Since
its original publication in Portuguese in 2008, this first English translation
of Divining Slavery has been extensively revised and updated, complete with new
primary sources and a new bibliography. It tells the story of Domingos Sodré,
an African-born priest who was enslaved in Bahia, Brazil in the nineteenth
century. After obtaining his freedom, Sodré became a slave owner himself, and
in 1862 was arrested on suspicion of receiving stolen goods from slaves in
exchange for supposed 'witchcraft'. Using this incident as a catalyst, the book
discusses African religion and its place in a slave society, analyzing its
double role as a refuge for blacks as well as a bridge between classes and
ethnic groups (such as whites who attended African rituals and sought help from
African diviners and medicine men). Ultimately, Divining Slavery explores the
fluidity and relativity of conditions such as slavery and freedom, African and
local religions, personal and collective experience and identities in the lives
of Africans in the Brazilian diaspora.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Divining-Slavery-Freedom-Nineteenth-Century-Approaches/dp/1107079772/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1425205768&sr=1-1&keywords=brazil+slavery
