| Divining Slavery and Freedom: The Story of Domingos Sodré, an African Priest in Nineteenth-Century Brazil Contributor(s): Reis, João José (Author), Gledhill, H. Sabrina (Translator) |
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ISBN: 1107439094 ISBN-13: 9781107439092 Publisher: Cambridge University Press OUR PRICE: $33.24 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: April 2015 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Biography & Autobiography - History | Latin America - General |
| Dewey: B |
| LCCN: 2014047358 |
| Series: New Approaches to the Americas |
| Physical Information: 1.1" H x 6" W x 8.9" (1.10 lbs) 370 pages |
| Themes: - Cultural Region - Latin America |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Since its original publication in Portuguese in 2008, this first English translation of Divining Slavery has been extensively revised and updated, complete with new primary sources and a new bibliography. It tells the story of Domingos Sodr , an African-born priest who was enslaved in Bahia, Brazil in the nineteenth century. After obtaining his freedom, Sodr became a slave owner himself, and in 1862 was arrested on suspicion for receiving stolen goods from slaves in exchange for supposed 'witchcraft.' Using this incident as a catalyst, the book discusses African religion and its place in a slave society, analyzing its double role as a refuge to blacks as well as a bridge between classes and ethnic groups (such as whites who attended African rituals and sought help from African diviners and medicine men). Ultimately, Divining Slavery explores the fluidity and relativity of conditions such as slavery and freedom, African and local religions, personal and collective experience and identities in the lives of Africans in the Brazilian diaspora. |
Contributor Bio(s): Gledhill, H. Sabrina: - H. Sabrina Gledhill is the author of many scholarly articles, essays and book chapters, and has translated over thirty books.Reis, Joao Jose: - João José Reis is Professor of History at the Universidade Federal da Bahia, Brazil. An award-winning historian and lifetime Honorary Foreign Member of the American Historical Association, he has published extensively on the history of slavery in nineteenth-century Brazil. |