Sacred Leaves of Candomblé : African Magic, Medicine, and Religion in Brazil

Winner, Hubert Herring Book Award, Pacific Coast Council on Latin American Studies Candomblé, an African religious and healing tradition that spread to Brazil during the slave trade, relies heavily on the use of plants in its spiritual and medicinal practices. When its African adherents were forcibly transplanted to the New World, they faced the challenge not only of maintaining their culture and beliefs in the face of European domination but also of finding plants with similar properties to the ones they had used in Africa. This book traces the origin, diffusion, medicinal use, and meaning of Candomblé's healing pharmacopoeia—the sacred leaves. Robert Voeks examines such topics as the biogeography of Africa and Brazil, the transference—and transformation—of Candomblé as its adherents encountered both native South American belief systems and European Christianity, and the African system of medicinal plant classification that allowed Candomblé to survive and even thrive in the New World. This research casts new light on topics ranging from the creation of African American cultures to tropical rain forest healing floras.

Candomblé, an African religious and healing tradition that spread to Brazil during the slave trade, relies heavily on the use of plants in its spiritual and medicinal practices. When its African adherents were forcibly transplanted to the New World, they faced the challenge not only of maintaining their culture and beliefs in the face of European domination but also of finding plants with similar properties to the ones they had used in Africa.

This book traces the origin, diffusion, medicinal use, and meaning of Candomblé's healing pharmacopoeia—the sacred leaves. Robert Voeks examines such topics as the biogeography of Africa and Brazil, the transference—and transformation—of Candomblé as its adherents encountered both native South American belief systems and European Christianity, and the African system of medicinal plant classification that allowed Candomblé to survive and even thrive in the New World. This research casts new light on topics ranging from the creation of African American cultures to tropical rain forest healing floras.

"Thorough ethnobotanical study of the origin, diffusion, use, classification, and cultural significance of Afro-Brazilian sacred plants"--Handbook of Latin American Studies, v. 57.

Candomblé, an African religious and healing tradition that spread to Brazil during the slave trade, relies heavily on the use of plants in its spiritual and medicinal practices. When its African adherents were forcibly transplanted to the New World, they faced the challenge not only of maintaining their culture and beliefs in the face of European domination but also of finding plants with similar properties to the ones they had used in Africa.
This book traces the origin, diffusion, medicinal use, and meaning of Candomblé's healing pharmacopoeia--the sacred leaves. Robert Voeks examines such topics as the biogeography of Africa and Brazil, the transference--and transformation--of Candomblé as its adherents encountered both native South American belief systems and European Christianity, and the African system of medicinal plant classification that allowed Candomblé to survive and even thrive in the New World. This research casts new light on topics ranging from the creation of African American cultures to tropical rain forest healing floras.

Frontmatter Note on Orthography (page xi) Preface (page xiii) 1. Introduction (page 1) 2. The Bahian Landscape (page 7) 3. Indians and Africans (page 33) 4. Religion of the Orixás (page 51) 5. Candomblé Medicine (page 69) 6. Medicinal Plant Classification (page 115) 7. The Candomblé Flora (page 133) 8. African Religion in the Americas (page 147) Appendix 1: Candomblé Species List (page 170) Appendix 2: House Abô for Three Candomblé Terreiros (page 193) Notes (page 195) Glossary (page 211) References Cited (page 215) General Index (page 229) Index of Scientific Names (page 233) Candomble, an African religious and healing tradition that spread to Brazil during the slave trade, relies heavily on the use of plants in its spiritual and medicinal practices. This book traces the origin, diffusion, medicinal use, and meaning of Candomble's healing pharmacopoeia, the sacred leaves. This research casts new light on topics ranging from the creation of African American cultures to tropical rain forest healing floras