Vodún

Vodún is a well-written, entertaining, and insightful ethnography . . . [I]t debunks many misconceptions about the religion and its local variants (like voodoo in Haiti and the United States) while making observations that are applicable far behind that particular family of religions. Anthropologists and others increasingly appreciate the materiality, flexibility, and transportability of religions including Christianity, and the book is a welcome addition to an important and growing literature on dynamic global religious processes.--Reading Religion A compelling ethnographic expose, Timothy R. Landry's Vodun examines how the deeply localized Vodun tradition of Benin has become a global urban religion in the twenty-first century.--Journal of the American Academy of Religion A sensitive, nuanced account that captures the joys and struggles of ethnographic inquiry, Vodún reads as both a personal narrative of apprenticeship in Beninois Vodún ritual and a thick description of informants' discourses, life histories, and religious worldviews.--Douglas J. Falen, Agnes Scott College In Vodún, Tim Landry skillfully weaves narrative and analysis to craft an engaging and powerful book on the play of traditional religious practice in our transnational world. In this superb work Landry not only refines our comprehension of contemporary Vodún but also underscores the centrality of secrecy in religious practices. Based upon a long and complicated apprenticeship among Vodún practitioners in Benin, Landry's path breaking work is a model for doing the anthropology of religion in the twenty-first century.--Paul Stoller, 2013 Anders Retzius Gold Medal Laureate in Anthropology Landry's book is a delightful read, for it is essentially a memoir of Landry's eighteen months in Ouidah that is peppered with rigorous empirical and theoretical insights . . . [T]his book is more than an ethnography of an African religious tradition, it is a thoughtful personal reflection on the ethnographic process that would make a nice addition to syllabi on research methods.--African Studies Quarterly Landry's work is a signal accomplishment.he has successfully addressed an aspect of modern Vod'un that few others take seriously--unless they approach it as a threat to a romanticized, pure Vod'un. In doing so, he has shed new, valuable light on the religion from both the B'eninois and foreign seekers' perspectives. Just as important, he has helped define its vibrant place in global society.--Nova Religio Timothy R. Landry's Vodún is a powerful book that highlights the peaks and valleys of doing ethnography in a postmodern and neoliberal world, while his methodology of personal apprenticeship showcases a refreshing empathy and care for Vodún beliefs and believers . . . [A] seminal tour de force on the growing literature dedicated to Vodún, and in the anthropology of religion. Vodún will be cited and read for years to come.--African Studies Review