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13 Things 2008
Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology
Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology & the Ancient World
Brown University
Box 1837 / 60 George Street
Providence, RI 02912
Telephone: (401) 863-3188
Fax: (401) 863-9423
[email protected]
Posted at Sep 30/2008 07:51PM: tpl: Alexandra; not sure how you're coming along with voodoo-related bibliography, but maybe Huxley 1969 (The invisibles: voodoo gods in Haiti) or Metraux 1972 (Voodoo in Haiti) might be useful places to start looking? Good luck. - Tom
Posted at Oct 02/2008 05:10PM: chris witmore: Hi Alexandra, Also check out Doug Bailey's book Prehistoric Figurines. There have also been some studies which fall under the rubric of fetish. Also the connection with the body and control. Alexandra Ulmer: Thanks a lot! Just ordered the Bailey book and have checked out Huxley and Metraux.
Posted at Oct 09/2008 12:21AM: mark: Alexandra, here is the reference I mentioned in class today. Wade Davis: http://www.amazon.com/Serpent-Rainbow-Scientists-Astonishing-Societies/dp/0684839296 - patpaul: Whenever I think of the voodoo doll, I think of the physiological, psychosomatic conditions that they inspire. Does faith in God cause you to fight harder if you have an 'incurable' disease, therefore producing changes in your body that fight this disease? If the dread and fear that a voodoo doll instills in a person is believed by that person to cause ills, then the stress that the person feels opens them up to sickness. A commonplace occurrence is when a person is gravely ill and they stay alive long enough to reach a certain landmark, such as a birth, a birthday or a landmark event. Barack Obama's grandmother comes to mind right now. A more common example is the prospect of a difficult exam and the biological reactions to your stress.
Posted at Oct 26/2008 11:41PM: Ana Escobedo: When making a voodoo doll what features are left out? What is the least amount of physical likness needed to represent a certain person? Or, if it is a doll not meant to represent a specific individual, what characteristics are needed to identify the doll as human?
Posted at Oct 28/2008 12:45AM: Lindsay: How do voodoo dolls differ in physicality from toy dolls? Can one transform a toy doll to a voodoo doll by altering it's composition, or blessing it in some way? Or, in reverse, can a voodoo doll become a child's play thing if it isn't being used in conjunction with medicine or prayer?