Possession, Ecstasy, and Law in Ewe Voodoo

by Judy Rosenthal

Overview

Records the results of the author's 11-year study of Gorovodo, the voodoo practised by West Africa's Ewe populations of coastal Ghana, Togo and Benin. The work represents an ethnography of spirit possession that focuses on law and morality in medicine voodoo orders.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813918044
Publisher:	University of Virginia
Publication date:	08/28/1998
Pages:	300
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.81(d)

About the Author

Judy Rosenthal is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Michigan—Flint.

What People are Saying About This

"I was enthralled by this book and that, I believe, is not something that often happens to a reader of ethnography. There is a marvelous simplicity and honesty in this very sophisticated text that could only have come from prolonged fieldwork and the loving care of the people among whom Rosenthal dwelt-not to mention the magic of the spirits themselves." -- Michael Taussig, Columbia University

Editorial Reviews

An ethnography of spirit possession among the West African Ewe people. Focusing on concepts of law and morality in the Gorovodun religious order, the author depicts the order not as a doctrinal sect, but rather as a linguistic, moral, and spiritual community that can help people come to grips with social and economic realities. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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