Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)From the moment you touch the lush, vividly colored cover of "Hearing the Mermaid's Song," you realize this is not your grandmother's anthropological study. And, once you dip into the stories, characters, the songs of this book, you understand that is also its delight.
No deadly descriptions of pottery shards here. In describing the Umbanda religion of Brazil,University of Texas anthropologist Lindsay Hale has depicted a world of passion, color, excitement and complexity. With roots in Africa, Umbanda flowered only in the early 20th century, has millions of adherents, and crosses multiple class and social lines. Its wide swath covers practices ranging from near-Catholicism, to near-19th century spiritualism, to belief in reincarnation and interplanetary journeys. It is, says Professor Hale, incorrect to think of Umbanda as a unified, single religion.
To prove his point, he takes you on his journey spanning nearly two decades, through the various festivals, rituals, and emotions of the Umbandan worlds within Rio. You visit spiritual centers of priestesses and priests such as Dona Luciana and Seu Silva, and encounter such characters as the Indian warrior Mata Virgem, and the Old Slave, Congo King, who had been a king in Africa and a slave in Brazil.
But one of the main, and most interesting, characters is Hale himself. Instead of taking a stance of false objectivity, he places himself right in the narrative and acknowledges how he affected his research, and was affected by it, thus becoming a part of the story he has to tell.
Speaking of his own journey, he says of himself: "On that very night that I first heard the mermaid song, I took communion from a French priest, martyred in the Amazon, I was knighted by a Spanish crusader, I spoke with an ancient Greek mariner, and I made the acquaintance of a sliver-throated Portuguese girl."
Using vivid imagery and the language of poetry to describe the exotic world he studies, Hale has created a work of literature, accessible and inviting to the lay person as well as the specialist.
Click Here to see more reviews about:
Hearing the Mermaid's Song: The Umbanda Religion in Rio de JaneiroThe Umbanda religion summons the spirits of old slaves and Brazilian Indians to speak through the mouths of mediums in trance. Its practitioners worship African gods, often calling them by the names of Catholic saints; simultaneously embrace the concepts of karma, reincarnation, and Christian charity; and believe in the capacities of both modern science and ancient magic. A relatively new religion dating to the beginning of the twentieth century, Umbanda has its origins in Rio de Janeiro and its surrounding urban areas where Afro-Brazilians, many ex-slaves or the descendants of slaves, practiced versions of the religion handed down to them by their ancestors. Umbanda's popularity has grown tremendously over the past century, attracting not only those who seek the assistance of spirits in solving problems in their lives, but those in pursuit of a path to a rich spiritual life and a fellowship of faith and service.Over the course of nearly a decade, Lindsay Hale spent countless hours attending rituals and festivals and interviewing participants of Umbanda, immersing himself in this fascinating religious world. In describing its many aspects and exploring its unique place within the lives of a wide variety of practitioners, Hale places Umbanda spiritual beliefs and practices within the broader context of Brazilian history and culture.
Get 8% OFF
Click here for more information about Hearing the Mermaid's Song: The Umbanda Religion in Rio de Janeiro
