From Hierography to Ethnography and Back: Lydia Cabrera's Texts and the Written Tradition in Afro-Cuban Religions

Two common assumptions about Lydia Cabrera's ethnographic work are that it is exclusively the result of fieldwork and that Afro-Cuban religions are based on oral tradition. Evidence is provided in this paper to show that 1) Cabrera also made use of early religious texts as a primary source, and 2) that her work has served as an influence on the texts used in modern Afro-Cuban religious practices, such as the anonymous book Manual del Santero (1990). An analysis is provided of the way in which Cabrera included vernacular written sources in her work, and how her work in turn has become a main source for Santería "hierography"—the writing about sacred things.