Palo Mayombe - The Garden of Blood and Bones. A Grammary of Creole Sorcery.
UK: Scarlet Imprint, 2011. First Edition - Deluxe Mayimbe Edition. Hardcover. Large octavo. iv + 226pp. Fine ‘Mayimbe’ edition quarter bound in straight grained goatskin and marbled boards, all edges of text block tinted deep red. Ribbon marker, glossary, bibliography, index. Cloth slipcase. Four tipped in colour plates of the author's prendas, with separate black and white plates of the firmas/signatures of the principle spirits. This deluxe Mayimbe Edition limited to 63 hand-numbered copies - this being copy number 35. With a HANDCRAFTED bilongo/telesmata that was only included with this edition. The publisher describes the work as: "an initiate's account of this much maligned religion and cult whose central nigromantic mystery is the cauldron containing the human skull or bones, re-animated by living spirit. Nicholaj de Mattos Frisvold traces the roots of Palo Mayombe back to Kongolese sorcery, the warrior and leopard societies, and the impact of the Portugese Mission. ... The Garden of Blood and Bones gives explicit detail of the workings of Palo Mayombe for good and ill, the method of divination, the herbs, animals, trees and plants, powders, baths and waters, the songs and chants. It presents a complete living system one which embraces both the arts of healing and resurrection, and those that remove life. This is a serious study which confronts the sinister and violent aspects of the cult, but rather than purveying lurid sensationalism expresses the deep dignity and integrity of its nature.This is a book written from within the cult, and will serve as a guide for practising Paleros and those seeking initiation, not simply a Western audience. With access to rare materials, pamphlets, booklets and unpublished field notes, this is the most comprehensive study of Palo Mayombe to date. Santeros and practitioners of Vodou will also find much to ponder within these pages." The author is an anthropologist and psychologist who has devoted several decades to the study, both academically and practically, to the African and Afro-derived cults in the New World.
The bilongo talisman has a raised centre and is burned/darkened around the edges. The burned edges have offset againt the inside of the envelope that houses it, and the raised section has caused a very small, barely visible, slightly darkened spot / bruise to the half-title page against which the envelope has sat. As noted this is barely visible, and presumably it is to be seen in all of the deluxe copies. The volume appears unread and is thus in Fine condition in near fine slipacse. Item #73684
Price: $1,250.00