aspects of Vodou culture and theology, and the remarkable capacity of Vodou to offer a language for commenting on and mediating contemporary problems ranging from urbanization and migratory exile to the restavek problem, money transfers, the perils of work among market women, AIDS and the dehumanization of women sex workers, and more. Hebblethwaite sheds new light not only on Haitian ethnohistory but also on the history of precolonial Africa, the complex interaction between Aja, Yoruba, and Fon people in the formation of the Kingdom of Dahomey, and the rise and subsequent impact of the Middle Passage and transatlantic slave trade.--Kevin Meehan, professor of English and Caribbean studies at the University of Central Florida, owner of Sugar City Music, and author of People Get Ready: African American and Caribbean Cultural Exchange"

A Transatlantic History of Haitian Vodou definitely makes an original contribution to the fields of Haitian studies, ethnomusicology, comparative religion, and Africana studies. At the center of the book is a transcription of lyrics from two albums of Vodou music released in 2004. In themselves, these lyrics in Haitian Kreyol with English translations by the author will be useful as primary sources for scholars and valuable listening aids for world music fans, but the book offers much more. Along with an interpretation of each song from both albums, the book develops an extensive historical and theoretical approach that allows the author to read the lyrics as sacred texts that reveal key aspects of Vodou culture and theology, and the remarkable capacity of Vodou to offer a language for commenting on and mediating contemporary problems ranging from urbanization and migratory exile to the restavek problem, money transfers, the perils of work among market women, AIDS and the dehumanization of women sex workers, and more. Hebblethwaite sheds new light not only on Haitian ethnohistory but also on the history of precolonial Africa, the complex interaction between Aja, Yoruba, and Fon people in the formation of the Kingdom of Dahomey, and the rise and subsequent impact of the Middle Passage and transatlantic slave trade.--Kevin Meehan, professor of English and Caribbean studies at the University of Central Florida, owner of Sugar City Music, and author of People Get Ready: African American and Caribbean Cultural Exchange

With the publication of Benjamin Hebblethwaite's excellent new book we finally have such a historiographic tracing by a superb linguist and one of the best academics working on the religion today. . . . Vodou's complexity, richness, and roots have never been better represented than they are in this book. Highly recommended. An instant classic.--Terry Rey, Temple University ""New West Indian Guide"" A Transatlantic History of Haitian Vodou definitely makes an original contribution to the fields of Haitian studies, ethnomusicology, comparative religion, and Africana studies. At the center of the book is a transcription of lyrics from two albums of Vodou music released in 2004. In themselves, these lyrics in Haitian Kreyol with English translations by the author will be useful as primary sources for scholars and valuable listening aids for world music fans, but the book offers much more. Along with an interpretation of each song from both albums, the book develops an extensive historical and theoretical approach that allows the author to read the lyrics as sacred texts that reveal key aspects of Vodou culture and theology, and the remarkable capacity of Vodou to offer a language for commenting on and mediating contemporary problems ranging from urbanization and migratory exile to the restavek problem, money transfers, the perils of work among market women, AIDS and the dehumanization of women sex workers, and more. Hebblethwaite sheds new light not only on Haitian ethnohistory but also on the history of precolonial Africa, the complex interaction between Aja, Yoruba, and Fon people in the formation of the Kingdom of Dahomey, and the rise and subsequent impact of the Middle Passage and transatlantic slave trade.--Kevin Meehan, professor of English and Caribbean studies at the University of Central Florida, owner of Sugar City Music, and author of People Get Ready: African American and Caribbean Cultural Exchange

A Transatlantic History of Haitian Vodou definitely makes an original contribution to the fields of Haitian studies, ethnomusicology, comparative religion, and Africana studies. At the center of the book is a transcription of lyrics from two albums of Vodou music released in 2004. In themselves, these lyrics in Haitian Kreyol with English translations by the author will be useful as primary sources for scholars and valuable listening aids for world music fans, but the book offers much more. Along with an interpretation of each song from both albums, the book develops an extensive historical and theoretical approach that allows the author to read the lyrics as sacred texts that reveal key aspects of Vodou culture and theology, and the remarkable capacity of Vodou to offer a language for commenting on and mediating contemporary problems ranging from urbanization and migratory exile to the restavek problem, money transfers, the perils of work among market women, AIDS and the dehumanization of women sex workers, and more. Hebblethwaite sheds new light not only on Haitian ethnohistory but also on the history of precolonial Africa, the complex interaction between Aja, Yoruba, and Fon people in the formation of the Kingdom of Dahomey, and the rise and subsequent impact of the Middle Passage and transatlantic slave trade.

Author Information

Benjamin Hebblethwaite is associate professor in the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures at the University of Florida. He is author of Vodou Songs in Haitian Creole and English and coeditor of Stirring the Pot of Haitian History and Une saison en enfer. Yon sezon matchyavel: En français et en créole haïtien.

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