I am very happy to announce that two of my photos from the Tata Frank / Vititi Congo Tronco Ceibe photo-set were published in the Afro-Hispanic Review (volume 31, number 1 ; Spring 2012 ed, pg 167, 168).

The Afro-Hispanic Review, a bilingual journal of Afro-Hispanic literature and culture, is published by the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee USA. – http://www.afrohispanicreview.com/

The review article was an interview of Tata Frank by Dr. William Luis, the Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Professor of Spanish.  I am very honored to have my first photos published at Vanderbilt.   While attending Tennessee State University, also in Nashville, I spent many days at the Black Cultural Center on Vandy’s campus and have fond memories of the students and other scholars.

I do not have tearsheets yet, however the two photos they used for publication are linked below.  Color versions of these two photos were used.

This photo is of Mama Chola Wengue.

A jar of honey hangs.  Flowers drying in front.  Many knives, ready for action.

Nsasi is visible in the background.

This photo is of Tata Frank, himself, during my video interview.

Nsasi is visible in the background.

This interview can be found on this blog and on YouTube, in the ethnographique channel.

Enjoy!

Recently, I split one of my videos into three clips and posted them on YouTube.  At 19 minutes, the original video was a bit too long.  Frank’s comments in part 3 are particularly insightful and deserved a wider viewing.  Yet viewers weren’t always watching to the end. Therefore, breaking into smaller bits allows everyone the opportunity to view at their own pace.  As always, comments are welcomed.

Here are all three clips:

———————————————-

The original blog post is here:

http://ethnographique.org/conversations-video-series-palo-mayombe-with-tata-frank/

Enjoy!

This photo essay will describe the lead-up and subsequent personal discovery of the grave-site of one Ta Jose. I say one, because anyone could be called Ta Jose and any Ta Jose could, theoretically be buried at this site.  The Ta Jose I was hoping to find is a major historical figure reputed to have brought the Palo / Congo spirit Zarabanda to Cuba.

This particular adventure began with Ariel, my driver while in country.  He drove an American-made 1950s car that I am sure he does his best to maintain.  Most times, though, it felt like riding in a “technical.”  Ariel’s wife was planning to attend a Misa at her Madrina’s house.  Having an open day, I asked and was allowed to attend. When we arrived, Madrina seemed taken aback by my presence.  It was explained that I was a visiting Babalawo for the US and wanted to meet her and attend the Misa.  She was a formidable woman who gave me a stern once-over before letting me in.

Her home was very modest, on the edge of Central and Old Havana.  The interior was fastidious, but filled with spirit pots in every nook-and-cranny.  Ceramic, wooden, and metal pots were of many shapes and sizes.  With every movement made, existed the threat of knocking over something, or worse, someone.

Madrina was a Santera, a priestess of the Yoruba Orisa Ochun.  But she was also a Palera, a priestess of the Palo / Congo religion.  During the Misa she became possessed by several spirits, including her main Palo spirit.  I have seen spirit possession often enough that I no longer feel anxious or nervous about it.   Since Madrina was an unknown quantity, one could not immediately determine if her possessions were indeed true.  However, the information she gave to me, through translation, was astonishing.  For someone who had just met me, she was remarkably accurate.  She was accurate with specific facts, as well, not just impressions and generalities.  I was duly impressed.

After the Misa, we sat at her table and shared coffee and bread.  At every home and during every ritual, Cuban coffee was meted out like precious water on a slave ship.  This elixir was usually accompanied by big pieces of Cuban bread (similar to French bread), usually a day or two old, and sometimes with large slabs of processed ham.  Personally, I am not big on bread or gelatinous meats, but I know better than to refuse a generous offer. I did not have much to give at that time, and she did not want money anyway.  I felt she only wanted mutual respect from a fellow spirit worker.  I gave that to her freely.

We spoke about her spirits. She pointed to the stairs of her “loft” bedroom. Under the stairs was where she kept her prenda.  The Prenda is the spirit cauldron that contains the religious material that makes up the spirit’s essence.  She allowed me to poke my head into this low crawl space and see her shrine to the Palo spirit Siete Rayos.  I honestly couldn’t see much, but I did get a little quiver in my bones.  It could have been the spirit saying hello, but it just as easily could have been disorientation from bending down to fast.  At my age, I just don’t bend down that frequently.

As the conversation continued, she began singing Palo and Orisa songs for my recordings.  She sang very well.  Other people who were still in attendance joined in the singing.  These extra voices were her god-children and students.  One gentleman was Cuban, but resided in Mexico.  He happened to be visiting for the week.  I hope to edit and post some of her songs to the blog this year!

Interspersed between songs, she started talking about Ta Jose. Ta Jose, apparently, is a major figure in Palo cirlces. Yet, I had not heard of him before this moment.  Madrina was my introduction.  Ta Jose is mentioned in many Palo songs, including my favorite:

Madrina seemed animated when talking about Ta Jose, which only piqued my curiosity further.  She explained how many people visit his tomb. Some playing ritual drums to Ta Jose at his gravesite, at night, in the cemetery.  This, I simply had to see.  At my request, we decided to visit his grave site on my next open day.  This was either going to be a fantastic adventure, or another opportunity to buy lunch for everyone again!  As a foreigner with unclaimed cash in my custody, I generally fed everyone on my outings. Another technical expense, it was well worth the cost.

Ta Jose is entombed in the Colon Cemetery in Havana.  Founded in 1876, Colon is a sprawling complex, named for Christopher Columbus.  The grounds are gorgeous, for a cemetery, with many beautiful monuments.  The first four photos in this set show the main gate, some gate details and the contiguous wall.  The remaining eight photos focus on Ta Jose’s tomb, from various angles.

I hope that these photos will inspire other students of African diaspora religious to seek out and capture our history.  On my next trip, I plan to sponsor and film a ritual drumming for Ta Jose, in the cemetery.

Enjoy!

This is the second gallery from Oyotunji, 2005: Drummers of Oyotunji.

Feel free to like and share!

Enjoy!

I decided to re-edit my public selection of photos from Oyotunji Village.  These photos were taken in July 2005 during the Inauguration Ceremony of the new Oba (King).

This first gallery is of the Dance of the Egungun Masqueraders:

Feel free to like and share!

Enjoy!

Often, one can find blog post of the unboxing of some new technology.  This usually goes along with unbearably long lines just to purchase said product.  To me, this shows the love and care that this person has for their new toy.  I applaud it.

So, I have decided to do an unboxing on something that I care about: new knowledge.  I just received two new text on Quimbanda.  Quimbanda is an Afro-Brazilian religion of which that I know very little.  One text is concerning Exu and the other is concerning Pomba Gira.  They both are written by Nicholaj de Mattos Frisvold and published by Scarlet Imprint.  I have links to the websites for Nicholaj’s blog and to the publisher, for more information on both, below the photos.

Full Titles:

Exu & the Quimbanda of Night and Fire

Pomba Gira and the Quimbanda of Mbumba Nzila

Now, let’s get to the glamour shots of these books!

Shipped all the way from Merry Old England

Amazon is nice, but this is how you pack fine works like these!

These books look and feel like they will last an eternity.

The art work is killer.

Now resting in a place of honor!

Well, I hope that was as good for you as it was for me!

Be sure to check out my blog post archives and image library!

And, like us on facebook!!

Check them out for yourselves.

Scarlet Imprint Publishing

Nicholaj de Mattos Frisvold’s Blog

Enjoy!

These are a few of the most viewed photo from the Vititi Congo Tronco Ceiba photo shoot.  I am re-posting these to go along with the interview of Tata Frank.

The whole photo shoot can be found in my photo library: library.ethnographique.org.

Enjoy!

Here is the first in my Conversations Video Series.  This  edition is on Palo Mayombe with Tata Frank Lords.

The interview was held on June 16, 2012 in his Munanso in Miami, Florida.  Tata Frank is a very knowledgeable Palero and was very gracious in allowing this interview, as well as the accompanying photo spread.  I will be re-posting many of the photos from the shoot in this blog space over the next few weeks.

Conversations Video Series: Palo Mayombe

Since I am doing the production on a shoe-string budget, it has take a bit longer to finalize.  I had to learn a whole new set of software tools and video techniques.  Also, my former WordPress theme did not handle video well.  I hope you enjoyed it.  Any pointers or suggestions are welcome.  Just drop me a note in the comments.

Enjoy!

A photo set of African Drums in Cuba.  I found these on display at the Museum of the Slave Route in Matanzas, Cuba.

This sixth set is of Arará Drums.

Arará is an African ethnic group in Cuba (especially in the provinces of La Habana and Matanzas), Puerto Rico and elsewhere in the Caribbean who descend from Fon, Ewe, Popo, Mahi and other ethnic groups in Dahomey (now Benin), West Africa. Arará may also refer to the music, dance, and religion of this group of people. The word Arará and its cognates, Rada (Haiti, Trinidad) and Arrada (Carriacou), are derived from Allada, a city in Dahomey.

To order prints, please view the How to Order Page here.

Enjoy!

A photo set of African Drums in Cuba.  I found these artifacts on display at the Museum of the Slave Route in Matanzas, Cuba.

This fifth set is of two historical figures in Cuba who had a great impact on Lucumi musical traditions.

Bonifacia Alfonso (Boní) (1870-1957). She was the caretaker of the “Batey de Triunvirato”

and 

Aurelia Crespo (1909-1977). She is credited with giving first violin performance dedicated to Oshun. Oshun is the Lucumi Orisha that represents sweet waters, gold and happiness: everything that makes life worth the effort.

Enjoy!