βA complete joy to read. From the love story, to the slow healing of the main character, to the intricate mystery of the plot, Meadows has constructed a world to get lost in and this is a book to savour.β
βEverina Maxwell, author of Winterβs Orbitββ
Dive into the stunning queer romance of A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows, on sale 7.26.22 from Tor Books.
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Does the Witch Doctor in Africa countries make Kabbalistic Pacts with the Devil like in Haitian Voodoo and Jamaican Obeah?
They most certainly do not make Kabbalistic Pacts with the Devil which is a Judeo Christian Islamic concept, which they were not, African priest and priestess doubled as healers both spiritual and physical , they understand there is a duality in nature as in the spiritual worlds one can tap into , eg Horus cannot exist without his polar opposite Set.
Now that said there are areas where both the Christian concepts became entwined with African religious concepts as in the cross roads and Papa Legba.
Because slave owners were worried about potential rebellion, they often separated enslaved people from the same area.
By mixing people from different regions and language groups, they could use the communication barrier to discourage or even prevent revolt. However, many of the deities were similar, and so enslaved people from different parts of Africa soon found commonalities in their spiritual beliefs and practices, which they were forced to keep hidden.
Papa Legba soon found a home in the religious structures of enslaved people in Haiti and the Caribbean, as well as in the American colonies. Author Denise Alvarado says Legba:
...stands at a spiritual crossroads and grants or denies permission to speak with the spirits of Guinee, and is believed to speak all human languages. He is always the first, and the last spirit invoked in any ceremony because his permission is needed for any communication between mortals and the loaβhe opens and closes the doorway to the spirit world.
Over time, after African syncretic practices blended with Catholicism in the new world, Legba became associated with several saints, including Saint Peter, Saint Anthony, and Saint Lazarus.
In the Haitian religion of Vodou, Legba is seen as the intermediary between mortal men and the loa, or lwa. The loa are a group of spirits responsible for various aspects of daily life, and they are the children of a supreme creator, Bondye. They are divided into families, such as the Ghede and Ogou, and practitioners develop relationships with them through offerings, petitions, and prayers. Often, Papa Legba is the one who carries these prayers to the loa.
Note the cross roads would later become associated with the devil in this religious synchronism.
Statue of Legba as fertility god. Atlantide Phototravel / Getty Images Plus
Legba has evolved in numerous ways from his origins in Africa, where he is sometimes viewed as a fertility god or a trickster; he many be depicted as both male and female, sometimes with a large erect phallus. In other areas, he is a protector of children or a healer, and can grant forgiveness for crimes against others. Variants of Legba exist in many places including Brazil, Trinidad, and Cuba.
Papa Legba appears in many forms in New Orleans Voodoo and Haitian Vodou. He is typically depicted as an older man, sometimes wearing a straw hat or old tattered clothing, walking with a cane, and accompanied by a dog. He's associated with the colors black and red.
Legba is strongly associated with crossroads magic, and is referenced in a number of early twentieth-century blues tunes from the area of the Mississippi Delta. Famed bluesman Robert Johnson is said to have met a spirit at the crossroads, and offered him his soul in exchange for musical success. Although eventually the story was twisted to say Johnson met the Devil, musical folklorists believe that tale is rooted in racist ideology; instead, Johnson met Legba at the crossroads, where he had gone seeking guidance and wisdom.
Papa Legba is a master communicator, who is said to speak the languages of all human beings; he then translates petitions and delivers them to the loa. He is a teacher and warrior, but also a trickster deity. Legba is a remover of obstacles, and can be consulted to help find new, positive opportunities, thanks to his ability to open doors and new roads
Legba represents a West African and Caribbean Voodoo god. This god has many different names depending on the region in which he is worshipped is most commonly known in Haiti as Papa Legba. Papa Legba serves as the guardian of the Poto Mitan--the center of power and support in the home. Additionally, he allows for communication between humans and the spirit world. According to West African Voodoo practices, spirits of the dead are not able to inhabit one's body unless permitted by Papa Legba. The symbol for Legba typically has a red background, one of his representative colors. The symbol includes several keys which signify Legba's control over communications and forms of passage, including locks, gates, and passageways;it also includes a cane, as Papa Legba is generally depicted as an old and feeble man in the Haitian religion. There are many chants to summon Papa Legba, one of which is: Papa Legba, Open the gate for me/Atibon Legba, Open the gate for me/Open the gate for me/Papa that I may pass/When I return I will thank the Lwa.
GYE NYAME - Supremacy of God
Gye Nyame, meaning βexcept for God,β symbolizes Godβs omnipotence through the knowledge that people should not fear anything except for God. Another interpretation of βexcept for Godβ is that no one has seen the beginning of all creations, nor will anyone live to see the end, except for God. Gye Nyame indicates the recognition of the supremacy of God over all beings, and therefore is the one that is feared and revered by all. This is one of the many Adinkra symbols of West Africa, Ghana, and is used by the Akan people in various decorations, clothing, and artwork. Some say that the symbol represents a spiral galaxy, or two hands with different gestures that refer to God being supreme to the simplistic ideals of male and female identifications that are used today. The use of this symbol by the Akan people suggests that the Akan had a highly advanced writing language that transmitted religious and cultural concepts, and also might have had a somewhat extensive knowledge of astronomy, which shows their intellect and indicates that the Akan were a more advanced civilization.
Nkisi Sarabanda, symbolizing the signature of the spirit, is a representation of a bakongo cosmogram. This symbol portrays how the Congo-angolan people viewed the interaction between the spiritual and material world, or in other words between the living and the dead;the Congo-angolan people believe that these worlds are inherently intertwined. An Nkisi is a spiritual object used for worship purposes, and have been found in places where enslaved Africans have lived in, such as in the plantation homes. Nkisis show the development of African American culture in how they are essentially African objects, but are constructed through American materials. This also reveals an aspect of the melting pot of African and American culture. Sarabanda just connotes "the highest spirit". Part of the symbol takes the form of a cross, because the Congolese had an inclination towards Christianity. Communication appears to take place at the center of the cross, where the worlds intersect, and it was believed that spirits sat at the center of the sign. The arrows represent the four winds of the universe, and the symbol as a whole resembles the form of a spiral galaxy;this indicates their interest in astronomy and affinity towards nature.
Nsoromma, meaning "children of the heavens" or "star," symbolizes the guardianship of God and how he watches over all beings. It is one of the many Adinkra symbols that the Ghanaian people have lived by. The protection of God is constant, like the stars in the universe. The stars also embody light, with the vision of light slicing through darkness as a savior, or protector. The symbol indicates the existence of the spiritual world, in which our ancestors and past families exist and watch over us, creating a feeling of safety and wholeness. Nsoromma expresses the message to live life to its fullest knowing that you are supported and strengthened by God.
Divinity of Mother Earth
Asase Ye Duruβliterally meaning βthe earth has no weightββis a symbol that represents power, providence and divinity. The symbol is one of many adinkras, or depictions of important concepts created by the Akan peoples of Ghana. Asase Ye Duru emphasizes the importance of the Earth and its preservation. People must respect and nurture the Earth, and should never act in ways that might directly or indirectly harm the Earth. The significance of the Earth to the people of Ghana is evident in the following proverbs: Tumi nyina ne asase, meaning All power emanates from the earth; and Asase ye duru sen epo, meaning The earth is heavier than the sea. The African Burial Ground honors these principles, as it surrounds itself with natural resources and emphasizes the cohesion of death and nature.
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okay i finished book 1 and 2 of the tithenai chronicles (eta by foz meadows, I keep forgetting to say bc I keep thinking it'll put it on the tracked tags even though I'm pretty sure it won't. Anyway, tl;dr I would recommend these two books I guess but cw animal death (graphic and upsetting) in book 1; other warnings are in the a/n before the start of each book)
this ramble about it is not going to be exactly glowing so i'm not putting it in the tracked tags
(spoilers below the cut)
so. i liked book 1 better than book 2. saying that, i will probably never read either book again, except for my very favourite favourite parts
book 1 has this warning at the start:
what it does NOT fucking mention is animal death and it is graphic and sad and UNNECESSARY and honestly i was (and am) furious at it. this is my reason for never wanting to read either book again except for my favourite parts. it also... made me probably overly critical about the books
the bits i love most in book 1 are... well, first of all, the aftermath of the rape is done very well (the way it changes in vel's head, he becomes more self-blamey and ashamed etc by the next day, and the next, etc)
i love that markel is always in his corner!!
some markel goodness here (tw suicidal ideation/sorta attempt (happens right after vel gets noncon-ed)) (ch 3):
as an aside (or perhaps not), i started reading the book from the noncon (haha) (when i finished book 1 i went back and read the start) and when markel appeared afterwards i immediately liked him <3
this is the part where i started liking vel (ch 4):
the journey over the mountains was great re vel getting moodier and moodier. understandably. markel has some nice stuff there iirc but i'm not checking it
ah, also i liked how vel kept flinching away/not wanting to be touched. and, scattered through the rest of the book, his panic attacks etc are goooood
my very favourite part in book 1 is ch 10, where after vel and cae get married, vel thinks he's going to be forced on his wedding night, so (starting from the end of ch 9):
there is one caveat to me liking this part though lol, iiii am not sure if vel would've come out with the whole thing to cae, who he barely knew at this point... but anyway!
so i have lil niggles everywhere... Around/before chapter 10, i did feel like... things were happening in a way that just happened because the author wanted it like that, and it happened a bit fast, and there wasn't anyone at least considering other options before finally landing on the final one. nothing wrong with the option chosen, i just would've liked more 'but what if we did this? ...but no, that wouldn't work; what about--'
book 1 is imo a lot more tightly structured than book 2, and it helps to have a solid whodunit starting from near the start. before it becomes a whodunit, it's very good too as it's a... study in... vel and all that he's lost (killic raping him, the arranged marriage taking away his choices, his dad exiling him for being gay :( ). then he spends the trip to qi-katai being so careless with his life because he lowkey wants to die. it's skjfgnfkg really delightful. i adore him so
um. i also love how clever/perceptive he is!!
i liked this part (ch 23):
and i liked this part (ch 37):
the run up to the climax... felt a bit drawn out... and also a bit lmao with them just. walking through the streets, sorta, all beaten up, and people just being like π i suppose i would've liked them apprehending laecia in a different way
i would've liked laecia, if she didn't fucking kill vel's horse :( also, i feel like she contradicts herself when she's like 'what's the big deal, it's just a horse' but CLEARLY she knows what quip (the horse) means to vel because she killed quip to punish him :(
i like everything else about her though. nice character. apart from... the horse...
the heir stuff/inheritance makes no sense btw
okay, as for book 2...!
book 2, as i said, is a lot less structured than book 1...
book 1 succeeded in making me love markel and like vel very much. and i was just o-k with cae. in book 2, up until vel realised he loved him lmao, i was actively fucking rooting against him. some of it i feel like it's more of a writing fail though
there's this bit where the inn is on fire and to stop vel from running into the burning stables to save his new horse (called Gift), cae first grabs him and then fucking grabs his arm and twists it behind his back??? what the fuck? such that vel immediately flashes back to killic raping him. and that pulls him and cae apart for a while. i count this as more of a writing fail though, whichhhhh continues on into the next chapter, where nobody checks to see if the horses are all right/alive; the group has enough time to move across the street and sit down, and vel is crying and then just devastated, and then qarrah comes by and is like 'oh yeah your horses are fine' and vel is like OMG they're alive??? and then you, as the reader, realise that FOR THIS ENTIRE FUCKING TIME VEL THOUGHT HIS HORSE DIED (JUST LIKE HIS PREV HORSE QUIP DIED) and none of his friends, not even markel, thought to check?? like. i just feel. that this is. ugh
there's also a very poorly placed simile RIGHT in this section ("the night dragged on like a dying horse stuck in its traces"), given what vel's distraught over. and, while vel is grieving Gift/thinking she's dead, cae looks at him after vel puts on the clothes he brought him and thinks he's beautiful. ummm. poor timing, hello?? it just.
there are some minor horse deaths later in the book (i would say they're on the same level as watching a horse fall in battle in lotr and the like); yeah there's no warning for it in the a/n buuuuuuuut. i mean. it's not as bad as book 1. book 1 imo should REALLY have had it. i'm still mad. it was graphic and awful and unnecessary and genuinely i could start crying when i think about it
there are some nice things in book 2. and it does pick up eventually when it finds its way into becoming a whodunit.
(I love how vel spirals)
(and honestly at some point in the first half i just wanted him to go away from all this shit and just. have a horse farm (?? lmao) somewhere with markel and just. HAVE A LOVELY LIFE. NO HORSES DYING)
nice thing (ch 3):
i ADORE ch 14 (with the conflict starting in ch 13), although it did just make me dislike cae lmao. he's not political, and i get that, but vel is anxious about the upcoming ~being presented at court in the capital, and cae does nothing to prepare him? AND, he neglected to tell him that he's his heir to the yaserate (like a dukedom). then they get into an argument, and then cae leaves, and then vel's crying alone in their room, and then markel comes and comforts him (ch 14)...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i love markel. at this point, despite markel not being into men, honestly i just wanted him and vel married lmao. and there's still fanfic, IT'S STILL POSSIBLE, but no one's written any vel/markel (or even vel & markel (main pairing)) so, fuck
anyway, then markel leaves, and some other stuff happens, and eventually vel falls asleep... and in the morning cae is still not back, and vel is like '...oh. he left me. ofc he did' and then cae DOES come back and it turns out he just fucking fell asleep in the stables. jfc
anyway, here's some nice vel and markel stuff from ch 14 :3 (Spoons is a cat (happily, no cats were fucking killed in this book)):
HE LAID HIS HEAD ON MARKEL'S LAP
so, hm, what else did i like from this book?
this was so sad! fuck. nathian is vel's eldest brother (and revic is their middle brother who died at some point idk) (ch 24):
...
also, if i must pick something else, i quite enjoyed the part where markel and asrien had to interact (interlude/ch 15.5 i suppose (asrien pov) (markel (a servant) was just bossing him (a lord) around the entire time hahah)):
and. haha. i REALLY enjoyed it once cae was locked up in prison and vel had to investigate by himself, or well, with markel. i do love them both <3
anyway, what DIDN'T i like in book 2... apart from what i said before, which was really glaring and merited being at the top, imo
i thought the instructions asrien got re vel and cae was ... convoluted/overcomplicated/idk what's the word... it was a bit inefficient, i guess.
the uhhh.... the way asrien hit subspace when the general grabbed the back of his neck... hahahaha....... at this point in the book i didn't like either of them so i was like, uhhhHHHH, and just... didn't really give a shit. but by the end of the book they end up caring for each other, and asrien is marginally more likeable, and ditto for the general, so... But honestly reading that first smut scene with them was just. kinda random
um. i feel like cae should've... thought differently about the maze stuff... the ~being drugged and then almost drowning and all, and how he lost his knife. idk. i could be wrong here; i'm not so good at putting myself in another's shoes
iiiiiiiiiii am not sure how qiqa fits into this? like. they kinda knew a LOT
anyway. i'll add more stuff if/when i think of it...
ETA 250327 HOW COULD I HAVE FORGOTTEN THIS GEM (ch 21)
"SWINGING YOUR COCK ABOUT" vel ily
anyway i just thought his rant here had an excellent rhythm to it