Òrìşà devotion as world religion: The globalization of Yorùbá religious culture

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 Yorùba people of West Africa, the varied traditions that comprise Òrìsà devotion are today found in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Australia. The Tolerant Gods / Wole Soyinka -- Who Was The First To Speak? : Insights From Ifá Orature And Sculptural Repertoire / Rowland Abiodun -- In What Tongue? / Ọlásopé O. Oyèláràn -- Òrìṣà : A Prolegomenon To A Philosophy Of Yorùbá Religion / Olufemi Taiwo -- Associated Place-names And Sacred Icons Of Seven Yorùbá Deities / Cornelius O. Adepegba -- Twice-told Tales : Yorùbá Religious And Cultural Hegemony In Benin, Nigeria / Flora S. Kaplan -- Meta-cultural Processes And Ritual Realities In The Precolonial History Of The Lagos Region / Sandra T. Barnes -- The Pathways Of Ọ̀ṣun As Cultural Synergy / Diedre L. Badejo -- Religious Encounter In Southwestern Nigeria : The Domestication Of Islam Among The Yorùbá / H.o. Danmolé -- Yorùbá Moral Epistemology As The Basis For A Cross-cultural Ethics / Barry Hallen -- Yorùbá Religion And Globalization : Some Reflections / Olabiyi Babalola Yai -- Clearing New Paths Into An Old Forest : Aládurà Christianity In Europe / Afe Adogame -- Globalization And The Evolution Of Haitian Vodou / Laënnec Hurbon ; Translated By Terry Rey -- Historicizing Ifá Culture In Ọ̀yọ́túnjí African Village / Ikulomi Djisovi Eason -- Ritual Change And The Changing Canon : Divinatory Legitimization Of Yorùbá Ancestral Roots In Ọ̀yọ́túnjí African Village / Kamari Maxine Clarke -- The Dynamic Influence Of Cubans, Puerto Ricans, And African Americans In The Growth Of Ocha In New York City / Marta Moreno Vega -- From Cuban Santería To African Yorùbá : Evolutions In African American òrìṣà History, 1959-1970 / Tracey E. Hucks -- Santería In The Twenty-first Century / Mercedes Cros Sandoval -- La Santería : An Integrating, Mythological Worldview In A Disintegrating Society / Juan J. Sosa -- Myth, Memory, And History : Brazil's Sacred Music Of Shango / José Flávio Pessoa De Barros ; Translated By Maria P. Junqueira -- Yorùbá Sacred Songs In The New World / José Jorge De Carvalho -- Axexê Funeral Rites In Brazil's òrìṣà Religion : Constitution, Significance, And Tendencies / Reginaldo Prandi ; Translated By Maria P. Junqueira -- From Oral To Digital : Rethinking The Transmission Of Tradition In Yorùbá Religion / George Edward Brandon -- Òrìṣà Traditions And The Internet Diaspora / Joseph M. Murphy -- Gender, Politics, And Hybridism In The Transnationalization Of Yorùbá Culture / Rita Laura Segato ; Translated By Ernesto Ignacio De Carvalho -- Is There Gender In Yorùbá Culture? / J. Lorand Matory. Edited By Jacob K. Olupona And Terry Rey. Outgrowth Of A Conference Entitled From Local To Global : Rethinking Yorùbá Religion For The Next Millennium Which Was Held At Florida International University In Miami In 1999. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Orisa Devotion as World Religion Contents Acknowledgments Introduction (JACOB K. OLUPONA AND TERRY REY) Part One: Yoruba Religious Culture in Africa I. The Tolerant Gods (WOLE SOYINKA) Who Was the First to Speak? Insights from Ifá Orature and Sculptural Repertoire (ROWLAND ABIODUN) In What Tongue? (QOLASOPE O. OYELARAN) Orisa: A Prolegomenon to a Philosophy of Yoruba Religion (OLUFEMI TAIWO) Associated Place-Names and Sacred Icons of Seven Yoruba Deities (CORNELIUS O. ADEPEGBA) Twice-Told Tales: Yortba Religious and Cultural Hegemony in Benin, Nigeria (FLORA EDOUWAYE S. KAPLAN) 7. Meta-Cultural Processes and Ritual Realities in the Precolonial History of the Lagos Region (SANDRA T. BARNES) 8. The Pathways of Osun as Cultural Synergy (DIEDRE L. BADEJO) 9. Religious Encounter in Southwestern Nigeria: The Domestication of Islam among the Yoruba (H. O. DANMOLE) 10. Yoruba Moral Epistemology as the Basis for a Cross-Cultural Ethics (BARRY HALLEN) Part Two: Yoruba Religious Culture beyond Africa 11. Yoruba Religion and Globalization: Some Reflections (OLABIYI BABALOLA YAI) 12. Clearing New Paths into an Old Forest: Aladura Christianity in Europe (AFE ADOGAME) 13. Globalization and the Evolution of Haitian Vodou (LAENNEC HURBON, TRANSLATED BY TERRY REY) 14. Historicizing Ifá Culture in Òyótúnjí African Village (IKULOMI DJISOVI EASON) 15. Ritual Change and the Changing Canon: Divinatory Legitimization of Yortba Ancestral Roots in Oyotanji African Village (KAMARI MAXINE CLARKE) 16. The Dynamic Influence of Cubans, Puerto Ricans, and African Americans in the Growth of Ocha in New York City (MARTA MORENO VEGA) 17. From Cuban Santeria to African Yortba: Evolutions in African American Orisa History, 1959-1970 (TRACEY E. HUCKS) 18. Santeria in the Twenty-first Century (MERCEDES CROS SANDOVAL) 19, La Santeria: An Integrating, Mythological Worldview in a Disintegrating Society (JUAN J. SOSA) 20. Myth, Memory, and History: Brazil’s Sacred Music of Shango (JOSE FLAVIO PESSOA DE BARROS, TRANSLATED BY MARIA P. JUNQUEIRA) 21. Yoruba Sacred Songs in the New World (JOSE JORGE DE CARVALHO) 22. Axexé Funeral Rites in Brazil’s Orisa Religion: Constitution, Significance, and Tendencies (REGINALDO PRANDI, TRANSLATED BY MARIA P. JUNQUEIRA) 23. From Oral to Digital: Rethinking the Transmission of Tradition in Yoruba Religion (GEORGE EDWARD BRANDON) 24. Orisa Traditions and the Internet Diaspora (JOSEPH M. MURPHY) 25. Gender, Politics, and Hybridism in the Transnationalization of Yoruba Culture (RITA LAURA SEGATO, TRANSLATED BY ERNESTO IGNACIO DE CARVALHO) 26. Is There Gender in Yorúba Culture? (J. LORAND MATORY) Postscript (JOHN PEMBERTON III) Glossary Contributors Index As the twenty-first century begins, tens of millions of people participate in devotions to the spirits called rs. This book explores the emergence of rs devotion as a world religion, one of the most remarkable and compelling developments in the history of the human religious quest. Originating among the Yorb people of West Africa, the varied traditions that comprise rs 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, Yorb religious culture persisted, adapted, and even flourished in the Americas, especially in Brazil and Cuba, where it thrives as Candombl and Lukumi/Santera, 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. If divination in Nigeria, Candombl funerary chants in Brazil, the role of music in Yorb revivalism in the United States, gender and representational authority in Yorb religious culturethese are among the many subjects discussed here by experts from around the world. Approaching rs devotion from diverse vantage points, their collective effort makes this one of the most authoritative texts on Yorb religion and a groundbreaking book that heralds this rich, complex, and variegated tradition as one of the worlds great religions. 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 Yorùba people of West Africa, the varied traditions that comprise Òrìsà devotion are today found in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Australia. -- from publisher description As the twenty-first century begins, tens of millions of people participate in devotions to the spirits called Orisa. This book explores the emergence of Orisa devotion as a world religion, one of the most remarkable and compelling developments in the history of the human religious quest.