Revision with unchanged content. How are new musical traditions formed?
This is the central question guiding this book on an Afro-Cuban ceremony
sometimes called cajón pa' los muertos, a spirit-possession ritual that
has been developed in Cuba over the past few decades. Cajón ceremonies
are deftly sculpted from a wealth of religious influences including
Santería, Palo, Espiritismo, and Catholicism. Grupo Cuero y Cajón, the
case study for this book, provide insight into how songs and rhythms are
created for these ceremonies while also bringing together older separate
traditions into a new whole. This process of transculturation requires
preservation and innovation but also shows musicians as integral to the
creation of religious practices. As the first work in any language to
study Cajón ceremonies, this book documents the songs used in the
ceremonies and the eclectic drum rhythms that accompany them. This book
is geared towards scholars in the fields of ethnomusicology,
anthropology, and religious studies, but will also be of interest to the
general reader wanting to learn more about Afro-American culture. Three
CD's and a DVD to accompany this book can be found at the author's
website: www.nolanwarden.com.
