This landmark work of ethnography explores the enduring, global worship of the African god of war—with five new essays in this new, expanded edition. Ogun—the ancient African god of iron, war, and hunting—is worshiped by more than forty million adherents in Western Africa, the Caribbean, and the Americas. This rich, interdisciplinary collection draws on field research from several continents to reveal Ogun’s dramatic power and enduring appeal. Contributors examine the history and spread of Ogun throughout old and new worlds; the meaning of Ogun ritual, myth, and art; and the transformations of Ogun through the deity’s various manifestations. This edition includes five new essays focusing mainly on Ogun worship in the new world. “[A]n ethnographically rich contribution to the historical understanding of West African culture, as well as an exploration of the continued vitality of that culture in the changing environments of the Americas.” —African Studies Review

The second edition of this landmark work is enhanced by new chapters on Ogun worship in the New World. From reviews of the first edition: "... an ethnographically rich contribution to the historical understanding of West African culture, as well as an exploration of the continued vitality of that culture in the changing environments of the Americas." --African Studies Review "... leav es] the reader with a sense of the vitality, dynamism, and complexity of Ogun and the cultural contexts in which he thrives.... magnificent contribution to the literature on Ogun, Yoruba culture, African religions, and the African diaspora." --International Journal of Historical Studies

The second edition of this landmark work is enhanced by new chapters on Ogun worship in the New World. From reviews of the first edition:"" ... an ethnographically rich contribution to the historical understanding of West African culture, as well as an exploration of the continued vitality of that culture in the changing environments of the Americas.""--African Studies Review"" ... leav[es] the reader with a sense of the vitality, dynamism, and complexity of Ogun and the cultural contexts in which he thrives ... magnificent contribution to the literature on Ogun, Yoruba.

Religion is one of the most important elements of Afro-Caribbean culture linking its people to their African past, from Haitian Vodou and Cuban Santeria—popular religions that have often been demonized in popular culture—to Rastafari in Jamaica and Orisha-Shango of Trinidad and Tobago. In Afro-Caribbean Religions, Nathaniel Samuel Murrell provides a comprehensive study that respectfully traces the social, historical, and political contexts of these religions. And, because Brazil has the largest African population in the world outside of Africa, and has historic ties to the Caribbean, Murrell includes a section on Candomble, Umbanda, Xango, and Batique. This accessibly written introduction to Afro-Caribbean religions examines the cultural traditions and transformations of all of the African-derived religions of the Caribbean along with their cosmology, beliefs, cultic structures, and ritual practices. Ideal for classroom use, Afro-Caribbean Religions also includes a glossary defining unfamiliar terms and identifying key figures.

"Numerous titles focusing on particular beliefs in Africa exist, including Marcel Griaule′s Conversations with Ogotemmeli, but this one presents an unparallelled exploration of a multitude of cultures and experiences. It is both a gateway to deeper exploration and a penetrating resource on its own. This is bound to become the definitive scholarly resource on African religions." — Library Journal, Starred Review "Overall, because of its singular focus, reliability, and scope, this encyclopedia will prove invaluable where there is considerable interest in Africa or in different religious traditions." –Library Journal As the first comprehensive work to assemble ideas, concepts, discourses, and extensive essays in this vital area, the Encyclopedia of African Religion explores such topics as deities and divinities, the nature of humanity, the end of life, the conquest of fear, and the quest for attainment of harmony with nature and other humans. Editors Molefi Kete Asante and Ama Mazama include nearly 500 entries that seek to rediscover the original beauty and majesty of African religion. Features · Offers the best representation to date of the African response to the sacred · Helps readers grasp the enormity of Africa′s contribution to religious ideas by presenting richly textured concepts of spirituality, ritual, and initiation while simultaneously advancing new theological categories, cosmological narratives, and ways to conceptualize ethical behavior · Provides readers with new metaphors, figures of speech, modes of reasoning, etymologies, analogies, and cosmogonies · Reveals the complexity, texture, and rhythms of the African religious tradition to provide scholars with a baseline for future works The Encyclopedia of African Religion is intended for undergraduate and graduate students in fields such as Religion, Africana Studies, Sociology, and Philosophy.

Annotation "Religion and Global Culture draws together the work of a group of historians of religion whose concern is situating the contemporary study of religion within the cultural complexity of the modern world. Each of the volume's contributors has independently explored the implications of the work of leading historian of religion, Charles H. Long, who has located religion in the contacts and exchanges of the colonial and post-colonial periods. Together with Long, these scholars consider phenomena ranging from hierophanies of water in Tokyp and the civil and ritual activities of African Immigrant communities in the United States to the philosophy of Sankara and the regional reprecussions of multinational business. They invite a reconfiguration of the study of religion by localizing religion itself in the conflicted and cooperative relationships of the colonial and post-colonial periods."

This volume provides the key to a deepened discourse on philosophy in Africa. Available literature and academic practice in African philosophy since the 1960s have largely featured discourses in the areas of origin, general meaning and nature of the discipline, with little attention given to specialized areas. By contrast, this book examines a noticeable shifting focus from such general concerns to more specific subject-matter, in such areas as epistemology, moral philosophy, metaphysics, aesthetics, and social and political philosophy in the light of the African experience. The volume includes specific discourses from expert contributors on the nature, history and scope of African ethics and metaphysics, while also discussing particular themes in African epistemology, philosophy of education, existentialism and political philosophy. Researchers seeking for new perspective on African philosophy will find this work thought-provoking, instructive and informative.