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.-Amazon