How are new musical traditions formed? This is the central question
guiding this book on an Afro-Cuban ceremony sometimes called cajón pa'
los mu-er-tos, 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 re-quires
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 stu-dies, but will also be of interest to
the general reader wan-ting to learn more about Afro-American culture.
Three CD's and a DVD to ac-company this book can be found at the
author's website: www.nolanwarden.com.