Òrìsà Devotion as World Religion: The Globalization of Yorùbá Religious Culture
edited by Jacob K. Olupona and Terry Rey
University of Wisconsin Press, 2008 Paper: 978-0-299-22464-6 | Cloth: 978-0-299-22460-8 Library of Congress Classification BL2480.Y6O755 2008 Dewey Decimal Classification 299.68333
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | TOC | REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE
ABOUT THIS BOOK
As the twenty-first century begins, tens of millions of people participate in devotions to the spirits called Òrìsà. This book explores the emergence of Òrìsà devotion as a world religion, one of the most remarkable and compelling developments in the history of the human religious quest. Originating among the Yorùbá people of West Africa, the varied traditions that comprise Òrìsà devotion are today found in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Australia.
The African spirit proved remarkably resilient in the face of the transatlantic slave trade, inspiring the perseverance of African religion wherever its adherents settled in the New World. Among the most significant manifestations of this spirit, Yorùbá religious culture persisted, adapted, and even flourished in the Americas, especially in Brazil and Cuba, where it thrives as Candomblé and Lukumi/Santería, respectively. After the end of slavery in the Americas, the free migrations of Latin American and African practitioners has further spread the religion to places like New York City and Miami. Thousands of African Americans have turned to the religion of their ancestors, as have many other spiritual seekers who are not themselves of African descent.
Ifá divination in Nigeria, Candomblé funerary chants in Brazil, the role of music in Yorùbá revivalism in the United States, gender and representational authority in Yorùbá religious culture—these are among the many subjects discussed here by experts from around the world. Approaching Òrìsà devotion from diverse vantage points, their collective effort makes this one of the most authoritative texts on Yorùbá religion and a groundbreaking book that heralds this rich, complex, and variegated tradition as one of the world’s great religions.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Jacob K. Olupona is professor of African religious traditions at Harvard Divinity School and professor of African and African American studies in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University. He is the author and editor of many books, including African Spirituality, Beyond Primitivism, and African Traditional Religions in Contemporary Society. Terry Rey is associate professor of religion at Temple University. He is the author of Our Lady of Class Struggle: The Cult of the Virgin Mary in Haiti and Bourdieu on Religion.
REVIEWS
“Shaped by the transatlantic slave trade, Christianity, Islam, colonialism, and, now, globalization, Yorùbá religious culture remains dynamic and inspirational. This volume goes beyond the usual tendency in Diaspora studies to focus on cultural retention. It is a significant contribution.”— Mojúbàolú Olúfúnké Okome, Brooklyn College, City University of New York
“Contributes to a deeper and more sympathetic understanding of Yorùbá culture and religion and will be the definitive text for students, teachers, and practitioners of Òrìsà tradition for a long time.”—Akintunde E. Akinade, High Point University, North Carolina
“The editors have assembled contributions from great minds […] Highly recommended.”—Choice
TABLE OF CONTENTS
<new recto>
Contents
Acknowledgments 000
Introduction 000
Jacob K. Olupona and Terry Rey
Part One: Yorùb Religious Culture in Africa
1. "The Tolerant Gods" 000
Wole Soyinka
2. "Who Was The First To Speak?" 000
Rowland Abiodun
3. "In What Tongue?" 000
Oyesope Oyelaran
4. "Orì?à: Prolegomenon to a Yorùb Philosophy of Religion 000
Oyafemi Taiwo
5. "Associated Places and Objects of Yorùb Deities" 000
Cornelius Adepegba
6. Yorùb Twice Told Tales: Yorùb Religious Benin 000
Flora Edouwaye S. Kaplan
7. "Meta-Cultural Processes Pre-Colonial Lagos" 000
Sandra Barnes
8. "Pathways of ??un as Cultural Synergy" 000
Diedre Badejo
9. Religious Encounter Domestication of Islam 000
H. O. Danmolé
10. "Yorùb Moral Epistemology" 000
Barry Hallen
Part Two: Yorùb Religious Culture Beyond Africa
11. Yorùb Religion and Globalization 000
Olabiyi Yai
12. New Paths Old Forest: Aladura Churches in Europe 000
Afe Adogame
13. Globalization and Haitian Vodou 000
Laënnec Hurbon
14. Historicizing If Culture: ?y?túnjí African Village 000
Ikulomi Djisovi Eason
15. Ritual Change and the Changing Canon: Divinatory Legitimization of Yorùb Ancestral Roots in ?y?túnjí African Village 000
Kamari Maxine Clarke
16. The Dynamic Influence of Cubans, Puerto Ricans, and African Americans in the Growth of Ocha in New York City 000
Marta Moreno Vega
17. Cuban Santería and African American Yorùb Orisha History, 1959-1970 000
Tracey E. Hucks
18. Santería in the Twenty-First Century 000
Mercedes Cros Sandoval
19. La Santería: An Integrating Mythological Worldview in a Disintegrating Society 000
Juan J. Sosa
20. Myth, Memory, and History: Brazil's Sacred Music of Shango 000
José Fl vio Pessoa de Barros
21. Yorùb Sacred Songs in the New World 000
José Jorge de Carvalho
22. Axexê Funeral Rites in Brazil's "rì?à Religion: Constitution, Significance, and Tendencies 000
Reginaldo Prandi
23. From Oral to Digital: Rethinking the Transmission of Tradition in Yorùb Religion 000
George Brandon
24. "rì?à Traditions and the Internet Diaspora 000
Joseph M. Murphy
25. Gender, Politics, and Hybridism in the Transnationalization of Yorùb Culture 000
Rita Laura Segato
26. Is there Gender in Yorùb Culture? Oyewumi vs. Matory 000
J. Lorand Matory
Postscript 000
John Pemberton III
Glossary of Terms 000
Contributors 000
Index 000
REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE
If you are a student who cannot use this book in printed form, BiblioVault may be able to supply you
with an electronic file for alternative access.
Please have the accessibility coordinator at your school fill out this form.
Òrìsà Devotion as World Religion: The Globalization of Yorùbá Religious Culture
edited by Jacob K. Olupona and Terry Rey
University of Wisconsin Press, 2008 Paper: 978-0-299-22464-6 Cloth: 978-0-299-22460-8
As the twenty-first century begins, tens of millions of people participate in devotions to the spirits called Òrìsà. This book explores the emergence of Òrìsà devotion as a world religion, one of the most remarkable and compelling developments in the history of the human religious quest. Originating among the Yorùbá people of West Africa, the varied traditions that comprise Òrìsà devotion are today found in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Australia.
The African spirit proved remarkably resilient in the face of the transatlantic slave trade, inspiring the perseverance of African religion wherever its adherents settled in the New World. Among the most significant manifestations of this spirit, Yorùbá religious culture persisted, adapted, and even flourished in the Americas, especially in Brazil and Cuba, where it thrives as Candomblé and Lukumi/Santería, respectively. After the end of slavery in the Americas, the free migrations of Latin American and African practitioners has further spread the religion to places like New York City and Miami. Thousands of African Americans have turned to the religion of their ancestors, as have many other spiritual seekers who are not themselves of African descent.
Ifá divination in Nigeria, Candomblé funerary chants in Brazil, the role of music in Yorùbá revivalism in the United States, gender and representational authority in Yorùbá religious culture—these are among the many subjects discussed here by experts from around the world. Approaching Òrìsà devotion from diverse vantage points, their collective effort makes this one of the most authoritative texts on Yorùbá religion and a groundbreaking book that heralds this rich, complex, and variegated tradition as one of the world’s great religions.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Jacob K. Olupona is professor of African religious traditions at Harvard Divinity School and professor of African and African American studies in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University. He is the author and editor of many books, including African Spirituality, Beyond Primitivism, and African Traditional Religions in Contemporary Society. Terry Rey is associate professor of religion at Temple University. He is the author of Our Lady of Class Struggle: The Cult of the Virgin Mary in Haiti and Bourdieu on Religion.
REVIEWS
“Shaped by the transatlantic slave trade, Christianity, Islam, colonialism, and, now, globalization, Yorùbá religious culture remains dynamic and inspirational. This volume goes beyond the usual tendency in Diaspora studies to focus on cultural retention. It is a significant contribution.”— Mojúbàolú Olúfúnké Okome, Brooklyn College, City University of New York
“Contributes to a deeper and more sympathetic understanding of Yorùbá culture and religion and will be the definitive text for students, teachers, and practitioners of Òrìsà tradition for a long time.”—Akintunde E. Akinade, High Point University, North Carolina
“The editors have assembled contributions from great minds […] Highly recommended.”—Choice
TABLE OF CONTENTS
<new recto>
Contents
Acknowledgments 000
Introduction 000
Jacob K. Olupona and Terry Rey
Part One: Yorùb Religious Culture in Africa
1. "The Tolerant Gods" 000
Wole Soyinka
2. "Who Was The First To Speak?" 000
Rowland Abiodun
3. "In What Tongue?" 000
Oyesope Oyelaran
4. "Orì?à: Prolegomenon to a Yorùb Philosophy of Religion 000
Oyafemi Taiwo
5. "Associated Places and Objects of Yorùb Deities" 000
Cornelius Adepegba
6. Yorùb Twice Told Tales: Yorùb Religious Benin 000
Flora Edouwaye S. Kaplan
7. "Meta-Cultural Processes Pre-Colonial Lagos" 000
Sandra Barnes
8. "Pathways of ??un as Cultural Synergy" 000
Diedre Badejo
9. Religious Encounter Domestication of Islam 000
H. O. Danmolé
10. "Yorùb Moral Epistemology" 000
Barry Hallen
Part Two: Yorùb Religious Culture Beyond Africa
11. Yorùb Religion and Globalization 000
Olabiyi Yai
12. New Paths Old Forest: Aladura Churches in Europe 000
Afe Adogame
13. Globalization and Haitian Vodou 000
Laënnec Hurbon
14. Historicizing If Culture: ?y?túnjí African Village 000
Ikulomi Djisovi Eason
15. Ritual Change and the Changing Canon: Divinatory Legitimization of Yorùb Ancestral Roots in ?y?túnjí African Village 000
Kamari Maxine Clarke
16. The Dynamic Influence of Cubans, Puerto Ricans, and African Americans in the Growth of Ocha in New York City 000
Marta Moreno Vega
17. Cuban Santería and African American Yorùb Orisha History, 1959-1970 000
Tracey E. Hucks
18. Santería in the Twenty-First Century 000
Mercedes Cros Sandoval
19. La Santería: An Integrating Mythological Worldview in a Disintegrating Society 000
Juan J. Sosa
20. Myth, Memory, and History: Brazil's Sacred Music of Shango 000
José Fl vio Pessoa de Barros
21. Yorùb Sacred Songs in the New World 000
José Jorge de Carvalho
22. Axexê Funeral Rites in Brazil's "rì?à Religion: Constitution, Significance, and Tendencies 000
Reginaldo Prandi
23. From Oral to Digital: Rethinking the Transmission of Tradition in Yorùb Religion 000
George Brandon
24. "rì?à Traditions and the Internet Diaspora 000
Joseph M. Murphy
25. Gender, Politics, and Hybridism in the Transnationalization of Yorùb Culture 000
Rita Laura Segato
26. Is there Gender in Yorùb Culture? Oyewumi vs. Matory 000
J. Lorand Matory
Postscript 000
John Pemberton III
Glossary of Terms 000
Contributors 000
Index 000
REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE
If you are a student who cannot use this book in printed form, BiblioVault may be able to supply you
with an electronic file for alternative access.
Please have the accessibility coordinator at your school fill out this form.
It can take 2-3 weeks for requests to be filled.
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | TOC | REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE