Asho Orisha (clothing of the Orisha): Material culture as religious expression in Santeria

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dc.contributor.advisorWyschogrod, Edithen_US
dc.creatorClark, Mary Annen_US
dc.date.accessioned2009-06-04T07:57:33Zen_US
dc.date.available2009-06-04T07:57:33Zen_US
dc.date.issued1999en_US
dc.description.abstract"Asho Orisha" suggests that the objects surrounding and the items clothing the Orisha of Santeria (also known as Lucumi or Orisha religion) form chains of signifiers tied to the theological and philosophical core of the religion. It focuses on the domestic displays devotees maintain for their deities on a day-to-day basis, the altar displays (thrones) created by devotees for the anniversarie's of their initiation into the priesthood, and the body of the new initiate (the iyawo). This work traces the ways in which theological concepts from Africa are redefined and reinterpreted in the Americas so as to maintain a consistent conceptual system in a new environment. It uses a combination of participant-observation, individual interviews and photographic documentation. It includes 13 photographs of altars and clothing. The focus of this work is divided into three principle sections. Chapter 3 looks at the altars as a whole to see the ways pre-colonial African, colonial Cuban and contemporary American ideas about how one presents and approaches the holy are incorporated into these displays. Chapter 4 looks at the portions of displays devoted to six major Orisha (Obatala, Shango, Yemaya, Oshun, Ogun and Eleggua) and suggests that color forms a primary semiotic system. An analysis of color symbolism aids in the analysis of the other objects found in these displays. Chapter 5 extends this semiotic analysis to include the initiation experience and the extended liminal period of the iyawoage. Like the altar displays, the iyawo embodies the Orisha and thus functions as a mobile sacred site. The construction of the persona of the iyawo and the rules surrounding the iyawoage are fruitfully interrogated to explicate additional theological and philosophical concepts. Issues of cross-gender and cross-status dress highlight the ways that clothing serves as a symbolic system to maintain Yoruba ideas about the sacred relationships embodied in the iyawo. Chapter 6 concludes this work with a discussion of the place of Spanish terminology and Catholic imagery within the semiotic system and briefly discusses the ways in which the religious displays work as mnemonic devices.en_US
dc.format.extent335 p.en_US
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen_US
dc.identifier.callnoTHESIS RELI. 1999 CLARKen_US
dc.identifier.citationClark, Mary Ann. "Asho Orisha (clothing of the Orisha): Material culture as religious expression in Santeria." (1999) Diss., Rice University. <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/1911/19365">https://hdl.handle.net/1911/19365</a>.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1911/19365en_US
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.rightsCopyright is held by the author, unless otherwise indicated. Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder.en_US
dc.subjectPhilosophy of Religionen_US
dc.subjectCultural anthropologyen_US
dc.subjectFolkloreen_US
dc.titleAsho Orisha (clothing of the Orisha): Material culture as religious expression in Santeriaen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
dc.type.materialTexten_US
thesis.degree.departmentReligious Studiesen_US
thesis.degree.disciplineHumanitiesen_US
thesis.degree.grantorRice Universityen_US
thesis.degree.levelDoctoralen_US
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophyen_US
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