The Guli: A Shrine of Fluctuating Agencies. Materiality, Spirits and Psychosomatic Experience in the Afro-Amerindian Religion of Dugu

Abstract

The present article explores how the construction of a guli, the spirits’ shrine and the central ritual space par excellence in the Afro-Amerindian religion of Dugu, reveals a material-spiritual dialectic between the spirits of the dead and spirit mediums. I argue that the anthropomorphizing of the guli occurs not only through intense, repetitive ritual activity but also through the potent association of embodiment and uncomfortable psychosomatic experiences. Contrary to simply attributing humanity to the guli for representation of the divine, my ethnography shows that the shrine also transforms into a material extension of the practitioner, creating a triadic configuration of materials, bodies, and spirits. In this manner, the Garifuna shrine gives rise to two ontological possibilities of animation: being ritually “ensouled” with human substances and invisible forces and becoming animated when it manifests in the medium’s body.

Keywords: :

• Afro-Amerindian Garifuna Dugu
• ritual
• materiality
• animation
• agency
• psychosomatic experience

Notes

1 Fieldwork for this article was enabled through a grant from the EHESS in Paris (2009–2012). I am thankful to my interlocutors in Honduras who genuinely shared their testimonies with me, especially, Francisca, Basilia, and Beru. The names in this article have been changed in the interest of privacy.

2 The authors find a similar example of ontological animation in the example of Balinese masks (2023).

3 For ethno-historic sources: Du Tertre, 1667–1671; Burton, 1685; Labat, 1979 (1722); Breton, 1999 (1665); Young, 1971 (1795); et Calendar of State Papers, de 1574 à 1733.

4 It may be worth noting that for the Garifuna in New York City, West African deities do sometimes appear in the related ritual called Chugu (Johnson 2007). This has to do with the exposure to other African diasporic traditions as experienced by Garifuna emigrants to the U.S.

5 Garifuna Dugu practitioners mobilize a variety of terms interchangeably to name the spirits of the dead which offers an eloquent illustration of its semiotic complexity. While the term “gubida” is frequently used to name the medium’s tutelary spirits, “ahari” may also be used. However, “ahari” may also be the name of ordinary spirits of the dead. Likewise, “gubida” may also be employed to refer to a recently deceased individual that is causing misfortune among the living.

6 The term “Dugu” (Dügü) originates from the verb adügürahani, which, according to historian Salvador Suazo (2002), means “to press, to put pressure on” (“apretar, presionar”). This term specifically refers to the movements in the central dance, characterized by a slow, shuffling gesture of the feet. According to some of my informants, the dancers “trample” or “stir” the earth (mua) to which the ancestors are mystically attached by ‘sharpening’ their feet on the ground during this dance.

7 According to Coelho’s writings, buyeis who enjoy good prestige must demonstrate “histrionic” skills during the ritual ceremonies celebrated. He writes: After a brief melody sung by the officiant, without maracas, a small hollow voice was heard, apparently coming from the lanigi chügü [a small earthen lump erected on the ground], exclaiming: “Greetings buyei!” (Mábuiga, buyei). Without waiting for a reply, she continued to greet in Garifuna, then in Spanish and finally in English. The sound of this voice alone was enough to provoke laughter from the audience (De Andrade Coelho 1995: 164, my translation).

8 From a materialistic perspective, my interlocutors collectively outlined factors to determine whether the dead had consumed an edible offering. While humans are not supposed to taste the food intended for the spirits, some inadvertently or intentionally continue to do so and report that once the food has been spiritually consumed, it lacks salt and tastes completely bland. Occasionally, spirits confirm receiving offerings through dreams or by influencing the movement of a candle’s flame.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Marcela Perdomo

Marcela Perdomo (Ph.D. EHESS, Paris 2019) is currently a visiting lecturer for the department of Religious Studies at the University of Pittsburgh. She has written on possession, trance, ritual, historical memory, and ethnographic reflexivity in Garifuna religion. She is currently working on her book project titled “Healing the Dead. Memory and Spirit Possession in the Garifuna Dugu of Honduras”.

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