David H. Brown

David H. Brown (1957 - ) is a New Jersey native. He conducted twenty years of fieldwork in Cuba on the religions and arts of African origin, with comparative research in Brazil, Trinidad, and New Orleans. He began the study of the "reglas" of Osha and Ifa in New Jersey with priests, drummers, and babalawos. Having received his Ph.D. in American Studies from Yale University (1989), David taught African Diaspora arts at Emory University and the University of Texas at Austin, 1990-2000. In 1991, David received his "Warriors" and the "Hand of Orula" (Iwori Koso) in Havana from Hermes Valera Otura Sa, and on January 8, 2000, was crowned with Obatala Ayaguna by Zenaida Justiz Odomiguale. David owes a large debt to Mestre Joao Grande, Joao Oliveira dos Santos, of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, for fifteen years of training and character-building in Capoeira de Angola. "Santeria Enthroned" took ten years to bring out (1992-2002). T. David Brent, Executive Editor of the University of Chicago Press, now retired, was a constant supporter. With research completed on a second book by 2000, he wrote "The Light Inside": Abakua Arts and Cuban Cultural History" in 2002. David worked closely with three elders of the Eforitongo Efo lodge of Regla, Juan Gutierrez Bosa (Guango), Jesus Varona Puente (Jesus Nasako), and Perico Abasonga, as well as, the Museum of Regla. Field research for the third book had begun in 1986, a digest of which appeared as a part of Chapter 2 of Santeria Enthroned. David has just completed the manuscript for "Adeshina's Cuba: The Yoruba-Lucumi Priesthoods, 1830-1959," to be published in 2022. A commemoration of Cuba's Lucumi ancestors, it is a history of Babalawos and Orisha Priests and Priestesses that founded and advanced the Religion of the Yoruba on the island. A second new work, "Patakin: Orisha Stories from the Odu of Ifa" is a translation into English of 256 sacred narratives from the Yoruba-Lucumi Ifa divination corpus, a self-published book to appear in Spring 2022. David was awarded a number of grants and fellowships for his research and writing efforts: American Academy of Religion's Best Book in the Analytical-Descriptive Category for Santeria Enthroned (2004). Senior Research Fellow, Rutgers Center for Historical Analysis (RCHA, 1997-98). American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) Post Doctoral Fellowship (1994-95); Smithsonian Post-Doctoral Fellowship, Office of Folklife Programs (1990); Wenner Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research (1987). David ran the internet botanica and bookstore, Folkcuba.com, from 2000 to 2016. Folkcuba.com became AsheExpress, with an expanded bookstore specializing in dozens of translations he has done of notable Cuban treatises of Osha and Ifa. The treatises in English include Ogun, Oshosi, Odde, Osun, Inle, Asojuano, Orisha Oko, Obatala, Oya, Oshun, Yewa, Yemaya, Shango, Agayu, and the Ebo of Ifa. David has his Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT 200) certificate. He lives near the beautiful beaches of Asbury Park with two dogs, Preta and Phoebe. Books by David H. Brown discussed in this profile: Santeria Enthroned: Art, Ritual, and Innovation in an Afro-Cuban Religion, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003. "The Light Inside": Abakua Arts and Cuban Cultural History, Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 2003. Adeshina's Cuba: The Yoruba Lucumi Priesthoods, 1830-1959, in press April 2022. Patakin: Orisha Stories from the Odu of Ifa, Ocean, New Jersey, AsheExpress Publications, in press, May 2022.