Mama Lola Discussion2, chapters 7-12

1. Who is Ezili? Lasyrenn?  Ezili Danto?  Ezili Freda? What are their characteristics, and how do they function in Haitian women’s lives?  How are they “mirrors and maps” for women?
2. Why are women’s roles more prominent in Vodou than in other religions?
3. What is Vodou’s “contextual morality”?  What does this mean?  Examples?
4. Who is Danbala?  What sort of spirit is he, and what role does he play in lives of Alourdes and her family?
5. Compare and contrast the role of Vodou in Maggie’s life and Alourdes’ life.
6. Who is Gede?  Why do you think the final chapter focused on this spirit? 
7. In general, how does healing work in Vodou?  What happened in the trip to Jamaica with Cecile? 
8. What is luck?  How is it maintained?
9. What does it mean to “be initiated”?  Why would someone do this?
10. Why is Gede so important for Haitians in New York ?
11. In general, what does this book contribute to the anthropology of religion? 
12. Why is this a “postmodern” ethnography? What does that mean?
13. What are the strengths of the ethnography? Weaknesses?