Black Religion and Aesthetics: Religious Thought and Life in Africa and the African Diaspora

233 Pages·2009·1.9 MB·English

by  Anthony B. Pinn

Black Religion and Aesthetics
Contributors
ROBERT BECKFORD is Reader in Black Theology and Culture at
Oxford Brookes University (UK) and a Documentary Presenter for
BBC and Channel 4 (United Kingdom).
ELIAS K. BONGMBA is Professor of Religious Studies at Rice
University, Houston, Texas.
MIGUEL A. DE LA TORRE is Associate Professor of Social Ethics and
Director of the Justice and Peace Institute at Iliff School of Theology,
Denver, Colorado.
CAROL B. DUNCAN is Associate Professor and Chair of the
Department of Religion and Culture at Wilfrid Laurier University,
Waterloo, Canada.
LINDSAY L. HALE is a Lecturer in Anthropology at the University
of Texas at Austin.
LIZABETH PARAVISINI-GEBERT is Professor of Hispanic Studies on
the Randolph Distinguished Professor Chair and Director of Africana
Studies at Vassar College.
ANTHONY B. PINN is Agnes Cullen Arnold Professor of Humanities
and Professor of Religious Studies at Rice University, Houston,
Texas.
ANTHONY G. REDDIE is Research Fellow and Consultant in Black
Theological Studies for the Queen’s Foundation for Ecumenical
Theological Education in Birmingham (United Kingdom).
LINDA E. THOMAS is Professor of Theology and Anthropology at
Lutheran School of Theology, Chicago, Illinois.
NANCY LYNNE WESTFIELD is Associate Professor of Religious
Education with a joint appointment at the Theological Seminary and
Graduate School of Drew University, Madison, New Jersey.
Black Religion and
Aesthetics
Religious Thought and
Life in Africa and the African
Diaspora
Edited by
Anthony B. Pinn
BLACK RELIGION AND AESTHETICS
Copyright © Anthony B. Pinn, 2009.
All rights reserved.
First published in 2009 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN®
in the United States—a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world,
this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited,
registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills,
Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS.
Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies
and has companies and representatives throughout the world.
Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States,
the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries.
ISBN: 978–0–230–60550–3
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Black religion and aesthetics : religious thought and life in Africa and
the African diaspora / edited by Anthony B. Pinn.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0–230–60550–8
1. Africa—Religion. 2. African diaspora. 3. Aesthetics, African. I. Pinn,
Anthony B.
BL2400.B53 2009
200.89(cid:1)96—dc22 2008054677
A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library.
Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India.
First edition: August 2009
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America.
Dedicated
to
The Ancestors
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
List of Figures ix
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction: The Black Labyrinth, Aesthetics, and
Black Religion 1
Anthony B. Pinn
Part 1 North and South America
1. A Beautiful Be-ing: Religious Humanism and
the Aesthetics of a New Salvation 19
Anthony B. Pinn
2. The Foolish Woman Grows Angry Because They
Teach Her: Influences of Sexism in Black Church Worship 37
Nancy Lynne Westfield
3. S piritual Matters: The Aesthetics of Ritual Substances in
Umbanda 53
Lindsay L. Hale
4. From Hattie to Halle: Black Female Bodies and
Spectatorship as Ritual in Hollywood Cinema 71
Carol B. Duncan

Part 2 The Caribbean
5. Sacred Forms: Ritual, Representation, and
the Body in Haitian Painting 91
Lizabeth Paravisini-Gebert
6. Dancing with Ochún: Imagining How
a Black Goddess Became White 113
Miguel A. De La Torre
viii Contents
Part 3 Europe
7. Black Suit Matters: Faith, Politics, and
Representation in the Religious Documentary 135
Robert Beckford
8. A Dialectical Spirituality of Improvisation:
The Ambiguity of Black Engagements with Sacred Texts 153
Anthony G. Reddie
Part 4 Africa
9. The Aesthetic Dimensions of Religion in South Africa:
Africa Initiated Churches Considered 175
Linda E. Thomas
10. Aesthetics in African Art: Implications for African
Theology 187
Elias K. Bongmba
Selected Bibliography 205
Index 213
Figures
3.1 Photo of Salvador, Bahia. Photograph taken by
Anthony Pinn. 56
5.1 Auguste, Toussaint. Papa Zaca en Possession (1953).
Oil on masonite. 11¾ × 14¾ inches. 94
5.2 Domond, Wilmino. Dance Scene (c.1949).
Oil on cardboard. 24¼ × 24¾ inches. 98
5.3 N ehemy, Jean. Mangé Loa (1949).
Oil on cardboard. 20 × 16 inches. 102
5.4 L éandre, Jean. Healing Ceremony with Music (c.1975).
Oil on masonite. 14¼ × 237/8 inches. 105
6.1 P resentation of Ochun in Cuba. Photograph taken by
Anthony Pinn. 115