ABSTRACT
African-derived spiritual practice is growing in the US Immigrants from the Caribbean have brought their traditions with them and contributed to a transculturation process. Starting in the 1960s and 1970s, US born African Americans have sought to re-connect with ancestral belief systems. Whether they are initiates or not, many African American artists have adopted the story cycles and visual imagery associated with African orishas as points of reference in their work just as European artists have drawn inspiration from Greek and Roman mythology. This chapter therefore explores minkisi – figurative objects intended for ritual rather than theatrical performance. Drawing on the findings of material culture scholars, it traces continuities in the use of materials, craft techniques, aesthetic choices, and ritual meanings by focusing on face jugs, dolls, and story quilts as influences on the development of contemporary African American object performance.
