References in Of Love and Other Demons

Of Love and Other Demons
Study Notes and Questions

Afro-Caribbean References
Orishas--spirits that correspond with Catholic Saints; the saints are considered "masks" for the orishas
Supreme Trilogy
S/Chango--justice and strength, associated with Santa Barbara
Obatala--conveys the interrelationship of all things
Yemaya-Virgin de la Regla, also known as Virgin of Madrid. mother of all life and all the orishas.
Rules over the ocean; orisha of motherhood

Eleggua-messenger and gatekeeper, associated with St. Peter; orisha of cross roads, makes communication possible between humans and orishas, brings magic into to the realm of the possible. trickster figure

Mandingo--Mande, group of people of west africa whose various mande languages form a branch of the Niger Congo languages located in the savannah plateau of the Western Sudan

European and Spanish American References
Lettres Philosophiques-Voltaire's intellectual attack on religious institutions in France (1734).

Don Garcilaso de la Vega-Peruvian writer and historian and a Captain of the Spanish Army
(1560) Born in Cuzco in Peru, the son of a conquistador. Mother was an Incan princess, Huayna Capac

Vocabulary:
prebendaries-clerics's stipend drawn from revenues of the church
hyssop-a plant with spikes of small blue flowers and aromatic leaves
catafalque--a decorated platform on which a coffin rests
prelates- a high ranking ecclesiastic, as in a bishop
acolyte-an altar boy
diaphanous--letting much light through of fine texture as to be transparent or translucent
ephemeral--lasting for a short time, fleeting, evanescent
lunacy--insanity, utter folly

Study questions:

Account for the convergence of and conflict between Catholic and Yoruban beliefs
Discuss how Marquez's note lends authenticity to the narrative.
How does magical realism operate in the text?
How does the novel represent the Caribbean?
According to Jose Marti, what is the password, the key to the future in "Our America"?