{"product_id":"backroads-to-bethlehem-william-smither-9781458221612","title":"Backroads to 'Bethlehem': Odysseys of the Maroon Warrior, in the Shadows of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade","description":"\u003cp\u003eIt is 1693, during the waning days of a militaristic, fugitive slave village in northeastern Brazil and the widening landscape of Maroon Wars in Jamaica. There exists a patchwork of shared morality and beliefs among the myriad mix of West African tribes and the indigenous peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn Colonial Brazil, the beliefs of various Taino Indian and West African blend, influenced by nearby Jesuit Orders such as the St. Raphael Mission. This contributes to the Maroon culture's interpretations of burial customs and visitations of \"shadow people\" or spiritual presences. Later, in Jamaica, as with ancient West African and Ashanti cultures, the silk cotton tree plays an important role in the village of Akrafena and the Casa Cadiz Plantation. From the Nine Night ceremony and beliefs in survival after death to roaming spirits of the dead, the tree-also called the Spirit Tree, God Tree, and Devil Tree-emits evil spells as well as spiritual inspiration for prevailing forces that drive the various Maroon characters and conflict.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eInspired by actual events, this novel offers a portrait of sustained and conscionable slave rebellion in Colonial Brazil and Jamaica at the cultural crossroads of myth and reality.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e William Smither\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 145822161X\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781458221612\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Abbott Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 02\/28\/2018\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 452\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.45lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 1.01d","brand":"William Smither","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":44756716257535,"sku":"9781458221612","price":28.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_f2ded74d-ad5b-425a-acc2-4c6291dff9cb.jpg?v=1706593675","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/backroads-to-bethlehem-william-smither-9781458221612","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}