Des Dieux et des Signes: initiation, ecriture et divination dans les religions afro-cubaines (review)

Des Dieux et des Signes (Of Gods and Signs) focuses on the four categories of African-based (principally Yoruba and Kongo) belief systems that have evolved in Cuba: Ifa, Santeria, Palo Monte, and "Spiritism." Their history; the gender, age, socioeconomic class and ethnic affiliation of the officiants and participants; the roles of signs (written and other), divination methods, sacred spaces, and other attributes are all described and sometimes presented by means of statistical graphs. It is remarkable that so much information is contained in this work in spite of the fact that it is the result of only three relatively short stays in Havana.

Dianteill cites several analytical sources and models. Of interest is the statement by Eric de Rosny that "it is possible, while doing fieldwork, to become an active participant to the extent of becoming one with the congregation that [the convert] is attempting to analyze without necessarily adopting a "religious" attitude towards its belief system" (p. 25). It is perhaps because of the author's conversion to Ifa and santeria that he so carefully justifies his choice on several occasions: "I could have refused initiation for the sake of scientific observation," he states (p. 29). And again "a number of circumstances . . . traced a path that led to [acquiring] an established position within the Afro-Cuban religious sphere, that of a babalao [priest]" (p. 311).

Half of the book is devoted to the use of written "signs," perhaps the most important distinction between Afro-Cuban religions and their Yoruba and Kongo roots. In the African context, knowledge and admonitions were and are transmitted mostly, though not exclusively, by word of mouth. According to Dianteill, he decided to become a babalao in the Ifa system in order to deflect an awkward situation generated by the use of the written transmission of knowledge (p. 269). This section of the book also contains some of the most complete comparisons between African and Cuban practices. The detailed descriptions of events, practitioners, documents, and other customs of the author's four categories of belief systems are welcome additions to a renewed interest and a growing body of knowledge on Afro-Cuban spirituality.

The work, however, is ambiguous on a number of issues, of which I will cite two. First, it has commonly been accepted that the divination practices associated with the orisha (divinity) Ifa are part of santeria, and not necessarily, as the author states, a separate system. It is true that all babalaos are men, that most priests are educated and possess specialized knowledge, and that fees for becoming a babalao are quite high. None of these criteria apply to becoming a santero. Nevertheless, these criteria of the priesthood do not necessarily constitute justification for classifying Ifa as a system apart from santeria. Second, the details on palo monte are sketchy; the author states that palo monte, as opposed to the other systems of belief and ritual, is focused on the dead or the ancestors. Insofar as all African-based systems cited are tied to their African roots, all include, to some degree or other, references to the ancestors.