Sansi-Roca, Roger. 2005. The hidden life of stones: historicity, materiality and the value of Candomble objects in Bahia. Journal of Material Culture, 10(2), pp. 139-156. ISSN 13591835 [Article]

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Abstract or Description

In the last century, the objects of Candomblé, a religion of African origin in Bahia, suffered radical transformations in their public value. After discussing in general terms the life of 'saint' stones (ota) in Candomble, this article then focuses on the traces of the life history of one of these ota. This stone was seized in a police raid in a Candomble house, and then displayed in a museum, until a legal action recently undertaken by political activists obliged the museum to withdraw the stone from exhibition. In the conclusion, I propose to recognize notions of historicity and materiality as keys to understanding the life and 'agency' of this and other objects.

Item Type:	Article
Identification Number (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1177/1359183505053072
Additional Information:	This was awarded the Alfred Gell Prize (2005).
Keywords:	Candomble, historicity, materiality, museums
Departments, Centres and Research Units:	Anthropology
Dates:	Date Event 1 June 2005 Published
Item ID:	713
Date Deposited:	12 Mar 2009 15:41
Last Modified:	16 Jun 2017 12:46
Peer Reviewed:	Yes, this version has been peer-reviewed.
URI:	https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/713

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