Life
Lydia Cabrera (1899–1991) documented Afro-Cuban oral traditions, Lucumí vocabulary and related narratives in works that remain starting points for Santería / Lucumí literary study. She wrote as a Cuban researcher–artist amid mid-century politics and exile. ORDL lists her under Santería as literature–ethnography. No ritual recipes or initiation steps appear here.
The system
- Oral literature and lexicon as cultural archive.
- Afro-Cuban religions in literary—not instructional—register.
- ORDL boundary: ethnography in print—no rite how-to.
Key works
- El Monte
- Anagó: vocabulario lucumí
- Other Afro-Cuban story and proverb collections
Where to start
- El Monte with notes on Cabrera’s method and limits
- Cuban and diaspora scholars writing after Cabrera
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How does Cabrera’s archive of speech and story differ from a priestly manual of Lucumí practice?Ask Orin this question