This new edition, published on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the founding by Melville Herskovits of the Program of African Studies at Northwestern University, brings back into print one of the classics in scholarly analysis and translation, written by one of the cultural anthropology. When this book was first published in 1958, Melville luminaries of American Herskovits, with his wife and collaborator, Frances, had spent over Twenty years studying the social networks, language, and oral traditions of the peoples of West Africa and their descendants in the New World. Dahomey, the major site of their African work, is in the country now known as the Republic of Benin. This volume, had two goals: in its collection of 155 narratives, to provide basic texts of the analytical side, to provide a general theory of mythology using new oral narratives and looking at their tradition culminating in a survey of different prevailing Theories of myth. The result is a wide-ranging collection, culled from an entire narrative tradition, that remains unique among anthropological publications.

Like a kaleidoscope, the Caribbean world displays the vibrant colors of its diversity. Ethnic groups from four continents brought their customs and beliefs to this New World. The sheer number of African people brought to the Caribbean islands perpetuated through their spiritual vitality, the central role played by traditional religions in African life. Though they hadn't brought along the material support of their worship, they had buried in their memory other essential supports: memories of gods, of myths, rites, rhythms, tales, legends, proverbs, songs, dances, sculptures, all the fundamental vectors of their religious thought. Through a process of secularization, continuity, adaptation, creation, syncretism and synthesis, these elements helped vitalize the artistic, profane and sacred domains of Caribbean cultures.

"This book will be of critical importance not only to those concerned with African, African American, and Caribbean art, but also to anthropologists, scholars of the African diaspora, students of comparative religion and comparative psychology, and anyone fascinated by the traditions of vodou and vodun."--Jacket.

This book examines the relationship between economics, politics and religion through the case of Olivorio Mateo and the religious movement he inspired from 1908 in the Dominican Republic. The authors explore how and why the new religion was formed, and why it was so successful. Comparing this case with other peasant movements, they show ways in which folk religion serves as a response to particular problems which arise in peasant societies during times of stress.