El Monte: Notes on the Religions, Magic, and Folklore of the Black and Creole People of Cuba

by Lydia Cabrera, David Font-Navarrete (Translator)

Overview

First published in Cuba in 1954 and appearing here in English for the first time, Lydia Cabrera’s El Monte is a foundational and iconic study of Afro-Cuban religious and cultural traditions. Drawing on conversations with elderly Afro-Cuban priests who were one or two generations away from the transatlantic slave trade, Cabrera combines ethnography, history, folklore, literature, and botany to provide a panoramic account of the multifaceted influence of Afro-Atlantic cultures in Cuba. Cabrera details the natural and spiritual landscape of the Cuban monte (forest, wilderness) and discusses hundreds of herbs and the constellations of deities, sacred rites, and knowledge that envelop them. The result is a complex spiritual and medicinal architecture of Afro-Cuban cultures. This new edition of what is often referred to as “the Santería bible” includes a new foreword, introduction, and translator notes. As a seminal work in the study of the African diaspora that has profoundly impacted numerous fields, Cabrera’s magnum opus is essential for scholars, activists, and religious devotees of Afro-Cuban traditions alike.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781478023340
Publisher:	Duke University Press
Publication date:	04/24/2023
Series:	Latin America in Translation
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	688
File size:	41 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Lydia Cabrera (1899–1991) was a renowned Cuban writer, folklorist, and artist who wrote dozens of books documenting Afro-Cuban culture and religion.

David Font-Navarrete is Assistant Professor in the Department of Music, Multimedia, Theatre, and Dance at Lehman College, City University of New York.

Table of Contents

Foreword: The Forest as Moral Document / John F. Szwed and Robert F. Thompson  ix
Introduction: Loose-Leaf Notes on the Life and Work of Lydia Cabrera / Isabel Castellanos  xxv
Translator's Notes: Reading El Monte in the Twenty-First Century / David Font-Navarrete  lvii
Acknowledgments / David Font-Navarrete  lxxxi
Preface  1
1. El Monte  7
2. Bilongo  15
3. Oluwa Ewe: The Owner of El Monte  69
4. The Tribute to the Owner of El Monte  117
5. How to Prepare a Nganga  123
6. The Magical and Medicinal Treasure of Osain and Tata Nfindo  156
7. The Ceiba  158
8. Ukano Bekonsi  206
9. The Royal Palm  233
10. Ukano Mambre  293
Botanical Encyclopedia  305
Photographs  535
References  561
Index  575

What People are Saying About This

Listening for Africa: Freedom, Modernity, and the Logic of Black Music’s African Origins - David F. Garcia

“In her groundbreaking ethnography El Monte, Lydia Cabrera brings the reader seamlessly into Afro-Cuban cosmologies by virtue of her deep knowledge and virtuosic uses of ethnography, history, and traditional medicines. The greatest contribution of her career, El Monte remains the most trusted source for documentation and insight into the worldviews, practices, and languages of mid-twentieth century followers of Afro-Cuban traditions.”

Archives of Conjure: Stories of the Dead in Afrolatinx Cultures - Solimar Otero

“David Font-Navarrete’s translation of Lydia Cabrera’s classic study, El Monte, fills a major gap in works about Afro-Cuban religions available in English. Readers will enjoy the erudite additions of John F. Szwed and Robert F. Thompson’s foreword and Isabel Castellanos’s introduction to this long-awaited volume. Cabrera’s unique voice shines through, offering the knowledge and wit of Afro-Cuban religious practitioners to a new generation. The volume is a testament to the complexity and richness of Cuban folklore.”

Editorial Reviews

"A real treasure."

New West Indian Guide - Richard Price and Sally Price

"That Lydia Cabrera’s magnum opus El Monte is finally available in an English translation is a reason to celebrate. . . . Font-Navarrete must be complimented for his remarkable sensitivity in navigating Cabrera’s often highly idiosyncratic prose, his careful footnotes, and not the least his excellent 'Translator’s Notes,' tellingly subtitled 'Reading El Monte in the Twenty-First Century.'"

Stephan Palmié

"A monumental compendium. . . . includes a priceless, botanical encyclopaedia that will be an essential resource for herbalists everywhere."

Latin American Review of Books - Gavin O'Toole

"The first English translation of an ethnographic masterwork on the constellation of religious traditions of the African diaspora in Cuba. . . . David Font-Navarrete’s translation work is masterful. . . ."

Zachary Schwarze

"Approached as a compendium of religious knowledge, a work of literature, a historical source or an experimental, outsider ethnography, this marvelous translation makes El Monte more accessible to English-language readers."

Latin American Research Review - Kristina Wirtz

"A monumental compendium. . . . includes a priceless, botanical encyclopaedia that will be an essential resource for herbalists everywhere."--Gavin O'Toole "Latin American Review of Books" (6/14/2023 12:00:00 AM)

From the Publisher