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Maya Deren

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Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti Paperback – October 1, 1983

by Maya Deren (Author), Joseph Campbell (Foreword)

4.6 169 ratings

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Includes photographs and drawings. Foreword by Joseph Campbell This is the classic, intimate study, movingly written with the special insight of direct encounter, which was first published in 1953 by the fledgling Thames & Hudson firm in a series edited by Joseph Campbell. Maya Deren's Divine Horsemen is recognized throughout the world as a primary source book on the culture and spirituality of Haitian Voudoun. The work includes all the original photographs and illustrations, glossary, appendices and index. It includes the original Campbell foreword along with the foreword Campbell added to a later edition.

Print length

350 pages
Language

English
Publisher

McPherson
Publication date

October 1, 1983
Dimensions

5.75 x 1 x 8.5 inches
ISBN-10

0914232630
ISBN-13

978-0914232636
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Editorial Reviews

Review

The result of vast fieldwork and personal research, and its findings are well and systematically drawn up at considerable length. --Times Literary Supplement

There are lessons to be learned about Voodoo the way Maya Deren makes you know about it. --Village Voice

More than thirty years have elapsed.... But her work...continues to move and inform. --Journal for the Society of Ethnomusicology

From the Back Cover

Maya Deren's famous account of the Haitian deities, practitioners, and rituals of Voudoun was written with the special insight of personal encounter. In the foreword to this book, Joseph Campbell calls Divine Horsemen "the most illuminating introduction that has yet been rendered to the whole marvel of the Haitian mystres as 'facts of the mind.'" Deren had journeyed to Haiti to make a film ofritual dances; instead, she came to be accepted as a Voudoun initiate. Afterward, Deren undertook the writing of this book at the urging of Campbell and Gregory Bateson, and brought her entire aesthetic sensibility to bear in this profound study of "the total integrity of cultural form."

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ McPherson (October 1, 1983)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 350 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0914232630
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0914232636
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.1 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.75 x 1 x 8.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #238,595 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #13 in Haiti Caribbean & West Indies History
- #23 in History of Ethnic & Tribal Religions
- #765 in Magic Studies (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.6 169 ratings

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Maya Deren

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Maya Deren's life is the subject of a multi-volume biography in progress titled "The Legend of Maya Deren". Born in Kiev in 1917, Maya Deren emigrated to the United States with her parents a few years later, growing up mainly in Syracuse, New York, where she attended Syracuse University. A social activist from her teens, she became interested first in dance and subsequently in filmmaking. Throughout the 1950s, until her premature death in 1961 at the age of 44, Maya Deren was a leading exponent of experimental cinema and considered one of its most influential artists. She first traveled to Haiti to film dances in 1947, and returned in following years for lengthy stays. The work in Haiti led to the classic ethnographic study, "Divine Horsemen", written with the encouragement of Joseph Campbell, as well as audio recordings and a documentary film which was later edited by Teiji and Cherel Ito. A two-hour documentary on Maya Deren and her work was produced for BBC television in 1987.

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4.6 out of 5

169 global ratings

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Star Ibis

Changes one's perspective of religious dogma, for sure.

Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2023

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This is a very intellectual yet enthralling read.
I am taking it slowly like dining on fine food.
It is NOT for everyone.

Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2014

Verified Purchase

In the first pages of this book Deren compares the place of the artist in society with that of indigenous cultures. It is funny, sharp, and deeply intelligent. Yes, she is poetic, and writes with an artist's sensibility, but I am most interested in people and cultures, and this book is as psychologically and culturally and religiously sophisticated as any book I've read. Included in her chapters are examinations of the role of ritual in social coherence, creative expression (for everyone in the culture, not just the "geniuses"), and in individual development. Of course, we can idealize pre-industrial and pre-capitalist cultures, and life was, as Deren tells it (and as we know) excessively difficult for the slaves and their descendants who were forced to leave Africa and come to Haiti. But we can see what we've lost, spiritually, socially and personally with our move toward progress. An incredibly good read--and a classic work of anthropology, without the delusions about "objectivity" that permeate much of the academic writing.

7 people found this helpful

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jeanne christopherson

Vodoun: an accurate, non-sensational resource

Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2013

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I have given away countless copies of this book to students wanting to get an inside, accurate understanding of Haiti and the Vodoun religion. It corrects the racist, ignorant, sensational accounts of this beloved and beautiful religion from the vantage point of an initiate. Maya Deren was an experimental film maker who went to Haiti in the forties to make an "art" film. When she realized that dance could not be separated from music and together they could not be separated from belief, she put her cameras in the closet and became a participant. She was also the red headed secretary for Katherine Dunham's black dance company.

7 people found this helpful

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Kytka

Bravo for Maya - after seeing the films, this book was a logical must have

Reviewed in the United States on December 18, 2014

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I have Maya Deren's films "In the Mirror of Maya Deren," and "Maya Deren: Experimental Films." and as a result of seeing them, I was moved to purchase this book as well. I am fascinated that she had the access she did and that she documented it all. Yes, as some other reviewers say, it tends to be a "time capsule" but when we are looking into the past, should that exactly be what it ne3eds to be? I am grateful to Maya and all of the work she did, giving us a glimpse into things we would never find in ordinary life.

11 people found this helpful

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Clay Baudry

This is an unbelievably great book by a fascinating author

Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2018

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This is an unbelievably great book by a fascinating author. Maya Deren has written an in depth book into the world of vodun. It's a very deep book with tremendously insightful information. Loved it.

3 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Possession explained

Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2017

Verified Purchase

Heavily footnoted but clearly well researched. A slow read as you go with a slight chapter by chapter review will be well rewarded.

4 people found this helpful

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D Karpenter

Great book!

Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2018

Verified Purchase

Amazing book that helps you to look at Haitian culture and Voodoo culture from completely different perspective, from the eyes of an Artist!

One person found this helpful

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Priscilla Stilwell

The standard

Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2013

Verified Purchase

For those looking to seriously research and learn about Haitian Vodou, Deren's book is a must-read. For those interested in an overview, this is not the book. The reality is that Deren seems to write largely for the sake of the art, with less concern for the communication of the subject matter. I judge the book at a higher standard partially because it is considered to be the standard for resources on Haitian Vodou, and partially because of the length of the book. For as much time as it takes to get through this book, I feel that my understanding should have increased more than it did.

I did not find this to be easy reading, and often stumbled over the flowery, albeit awkward sentences. She writes with passion, but she writes in the style of a memoir. But this is not a memoir. it could have been, but it's a book about the beliefs and traditions of Haitian Vodou. For that purpose, she could have cut the book in half and been more efficient to be more concise.

The most useful sections were the appendices at the end, speaking about marriage between voudisant and loa, and about indigenous influences in the religion.

If you're serious about Haiti or Vodou or religious studies, it's a good things to read. But take your time. You'll need it.

24 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Barbara Shinton

divine horsemen

Reviewed in Canada on December 17, 2018

Verified Purchase

I ordered this book because I'm interested in learning about voodoo and its history. very interesting book.

Customer

is a better edition with larger print than the cheap Paladin paperback ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 29, 2016

Verified Purchase

The Macpherson edition of this important book, published under the title "Divine Horsemen, The Living Gods of Haiti", is a better edition with larger print than the cheap Paladin paperback (the Paladin one is the same book, but called "The Voodoo Gods", even though Deren used the word 'Vodoun' rather than voodoo'. The pages of my Paladin copy separated from the spine long ago, and the print is rather small.) Joseph Campbell, who wrote a brief foreword in both editions, seems a little overemphasised in the Amazon description rather than the author of the work, even though I understand he did help to get the work into print in the first place. It makes an excellent addition to the literature once one has read Seabrook, and while there are only a handful of books on the practice worth reading, it should primarily be experienced (as Deren did) since literature, for a tradition that is an oral one rather than relying on 'holy books', can give little more than a rough intellectual approximation.

2 people found this helpful

Amazon Customer

Authentic, beautiful and brilliant. Highly recommended!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 16, 2017

Verified Purchase

This is probably the best book published in English (and in French) on Haitian Vaudou to date. Maya Deren's brilliant and beautifully written narrative retraces her immersion into the Haitian religion. Deren avoids the usual pitfalls of sensationalism and Western-centric positivism that tend to plague most works on the topic. Highly recommended!

One person found this helpful

Tania

Five Stars

Reviewed in Canada on June 6, 2016

Verified Purchase

Good detailled book easy to read

O. J. Higgins

Well written, concise, would recommend.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 5, 2015

Verified Purchase

Really really interesting anthropological study of Voodoun. Free from the judgemental press that Voodoun gets from the mainstream religions which deemed it to be evil because they did not understand it (or to subjugate those who practiced it). Deren is a great writer, extremely poetic, and never dull.

I can only recommend.

4 people found this helpful

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