The popular conception of voodoo includes drums in the night, pincushion dolls, and magical tales of zombies and ghouls. In scholarly contrast, Blier has examined vodun, which West African residents of Togo and Benin define as the forces of powers that govern the world and the lives of all who reside there, through an exhaustive analysis of bochio, the small wooden sculptures invested with a host of attributes and powers by their makers and owners. Amply illustrated and copiously footnooted, this study provides a fascinating view of a belief systems carried to the New World by West African slaves. Written as an art historical exploration of the bochio sculptures, this book will also be a valuable research base for readers interested in religion and cultural interchange between Africa and the Americas. For academic collections.