Cultures of Devotion: Folk Saints of Spanish America
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.82 (702 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0195171306 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 336 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2017-06-10 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Academics will invariably find it thought provoking, but it will also appeal to non-specialists and students. Cultures of Devotion is a major ethnography of saintly ethics in Latin America, and it should serve as a key reference on the subject for years to come." --Anthropology and Humanism"Frank Graziano's study is an important contribution to scholarly work that pays serious attention to the faith lives and practices of marginalized populations. The author, who is a literary critic by training, has composed a book that squarely belongs in most anthropology of religion reading lists. It is a sensitive, nuanced portrait of folk-saint religiosity in the late twentieth century that can help us think about what is going on beyond the documentation in kindred historical events." --The Americas. "Graziano's
Graziano draws upon site visits and extensive interviews with devotees, archival material, media reports, and documentaries to produce vivid portraits of these fascinating popular movements. Nino Compadrito is an elegantly dressed skeleton of a child, whose miraculous powers are derived in part from an Andean belief in the power of the skull of one who has suffered a tragic death. Gaucho Gil is only one of many gaucho saints, whose characteristic narrative involves political injustice and Robin-Hood crimes on behalf of the exploited people. Spanish America has produced numerous "folk saints" -- venerated figures regarded as miraculous but not officially recognized by the Catholic Church. In the process he sheds new light on the often fraught relationship between orthodox Catholicism and folk beliefs and on an important and little-studied facet of the dynamic culture of contemporary Spanish America.. Among the six primary cases are Difunta Correa, at whose shrines devotees offer bottles of water and used auto parts in commemoration of her tragic death in the Argentinean desert. Some of these have huge national cults with hundreds -- perhaps millions -- of devotees. In this book Frank Graziano provides the first overview in any language of these saints, offering in-depth studies of the beliefs, rituals, and devotions surrounding seve
Frank Graziano is John D. MacArthur Professor, in the Department of Hispanic Studies, at Connecticut College.
L. Larson said CHECK IT OUT. I bought this book after hearing Graziano speak, and I'm really glad I did. In many places it reads like a novel; in others the insights into folk devotion are incredible. The website, [], is amazing too. Highly recommended.. Loretta G. Breuning said Poetic Expression of Human Hopes and Needs. Great scholarship and a great read don't often go together, but they do in this book. Graziano shows how a folk-saint cult emerges, and why has value for its devotees. The reader steps into alternative understandings of life, and explores the intimate world of Latin Americans with anthropological depth and without theoretical trappings.The popularity of a folk saint rests on his or her reputation for miracles, according to the extensive site research done by the author. Devotees petition their chosen saint with explicit contracts- if you do X for me I promise to do Y for you. The supplications . Cultures of Devotion: An Enjoyable Read Cultures of Devotion, Graziano's most recent book, articulates the balances of belief, hope and bargaining between the people of Spanish America and their saints. Graziano's keen and thorough sense of academic investigation is evident throughout the book, as is his humor, curiosity, and willingness to interface with beliefs "jeopardized if reason elbows in with its complications." Graziano's photographs complement the text, as does his website, [] The relationship between the people, their folk saints and the Catholic Church seems to somewhat parallel the influences of Christian faith on Tradit