God is Big but the Forest Is Bigger: The Serpent Spirits and Deities of Brazil with Jesse Hathaway Diaz

God is Big but the Forest Is Bigger: The Serpent Spirits and Deities of Brazil with Jesse Hathaway Diaz

Sunday 01/04 7pm Eastern - Livestreamed and recorded for later viewing

A part of the Serpentine Path class series

About the Class

Boitatá. Oxumare. Exu Sete Cobras. Caboclo Cobra Coral. Bessen. Maria das Cobras. Angorô. Mboiaçu. The forests of Brazil are rich ecosystems not only of the seen, but also the unseen. Arising out of the inheritance of the three Brazilian mother cultures–the Indigenous, the European, and the African– living traditions of serpent spirits and deities, encantados and guias, orixa and nkisi, Exus and Pombagiras, are a source of beauty and inspiration, magic and fear, cultural pride and religious worship.

Together we will explore the mythology, lore, songs, and spiritual practices around these and other Brazilian serpent beings,  showing the respect and awe afforded serpents seen and unseen in Brazilian culture. 

About Jesse Hathaway Diaz

Jesse Hathaway Diaz (he/him/they/them) is a folklorist, artist, performer and independent scholar with a Masters in Performance Studies from NYU. With initiations in several forms of witchcraft from Europe and the Americas, he is also a lifelong student of Mexican curanderismo, an initiated priest of Obatalá in the Lucumí Orisha tradition, and a Tatá Quimbanda. He co-hosts an occult themed podcast called ‘Radio Free Golgotha’, and edits the ‘Folk Necromancy in Transmission’ imprint through Revelore Press. For the better part of two decades, he has been involved with Theatre Group Dzieci, a New York based experimental theatre ensemble which explores theatre and ritual as a way, blending service with self-exploration and performance. Dividing his time between the Bronx and a farm in the Hudson Valley, his artistic and written work navigate the world-as-magic through exploring orality and transmission, decolonialism, ritual theory and praxis, herbalism and healing modalities through private study, apprenticeship, and community involvement. You can find his artistic and written work at www.jessehathawaydiaz.com and his wares at www.signthepact.com