VERGER (Pierre Fatumbi). - Lot 294

VERGER (Pierre Fatumbi). Orisha: The Yoruba Gods in Africa and the New World. Paris: A.M. Métailié, 1982. Large quarto (approx. 28 × 22 cm), publisher’s full black cloth binding with an illustrated dust jacket. 305 pp. Numerous black-and-white photographs, maps, drawings, and ethnographic documents. French first edition of one of the masterpieces by Pierre Fatumbi Verger (1902–1996), photographer, ethnologist, and initiate into the Yoruba religion, devoted to the deities (Orisha) and their cults in West Africa and the Americas (Brazil, Cuba, the Caribbean). The result of several decades of field research, this work is a major reference in religious anthropology and the history of African diasporas. The illustrations, created by Verger himself, accompany a scholarly text describing the traditions, rituals, myths, ritual objects, and parallels between African and African-American religious practices. This book has become a classic, sought after by bibliophiles as well as enthusiasts of photography, ethnography, and the history of religions. Condition: very good copy. Dust jacket well-preserved with very slight signs of wear but no notable defects. Publisher’s binding in excellent condition. Interior in very fresh condition.