Plasticidade e pessoalidade no espiritismo crioulo cubano

Abstract

In this article I argue that Cuban Creole forms of espiritismo wield a sophisticated cosmology of Self in which the human psyche and its surrounding universe of protective spirits are embedded in a relationship of mutual production. These Self-related theorizations subvert linear readings of spirit identities as fragments of national imaginaries, suggesting instead the importance of a fluid, plastic cosmos in which spiritual form is contingent on cultural and personal repertoires, but also remains partly "other" to those Who apprehend it, thus retaining the capacity to transform them. This is explored both through a juxtaposition of anthropological and indigenous discourses on the psychology of spirits, and a look at more broad-ranging instances of ontological plasticity.

Cosmology; Spiritism; Plasticity; Afro-Cuban religion; Self