Religion in the Kitchen

Cover of Religion in the kitchen by Elizabeth Perez
Adoption Amount: $250
Category: Build and Access the Collection
Location: National Museum of African American History & Culture Library

Religion in the kitchen : cooking, talking, and the making of Black Atlantic traditions

By Elizabeth Pérez. New York: New York University Press, 2016.

This book is a truly original and innovative look into the often unknown and complex “micropractices” of preparing sacred foods that are important religious rituals in their own right. With her in-depth anthropological study of the traditions of Lucumi (popularly known as Santeria), Elizabeth Pérez uncovers behind-the-scenes secrets of the preparation that goes on in kitchens around the world, usually at the hands of women and gay men, to ensure that food is prepared according to tradition and to truly “please the gods.”

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