Books : Tell My Horse : Voodoo and Life in Haiti and Jamaica
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 299.67
EAN: 9780060916497
ISBN: 0060916494
Label: Harper Perennial
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 336
Publication Date: February 28, 1990
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Release Date: January 22, 1990
Sales Rank: 73063
Studio: Harper Perennial
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
As a first-hand account of the weird mysteries and horrors of voodoo, Tell My Horse is an invaluable resource and fascinating guide. Based on Zora Neale Hurston's personal experiences in Haiti and Jamaica, where she participated as an initiate rather than just an observer of voodoo practices during her visits in the 1930s, this travelogue into a dark world paints a vividly authentic picture of ceremonies and customs and superstitions of great cultural interest.
Average Rating: 
Rating:  -
This book includes a small section on Jamaica but concentrates mainly on vodou practices in Haiti. I am impressed with Hurston's skill as a travel writer in the section on Jamaica. The images from the island are vivid and written in a lush style. She includes lots of descriptions of Jamaicans' folk culture; the sections on spiritual beings called "duppies" is especially rich. The major focus of the book, however, is on Haiti in general and vodou in particular. Hurston's style is even more impressive in this section. Some passages, such as her blending of mythic images with history, are characteristic of some of her finest writing. The content is equally spectacular, as she writes vibrantly about a range of spiritual beliefs, practices, and rituals. Some of the more fantastical elements, including a description of a corpse that sat upright in a funeral ritual and a photograph of a living zombie seem more like ethnographic fiction than valid social scientific work. As a result, some have dismissed this book as more of a travelogue or even a fictionalized ethnography. In recent years, however, scientific studies have supported Hurston's argument that there is a rationalistic, and perhaps even, a-rationalistic basis for what she observed and discussed. In this respect, her in-depth and sympathetic analysis of vodou is much more interesting and much more relevant to the study of religious experience and folk culture in the islands. It also interesting to think about how ... Read More
Rating: -
Tell My Horse provides good descriptions of some aspects of life for descendants of slaves in Jamaica and Haiti during the 1920's and 30's. It is objective without being judgmental. It is based on the author's personal experiences so is a first-hand account and is one of only a few such works in existence on this aspect of Caribbean life during this time period.
While the subject of voodoo is covered thoroughly, Hurston also describes living conditions and some historical events that were relevant to her subject. The book appears to be well-researched and Hurston is sympathetic to her subjects without being overly sentimental.
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This book is recommended by almost every Vodouisant I know, and with good reason. Zora gives a personal account of her travels through Haiti and Jamaica, and offers us a beautiful glimpse at Voodoo (Vodou) during the time that she was there. If you are serious about studying Vodou, this is a must read.
Rating:  -
A highly influential book on vodou in its day and worth buying still as an historical document, but now rather dated in terms of information. A good book to accompany this would be Vodou Shaman by Ross Heaven, which brings the whole subject area truly up to date.
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The writing of Zora Neale Hurston is fine. The content of the book is, in his second part, is a "first hand" experience of what voodoo was in 1930. This is therefore a classical and valuable source of knowledge. Interesting enough, Zora Neale Hurston took probably part at various voodoo initiations, and we would have been interested to know more about her experiences, feelings, philosophical and religious insights. Unfortunately for us, she respected the "secret de l'arcane" which characterizes most of the so called esoteric societies. There is also hope for Haïti in this book, but it demonstrates also the power of USA to bring some kind of mismatch in the political affairs and economic life of a poor and very small country. Abobo!
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