Index [assets.cambridge.org]assets.cambridge.org/97805218/85041/index/9780521885041_index… ·...

Index

Abaluyia 14abiku 65, 183

spirit-child 63Abraham 27absence and presence 153absoluteness 60Abyssinia 29accidents 4, 42, 45, 56, 58, 62, 66, 74, 141aesthetics, African 13Africa, pre-slavery 6African Book Without a Name, The, Fu-Kiau,

K. Kia Bunseki 12African Methodist Episcopal Church 163, 182African Religions and Philosophy, Mbiti, John S. 12African spider stories 124‘‘African Tradition in Toni Morrison’s Sula’’,

Lewis, Vashti Crutcher 13, 41African-American lore 114‘‘African-Based Reading of Sula, An,’’ Wilentz,

Gay 13African-Brazilian nuns 166Africanisms 4, 181, 184

persistence of survivals 4–5West 180

afterworld 3, 9, 10, 19, 33, 34, 39, 44, 61, 70, 86, 87,88, 89, 92, 93, 94, 103, 104, 105, 108, 110,111, 112, 113, 114, 129, 142, 146, 156, 182

Agwe 145aie 175Ajax 32, 54aje 61Akan 14, 86, 96Akhmim, Egypt 29Alabama 181

Greenville 116, 117Albright, Mavis 72, 77, 78, 168, 170, 171, 172,

174, 175alchemists 174alchemy 28Alexander, Allen, ‘‘Fourth Face: The Image of God

in Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye’’ 26

‘‘All God’s Children Had Wings’’ in Doctor to theDead 114

All Saints Bay (Brazil) 168Alma Estee 123America, North 141America, South 141American South 17American Voodoo 138American women 123Amerindians 11, 163, 166, 173AME’s 163, 182Among the Ibos of Nigeria, Basden, George

Thomas 112Anancy (Anansi) 102

fables 4ancestors 8, 9–10, 20, 21, 26, 38, 39, 48, 50, 65, 81,

82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 95, 96, 98, 99,100, 103, 104, 106, 107, 109, 111, 112, 113,114, 116, 117, 119, 121, 123, 124, 126, 128, 129,131, 135, 136, 142, 143, 153, 164, 184

absence of 81dispossessed 82disremembered 82divinized 88living-dead 6, 9, 10, 18, 70, 83, 84, 85, 87, 95, 99,

102, 103, 104, 105, 107tribal 88

ancestorship 9, 82, 83, 88ancestral presence 10, 21, 81, 83, 85, 86, 88, 95, 96,

99, 100, 103, 104, 105, 106, 114, 120, 126, 153ancient properties 122, 123, 126Andromeda 161Anglican monastery 146Anglophilia 146Angola 21, 98, 124, 137, 172, 173animism 127, 128, 139, 146, 174, 183Annie (character, ‘‘The Goophered

Grapevine’’) 183antelopes, Chiwara 4, 99, 100anthropomorphism 127anthropophagism 68

227

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Anti-Christ 27Antigua 94Aparecida do Norte 169Appiah, Kwame Anthony 1appropriations, Greek 11, 22Arawak 152, 157Ark of Bones and Other Stories, Dumas,

Henry 184Arkansas 81art, Black 81, 85, 98artists 180, 182, 184

African 181the thwarted female 180

ase 61, 62, 140Asekun, Ayoade Joy 61Ashanti 14, 31, 36, 86, 98, 102

fables 102Ashmolean Museum 162asson/acon 144, 150, 152Atlantic Ocean 73, 119, 183Augustine 29avocado trees 128axe 169axes 140, 156, 169, 173, 174, 176

horizontal 3, 33, 34, 102, 132, 184intersection of 20vertical 3, 20, 33, 34, 41, 57, 67, 98, 102, 109, 131,

132, 133, 152, 153, 171, 173, 175, 184vertical and horizontal 108

Ayizan 3, 59, 60, 61, 145Azande 38, 47Azaro 183Aztec 172Azusa Street 182

babalorisha, father of the saint 137Bahia, Brazil 166, 169Baines, Guitar 107, 135, 159Bakongo 16, 19, 71, 164, 173

thought 34balance 4, 8, 19, 20, 25, 26, 30, 39, 40, 46, 52,

59, 64, 100, 101, 104, 105, 108, 111, 122, 146,152, 183

quaternal 8Baldwin, James 81Balindjo 150Bamanas 99Bamanianga 39Bambara, Toni Cade 81Bambaras 43, 81, 99, 100Bandibu 39bandoki 8, 23, 25, 36, 37, 40, 45, 48banganga 36, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 160, 176Bantu language 138baptisms 3, 17, 59

Baptist minister 76Baptist(s) 139, 163, 166Barbados 95, 99Barnett, Pamela E., ‘‘Figurations of Rape and the

Supernatural in Beloved,’’ 67, 68barracao 167Basden, George Thomas, Among the Ibos of

Nigeria 112Batala 150Beechnut Park 33, 34Belali 118, 119beliefs

Judeo-Christian 8New World 17Voudoun 13

Beloved 3, 7, 8, 9, 10, 25, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68,69, 70, 71, 78, 86, 87, 88, 89, 91, 93, 94, 95,104, 183

Beloved, Morrison, Toni 4, 6, 9, 11, 21, 25, 62, 80,82, 83, 84, 86, 88, 89, 90, 91, 105, 108, 135,140, 176, 178, 179, 181

Belser, Jeanette (Aunt Coot) 23, 24, 37Benin 14, 28, 38, 167, 178Best, Pat 73Best, Roger 73Betty 46, 47Bible 79, 153Bight of Benin 17, 41birds 55, 56

imagery 55Black Atlantic 12, 98, 141

survivals 165Black Atlantic, The, Gilroy, Paul 184Black consciousnesses 73black Eves 72, 74, 75Black literary tradition 182Black Madonna 169Black Power 73Black Power, Wright, Richard 90Black vernacular 179Blackness 1, 5, 6, 14, 24, 81, 90, 122, 127, 139, 144,

179, 183Blassingame, John W. 16blind horsemen 3, 10, 84, 122, 124, 128, 129, 130blood 78blue 168, 174blue and white 168Bluest Eye, The, Morrison, Toni 11, 84, 139, 140,

141, 160, 161bluestem 168Bluestone Road 7, 63Bob 147Bobangi language 43Bockie, Simon 39, 44, 45, 50, 53Bodwin, Mr. 91

228 Index






Booker Prize for Fiction 183Borges, Jorge Luis 126Bosman, William, A New and Accurate

Description of the Coast of Guinea 112Bottom 4, 7, 31, 32, 37, 53, 151, 152, 173Bottom, townspeople of 8, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30, 32,

33, 35, 36, 38, 40, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50,53, 54, 55, 58, 62, 74, 144, 149, 150, 152, 153

Boyboy 31, 55, 56, 57Brazil 3, 4, 22, 38, 74, 75, 137, 139, 140, 144, 145,

166, 168, 169, 173, 176, 178All Saints Bay 168Bahia 166, 169nuns 71terreiro 140, 144, 167, 168, 174terreiro, women-centered 11, 75

Breedlove, Cholly 141, 160, 161Breedlove, Pecola 142, 147, 148Brer Rabbit tales 124, 125Britain,

colonial patriarchs 146colonial settlers 97

Brother 102Brown, Katie 119Brown, Sally 124Brownville 85bruler-zin 3, 61Buakasa Tulu Kia Mpansu 39, 138Buglar 64, 70, 105burials 112–14, 126burning hair 55, 56Butler, Jon 16Butler, Elizabeth 162Butler, Octavia, Kindred 184Butlers 108, 109, 111, 160, 161, 162Byrd, Susan 110

cabbala 172Cachoeira 167calabash 152calendars

numerical 90phenomenon 90

California 168, 174, 175Call, The 104, 163, 164, 165calling of names 9, 83, 87, 93, 103, 123call and response 164Calvino, Italo 126Cameroon 55Candomble 3, 4, 11, 21, 22, 71, 74, 75, 76, 78,

139, 140, 144, 145, 166, 167, 168, 169, 175,176, 177, 182

African-Brazilian 22, 26cannibalism 25, 68, 69, 78, 154Capela de Nosso Senhora da Piedade 168

capitalism 122, 123cardinal points 28, 132, 133, 134Carib 144, 154, 155, 160

Arawakan Indians 11Indians 154, 161, 163snake divinity 155

Caribbean 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 22, 25,27, 71, 80, 83, 96, 98, 99, 102, 120, 122, 126,130, 139, 140, 143, 146, 154, 157, 160, 166,178, 179, 180

British 17, 37, 97French 17, 97, 98, 99, 128French-colonized 128

Caribbean Sea 121Carlos 170carnival 63Carolina 97, 105Carpenter’s Road 152Carrefour, Baron 159Catholics 74, 128, 167, 176

church 169indoctrination 75

Catholicism 17, 22, 74, 75, 78, 128, 139,166, 176

saints 59caul (placenta) 157cauldrons 42, 162cedars 117cellars 21, 22, 75, 167, 168, 172, 176center-post see also poteau-mitan, 98Central Street 73, 173, 175central time zone 175champion daisy trees 128Charleston 138Charm-making 138Chattel-marking 97Chesnutt, Charles W., The Conjure Woman,

12, 183Cheyenne 124Cheyenne’s mother 124Chicken Little 21, 31, 32, 33, 36, 37, 41, 42, 43, 49,

50, 52, 53, 56chickens 33Childs, Jadine, 21, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 128,

131, 132, 133, 134China 53Chinese 146Christ 19, 59, 147, 148, 149, 150, 167, 183Christian 9, 20, 21, 41, 56, 57, 59, 91, 109, 147, 148,

159, 163, 164, 168, 169, 177beliefs 62communities 139domination 79dualism 27Enlightenment 80

Index 229






Christian (cont.)ethos 104, 167face 79faith 70, 75God 59images 79perspective 59, 84reading 59rebirth 59theology 79tradition 26Trinity 57

Christian, Barbara 13, 61, 82, 83Christianity 2, 3, 4, 8, 16, 17, 21–2, 23, 24, 25,

30, 69, 71, 74, 79, 139, 147, 165, 176, 177,181, 182

Christmas 58Church 148, 175Church of England 148Church of the Redeemer and the Redeemed 163Church, Soaphead 11, 139, 141, 142, 143, 146, 147,

148, 177churches, Baptist 76churches, Methodist 76Cimitere (Cemetery), Baron 57, 158Cincinnati, Ohio 4, 7, 63, 71, 91, 93, 96, 104, 105,

140, 163, 164Circe (Song of Solomon) 11, 84, 109, 140, 160, 161,

162, 177, 183African 162African-American 162classical Greek 140, 160, 161, 162

mythical 162circle 5, 16, 19, 20, 21, 33, 34, 64, 76, 98, 117, 118,

120, 131, 132, 133, 134, 140, 152, 155, 160,172, 174, 175, 176, 182, 184

concentric 33dances 117, 164Kongo 19of life 10, 83, 102, 111, 134quartered 21roda 76

circle and cross 8, 177Civil Rights movement 73civilizations

African 2, 24, 84Africa’s contribution to others 2cradle of 2, 14modern 156Nile Valley 161West African traditional 2Western 3, 24

Clabber Girl Baking Powder lady 44Clarence 183classical (Greece) 161

Clearing 21, 104, 163, 164, 165, 176Codex Ferjervary-Mayer 172cold house 67collectivism 50

communal 4Color Purple, The, Walker, Alice 179Come booba yalle, come booba tambee 118commandment, fifth 61, 82communal collectivism 4Congo 50, 113conjugal 52

differences 51relationships 51

conjurers 10, 37, 137, 138, 139, 176, 183consanguineal relations 48, 51, 66consciousnesses, black 73Consolata Sosa, see Sosa, ConsolataConvent 11, 21, 25, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 140,

143, 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 172, 173,174, 175, 176

cellar 22Conwill, HoustonCooper, Reverend 109, 110Coot, Aunt (Jeanette Belser) 23, 24, 37Cornet, Josephcosmic eggs 151cosmogram 2, 14, 18, 19, 20, 21, 26, 32, 33, 34,

35, 64, 100, 134, 140, 159, 160, 164, 165,168, 172, 177

ancestral 2Kongo’s 10

counter-Christian conception of evil 82counterclockwise 10, 107, 121, 132, 140,

156, 164counterclockwise, sun 19counter-conjure 23coven 167crawling-already? girl 62, 63, 64, 65, 67, 70, 88, 91,

93, 94, 95creolization of African traditional

beliefs 17, 18Crete 116Croix (Cross), Baron 57cross and circle 6, 14, 20, 21, 22, 64, 97, 98, 99,

102, 132, 134, 152, 156, 165, 167, 168, 172,173, 178

Cross John 73Cross Luke 73Cross Mark 73Cross Matthew 73, 173Cross Peter 73, 173cross within a circle 2, 3, 5, 18, 20, 21, 73,

83, 99root and significance 2–3

cross-and-diamond 20

230 Index






crosses 3, 12, 16, 19, 20, 32, 57, 58, 76, 98, 108, 114,117, 121, 131, 133, 147, 148, 149, 151, 152, 156,157, 167, 172, 173, 176, 184

Christian 17Greek 19oak 76pre-Christian 21with solar emblems 16

crossing the river 93, 152, 156cross-pattee 172crossroads 3, 9, 18, 20, 83, 96, 98, 102, 120, 126, 131,

136, 140, 153, 157, 159, 171, 174, 175, 177,179, 180, 183

crucifix 174Crucifixion 19, 148, 150cruciforms 172Cuba 38, 137, 146, 178cultural orphan 123culture wars 122cultures

African 47, 51, 126African and African-American 181African-American 5, 21, 32, 79, 126, 136, 163African-Brazilian 21, 71African religious 17African traditional 51, 147Afro-Atlantic 7American 2, 24ancestral 83, 89Anglo-European 4artistic 138Black 178Black Atlantic 5European-American 2, 22, 25, 62Ibo 65Malian 4New World 2, 6sacred and secular 13traditional 85, 86, 89, 179traditional, African 149traditional, West African 2, 150wars 122West African 14, 101, 180Western 21, 51, 180worship 139Yoruba 65, 88

Cumberland Ilun (Island) 119curandeiro 167Curtin, Philip 21

Daedalus 116Dahomey 19, 28, 58, 65, 73, 98, 117, 139, 149, 152,

154, 166, 167, 172, 173Pre-colonial kingdom of 18Vodun 18, 138

Damballah 59, 67, 145dances 20, 21, 43, 44, 100, 131, 132, 134, 140, 156,

158, 164, 171of copulation 156, 158circle 117, 164holy 164shimmy 132shuffling 163

Danville, Pennsylvania 107, 109, 110, 156, 159, 160Darien 118Darling Street 113Davis, Christina 181Dead, Macon 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 155, 160Dead, ‘‘Milkman,’’ Macon Foster 86, 106Dead, Pilate 11, 13, 84, 85, 86, 106, 107, 108, 109,

110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 117, 140, 142, 143, 153,154, 155, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 177, 179, 183

Dead, Ruth Foster 107, 155, 158Dead the first, Macon 10, 85, 109, 110, 111, 113, 114Deads 108, 110, 142, 153, 154, 155, 156, 177death 3, 4, 7, 9, 19, 26, 30, 31, 32, 34, 36, 37, 38,

39, 41, 42, 43, 45, 46, 47, 48, 50, 52, 53, 54,56, 57, 60, 62, 64, 65, 66, 69, 70, 71, 72, 77,87, 89, 93, 94, 96, 97, 101, 103, 106, 109,110, 111, 112, 113, 116, 126, 135, 143, 144,150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159,168, 170

ancestral 12penalty for 97uncertain 11

de Jesus, Frei Agostino 169Delegal, Tony William 115, 116Denver 63, 64, 65, 70, 90, 91, 93, 103, 104, 105, 165Deren, Maya 13, 57, 60, 98, 128, 129, 132, 144, 156,

165, 172, 180Desdemona 148Dessie 47Devil 26, 27, 28, 36, 38devil 7, 8, 46, 50, 70devilment 75devotees 11, 167, 168, 170, 171, 174deweys 3, 31, 32, 57, 58, 59diamonds 16diaspora 5, 82, 127, 136, 148, 149, 168, 177, 184

African 1, 8, 22, 95, 149African-Brazilian 78Black 22Black Atlantic 64derivatives 5

dice 174Diodorus 161Dioki 183dis-ease 7, 144, 145, 147

Sethe’s 70wasting 9, 54, 67, 69, 70

Index 231






diseases 72, 141dispossession, African-American 111dispossession, spatial 9, 15, 79, 83, 110, 148disremembrance 9, 14, 15, 83, 84, 92, 93, 110

familial 9, 15, 83divination 138, 141divine horsemen 3, 130Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti,

Deren, Maya 13, 98Divine Horsemen: Voodoo Gods of Haiti, Deren,

Maya 13, 57Divine Trinity 57Divine Twins 57, 58divine/blind horsemen 131, 133diviners 36, 137, 139, 142, 143, 145, 147, 153divinities 8, 26, 101, 127, 133, 142, 145, 172

African 27, 60, 140ancestors 88, 96, 129appropriated 161designs 29Esu-Elegbara 178Eva 60Fon 179Ghede 158Ibo 179intermediate 147lesser 17Ogoun 11, 140, 149, 170Olympian 162Snake, Carib 155spirit 145territorial 128Theban 159traits 184Voudoun 3, 154West African 12, 38Yemanja 174Yoruba 179

divinityOlympian 162Theban 159

Dogon 14doll, Voodoo 155, 160Dominica 99, 128Dominican Republic 146Dominique 4, 121, 129Dominique, French colonized 120Dorson, Richard M., American Folklore 68drums 5, 164Drums and Shadows: Survival Studies Among the

Georgia Coastal Negroes 114Du Bois, W. E. B., The Souls of Black Folk 137Duane and Elk Streets (New York) 20Dumas, Henry, Ark of Bones and Other Stories

81, 184

DuPres, Fairy 166DuPres, Lone 75, 78, 140, 166, 170, 175Dust Tracks on a Road, Hurston, Zora Neale 184

Easter 159Eaton, George 158Eatonville, Florida 123Echu-Elegua (Esa-), (Exu-) 38Echu-Elegue (Esa-), (Exu-) 178Eco, Umberto 126eggs, cosmic 151Egypt 2, 29, 161, 162Egyptians 159, 161Egyptomania 28-rock 73El Leo! n 130elders 27, 48, 50, 74, 81, 82, 83, 84, 86, 87,

95, 97, 99, 100, 104, 108, 109, 110, 111,112, 113, 114, 115, 123, 124, 126, 135, 143, 153

aging 48living 6, 7, 10, 85, 86

eldership 10, 83, 85, 86, 104elemental 8, 30, 34, 52

balance 101cosmic forces 65

elements 26, 28, 73, 75, 101, 109, 127, 128, 140, 141,146, 175

active and feminine 8active and masculine 8natural 28of the periodic table 73

Ella 70Ellen 124Ellison, Ralph 81Elmina Castle 75elms 183Eloe 122, 123, 124, 126Eloe, women of 84empires

Ashanti 18Dahomean 18, 24Fula 18Hausa 18Kongo 18, 24Mandingo 18Sudanic 86Yoruba 18

England 95Enoch, First 29, 30, 38enslavers 70, 129Equiano, Olaudah, Interesting Narrative 94,

95, 180Erzulie 3, 4, 13, 15, 63, 65, 66, 67, 145, 158, 169

Dahomean/Haitian 63Freida 65, 66, 67

232 Index






Ge-Rouge, (Red-Eyed) 3, 65, 66Maıtresse (Mistress) 66, 67Room, The 67

esprit 69Esu 15, 29, 38, 101Esu-Elegbara 12, 38, 178, 179Ethiopia 29, 161, 162ethos, pre-Christian 71Eucharists 59Europe 29Evans-Pritchard, Edward E. 36, 37, 38, 47Eve 56, 59, 71, 72Eves, Black 72, 74, 75evil 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32,

35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 45, 46, 48, 49, 50,51, 52, 53, 56, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 70, 71, 72,73, 74, 75, 76, 79, 82, 146, 167, 171, 174, 180

absolute 8, 26, 27, 36, 40, 60, 61amoral 44defined 35–6demonic 8evil eye 7fourth dimension of God 8metaphysical 60evil, monistic view of 146moral 7, 8, 9, 25, 26, 27, 35, 36, 44, 45, 46,

49, 50, 51, 54, 60, 62, 63, 68, 70, 71, 72,76, 77, 79

physical 35, 44the one 28pre-Christian ideology of 25

Ewe 18, 143excess 70, 104, 105, 106

devotion 69reliance 54

exorcism 93experiential communality 4, 42, 71, 79, 147, 181Exu 178Exu-Elegba 38eyes 157

fables, Anancy 4fables, Ashanti 102Facing Evil 35familial disremembrance 9, 15, 83Famished Road, The (Ben Okri) 12, 183far past 91Farmer 125father of the saint (pae de santo) 137, 144, 166, 176Faust, Goethe 28fiction, African-American 12, 14, 81, 183figures, Vodun 12filhas de santo (daughters of the saints) 75filhas de santo (devotees) 75Fils-Aime, Holly 13, 106

Finley, Mr. 47First African Baptist Church, Savannah,

Georgia 20First Corinthians 107, 155, 158First International Conference of Black Writers

and Artists 181‘‘Fixing Methodologies: Beloved,’’ Christian,

Barbara 13Flash of the Spirit: Afro-American Art and

Philosophy, The, Thompson, RobertFarris 12

Fleetwood, Arnette 77, 170, 175Fleetwood, Sweetie 77, 168, 170flesh 9, 30, 62, 63, 64, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 75, 78, 85,

91, 93, 104, 140, 146, 157, 164, 165, 169,170, 172, 175, 176

witchly 62, 64flesh and spirit 3, 11, 20, 76, 85, 140, 176, 182fleshless 78Flint, Michigan 32Florida 23, 122, 123flying Africans 83, 114–20folk legends 116folklore 116folklore, African-American 67folktales 5Fon 2, 6, 10, 14, 18, 19, 28, 38, 86, 133, 172,

178, 179Foster, Essie 142Foucault, Mary Therese 10, 120, 128Four-columned portico 161four moments of the sun 3, 8, 16, 18, 19, 26, 28, 32,

33, 34, 35, 109, 140, 160, 174Four Moments of the Sun: Kongo Art in Two

Worlds, The, Thompson, Robert Farrisand Joseph Cornet 12

fourth-century B C skyphoi 162fourth face 8, 23, 24, 26, 27, 29, 34, 36, 70‘‘Fourth Face: The Image of God in Toni

Morrison’s The Bluest Eye’’, Alexander,Allen 26

Fox 125Fox, Norma Keene 77France 99, 121, 124, 130, 144, 150, 156

babies 121Caribbean 73colonies 120Creole 31Louisiana 73rule 129slavers 130surnames 73West Indies 119

Francine 124Frey, Sylvia R. and Betty Wood 7, 16, 17, 36, 85

Index 233






Fu-Kiau, K. Kia Bunseki 12Fula 98future 87, 90, 92, 100, 107, 108, 156

distant 90inconstant 90infinite 89, 90

Ga 36, 86Gabon 55Garcia Marquez, Gabriel 126Garden of Eden 72Garner 101, 102Garner, Margaret 105Garner, Mary 105Garner, Mr. 100, 101, 165Garners 91Gates, Jr., Henry Louis The Signifying Monkey 12,

178, 179Genesis 72geometric signage 165Georgia 115, 119

coast 4Darien 119

Georgia Slave Narrative Collection 117, 118Germany 126Ghana 14, 17, 36, 86Ghede 130, 145, 156, 157, 158, 159, 162ghettos, post-bellum northern 4ghost stories, Western 89Gibbon 148Gideon 84, 121, 123Gigi (Grace) 72, 77, 78, 172, 174Gilroy, Paul, The Black Atlantic 184God 8, 11, 18, 20, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 32, 34, 35,

45, 48, 55, 56, 58, 61, 62, 74, 75, 76, 86, 125,127, 139, 140, 147, 172, 173, 175, 176

Christian 59evil dimension of 8fourth face 8Judaic 27

God of the Dead 156goddesses 3, 28, 60, 66gods 2, 3, 8, 11, 13, 20, 25, 26, 29, 33, 34, 35, 38, 59,

76, 87, 99, 128, 129, 131, 132, 139, 140,147, 149, 150, 161, 162, 166, 171, 178,179, 182

African 11Egyptian 29nature 169river 13, 41Shu 29

Goethe, Faust 28Gold Coast 75, 94good 8, 9, 13, 23, 28, 35, 36, 38, 46, 48, 50, 51, 52, 53,

79, 88, 146

absolute 8, 26, 60, 61and bad 39and evil 18, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30, 38, 39, 46, 51, 52,

61, 79goodness 40, 46, 52, 53

absolute 27Goodroe, Birdie 174‘‘Goophered Grapevine, The,’’ Chesnutt,

Charles W. 183Gospels 74, 116, 164govi 146Gran Chemin, celestial arc of the sun’s

path 131Grant, Caesar 114, 115, 116Grant, Rosa 119Grass, Gunter 126graveyard 106graveyard love 54, 158Greater Antilles 146, 148Greece, overwriting of Africa 2Green, son of Solomon 116, 117Greene, Jude 30green sack 113, 155, 159, 168Green, William 120Greenberg, Joseph 119Greenville 117gros-bon-ange 55, 69, 130, 146, 154, 165, 169groves 143, 153Guadeloupe 99, 128, 130Guinea 180, 183Gullah Jack 138

Hades 160Hagar 107, 113, 114, 158, 159hair 55, 56, 143hair, burning 55, 56Haiti 4, 13, 18, 19, 38, 57, 58, 59, 65, 67, 73, 84,

98, 99, 121, 124, 128, 129, 130, 136, 144,145, 146, 150, 152, 153, 154, 157, 161, 165,172, 178, 180

first independent BlackRepublic 129

Revolution 138Halle 91, 101, 102, 103, 104Hamlet 148Handler, Jerome 29, 95Hannah 30, 31, 32, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 49, 50, 54, 55,

56, 59, 60, 62Hansen, Chadwick 72Harlem 81Harlem Renaissance 5Harris, Joel Chandler 124Harris, Trudier 42, 49, 59, 60Hausa 73, 98Haven 72, 79

234 Index






healers 10, 11, 81, 84, 140, 144, 145, 149, 150, 152,153, 160, 167

healing 138, 148, 177hearts 67, 70, 172Heddy 117, 118, 119Helene 31Helios 161henotheism 28herbalists 36, 137, 139, 141, 147Hermes 28Herodotus 29, 161Herskovits, Melville J. 16Hettie 119hieroglyphics, Egyptian 29Higgins, Therese E., Religiosity, Cosmology, and

Folklore: The African Influence in theNovels of Toni Morrison, 13, 14

Hispaniola 146, 154hog’s gut 158, 162holiness worship services 164Holinesses 163Holloway, Joseph E. 16holocaust 16Holy Ghost 26Holy Spirit 27, 182Homer 161Hoodoo 23, 139, 178horsemen 121, 122, 128, 133horses 121, 123, 130, 131, 173Horus 161hounfor 11, 131, 144, 145, 149, 151, 152,

153, 156houngan 55, 133, 139, 140, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147,

149, 151, 152, 154, 155, 176Fon for priest 10, 11

hounsi 55, 132, 133Howard 64, 70, 101, 105Hunters Cave 112Hurston, Zora Neale 13, 15, 130, 184

Dust Tracks on a Road 184Seraph on the Suwanee 184Tell My Horse 130Their Eyes Were Watching God 179

Hutus 14

Iago 148ialorixa 172Iansa 145Ibo 65, 86, 95, 112, 113, 119, 143,

164, 179Landing 119ogbanje 62

Icarus 116Iliad, The, Homer 161illness, wasting 26

immortality 4, 19collective 9, 34, 88, 92, 93, 107, 110, 127personal 9, 34, 87, 88, 92, 93, 103, 105, 108, 109,

110, 114, 134, 135Indian 17, 72, 110, 129, 144, 152, 153, 154, 157,

172, 177Caribbean 72, 154, 155interpolation 157women 129

individualism 50, 107rugged 50ruthless 26, 50, 54, 82, 107, 121

infinite future 89Infinite Riches, Okri, Ben 183inheritance 112, 113, 114initiates 13, 33, 55, 61, 101, 128, 132, 133,

143, 171institutional Christian 166institutional churches 182institutional religions 167, 182insurance, mutual 102Interesting Narrative of the Life of

Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa,the African, Written by Himself, The,Equiano, Olaudah 94, 180

interpolations 11, 161, 163, 172Indian 157from indigenous peoples 2

Interstate highways40, 20, and 10 17570 174, 17594, 90, and 80 175

Invisibles, les 146, 152Iroko 145Isaac 27Islam 17Isle des Chevaliers (Island of the Horsemen) 84,

121, 122, 124, 126, 129, 130Israel 28Italy 126Itaparica, Brazil 168iyalorisha, mother of the saint 137

jade, spiritless 123Jade, spiritless horse 131Jake 85, 86, 87, 106, 107, 110, 111, 112, 113,

114, 116, 117, 118, 142, 143, 153, 155,157, 161

Jamaica 130, 146January 3, 150, 151Jazz 84Jesus 56, 167, 181Jim Crow 31, 63Jimmy, Aunt 84, 141, 160, 162Job 23, 28, 29

Index 235






John’s Island 115Johnson, Ryna 120Jones, Bessie W. 180Jones, Charles C., The Religious

Instruction of the Negroes inthe United States 138

Joseph 56Joyce, James, Ulysses, 5Jude, (Sula) 31, 34, 37, 51, 52Jude ( book in the Bible) 29, 30Judeo-Christianity 59, 148, 163

doctrine 82sublimation 24

Julius 183Jung, Carl, ‘‘Answer to Job’’ 28, 29Jungian terms 53junior

lineage 10, 107, 136members 83, 85, 110

juxtaposition 5, 16, 21, 22, 59, 75, 166

Kabeiroi, Egypt 162Kalunga 19, 33, 41, 109, 129, 146, 165, 173

line 150, 151, 156, 159kanda 83, 84, 85

female 85juniors 6

kanzo 101Kekes, John 35Kentucky 91, 96, 105Kenya 14Khensou 159Kikongo 6, 8, 23, 69, 113, 137, 138kimbi 113, 114, 146, 155

sack 4, 114kindoki 24, 39, 40, 41, 44, 45, 54, 55, 69

harming 55protecting 55witchcraft 138

kindoki kia dia 9, 68, 78Kindred, Butler, Octavia 184kings 7Kinshasa 44, 45Kiswahili 91, 106knowledge, discredited 127Kofi 73Kongo 2, 12, 16, 18, 19, 21, 39, 64, 73, 85, 98, 99,

100, 113, 117, 137, 138, 139, 155, 159, 160,164, 165, 168, 172, 173

art 29Azande 36prophet 45Proverb 137religion 29sacralizing of a venerable person’s remains 4

statuary 21symbol 12

Kongo Yowa 2, 3, 12, 14, 18, 19, 20, 21, 25, 26, 28,29, 34, 41, 63, 67, 73, 80, 84, 99, 102, 104,109, 136, 152, 173, 174, 178

Kongo-Angola 6, 17, 18, 86, 166, 180

landscape, sentient 127la-place 155, 156, 157L’Arbe de la Croix 121, 122, 131, 133La-Bas 178Lawson, Thomas E. 36Laye, Camara, The Radiance of the King 57,

58, 183Lazaro 183Lazarus 183left 132, 133, 134, 156, 158, 161Legba 4, 11, 38, 98, 102, 108, 130, 131, 133,

140, 145, 149, 153, 155, 157, 159, 178,179, 183

legends 5, 24, 116Lele 14Lena 107Leo! n, Rodney 20Leonard, John 173lesbians 77Lewis, Vashti Crutcher 13, 41, 149

‘‘African Traditions in Toni Morrison’sSula’’ 41

libations 57, 87Lincoln’s Heaven 111, 112Lisa 28literary critics 127literary historians 127literature

African and African-American, 181American 177Black 1Haitian 101post-colonial 15post-enslavement 15

Little Sally Walker game 116‘‘Living Dead Learn to Fly: Themes of Spiritual

Death, Initiation and Empowerment inA Praisesong for the Widow and Song ofSolomon, The,’’ 13

living dead (no hyphen) 106, 157, 170Deads 140elders 84

living-dead 9, 10, 33, 34, 38, 64, 65, 85, 86, 87,88, 89, 91, 93, 94, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102,106, 108, 109, 112, 113, 114, 124, 126, 127,128, 134, 135, 140, 142, 143, 151, 153, 155,157, 164, 165, 173

unancestralized 88

236 Index






loa 3, 4, 5, 11, 13, 20, 21, 25, 32, 33, 38, 42, 55, 57, 59, 60,63, 65, 66, 67, 98, 99, 101, 128, 130, 131, 132,133, 139, 140, 145, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154,155, 156, 157, 158, 168, 172, 177, 178, 183, 184

Haitian 13, 65Lorain, Ohio 141, 147, 160, 180Lord of Death 156Lord of Life 156Lord of the thunderbolt 151Lord Sun 174Los Angeles 175, 182Louisiana 4, 73, 96, 97, 98, 99, 138Lovedu 14lowest yet, the 70Lumberton 183lunar, (moon) 151, 159

Ma’am 10, 21, 70, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 165maboya 155, 160MacTeer, Mr. and Mrs. 84Macumba priests 173Madam 99Madonna 168, 169mae de santo see mother of the saintMagdalene called Lena 107, 155, 158, 159, 162magic 55, 56, 148, 160

realism 126sympathetic or contagious 55

magician 167Mahgrebine 119Main Street 152maıt-tete 139, 145, 152, 153, 154, 156, 159, 171

master loa in Voudoun 11master spirit 139, 145

Malekite school of Islamic law 119Mali 17, 86, 99Malians 99Mama Day, Naylor, Gloria 14Maman 99mambo 10, 55, 99, 140, 143, 144, 145, 146, 153,

155, 176Mandingos (Mandinkas) 98, 99, 100Manhattan African burial ground 20Manichean dualism 8, 26maracas 152Marassa 53, 57, 58

Dossu-Dossa 58Dossu-Dossa, Voudoun 3Trois 52, 57, 58Trois, Voudoun 3Twins 52

maroons 129, 154marronage 129Marshall, Paule, Praisesong for the Widow 14Martinique 99, 128

Mary Magdalene 148Mary, Magna 74, 75, 78, 166, 168, 169Marys 123Massachusetts 94master of the head 153master spirits 145matter and spirit 55Mawu-Lisa 28, 101mayombo 160, 164Mays, Benjamin 16Mbiti, John S. 6, 12, 47, 48, 50, 85, 88, 90, 92, 106,

111, 127, 141, 142McAdoo, Uncle Julius 183McCullough, Priscilla 118M’Dear 11, 84, 140, 141, 160, 161, 162, 177Medallion 7, 11, 21, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 45, 53, 62, 150,

151, 152, 161, 173Medea 161medicine-making 138medicine men 138, 141, 142, 145, 147, 177medicine women 6, 138, 140, 141, 142, 145, 177mediums 11, 36, 86, 137, 139, 142, 143, 145, 147, 153mediumship 142Meek, C.K. 112Memnon 161memory 106

active 105biomaterial 86collective 93genetic 91inherited 91

Mende 14, 86Mercurius 28Mercy Hospital 134, 135, 157Meridian 30Merle and Pearl 77mermaids 21, 168Methodist 139, 166

minister 76methodological approaches 6mganga 138Michael 123Michigan, 4, 87, 107, 110, 153, 155, 161Middle Ages 68Middle East 130Middle Passage 1, 2, 9, 16, 24, 27, 37, 38, 79, 82, 83,

91, 94, 95, 96, 102, 103, 105, 119, 126, 130,138, 139, 140, 143, 146, 166, 179, 180

Milkman 13, 21, 83, 86, 106, 107, 108, 112, 113, 114,123, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 161, 162, 183

miscegenation 49, 73Misner, Reverend Richard 73, 76, 175, 176missionaries 98

Christian 38, 39Christian, European and American 17

Index 237






modernism 5diasporic 5

Mohomet 119Belali 119Ben Ali (Mohamet) 119

monistic view of evil 146monogyny 51monotheism 28Montour County 107, 108, 109moon (lunar) 152, 159, 169morality 12, 24, 60Morgan, Deacon 77, 78, 170, 171, 173, 176Morgan, Scout 75, 78, 169Morgan, Soane 73, 168, 169, 170Morgan, Steward 170, 171Morgan, Zechariah 73, 79, 171Morrison, Toni

approaches, methodological 5–6Beloved

characters seeBodwin, Mr.BelovedBrotherBuglarChurch, Soapheadcrawling-already?girlDenverEllaGarner MargaretGarner, Mr.HalleHowardlowest yet, theMa’amNanPatsyPaul APaul DPaul FPauls, theschoolteacherSetheSeven-OSixoSuggsSuggs, BabyStamp Paidthirty humming womenThirty-Mile Womansettings see124 Bluestone RoadCarolinaClearingcold houseSweet Home

Bluest Eye, Thecharacters seeBobBreedlove, ChollyBreedlove, PecolaFoster, EssieJimmy, AuntMacTeer, Mr. and Mrs.M’DearWhitcomb, Elihue Micahsettings seeLorain, OhioOhio

Paradisecharacters seeAlbright, MavisBest, PatBest, RogerCarlosDiceDuPres, FairyDuPres, Lone8-rockFleetwood, ArnetteFleetwood, SweetieFox, Norma KeeneGoodroe, BirdieGrace called GigiKofiMagda, MaryMerle and PearlMisner, Reverend RichardMorgan, DeaconMorgan, ScoutMorgan, SoaneMorgan, StewardMorgan, ZechariahPulliam, Reverend SeniorRood, MikeyRubySenecaSisters of the Sacred,

CrossSmith, K. D. (Kentucky Derby, aka.

Coffee)Sosa, ConsolataTruelove, Pallassettings seeCentral StreetConventHavenOklahomaOvenPatersonPuerto Limo! n

238 Index






Ruby, OklahomaSt. John StreetSt. Luke StreetSt. Mark StreetSt. Matthew StreetSt. Peter StreetSargeant’s Feed and Seed storeWichitaWish, Arizona

scholarship, future direction of 11–12Song of Solomon

characters seeBaines, GuitarButler, ElizabethButlersCirceCooper, ReverendDead, MaconDead, Macon FosterDead, Macon, the firstDead, PilateDead, Ruth FosterFirst CorinthiansHeddyJakeJohnson, RynaLenaMagdalene called LenaMilkmanRebaSeven DaysSing/Sing Sing/Singing BirdSmithSmith, RobertSolomonSolomon, Mr.Susan ByrdUnion SoldierWagon, Janeysettings seeDanville, PennsylvaniaDarling StreetHunters CaveLincoln’s HeavenMercy HospitalMichigan/Michigan SouthsideMontour CountyNot Doctor StreetPennsylvaniaShalimar, VirginiaSolomon’s LeapVirginia,

Sulacharacters seeAjax

BettyBottomBoyBoyChicken LittleChinaClabber Girl Baking Powder ladyDesdemonaDessiedeweysFinley, Mr.Greene, JudeHannahPeace, EvaPeace, SulaPearlPlumReed, BucklandRochelleSabat, CecileShadrackTeapotWright, HeleneWright, Nelsettings see7 Carpenter’s RoadBeechnut ParkBottomFlint, MichiganMain StreetMedallion

Tar Babycharacters seeblind horsemenBranch, SallyCheyenneCheyenne’s motherChilds, Jadine/JadeEllenEloe, women ofEstee, AlmaFarmerFoucault, Mary ThereseFoxFrancineGideonGreen, WilliamMichaelOndine, AuntRose, AuntSonSon’s motherswamp womenSydney, UncleStreet, MargaretStreet, Valerian

Index 239






Morrison, Toni (cont.)Yardmansettings seeEloeIsle des Chevaliers (Island of the Horsemen)L’Arbe de la Croix (Tree of the Cross)Queen of FranceSein de Vieilles

Morts, les Mysteres, and les Marassa 57Moses 28, 125mother of the saint (mae de santo) 10, 11, 22,

74, 75, 137, 140, 144, 145, 166, 167, 170,172, 177

mount 3, 20, 67, 130, 131, 172mounting 13, 130, 131, 133, 134, 145, 173

loa 130Mpansu Buakasa Tulu Kia 138mpemba 19, 32Mudimbe, Valentin Y. 1Mumbo Jumbo, Reed, Ishmael 179mutual death 134mutual life 134Mutual Life Insurance 134, 135, 157muzidi 113Mysteres 20, 128mythic, the 5mythical figures

African 21Greek 21

mythical women 125mythology 114, 116, 152, 178African 124, 125Black 178classical 162Greek 29Haitian 129pre-Christian 28myths 72, 86, 92, 116, 129, 140

African 58African-American 116flying 116Haitian 57, 58

Nagoa 57, 58name-calling 34, 173Nan 10, 86, 95, 96, 97, 99, 100Nana 96, 145narratives, neoslave 89Nassau 119National Suicide Day 11, 32, 35,

150, 151Native Americans 117, 163, 168, 181navel 154, 157, 159navel-less 154Naylor, Gloria, Mama Day, 14

ndoki 41, 43, 44, 45, 47, 48, 50, 53, 54, 55, 56, 60,63, 68, 69, 71, 77

ndokia 63ndokia kia dia 63, 70

flesh-eating witch 63Kongo 63Psyche-eating witch 63

Negroes 72Neopythagoreans 28New Jersey 174New Orleans 31, 52, 98, 99, 138, 139, 166New Testament 28, 29, 30, 183New World 6, 7, 9, 16, 17, 22, 27, 72, 83, 84,

95, 101, 111, 126, 137, 138, 147, 148, 154, 165,178, 179

Africans 10Africans, enslaved 1Garden 72order 71, 72perspective 76Puritan 72thought 2

New York 122, 134New York City 20Newsweek interview 105nganga 113, 138, 139, 155Nicodemus 59Niger River 99, 169Nigeria 18, 29, 38, 46, 55, 95, 112, 124, 169,

178, 183Bonny 130Hausa tale 124Yoruba 36

niombo 113nkisi 146nkuyu 113, 114, 155Noaga 57, 58Nobles, Wade W. 4, 6North America 16, 20, 22, 25, 27, 80, 139North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance 134Not Doctor Street 107, 113novelists, African-American 184ntoto 19nymphs, classical 21

obaye 37obeah 37Ondine, Aunt 126Odysseus 160, 162Odyssey, The, Homer 160, 161, 162ogbanje 63, 65Ogeecheetown 115Ogoun 4, 145, 149, 150, 151, 152, 170, 171

Badagris 149, 151Balindjo 149

240 Index






Batala 149Baye 149, 151divinity of war 11, 140, 149family of 149Feraille 149, 151Ge-Rouge 150, 151Panama 149, 151Shango 149, 151

Ohio 32, 165, 180Oklahoma 74, 78, 140, 166, 167, 174Okri, Ben, The Famished Road, 12, 183old souls 89Old Testament 27, 28, 56, 73

pseudepigrapha 29Old World 22, 138Omolu 145Ondine 84, 121, 124, 126124 Bluestone Road 7, 62, 63, 64, 66, 67, 91, 93, 165Ophelia 148opposites 34ophthalmia 129, 130oral exorcism 91oral folk culture 101oral histories 20, 114, 116, 119oral narrative traditions 114, 178oral stories 102, 106orishas 96, 166, 169orixas 3, 4, 25, 140, 145, 169, 170, 171, 172, 176, 177orun 175Ossaim 145Othello 148Our Lady Aparecida 168, 169Our Lady of Piety Chapel 168Oven 73, 74, 79, 171, 173, 176Oxala 145Oxo! ssi 4, 145, 170Oxum (Oshun) 145, 169Oxumare 145

pae de santo, see father of the saintPanama 166pantheons 38, 65, 128, 130, 139, 140, 158, 161, 166,

167, 178, 179of gods 3of lesser divinities 17Petro 65Vodun 8, 25, 59Voudoun 3, 5, 59

Papa La Bas 38, 178Papa Legba 38, 178Paradise 4, 6, 11, 21, 25, 39, 71, 72, 80, 84, 140, 143,

166, 167Paraıba River, Brazil 169parallel 76paranormal activity 63

parapsychology 43Parkin, David 35Parlay cheval ou (Tell my horse) 130Parrinder, Geoffrey, African Mythology 37,

64, 124participatory

holes and spaces 42, 133moment 114

passed on 33, 34, 38, 54, 85, 86, 88, 94, 100, 112, 113,135, 136, 142, 153, 155, 180

past 9, 19, 34, 55, 71, 77, 82, 86, 88, 89, 90, 91,92, 94, 96, 97, 100, 107, 108, 110, 111,122, 126, 135, 136, 138, 142, 156, 160

ancestral 5confluence of 9contemporized 142co-temporality of 142historical 129indefinite 88–96infinite 3, 9, 84, 89, 90long 90personal 61present 142with the present 142recent 10, 92, 93remote 10, 92, 106unspecified 87, 92, 93

past and present 77, 85concurrence of 10simultaneity of 10

Paterson 174Patsy 96, 100, 101, 103Paul A 101Paul D 63, 64, 66, 67, 69, 70, 96,

101, 102Paul F 101Pauls, the 102, 103Peace, Eva 3, 25, 31, 32, 36, 40, 41, 42, 43, 48,

50, 52, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62,84, 161

Peace, Sula 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 11, 13, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26,27, 28, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38,39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49,50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 61, 62, 74, 80,82, 84, 89, 139, 142, 148, 151

peacock, white 123Pearl 32, 55, 56Pennsylvania 87, 107, 110, 159Pentecostal 139, 166peristyles 33, 41, 56, 57, 131, 132, 133, 134, 143, 151,

160, 161, 164, 173circular groves 21sacred precincts 21Voudoun 21Voudoun-styled 41

Index 241






Petro (Haitian) 57, 150, 154, 165Petry, Ann 184

The Street 184Phaeton 161phallus 38, 41, 150, 156, 158, 160, 162, 172philosophical-psychological linkages between

Africans and African Americans 4Piedade 168, 169, 176plank-roads 183plat-Marassa, 58Plum 3, 25, 31, 32, 55, 56, 57, 59, 60, 61, 62‘‘Po’ Sandy’’, Chesnutt, Charles W. 183poltergeists 43, 44polygyny 51Portugal 75Portuguese 19, 22, 75, 137, 139, 149, 166Portuguese, pre-Reformation 17possession 130, 131, 132, 133, 142, 143, 145, 153, 156,

157, 158, 164, 171, 182dance of 132initiations 131

Possum Point 119pot liquor 141, 161poteau-mitan 20, 33, 67, 98, 131, 132potion cups 162potions 8, 160, 162poto-mitan (poteau-mitan) of Legba 13powers 54, 61, 62

African female 61ambiguous 39ambivalent 24, 60, 61, 70Ayizan 61biological 36destructive 76extraordinary 54female 61, 104good 8, 36invisible 29, 39, 44, 46, 54, 69maternal 70posthumous 104priestly 147psychic 29, 37, 44, 69, 75, 78religious 8, 26, 38religious, spiritual 3spiritual 19sympathetic 155unusual 39

Praisesong for the Widow, Marshall, Paule 14preaching 164pre-Christian

ethos 147provenance 79symbols 162world 42

pre-history 92

presence and absence 113, 143, 153present 10, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 97, 100, 107,

108, 111, 122, 136, 138, 156, 160confluence of 9mythical 129time 91

priest(esse)s 5, 6, 11, 55, 99, 133, 137, 138, 145, 167priestesses 10, 11, 26, 74, 85, 86, 99, 104, 138, 139,

140, 143, 144, 145, 153, 155, 160, 161, 162,164, 166, 168, 170, 177, 183

sacred 9water 11, 13, 41

priesthoods 11, 146, 160, 167, 168, 171, 174Consolata Sosa 11traditions 143

priestly 139, 140, 148, 150, 155, 157, 159, 160priests 10, 11, 33, 36, 86, 139, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146,

147, 148, 149, 151, 152, 153, 155, 159, 160,162, 163, 164, 165, 172, 173, 175, 180

African traditional 11Anglican 139, 146water 13, 41

procreation 102, 103propitiation 57, 60, 87, 171Protestantism 139, 166Proteus 161psyche 9, 34, 44, 68, 69, 70, 128, 142, 146, 148, 153,

154, 157, 165psychic 8, 37, 43, 50, 53, 56, 69, 70, 75

act 36dis-ease 54energy 56leaning 75motive 56ravaging 71reverie 41

psychological healing 143psychosomatic

mechanism 147disorder 54, 144healing 139, 150treatment 11

Puerto Limo! n 166Puerto Rico 146Pulitzer Prize 178Pulliam, Reverend Senior 76, 175Puritan 76pyramids 125

quaternities 8, 27, 28, 30–2, 34Queen of France 121

Raboteau, Albert J. 16, 139Rada 149, 154, 157, 168, 172rainmakers 36

242 Index






realism 127Reba 110, 154, 159, 160rebirth 59, 65, 87, 162reclame 67reconciliation

of opposites 4, 20and unification 34

Reconstruction 106red 151

-eyed 67heart 4, 67light 63, 67

Redmen’s Presence 103Reed, Buckland 31, 58Reed, Ishmael, Mumbo Jumbo 179regeneration 162, 170reincarnation 2, 18, 19, 20, 34, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66,

85, 87, 88, 89, 91, 183relationship, sympathetic 55religion, classical 29religions 75

animistic 127, 128institutional 7, 71, 79, 147, 182institutionalized Protestant 76pre-Christian 27uninstitutional 71, 75, 79, 147, 182

Religiosity, Cosmology, and Folklore: The AfricanInfluence in the Novels of Toni Morrison,Higgins, Therese E. 13

religious, Kongo 138rememory 91resurrection 156, 159retentions 4, 5, 9, 21, 79, 82, 84, 102, 111, 139

African 76diasporic 5, 24Kongo cosmogram 64religious 2of traditions 1

retirer d’en bas de l’eau 129, 152rhabdos, wooden staff 160rice 96, 97, 99ring shout 12, 21, 64, 83, 104, 117, 140, 164, 165, 176Rio de Janeiro 166, 173Risala 119Risen Son 159Rising Sun 159rites 17, 33, 36, 41, 61, 65, 98, 101, 149, 157, 159, 161,

165, 166, 172Petro 65Rada 65

ritual objects 145rituals 3, 4, 5, 11, 17, 26, 38, 42, 43, 46, 56, 60, 61,

74, 76, 86, 88, 98, 131, 132, 133, 134, 137,138, 139, 141, 143, 144, 148, 149, 150, 151,152, 156, 159, 164, 168, 171, 172, 180

African burial 164Kongo 12New World 17possession 145Voudoun possessions 3

Rochelle 31Rocket Ride 175Rodeur, Le 130ronco! s 167Rood, Mikey 174root work 7, 137, 139, 154, 155‘‘Rootedness: The Ancestor as Foundation’’,

Morrison, Toni 1, 81, 84Rose, Aunt 124Rosenthal, Bernard, ‘‘Dark Eve’’ 71Route 70, 174Royall, Belinda 94, 96Rubber Girl 125rubies, perfect 173, 174Ruby, Oklahoma 4, 7, 21, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77,

78, 79, 143, 166, 167, 168, 170, 171, 173, 174,175, 176

Rwanda 14Ryna 106, 117, 118, 119, 120

Sabat, Cecile 31sacrifices 33, 41, 42, 59, 60, 61, 62, 135, 141, 143

propitiatory 18Voudoun 21

Saint Domingue 121, 129, 138saints 3, 59, 74, 75, 82, 169

biblical 73Catholic 17Christian 74

St. Jacques 149, 150St. Patrick 59St. Simons Islands 119, 120Salem Village, Massachusetts 72

witch trials 71Salvador 166, 167, 168Samedi 157Samedi (Zombie), Baron 57, 157Sanctifieds 163Sandy 183Sandy Run Colored Baptist Church 183Santa Fe Railroad 174Sao Paulo 169Sapelo Island 4, 119saraka cake 118, 119Sargeant’s Feed and Seed store 173Sasa 91, 92, 93, 103, 106, 108, 110, 111, 134, 135,

142, 156Satan 27, 29, see also DevilSaul 158Savannah, Georgia 20, 115

Index 243






schoolteacher 65, 91, 101, 102, 103science fiction 184Sebastiao 167seer 157Sein de Vieilles 121, 124, 125, 129Seneca 72, 77, 78, 172Senegambia 6, 17, 180Seraph on the Suwanee, Hurston, Zora

Neale 184sermons 164serpents 59, 172serviteurs 3, 5, 11, 13, 20, 57, 59, 60, 67, 98,

99, 131, 132, 133, 139, 140, 144, 145,153, 154

Sethe 21, 25, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70,71, 90, 91, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 99, 100, 101,103, 104

7 Carpenter’s Road 56Seven Days 134, 135Seven-O 103sex, lesbian 77, 78sexual initiatrix 161shadow, the 53shadows 53Shadrack 11, 13, 30, 32, 33, 35, 41, 42, 47, 52, 84,

139, 140, 143, 144, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152,161, 177

Shalimar, children 116, 117Shalimar, Virginia 4, 21, 83, 107, 110, 112, 117,

156, 158Shango 149shape shifters 108Shilluk 14Signifying Monkey, The, Gates, Jr., Henry Louis

12, 178, 179Singing Bird, Pilate Dead’s mother 106, 110, 154,

155, 157, 160, 161Sirene, La 168, 169Sisters of the Sacred Cross 167sites of contact 87, 113Sixo 10, 86, 95, 96, 97, 100, 101, 102, 103,

108, 179slave catchers 103Slave Coast 17slave communities 82Slave Culture: Nationalist Theory and the

Foundation of Black America, Stuckey,Sterling 12, 16

slave drivers 115slave masters 65, 66, 100, 115Slave Narrative Collection of the Federal Writers’

Project 115slave narratives 116, 119slave owners 65, 83, 97slave ships 64, 70, 120, 130, 154

slave trade 1, 83, 130European 17transatlantic 2, 7, 14, 27, 86, 91, 137

slave traders 83, 99, 154slave traffickers 17, 98slaveholder 97slavery 1, 7, 19, 51, 62, 63, 65, 66, 72, 76, 97, 98,

102, 104, 106, 117, 130, 154American 2, 9, 24, 117

slaves 165Smith, K. D. (Kentucky Derby, aka. Coffee)

77, 175Smith, Robert 134, 135, 157snakes 10, 30, 40, 63, 144, 155, 160, 183

water 66Sneed, Prince 114, 115, 116, 118Sobel, Mechal 16Solomon 83, 86, 106, 107, 110, 116, 117, 118, 119,

153, 155, 157, 158Solomon, Mr. 112, 113Solomon’s Leap 114, 119, 157Son 84, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 131, 133, 134Song of Solomon 4, 9, 11, 21, 82, 83, 84, 85, 106, 116,

117, 120, 123, 134, 135, 140, 153, 157, 160,162, 178, 179, 183

Songhay 17, 86Songs of Enchantment, Okri, Ben 183Son’s mother 124Sorbonne 181sorcerers 147sorceresses 161sorcery 47, 138sorcery potion and spell-crafting 138Sosa, Consolata 7, 8, 9, 11, 21, 22, 25, 26, 39, 72,

74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 140, 143, 166, 167, 168,169, 170, 171, 172, 174, 175, 176, 177

Sosa witches 7soul/psyche 55soul 19, 55, 61, 65, 68, 69, 70, 128, 129, 133, 142,

146, 154, 156, 157, 165, 175, 176South America 126, 166, 178South / American 4, 30, 66, 86, 99, 104, 139South Carolina 4, 96, 97, 98, 99, 115, 138South Carolinian 114South Carolinian, John’s Island 114South Carolinian, White Bluff 114south country 73, 173space 111space and time 183Spain, colonization 129Spain, law 154Spanish period 129spatial dispossession 9, 15, 79, 83, 110, 148specialists 10–11, 37, 86, 113, 137, 138, 139, 141, 142,

143, 144, 145, 147, 155, 176, 177

244 Index






spells 8spiders 102, 124, 125

trickster, Ashanti 4spiral, seashell 16spirit and flesh 21, 64, 68, 75, 76, 78, 165, 170,

175, 183spirit-child 65, 183spirits 3, 4, 5, 8, 11, 20, 25, 29, 30, 32, 33, 34, 36, 38,

43, 55, 57, 61, 62, 63, 64, 66, 67, 68, 70, 75,76, 85, 87, 88, 89, 93, 96, 98, 101, 102, 103,104, 107, 109, 113, 114, 123, 127, 128, 130,131, 139, 140, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147,149, 150, 153, 155, 157, 165, 171, 172, 173, 175,176, 182, 183

containers 113, 114possess 20possession religions 182the head 11living-dead 62nature 128swamp 21water 13, 128

spiritual songs 116, 164Stamp Paid 64, 96star 133Star of David 133Step-show chants (of fraternities and

sororities) 164stepping in 75Street, The, Petry, Ann 184Street, Margaret 121, 123Street, Valerian 121, 125, 126Stuckey, Sterling 12, 16, 19, 98Suba 43succubi 68, 69succubus 67, 68Sudan 14Sudarkasa, Niara 51Suggs 104Suggs, Baby 10, 11, 21, 64, 66, 67, 86, 95, 96, 97,

103, 104, 105, 106, 140, 163, 164, 165,176, 177

Sullivan, Ben 119sun gem 174superstitions 181Supreme Being 17, 18, 28, 82, 147survivals 1, 2, 4, 9, 12, 15, 16, 21, 24, 27, 65, 71, 79,

136, 138, 139, 155, 165, 168, 177, 182, 184African 4, 12, 14, 19sacred and secular 13West African 22

Swahili 138swamp women 10, 84, 121, 124, 125, 128, 129, 131,

132, 133, 134Sweet Home 63, 65, 91, 95, 96, 100, 101, 102, 165

swine 162Sydney, Uncle 121, 126symbols 162syncretism 5, 16, 17, 27, 166

tar 124, 125, 132Tar Baby 3, 4, 9, 21, 82, 83, 84, 120, 126, 127, 128,

129, 131, 136, 179Tar Baby 32, 125tar baby 125Tar Baby tales 124, 125tar lady 125tar pit 125tar-breast 124Teapot 46, 47, 49Tell My Horse, Hurston, Zora Neale 13temperance 183temporal and spatial trajectory 83temporal discontinuity 9, 15, 83, 110Tenie 183term life insurance 135terreiro 140, 144, 167, 168, 174terreiro, women-centered 11, 75Thebes, Egypt 162Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston, Zora

Neale 15, 179theocracy, Puritan 72theodicies 27, 34

dualistic 27monistic 8, 27, 79semi-dualistic 27

theory, African-American vernacular 12Therese 84, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 126, 133thirty humming women 70Thirty-Mile Woman 96, 101, 103Thomas Spalding Plantation 119Thompson, Robert Farris 12, 19, 137, 172, 173thought, Bakongo 12thought, Kongo 12Thursday, Colored 63Thursday, sacred day 66time 3, 4, 10, 12, 14, 25, 74, 79, 84, 86, 89, 90, 91,

92, 93, 100, 106, 109, 111, 112, 121, 122, 129,134, 135, 136, 142, 156, 162, 183

actual 90, 107African 90African traditional 89backward 10, 87, 89backward spatialization of 3, 9, 20, 156counterclockwise 87, 89counterclockwise spatialization of 3graveyard of 9, 34, 92, 106, 110, 135, 143,

153, 157potential 90, 107regression 91

Index 245






time (cont.)and space 4, 71and space, backward in 107spatialization of 19, 33, 34, 89, 180traditional 90unspecified 91Western 90, 91

timeless 86, 95, 136, 140, 160, 162, 183people 81, 83, 89, 93place 89, 91present 91

timelessness 81timeline 91Tithonus 161Tituba 71, 72Tiv 46tohwiyos, Dahomean 58Topeka, Kansas 175trachoma 129Traore, Ousseynou 119trees 11, 15, 20, 21, 32, 33, 34, 41, 42, 56, 57, 58, 63,

64, 98, 100, 102, 108, 109, 117, 121, 122, 123,125, 127, 128, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 143, 146,151, 152, 153, 157, 158, 160, 163, 164, 172,174, 183, 184

avocado 128beech 134of the cross 20double beech 33, 41encircled 3four intertwined 161four leaf-locked 31, 33, 151, 161four sickle-pear 31, 161grove of 131oak 111pine 111within a circle 2

triangles 28, 76tricksters 101, 102, 108, 153, 178, 179, 183Trinity 8, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29Truelove, Pallas 72, 77, 170, 172Tutsis 14Twi 102Two-Headed Man 63

Ulysses, Joyce, James 5unconscious, collective 2, 24, 74, 79, 91, 94, 152, 179unconscious, personal 2, 74, 79, 179Underground Railroad 20, 64, 91, 102, 103Underworld 160uninstitutional African traditional beliefs 166uninstitutional religion 167, 182Union soldier 106United States 1, 3, 22, 38, 74, 84, 121, 123, 137, 138,

148, 151, 166, 174, 178

United States Continental Congress 91unity 4, 8, 10, 19, 30, 53, 58, 59, 85, 103, 104, 111,

140, 143, 165, 175, 182, 183Upper Guinea 57Upper Nile 14Utah 175

valentine 4, 67vampires 67, 68, 69vampirism 78, 170Vaudou 178ventailler 33vernacular theory 178, 179vevers 32, 33, 58, 67, 76, 131, 133, 172, 176Vesey, Denmark 138Vinson, Audrey 180Virgin 168Virgin Mary 31, 168, 169Virginia 87, 95, 110, 111, 154, 155, 158virgins 59Vodun (Dahomey) 2, 3, 4, 5, 11, 13, 14, 19, 21, 23,

26, 28, 55, 57, 75, 98, 99, 104, 138, 139, 140,145, 149, 166, 167, 168, 175, 182

vodunsi 132Voodoo (United States) 3, 8, 22, 23, 38, 43, 52, 55,

71, 84, 98, 99, 138, 139, 148, 153, 155, 160,178, 184

Voodooisms 15, 166Voodooists 23Voudoun (Haiti) 2, 3, 4, 6, 11, 13, 14, 18, 19, 20, 22,

25, 26, 32, 33, 34, 38, 41, 46, 52, 55, 56, 57,58, 59, 61, 64, 65, 66, 68, 69, 73, 75, 76, 83,84, 98, 99, 101, 102, 104, 108, 128, 130,131, 132, 133, 136, 138, 139, 140, 143, 144,145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 152, 153, 154, 155,157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 164, 165, 166, 168,169, 170, 171, 172, 176, 177, 178, 180, 182

Voudoun pantheons 33, 60, 65

Wagon, Janey 96Walker, Alice, The Color

Purple 179water and spirit 59Weimaraners 161

Helmut 161Horst 161

West African lore 108West Indian 146West Indies 129, 146West Sudan 119Western academy 14Western Christendom 29Western hemisphere 2, 5, 8, 19, 129, 136, 137, 140,

149, 178, 179Western intellectualism 123

246 Index






western Nigeria 149Whitcomb, Elihue Micah 146white 168, 174White Bluff 115Whittier, John Greenleaf, ‘‘The Slave Ships’’ 130Wichita 77Wilentz, Gay, An African Based Reading . . . 1, 13,

51, 52Willis, John Solomon 116Wish, Arizona 174witchcraft 7, 8, 9, 11, 23, 27, 36, 37, 38, 40, 42, 46,

47, 54, 55, 68, 69, 71, 72, 75, 76, 78, 138,141, 162, 167, 169

witchcraft, traditional 36–7witchcraft-substance 37, 45, 46, 56witchery 38, 79witches 6, 7, 8, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 33, 35, 36, 37, 38,

40, 42, 46, 54, 55, 62, 64, 69, 71, 74, 77,87, 147, 160, 161, 167, 183

African 7, 62African traditional 6, 9bandoki 6female 8hangings 24imaging 6ndokia kia dia 63shape shifting 67, 68traditional 25, 37, 40, 55, 68, 72Western 27Western depictions 48

witch-hunters 38, 49European 37New England 72Puritan American 37

witch’s craft 8wombs 40, 42, 52, 59, 60, 65, 141, 154, 161, 162,

169, 170psychic 3, 59, 60

Wood, Betty 16work roots 7, 137, 139, 154, 155World War I 11, 30, 35, 144, 150, 151World War II 126worldviews 6, 27, 30, 34, 38, 57, 86, 89, 101, 122,

180, 182

African 1, 13, 78African traditional 20, 25alternative 1, 2Christian 79collective 2collective, Africans’ creolization of 1–2religious 24, 62traditional 41, 53

Wright, Helene 30Wright, Nel 21, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 36, 37, 40, 41, 51,

52, 53, 54, 89Wright, Richard, Black Power,

81, 90writers,

African-American 5, 81Black 24fiction 137Guinean 57Latin American men 127

Xango 145, 149

Yardman 123Yemanja 4, 11, 140, 145, 168, 169, 171,

172, 174Yoruba 3, 6, 18, 65, 86, 96, 98, 137, 143, 149, 164,

166, 169, 173, 178, 179abiku (spirit-child) 62female principle 61god 38Ifa System of Divination 29perception 61systems 61

Young, T. Cullen, African Ideas of God 81Yowa, see Kongo Yowa

Zaıre 14Zamani 91, 92, 93, 106, 110, 111, 127, 128, 134, 135,

142, 143, 153, 157Zande 37, 47zemis 157Zimbabwe 14zombie 13, 106, 157, 165, 170Zeus 149

Index 247






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