
In Search of Ancient Kings
Egungun in Brazil
Brian Willson(Author)
University Press of Mississippi
Published on 30. July 2021
Book
Paperback/Softback
254 pages
978-1-4968-3445-4 (ISBN)
Description
The Egungun society is one of the least-studied and written-about aspects of African diasporic spiritual traditions. It is the society of the ancestors, the society of the dead. Its primary function is to facilitate all aspects of ancestor veneration. Though it is fundamental to Yoruba culture and the Ifa?ue/Oriss?ua tradition of the Yoruba, it did not survive intact in Cuba or the US during the forced migration of the Yoruba in the Middle Passage. Taking hold only in Brazil, the Egungun cult has thrived since the early 1800s on the small island of Itaparica, across the Bay of Saints from Salvador, Bahia. Existing almost exclusively on this tiny island until the 1970s (migrating to Rio de Janeiro and, eventually, Recife), this ancient cult was preserved by a handful of families and flourished in a strict, orthodox manner.
Brian Willson spent ten years in close contact with this lineage at the Candomble temple Xango Ca Te Espero in Rio de Janeiro and was eventually initiated as a priest of Egungun. Representing the culmination of his personal involvement, interviews, research, and numerous visits to Brazil, this book relates the story of Egungun from an insider's view. Very little has been written about the cult of Egungun, and almost exclusively what is written in English is based on research conducted in Africa and falls into the category of descriptive and historical observations. Part personal journal, part metaphysical mystery, part scholarly work, part field research, and part reportage, In Search of Ancient Kings illuminates the nature of Egungun as it is practiced in Brazil.
Brian Willson spent ten years in close contact with this lineage at the Candomble temple Xango Ca Te Espero in Rio de Janeiro and was eventually initiated as a priest of Egungun. Representing the culmination of his personal involvement, interviews, research, and numerous visits to Brazil, this book relates the story of Egungun from an insider's view. Very little has been written about the cult of Egungun, and almost exclusively what is written in English is based on research conducted in Africa and falls into the category of descriptive and historical observations. Part personal journal, part metaphysical mystery, part scholarly work, part field research, and part reportage, In Search of Ancient Kings illuminates the nature of Egungun as it is practiced in Brazil.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Jackson
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
48 colour illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 140 mm
Thickness: 14 mm
Weight
325 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4968-3445-4 (9781496834454)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
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E-Book
07/2021
University of Pennsylvania Press, Inc.
€29.49
Available for download
Persons
Brian Willson is a Babalawo (specialist in the Yoruba system of Ifa), having been a student/practitioner of African diasporic religious practices for over forty years. He received his doctoral degree from City University of New York Graduate Center in 2005. He has lectured or performed in over twenty-five countries. In 2011 he was nominated as a trustee to the Board of Directors of Education Africa, USA.