The Òṣogbo Connection: Transnational Identities, Modernity and World View of Yoruba Americans in Sheldon, South Carolina and Alachua County, Florida
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THE ÒṢOGBO CONNECTION: TRANSNATIONAL IDENTITIES, MODERNITY AND WORLD VIEW OF YORUBA AMERICANS IN SHELDON, SOUTH CAROLINA AND ALACHUA COUNTY, FLORIDA By AJANI ADE OFUNNIYIN A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2008 1 © 2008 Ajani Ade Ofunniyin 2 To My Mother Frances Elizabeth Porsche and My daughters, Nzinga, Bababi, Abeni, and Olabisi and Dr. Jacqueline Peterson 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Firstly, I would like to thank God and the spirits of my ancestors for all of the blessings that have been bestowed upon me in my lifetime and through this process. I thank my family for their continued love, support, and encouragement. I thank Dr. Allan Burns, Department of Anthropology University of Florida for recognizing my commitment to what turned out to be an arduous task and for his willingness to serve as my advisor and Chair of my committee. He was always available for discussions and encouragement. I thank Dr. Robin Poynor, University of Florida Department of Art, for giving my academic interest direction and focus and for partnering with me on many memorable projects. While Dr. Poynor did not chair my dissertation committee, he was the member that I interacted with the most on several projects and who shared my interest in Yoruba communities in Florida and Sheldon, South Carolina. I also thank my committee members whose editorial recommendations and suggestions challenged me to make this a better dissertation: Dr. Faye Harrison, Anthropology Department, University of Florida and Dr. Vicki Rovine, Department of Art History, University of Florida. My attendance and research at the University of Florida would not have been possible without the funding that I received from the Center for African Studies (FLAS Fellowships), under the leadership of Dr. Michael Chege and Leo Villianon, Florida Education Fund (FEF) McKnight Fellowship, the University of Florida Graduate School Gwendolyn Auzenne Fellowship, and a Fulbright-Hayes GPA fellowship. I thank the leadership and staff at these funding sources for their generous support of my graduate studies and field work. I am deeply grateful to the communities in which I conducted my field research. I offer a special thank you to Ifáyemí Elebuibon and his family in Ọ̀sogbo, Nigeria and to the Adediran family in Ilé-Ife, Nigeria, for their warm hospitality and generosity. I also would like to thank my family and friends in Ọyọ́túnjí African Village and in Alachua County Florida. Finally, I would 4 like to thank Yomi Yomi Awolowo, Dr. Kamari M. Clarke, Yale University and Dr. Robert Hall, Northeastern University, for encouraging me to return to graduate school for a Ph.D. 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.............................................................................................................4 GLOSSARY ..................................................................................................................................13 ABSTRACT...................................................................................................................................18 CHAPTER 1 THE RE- INVENTION OF CULTURAL NATIONALISM.................................................22 Research Purpose/Objective ...................................................................................................24 The Connector ........................................................................................................................26 The Network ...........................................................................................................................30 Self as Meaning and Self as a Site for Exploration ................................................................39 Santeria in Harlem ..................................................................................................................40 First Nigerian Experience.......................................................................................................51 Methodology and a Model for Examining Ifá/Òrìsà-Voodoo/Santeria Practices and Conducting Visual Ethnographic Research ........................................................................56 Ethnographic Bridges .............................................................................................................57 Front-Door Ethnography ........................................................................................................61 Historical Overview................................................................................................................66 2 MAGIC, IMAGINATION, AND MYTHOLOGY ................................................................72 Ọyọ́túnjí African Village and Òrìsà-Vodoo in the USA ........................................................72 Recasting Worshipping Practices ...........................................................................................77 Growth and Conflict ...............................................................................................................81 Òrìsà Conferences: Sites for the Shaping and Renewal of Collective Memory....................83 3 CULTURAL PLURALISMS AND PARAMETERS..........................................................109 African Religion and the Media ...........................................................................................109 Locating Visual Documentation...........................................................................................110 Elitism vs. Nationalism: Who Determines Traditions? ........................................................113 Three Ìyàwós Pilgrimage, Rituals, and Kismetics................................................................115 A Lucumi initiation...............................................................................................................131 4 SACRED MILIEUS, TIME, AND INTERVENTION ........................................................150 Spirituality vs. Religiosity ....................................................................................................150 Òṣogbo Revisited: A Life with the Gods .............................................................................159 A Life with the Gods ............................................................................................................171 Connections ..........................................................................................................................177 Diviner’s Training ................................................................................................................180 Additional Connections ........................................................................................................181 6 The King’s Demise...............................................................................................................184 Ká Wọ̀ Kábíyèsí: the Making of Ṣàngó ................................................................................186 Day 1 of Ṣàngó Initiation......................................................................................................189 Day 2 of Ṣàngó Initiation......................................................................................................199 Day 3 of Ṣàngó Initiation......................................................................................................205 Epilogue: Archiving the Sacred through Intervention..........................................................254 BIBLIOGRAPHY........................................................................................................................263 SELECTED FILMOGRAPHY....................................................................................................276 SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY ....................................................................................................277 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH .......................................................................................................281 7 LIST OF FIGURES Figure page 1-1 Billboard advertising cell phones.......................................................................................70 1-2 Cell Tell retail outlet for cell phones and SIM cards, Òṣogbo ..........................................70 1-3 Nigerian Scam letter Sample .............................................................................................71 2-1 The Old Ọyọ́túnjí African Village Roadside Sign ............................................................88 2-2 The New Ọyọ́túnjí African Village Roadside Sign ..........................................................88 2-3 Raising Village Flag .........................................................................................................89 2-4 Adefunmi I and Òrìsàmola Awolowo in Harlem...............................................................90 2-5 Mama Keke, Queen Mother Moore, Efuntola, Sunta ........................................................91 2-6 Chief Òrìsàmola Awolowo- the first Alagba of Ọyọ́túnjí African Village ......................92 2-7 Efuntola Adefunmi I with Staff of Authority ....................................................................93 2-8 Ọyọ́túnjí Bàtá Drummers...................................................................................................94 2-9 Ọyọ́túnjí African Village Egúngún Seated in chairs .........................................................95 2-10 Ọyọ́túnjí