First published in Cuba in 1954 and appearing here in English for the first time, Lydia Cabrera’s El Monte is a foundational and iconic study of Afro-Cuban religious and cultural traditions. Drawing on conversations with elderly Afro-Cuban priests who were one or two generations away from the transatlantic slave trade, Cabrera combines ethnography, history, folklore, literature, and botany to provide a panoramic account of the multifaceted influence of Afro-Atlantic cultures in Cuba. Cabrera details the natural and spiritual landscape of the Cuban monte (forest, wilderness) and discusses hundreds of herbs and the constellations of deities, sacred rites, and knowledge that envelop them. The result is a complex spiritual and medicinal architecture of Afro-Cuban cultures. This new edition of what is often referred to as “the Santería bible” includes a new foreword, introduction, and translator notes. As a seminal work in the study of the African diaspora that has profoundly impacted numerous fields, Cabrera’s magnum opus is essential for scholars, activists, and religious devotees of Afro-Cuban traditions alike.

Lydia Cabrera (1899–1991) was a renowned Cuban writer, folklorist, and artist who wrote dozens of books documenting Afro-Cuban culture and religion.

David Font-Navarrete is Assistant Professor in the Department of Music, Multimedia, Theatre, and Dance at Lehman College, City University of New York.

-- Gavin O'Toole Latin American Review of Books

Foreword: The Forest as Moral Document / John F. Szwed and Robert F. Thompson  ix
Introduction: Loose-Leaf Notes on the Life and Work of Lydia Cabrera / Isabel Castellanos  xxv
Translator's Notes: Reading El Monte in the Twenty-First Century / David Font-Navarrete  lvii
Acknowledgments / David Font-Navarrete  lxxxi
Preface  1
1. El Monte  7
2. Bilongo  15
3. Oluwa Ewe: The Owner of El Monte  69
4. The Tribute to the Owner of El Monte  117
5. How to Prepare a Nganga  123
6. The Magical and Medicinal Treasure of Osain and Tata Nfindo  156
7. The Ceiba  158
8. Ukano Bekonsi  206
9. The Royal Palm  233
10. Ukano Mambre  293
Botanical Encyclopedia  305
Photographs  535
References  561
Index  575