We aren’t sure whether it was Shakespeare or Mark Twain who coined the phrase “the clothes make the man” but it is true that clothing makes an obvious declaration of one’s status in Africana religions. I see the relationship between head covering and spirituality as demonstrative of how people articulate inner commitments, using outward forms.Continue reading “Hat Tricks: The Fez and the Turban in Africana Religions”
Tag Archives: Africana religions
Black Gods of the Cosmopolis!
This is the third in a series of posts on Africana religions and the comics. Some remarkable images made their way around the digital space this week. Aficionados of black religion will immediately recognize these extraordinary renderings of the popular divinities in Brazil that are known as orixas. Worshipped throughout the Americas but especially beloved in Bahia, theContinue reading “Black Gods of the Cosmopolis!”
She-roes and She-gods? Africana Religions and the Comics, pt. one
Are you a comics fan? My latest project deals with religion in comic books and graphic novels from the Golden Age to the present, where I look for characters who possess what might be seen as god-like powers, supernatural abilities, and fantastic technologies. Perhaps we might think of them as modern-day deities. Being obsessed with religion I wonder if there isContinue reading “She-roes and She-gods? Africana Religions and the Comics, pt. one”
Circus Freaks, White Voodoo Women, and the Amazing Afro
In between working on serious stuff that takes up my time, I look at images. Some of these images may seem as though they are not related – but they actually are – like these African circus “freak” posters from the early twentieth century and their counterparts from contemporary body mod subcultures in the United States. So who is the savage?Continue reading “Circus Freaks, White Voodoo Women, and the Amazing Afro”
Apotheosis of Marie Laveau, Hoodoo-Voodoo-Vodou Icon
I knew that it was time to write this post after everyone in the class I was teaching had seen the third season of the FX series American Horror Story, starring Angela Bassett as Marie Laveau, except me. Most of the students had never heard of Mme Marie before, mind you, so it was a perfectContinue reading “Apotheosis of Marie Laveau, Hoodoo-Voodoo-Vodou Icon”
Beautiful women with Cigars
As you might guess, this post is about pictures. But it might not be what you expect. I wasn’t exactly sure what I could say about this remarkable collection, compliments of the photographers at Flickr, that would speak any more eloquently than they do by themselves. But I am going to try. I want toContinue reading “Beautiful women with Cigars”
The Buddha in the Botanica
Many years ago I came upon an interesting presence while visiting El Cobre, a village in southeastern Cuba. Translated simply as “Copper,” El Cobre is well known for its 19th century mining concerns, but even more famously, it is the site of the national basilica for the luminous patron saint of Cuba, Our Lady of Charity.Continue reading “The Buddha in the Botanica”
On the Trail of Digital Comics Collections
Now that the examination of comics and graphic novels is becoming established as a field of study by the American Academy of Religion, it behooves researchers to be able to track down the best library archives and collections for doing this work. I am glad that the definition of viable texts for academic analysis andContinue reading “On the Trail of Digital Comics Collections”