Showcasing the art and ritual of the African and African-diaspora religions

African-American Orisha

The most Westernized of African-diaspora peoples, African Americans nurse an old love-hate relationship with Africa. During much of the history of the United States and of its colonial antecedents, African ancestry was equivalent to a mark of enslavement and long remained a bar to full citizenship rights. Many African Americans therefore favored and favor European […]

On Healing in the Afro-Atlantic Religions

Does religion teach us how to avoid suffering, or how to suffer and transcend? The Afro-Atlantic religions are often sought out by those who are suffering, and offer a philosophy of healing the whole person, with less regard for the Western dichotomy of physical and spiritual. This visual guided tour seeks to explore the following key questions: How are the gods and spirits called upon for healing? How do objects for ritual and healing specifically reflect their ambivalent abilities to both hurt and heal?