Introduction Introducing Yemoja
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Introduction: Introducing Yemoja
1 2 3 4 5 Introduction 6 7 8 Introducing Yemoja 9 10 11 12 Solimar Otero and Toyin Falola 13 14 15 16 17 18 Mother I need 19 mother I need 20 mother I need your blackness now 21 as the august earth needs rain. 22 —Audre Lorde, “From the House of Yemanjá”1 23 24 “Yemayá es Reina Universal porque es el Agua, la salada y la dul- 25 ce, la Mar, la Madre de todo lo creado / Yemayá is the Universal 26 Queen because she is Water, salty and sweet, the Sea, the Mother 27 of all creation.” 28 —Oba Olo Ocha as quoted in Lydia Cabrera’s Yemayá y Ochún.2 29 30 31 In the above quotes, poet Audre Lorde and folklorist Lydia Cabrera 32 write about Yemoja as an eternal mother whose womb, like water, makes 33 life possible. They also relate in their works the shifting and fluid nature 34 of Yemoja and the divinity in her manifestations and in the lives of her 35 devotees. This book, Yemoja: Gender, Sexuality, and Creativity in the 36 Latina/o and Afro-Atlantic Diasporas, takes these words of supplica- 37 tion and praise as an entry point into an in-depth conversation about 38 the international Yoruba water deity Yemoja. Our work brings together 39 the voices of scholars, practitioners, and artists involved with the inter- 40 sectional religious and cultural practices involving Yemoja from Africa, 41 the Caribbean, North America, and South America. Our exploration 42 of Yemoja is unique because we consciously bridge theory, art, and 43 xvii SP_OTE_INT_xvii-xxxii.indd 17 7/9/13 5:13 PM xviii Solimar Otero and Toyin Falola 1 practice to discuss orisa worship3 within communities of color living in 2 postcolonial contexts. -
Yemayá Y Ochún
1 2 Chapter 3 3 4 5 Yemayá y Ochún 6 7 8 Queering the Vernacular Logics of the Waters 9 10 11 12 Solimar Otero 13 14 15 16 17 18 Sería imposible al hablar de Yemayá en la Isla de Cuba, silenciar y 19 menos separar de ella, a la popularísima Ochún, con quien comparte 20 el dominio de las aguas. 21 It would be impossible to talk about Yemayá in the island of Cuba 22 by silencing and separating her from the popular Ochún, with whom 23 she shares dominion over the waters. 24 —Lydia Cabrera, Yemayá y Ochún.1 25 26 27 Lydia Cabrera’s El Monte (1954) is one of the queerest books ever 28 written by a Cuban author. 29 30 —José Quiroga, Tropics of Desire.2 31 32 33 The above quotes by Cabrera and Quiroga serve as useful points of entry 34 to consider the queer nature of the performance of spiritual identities in 35 the contexts of Afro-Cuban religious cultures. They relate how repre- 36 sentations of Afro-Cuban religion can occur in contexts where the order 37 of the binary is subverted by their performance. In this piece, I want 38 to use fieldwork done with practitioners of Santería to investigate how 39 vernacular discourses about gender, embodiment, and the past reorder 40 these very categories. In the same vein, I want to reread Lydia Cabrera’s 41 work Yemayá y Ochún: Kariocha, Iyalorichas y Olorichas in a queer man- 42 43 85 SP_OTE_Ch03_085-112.indd 85 7/9/13 5:14 PM 86 Solimar Otero 1 ner that will also open up these categories to broader interpretations.3 2 As Cabrera merges ethnography with fiction and reported speech within 3 a form of play that troubles the authorial voice, her writing is an invita- 4 tion to question how we think about what we know about Afro-Cuban 5 religious culture. -
Yoruba Art & Culture
Yoruba Art & Culture Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology University of California, Berkeley Yoruba Art and Culture PHOEBE A. HEARST MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY Written and Designed by Nicole Mullen Editors Liberty Marie Winn Ira Jacknis Special thanks to Tokunbo Adeniji Aare, Oduduwa Heritage Organization. COPYRIGHT © 2004 PHOEBE A. HEARST MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY AND THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PHOEBE A. HEARST MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY ◆ UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT BERKELEY BERKELEY, CA 94720-3712 ◆ 510-642-3682 ◆ HTTP://HEARSTMUSEUM.BERKELEY.EDU Table of Contents Vocabulary....................4 Western Spellings and Pronunciation of Yoruba Words....................5 Africa....................6 Nigeria....................7 Political Structure and Economy....................8 The Yoruba....................9, 10 Yoruba Kingdoms....................11 The Story of How the Yoruba Kingdoms Were Created....................12 The Colonization and Independence of Nigeria....................13 Food, Agriculture and Trade....................14 Sculpture....................15 Pottery....................16 Leather and Beadwork....................17 Blacksmiths and Calabash Carvers....................18 Woodcarving....................19 Textiles....................20 Religious Beliefs....................21, 23 Creation Myth....................22 Ifa Divination....................24, 25 Music and Dance....................26 Gelede Festivals and Egugun Ceremonies....................27 Yoruba Diaspora....................28 -
Reglas De Congo: Palo Monte Mayombe) a Book by Lydia Cabrera an English Translation from the Spanish
THE KONGO RULE: THE PALO MONTE MAYOMBE WISDOM SOCIETY (REGLAS DE CONGO: PALO MONTE MAYOMBE) A BOOK BY LYDIA CABRERA AN ENGLISH TRANSLATION FROM THE SPANISH Donato Fhunsu A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of English and Comparative Literature (Comparative Literature). Chapel Hill 2016 Approved by: Inger S. B. Brodey Todd Ramón Ochoa Marsha S. Collins Tanya L. Shields Madeline G. Levine © 2016 Donato Fhunsu ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT Donato Fhunsu: The Kongo Rule: The Palo Monte Mayombe Wisdom Society (Reglas de Congo: Palo Monte Mayombe) A Book by Lydia Cabrera An English Translation from the Spanish (Under the direction of Inger S. B. Brodey and Todd Ramón Ochoa) This dissertation is a critical analysis and annotated translation, from Spanish into English, of the book Reglas de Congo: Palo Monte Mayombe, by the Cuban anthropologist, artist, and writer Lydia Cabrera (1899-1991). Cabrera’s text is a hybrid ethnographic book of religion, slave narratives (oral history), and folklore (songs, poetry) that she devoted to a group of Afro-Cubans known as “los Congos de Cuba,” descendants of the Africans who were brought to the Caribbean island of Cuba during the trans-Atlantic Ocean African slave trade from the former Kongo Kingdom, which occupied the present-day southwestern part of Congo-Kinshasa, Congo-Brazzaville, Cabinda, and northern Angola. The Kongo Kingdom had formal contact with Christianity through the Kingdom of Portugal as early as the 1490s. -
The House of Oduduwa: an Archaeological Study of Economy and Kingship in the Savè Hills of West Africa
The House of Oduduwa: An Archaeological Study of Economy and Kingship in the Savè Hills of West Africa by Andrew W. Gurstelle A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Anthropology) in the University of Michigan 2015 Doctoral Committee: Professor Carla M. Sinopoli, Chair Professor Joyce Marcus Professor Raymond A. Silverman Professor Henry T. Wright © Andrew W. Gurstelle 2015 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I must first and foremost acknowledge the people of the Savè hills that contributed their time, knowledge, and energies. Completing this dissertation would not have been possible without their support. In particular, I wish to thank Ọba Adétùtú Onishabe, Oyedekpo II Ọla- Amùṣù, and the many balè,̣ balé, and balọdè ̣that welcomed us to their communities and facilitated our research. I also thank the many land owners that allowed us access to archaeological sites, and the farmers, herders, hunters, fishers, traders, and historians that spoke with us and answered our questions about the Savè hills landscape and the past. This dissertion was truly an effort of the entire community. It is difficult to express the depth of my gratitude for my Béninese collaborators. Simon Agani was with me every step of the way. His passion for Shabe history inspired me, and I am happy to have provided the research support for him to finish his research. Nestor Labiyi provided support during crucial periods of excavation. As with Simon, I am very happy that our research interests complemented and reinforced one another’s. Working with Travis Williams provided a fresh perspective on field methods and strategies when it was needed most. -
A Walk Through the Gallery 5
A WALK THROUGH THE GALLERY MARGARET PLASS The new African Gallery has been designed to exhibit, simply and honestly, a selection of sculptures from our permanent collections. Proudly we present them as works of art; where possible they are arranged in tribal groups for convenience and comparative study. They are labeled briefly and clearly. Here are the materials from which our visitors may form a just view of the special characteristics and merits of Negro art. For more than half a century our Museum has been enriched by acces- sions of African sculpture, mainly by purchase and partly by gifts, to the end that our permanent collections are the largest and most varied in style in America. The following descriptive notes are not to be construed as an attempt at a catalogue of the exhibition; the serious student may have access to fully documented formal catalogues should he apply to the Museum staff. In Dr. Coon's introduction he has given us the anthropological and ethno- grapbical background of the people who produced this art, working within the framework of their tribal traditions. Here in this book, with their photographs, are small synopses of what we know of these sculptures, and what we guess. We all have conscious, and sometimes unconscious, difficulty in understanding such works of art; the philosophical barrier that lies in the way of full appreciation is almost too difficult to hurdle. Many writers have tried to explain the magico-religious significance, the strength and directness of African art; few have succeeded. Perhaps these notes are mere hints and suggestions, but we hope that they may sometimes be stimulating as well as factual. -
African Concepts of Energy and Their Manifestations Through Art
AFRICAN CONCEPTS OF ENERGY AND THEIR MANIFESTATIONS THROUGH ART A thesis submitted to the College of the Arts of Kent State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts by Renée B. Waite August, 2016 Thesis written by Renée B. Waite B.A., Ohio University, 2012 M.A., Kent State University, 2016 Approved by ____________________________________________________ Fred Smith, Ph.D., Advisor ____________________________________________________ Michael Loderstedt, M.F.A., Interim Director, School of Art ____________________________________________________ John R. Crawford-Spinelli, D.Ed., Dean, College of the Arts TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES………………………………………….. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS …………………………………… vi CHAPTERS I. Introduction ………………………………………………… 1 II. Terms and Art ……………………………………………... 4 III. Myths of Origin …………………………………………. 11 IV. Social Structure …………………………………………. 20 V. Divination Arts …………………………………………... 30 VI. Women as Vessels of Energy …………………………… 42 VII. Conclusion ……………………………………….…...... 56 VIII. Images ………………………………………………… 60 IX. Bibliography …………………………………………….. 84 X. Further Reading ………………………………………….. 86 iii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Porogun Quarter, Ijebu-Ode, Nigeria, 1992, Photograph by John Pemberton III http://africa.si.edu/exhibits/cosmos/models.html. ……………………………………… 60 Figure 2: Yoruba Ifa Divination Tapper (Iroke Ifa) Nigeria; Ivory. 12in, Baltimore Museum of Art http://www.artbma.org/. ……………………………………………… 61 Figure 3.; Yoruba Opon Ifa (Divination Tray), Nigerian; carved wood 3/4 x 12 7/8 x 16 in. Smith College Museum of Art, http://www.smith.edu/artmuseum/. ………………….. 62 Figure 4. Ifa Divination Vessel; Female Caryatid (Agere Ifa); Ivory, wood or coconut shell inlay. Nigeria, Guinea Coast The Metropolitan Museum of Art, http://www.metmuseum.org. ……………………… 63 Figure 5. Beaded Crown of a Yoruba King. Nigerian; L.15 (crown), L.15 (fringe) in. -
Orisha Journeys: the Role of Travel in the Birth of Yorùbá-Atlantic Religions 1
Arch. de Sc. soc. des Rel., 2002, 117 (janvier-mars) 17-36 Peter F. COHEN ORISHA JOURNEYS: THE ROLE OF TRAVEL IN THE BIRTH OF YORÙBÁ-ATLANTIC RELIGIONS 1 Introduction 2 In recent years the array of Orisha 3 traditions associated withtheYorùbá- speaking peoples of West Africa has largely broken free of the category of “Afri- can traditional religion” and begun to gain recognition as a nascent world religion in its own right. While Orisha religions are today both trans-national and pan-eth- nic, they are nonetheless the historical precipitate of the actions and interactions of particular individuals. At their human epicenter are the hundreds of thousands of Yorùbá-speaking people who left their country during the first half of the 19th cen- tury in one of the most brutal processes of insertion into the world economy under- gone by any people anywhere; the Atlantic slave trade. While the journey of the Middle Passage is well known, other journeys under- taken freely by Africans during the period of the slave trade – in a variety of direc- tions, for a multiplicity of reasons, often at great expense, and sometimes at great personal risk – are less so. These voyages culminated in a veritable transmigration involving thousands of Yorùbá-speaking people and several points on both sides of 1 Paper presented at the 1999 meeting of the Société Internationale de la Sociologie des Religions. This article was originally prepared in 1999. Since then, an impressive amount of literature has been published on the subject, which only serves to strengthen our case. A great deal of new of theoretical work on the African Diaspora in terms of trans-national networks and mutual exchanges has not so much challenged our arguments as diminished their novelty. -
The Role of Sculptures in Yoruba Egungun Masquerade Author(S): R
The Role of Sculptures in Yoruba Egungun Masquerade Author(s): R. O. Rom Kalilu Source: Journal of Black Studies, Vol. 22, No. 1, African Aesthetics in Nigeria and the Diaspora (Sep., 1991), pp. 15-29 Published by: Sage Publications, Inc. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2784494 Accessed: 27-10-2016 14:30 UTC JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://about.jstor.org/terms Sage Publications, Inc. is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Journal of Black Studies This content downloaded from 141.213.142.215 on Thu, 27 Oct 2016 14:30:22 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms THE ROLE OF SCULPTURES IN YORUBA EGUNGUN MASQUERADE R. 0. ROM KALILU St. Andrew's College of Education A vast body of literature already exists on African sculpture, largely because of the more than century-old fascination it has held for the Western world, which pioneered the study of African arts. The contents of this literature, however, have generated a lot of controversy. Appreciation of the functions of the sculptures has suffered because the initial criticism has largely been done by writers unfamiliar with African cultures. -
Art in Ancient Ife, Birthplace of the Yoruba
Art in Ancient Ife, Birthplace of the Yoruba Suzanne Preston Blier rtists the world over shape knowledge and ancient works alongside diverse evidence on this center’s past material into works of unique historical and the time frame specific to when these sculptures were made. importance. The artists of ancient Ife, ances- In this way I bring art and history into direct engagement with tral home to the Yoruba and mythic birthplace each other, enriching both within this process. of gods and humans, clearly were interested in One of the most important events in ancient Ife history with creating works that could be read. Breaking respect to both the early arts and later era religious and political the symbolic code that lies behind the unique meanings of Ife’s traditions here was a devastating civil war pitting one group, the Aancient sculptures, however, has vexed scholars working on this supporters of Obatala (referencing today at once a god, a deity material for over a century. While much remains to be learned, pantheon, and the region’s autochthonous populations) against thanks to a better understanding of the larger corpus of ancient affiliates of Odudua (an opposing deity, religious pantheon, Ife arts and the history of this important southwestern Nigerian and newly arriving dynastic group). The Ikedu oral history text center, key aspects of this code can now be discerned. In this addressing Ife’s history (an annotated kings list transposed from article I explore how these arts both inform and are enriched by the early Ife dialect; Akinjogbin n.d.) indicates that it was during early Ife history and the leaders who shaped it.1 In addition to the reign of Ife’s 46th king—what appears to be two rulers prior core questions of art iconography and symbolism, I also address to the famous King Obalufon II (Ekenwa? Fig. -
"Atotô Obalua Yê Ajuberu"
SAMUEL ABRANTES "ATOTÔ OBALUAYÊ AJUBERU" UM OLHAR SEMIOLÓGICO SOBRE A INDUMENTÁRIA DE OBALUAYÊ. DISSERTAÇÃO DE MESTRADO EM HISTÓRIA DA ARTE . ORIENTADOR: PROF. Dr. FREDERICO AUGUSTO L. DE GÓES . UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DO RIO DE JANEIRO CENTRO DE LETRAS E ARTES ESCOLA DE BELAS ARTES RIO DE JANEIRO 1996 ABRANTES, Samuel Sampaio ATOTÔ, Obaluayê Ajuberu. Um olhar semiológico sobre a indumentária de Obaluayê Rio de Janeiro, UFRJ, EBA, 1996. IX, (222 F) Dissertação: Mestrado em História da Arte (Antropologia da Arte) 1 - A arte de vestir o santo 2 - Os signos contidos na Indumentária do Orixá Obaluayê 3 - Cantigas para Obaluayê 4 - A tradição do Candomblé de Ketu na Bahia e no Rio de Janeiro. 1 - Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro Orientador: Prof. Dr. Frederico Augusto L. de Góes li - Título III Samuel Sampaio Abrantes ATOTÔ OBALUAYÊ AJUBERU Um olhar semiológico sobre a indumentária de Obaluayê Dissertação submetida à Banca Examinadora da Escola de Belas Artes da Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, como parte dos requisitos necessários à obtenção do Grau do Mestre. Universidade Federal rof8. Dr8 Liana Silveira Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro j�ProfB.Dr8��AJ�Virginia de Almeida· {U!_ Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina Rio de Janeiro 1996 IV Ao meu pai V AGRADECIMENTOS - Ao Prof. Frederico Augusto L. de Góes, o estímulo primeiro, a orientação e a liberdade de pesquisa; - A Prof& Liana Silveira, o exemplo e a iniciação do olhar Antropológico sobre a cultura afro-brasileira; - A Prof& Teresa Virgínia de Almeida, o apoio de todas as horas e a capacidade de vislumbrar a temporalidade do tema e da pesquisa; - Ao Corpo Docente do Mestrado da UFRJ, em especial às professoras Helenise Guimarães, Sonia Gomes Pereira, Ana Maria Alencar e ao Prof. -
Philosophical Rumination on Gelede: an Ultra-Spectacle Performance
CULTURA CULTURA INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHILOSOPHY OF CULTURE CULTURA AND AXIOLOGY Founded in 2004, Cultura. International Journal of Philosophy of 2016 Culture and Axiology is a semiannual peer-reviewed journal devo- 2 2016 Vol XIII No 2 ted to philosophy of culture and the study of value. It aims to pro- mote the exploration of different values and cultural phenomena in regional and international contexts. The editorial board encourages the submission of manuscripts based on original research that are judged to make a novel and important contribution to understan- ding the values and cultural phenomena in the contempo rary world. CULTURE AND AXIOLOGY CULTURE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHILOSOPHY INTERNATIONAL ISBN 978-3-631-71562-8 www.peterlang.com CULTURA 2016_271562_VOL_13_No2_GR_A5Br.indd 1 14.11.16 KW 46 10:45 CULTURA CULTURA INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHILOSOPHY OF CULTURE CULTURA AND AXIOLOGY Founded in 2004, Cultura. International Journal of Philosophy of 2016 Culture and Axiology is a semiannual peer-reviewed journal devo- 2 2016 Vol XIII No 2 ted to philosophy of culture and the study of value. It aims to pro- mote the exploration of different values and cultural phenomena in regional and international contexts. The editorial board encourages the submission of manuscripts based on original research that are judged to make a novel and important contribution to understan- ding the values and cultural phenomena in the contempo rary world. CULTURE AND AXIOLOGY CULTURE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHILOSOPHY INTERNATIONAL www.peterlang.com CULTURA 2016_271562_VOL_13_No2_GR_A5Br.indd 1 14.11.16 KW 46 10:45 CULTURA INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHILOSOPHY OF CULTURE AND AXIOLOGY Cultura.