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Article: Wizards and Scientists: Explorations in Afro-Cuban Modernity and Tradition
- Article from:
- Anthropological Quarterly
- Article date:
- October 1, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright Institute for Ethnographic Research Fall 2002. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Stephan Palmie. Wizards and Scientists: Explorations in Afro-Cuban Modernity and Tradition. Durham: Duke University Press, 2002. 399 pp.
This is an important book about the historiography of Cuban religion as well as the Caribbean's contribution to the emergence of Atlantic modernity. Palmie's intent is to disrupt the categories of thought that have dominated approaches to Caribbean history and religion.
Palmie opens his book by introducing Tomas, a ghost of an elderly 19th century Cuban slave that a professional diviner and a regla ocha priest independently determined was the reason why Palmie was compelled to study Afro-Cuban religion. Palmie uses the semiotic presence of this specter ...