Remains of Ritual

Friedson, Steven M.

ISBN 10: 0226265048 / ISBN 13: 9780226265049

Published by The University of Chicago Press, 2009

About this Item

A book on the critical role of music in African ritual which focuses on the Brekete/Gorovodu religion of the Ewe people. It analyzes their practices through a historical and ethnographic study of one of the dominant ritual sites on the southern coast of Ghana: a medicine shrine whose origins lie in the northern region of the country. Series: Chicago Studies in Ethnomusicology. Num Pages: 240 pages, 2 colour plates, 25 halftones, 3 line drawings, 23 musical examples. BIC Classification: 1HFDH; AVGH; JHM. Category: (P) Professional & Vocational; (UP) Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly; (UU) Undergraduate. Dimension: 229 x 152 x 23. Weight in Grams: 499. . 2009. Hardback. . . . . Books ship from the US and Ireland.

Seller Inventory # V9780226265049

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Remains of Ritual
• Publisher: The University of Chicago Press
• Publication Date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0226265048
• ISBN 13: 9780226265049
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

Remains of Ritual, Steven M. Friedson’s second book on musical experience in African ritual, focuses on the Brekete/Gorovodu religion of the Ewe people. Friedson presents a multifaceted understanding of religious practice through a historical and ethnographic study of one of the dominant ritual sites on the southern coast of Ghana: a medicine shrine whose origins lie in the northern region of the country. Each chapter of this fascinating book considers a different aspect of ritual life, demonstrating throughout that none of them can be conceived of separately from their musicality—in the Brekete world, music functions as ritual and ritual as music. Dance and possession, chanted calls to prayer, animal sacrifice, the sounds and movements of wake keeping, the play of the drums all come under Friedson’s careful scrutiny, as does his own position and experience within this ritual-dominated society.

About the Author

Steven M. Friedson is Regents Professor of Music and Anthropology at the University of North Texas and the author of Dancing Prophets: Musical Experience in Tumbuka Healing, also published by the University of Chicago Press.