KOSANBA: The Congress of Santa Barbara

Fragments of Bone: Neo-African Religions in a New World
Edited by Patrick Bellegarde-Smith

published under the auspices of the Center for Black Studies

Fragments of Bone discusses African Religions as forms of resistance and survival in the face of Western cultural hegemony and imperialism. The collection is unique in presenting the voices of scholars primarily outside of the Western tradition, speaking on the issues they regard as important. Bellegarde-Smith, himself a priest in the Haitian Vodou religion, brings together thirteen contributors from different disciplines, genders, and nationalities. Fragments of Bone draws on an impressive range of sources including research, fieldwork, personal interviews, and spiritual introspection to support the provocative thesis that the fragments of the ancestral traditions are fluidly interwoven in the New World African religions as creolized rituals, symbolic systems, and cultural identities.

Haitian Vodou: Spirit, Myth & Reality
Edited by Patrick Bellegarde-Smith

Haitian Vodou breaks away from European and American heuristic models for understanding a religio-philosophical system such as Vodou in order to form new approaches with an African ethos. The contributors to this volume, all Haitians, examine the potentially radical and transformative possibilities of the religious and philosophical ideologies of Vodou and locate its foundations more clearly within an African heritage. Essays examine Vodou’s roles in organizing rural resistance; forming political values for the transformation of Haiti; teaching social norms, values, and standards; influencing Haitian culture through art and music; merging science with philosophy, both theoretically and in the healing arts; and forming the Haitian "manbo," or priest.

Invisble Powers: Vodou in Haitian Life and Culture
Edited by Claudine Michel and Patrick Bellegarde-Smith

This book introduces readers to the practice of Vodou and helps deconstruct and destroy stereotypes which have survived for hundreds of years. The authors in the collection--from Karen McCarthy Brown to Gerdes Fleurant to Leslie Desmangles--are leading scholars in the rapidly growing field of Vodou Studies. Tackling a wide range of Vodou practices and images, the essays within work to introduce readers to the history and practice of this religion, and to correct the fiction of Vodou which has been circulating as fact. The book focuses specifically on the role Vodou plays in Haiti, the country in which it has its strongest following, examining the influence it has on spiritual beliefs, cultural practices, national identity, popular culture, writing and art. By looking in detail at the beliefs and practices in one country, the reader will begin to understand this unique religion and the multiple domains in which it operates.

Ancestral Rays: Journey through Haitian History & Culture
Illustrated with the Works of Hërsza Barjon
Edited by Claudine Michel
Exhibition curated by Ernestine A. Ray

published by the Center for Black Studies

Celebrating an exhibition of Haitian culture at the Old Dillard Museum in 2005, these colorful catalogs showcase the paintings of Hërsza Barjon, accompanied by articles on Haitian cultures and traditions, as well as discussions of Hërsza Barjon's unique artistic vision.

Contributors include: Curator Ernestine A. Ray, Florence Bellande-Robertson, Patrick Bellegarde-Smith, LeGrace Benson, Marc A. Christophe, Kyrah M. Daniels, Carole Boyce Davies, Gérard Férère, Woolley Henriquez, Lilliane Nérette Louis, Claudine Michel, Paulette Poujol Oriol, Marlène Racine-Toussaint, Florienne Saintil, and Woje E. Saven. A wonderful introduction to Haitian culture and religion.

The Descent of the Lwa: Journey through Haitian Mythology: The Works of Hërsza Barjon
Edited by Claudine Michel
Exhibition curated by Babacar M'Bow

published by the Center for Black Studies

Celebrating an exhibition of Haitian culture at the Broward County Library in 2004, these colorful catalogs showcase the paintings of Hërsza Barjon, accompanied by articles on Haitian cultures and traditions, as well as discussions of Hërsza Barjon's unique artistic vision.

Contributors include: Curator Babacar M'Bow, Florence Bellande-Robertson, Patrick Bellegarde-Smith, LeGrace Benson, Marc A. Christophe, Kyrah M. Daniels, Carole Boyce Davies, Gérard Férère, Woolley Henriquez, Lilliane Nérette Louis, Claudine Michel, Paulette Poujol Oriol, Marlène Racine-Toussaint, Florienne Saintil, and Woje E. Saven. A wonderful introduction to Haitian culture and religion.