When I had in mind going to the art museum for my next campus involvement; I was thinking about arts masterpieces like paintings, and sculpture. But my ignorance led be mo believe that these were the only forms of arts that a museum shows.
In the entrance of the art museum in PC there was this big sign "Face of gods. Arts and Altars of Africa and the Africa Americas". When I entered I saw all kinds of altars, and shrines to gods that though some names sounded familiar other were completely unknown to me .The first question that came to my mind was "Is this art?" If I had wanted to see shrines I would have went to a church. Besides back in my country many people worship theses gods and had altars in their own homes. So it wasn't anything new to me. But as I kept going into the museum I had to change my mind, many of these shrines were a work of art, really beautiful. Maybe because I was used to see all these altars in Cuba were people don't have the resources to make them like the ones I just saw.
I"m very familiar with this practice, or religion whichever way you prefer to call it. The slaves, brought from Africa, performed it. These slave were mostly taken to the Caribbean Islands and some to Brazil, the only places were this religion is performed in America. At first only the descendants of slaves were allowed to practice it, but in the actuality is widely spread and anybody who wants to perform it is free to do it.
Most altars in the museum followed the same pattern: surrounded by candles, in the inside the image of the god which the shrine belonged to. The caps, capes, and the beaded necklace of the divinity and anything else that belongs to the god goes inside the altar, which sometimes resembled a little house. There was a specific shrine that called my attention "The Afro-Brazilian Altar to the Yoruba creator of god". This one was scary. Although I have seen lots of altars I have never seen one so descriptive and realistic.
