From Hierography to Ethnography and Back

Lydia Cabrera's Texts and the Written Tradition in Afro-Cuban Religions

Bibliographic Data

ID2805350
AuthorsErwan Dianteill (0000-0002-2364-3709), Martha Swearingen
Year2003
Volume116
Issue461
Pages273-292
Publication date2003-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of American Folklore (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0021-8715 • E-ISSN: 1535-1882
PublisherUniversity of Illinois Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1353/jaf.2003.0041
OpenAlexW1982168701
LanguageEN
Citations received15
References cited8

Two common assumptions about Lydia Cabrera's ethnographic work are that it is exclusively the result of fieldwork and that Afro-Cuban religions are based on oral tradition. Evidence is provided in this paper to show that 1) Cabrera also made use of early religious texts as a primary source, and 2) that her work has served as an influence on the texts used in modern Afro-Cuban religious practices, such as the anonymous book Manual del Santero (1990). An analysis is provided of the way in which Cabrera included vernacular written sources in her work, and how her work in turn has become a main source for Santería "hierography"-the writting about sacred things

Art · Ethnography · Literature · Sociology · Vernacular · Work (physics) · Anthropology · Cuban History and Society · History · Latin American and Latino Studies · Spanish Literature and Culture Studies

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