Voodoo

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Despite several decades of scholarship on African diasporic religion, Voodoo remains understudied by academics. The extent of recent book-length studies of the topic are sparse due primarily to Voodoo's fragmentary documentary record. Moreover, earlier works, such [as] 'Hoodoo in American' (1931) by Zora Neale Hurston and 'Voodoo in New Orleans' (1946) by Robert Tallant, are error- and fabrication-prone and in dire need of updating. In ... 'Voodoo, ' Jeffrey E. Anderson presents a modern account of the religion as it existed in the Mississippi River valley from colonial times to the mid-twentieth century, when he argues that it ceased to exist as a living tradition. Anderson begins by examining Voodoo's origin as a creole faith shaped by several African, European, Native American, and Caribbean influences. Next, he explores the deities of Voodoo and their place in Voodoo spirituality, using them to analyze the religion's origins. After discussing the gods, he turns to those who served them and how they interacted with the divine through religious ritual and magic. In discussing the formation and operation of the religion, Anderson explains why and when it disappeared as a living faith as well as its legacy in the region. He concludes by addressing issues of cultural politics in the form of competing claims of authority over the interpretation of the religion. An appendix also includes a collection and translation (when possible) of Voodoo songs for the benefit of future researchers. Anderson's study provides a solid scholarly foundation for future work by systematizing the extant information on a religion that has long captured the popular imagination while simultaneously being seen as variously threatening, evil, and/or laughable. His work is the most complete account of the faith yet produced and rests on more than two decades worth of research on the topic, which included standard primary source research alongside field study in New Orleans, Haiti, Cuba, Senegal, Benin, Togo, and the Republic of Congo. The result is an enduring resource on Mississippi Valley Voodoo, Louisiana, and the African Diaspora