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Lucumi and the Children of Cotton: Gender, Race, and Ethnicity in the Mapping of a Black Atlantic Politics of Religion

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Lucumi and the Children of Cotton: Gender, Race, and Ethnicity in the Mapping of a Black Atlantic Politics of Religion City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 2-2016 Lucumi and the Children of Cotton: Gender, Race, and Ethnicity in the Mapping of a Black Atlantic Politics of Religion Akissi M. Britton Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/713 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] LUCUMÍ AND THE CHILDREN OF COTTON: GENDER, RACE, AND ETHNICITY IN THE MAPPING OF A BLACK ATLANTIC POLITICS OF RELIGION by AKISSI BRITTON A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Anthropology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The City University of New York 2016 © 2016 AKISSI BRITTON All Rights Reserved ii Lucumí and the Children of Cotton: Gender, Race, and Ethnicity in the Mapping of a Black Atlantic Politics of Religion by Akissi Britton This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in Anthropology to satisfy the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Prof. Donald Robotham Date Chair of Examining Committee Prof. Gerald Creed Date Executive Officer Prof. Jacqueline N. Brown Prof. John Collins Prof. Aisha Khan Supervisory Committee THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK iii Abstract Lucumí and the Children of Cotton: Gender, Race and Ethnicity in the Mapping of a Black Atlantic Politics of Religion by Akissi Britton Adviser: Professor Donald Robotham In this dissertation I have examined claims to religious authenticity, purity, legitimacy and authority through the lens of a Black and African American Orisa community in Brooklyn, New York. Through these claims, made both internally and to a broader Orisa community within the United States and throughout different locales in the Black Atlantic, I have articulated how they are more often than not linked to very non-religious aspects of social life. Members of this community, and the broader Orisa Atlantic of which they are a part, do not practice this tradition in a social, cultural, or political vacuum. In fact, the very basis for the formation of this community lies in its response to the unrelenting racial and gender oppression they’ve experienced. As such the very way they have interpreted, internalized, and re-inscribed their religious practice is dictated by their worldview as an oppressed yet resilient and revolutionary people. Their religious self-identification within this context has encountered responses by other practitioners whose own worldviews have been shaped by the social, political, economic, and cultural realities of their own locales; realities that I highlight in this dissertation as well. As members of this Black and African American Lucumí community engage in various dialogues with Cuban and Cuban American Lucumí practitioners, as well as with Brazilian and Nigerian iv devotees of Orisa tradition, what becomes apparent is a Black Atlantic politics of religion that is defined as much by issues of gender, racial, and ethnic/national struggles as it is by the dictates of purely religious doctrine. As both a priestly and ethnographic witness of these dialogues I have outlined throughout this dissertation the distinct ways these broader issues come to impact not only religious practice but diasporic relationships based on a shared, if at times highly contested, sacred tradition. v For my grandmother Susie Ann Britton (ibaye): your champ did it Grandma! For my grandfather, Charles Britton (ibaye): in death, as in life, your love and support is immeasurable For Dr. Jerry G. Watts (ibaye): this “semi-intelligent Negress” Ph.D. is about to be unleashed on the world! I miss you all terribly. Light, peace, and progress to your spirits vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Maferefun Olofi. Maferefun Olodumare. Maferefun Egun. Maferefun Elegba. Maferefun Obatala. Maferefun Oshun. Maferefun gbogbo Orisa. Light, peace and progress to my guides and protections. They say it takes a village to raise a Ph.D. and my village is immense and filled with love. I would first like to thank the members of Ile Ase, Inc. and the broader African American Lucumí community of Brooklyn and beyond who have shown me so much support throughout this Ph.D. process. I’d like to give a special shout out to my godmother, Mama Stephanie Weaver, for it was your story, your strength, and your love for your people and this religion that planted the seed so many years ago that became this dissertation. Thank you for your unwavering love and encouragement; for your prayers for me from the time I was a child to stop doubting myself. Thank you for allowing me to sit at your feet and learn your history and the history of this vibrant and beautiful community. To Mama Oseye Mchawi, your dedication to the growth and evolution of this community has taught me the unrelenting power of the divine mothers. To Baba Lloyd Weaver, you are a masterful storyteller. I am truly blessed and grateful for having had the gift of spending time with you as you wove and continue to weave the tale of the African American Lucumí community. To Malik Duncan, Alex Spencer, Joey Reece, Tina Vasquez, Jud Esty-Kendall, Carolyn Jones, Zahara Duncan, Isyla Barksdale, Dr. Whitney Battle-Baptiste and the entire house of Oke Sande and Olosunmi, thank you for standing so strong for me. Thank you to Iya Amma Oloriwaa and members of Egbe Iwa Odo Kunrin and vii Odo Binrin; to Ijo Orisa Yoruba Church; the Obatala Egbe and the many other institutions that carry on the legacy of our community. The key to a good (i.e. finished) dissertation is having a stellar dissertation committee. I could not have been blessed with a better committee. To Dr. Don Robotham, thank you for always believing in me. Your ability to part the clouds of confusion each and every time I sat with you is a gift and blessing. Thank you so much for your guidance throughout this entire process. From the moment I came to the Graduate Center to inquire about the program I knew you were the person I wanted to work with. And that was the absolute best decision I have made throughout my time in the Anthropology program. Dr. Jacqueline N. Brown, thank you for being such a bad ass scholar and teacher. During my comprehensive exams you pushed me to explore my margins and I ran with that. Thank you so much for your amazing insight. To Dr. John Collins, you have been an enthusiastic supporter of my topic and my work since the day we met. Thank you so much for pushing me to explore past my comfort zones. And to Dr. Aisha Khan, your enthusiasm and sharp critical insight was such a boon for my development. Thank you so much for your support. Thank you deeply to the entire Anthropology Department at the Graduate Center. Ellen, I am sure your name appears in so many acknowledgements. And of course it should because without you ALL of us would be lost. Thanks so much for always having time to answer whatever crazy questions we grad students would rush into your office with. And thank you for your continuous encouragement. Thank you Dr. Gerald Creed for your leadership. And to Dr. Louise Lennihan, the former Chair of the department who believed in this journalist who was looking to “jump ship” and join academia. A special word of thanks to Dr. Leith Mullings for your leadership and legacy. I was graced with the opportunity to take classes with you and have viii you on my comprehensive exam committee. I am so much the better for it. I would not have been able to complete this dissertation without the financial support of a few stellar organizations/offices. Thank you to the Social Science Research Council for awarding me the Dissertation Proposal Development Fellowship which enabled me to conduct preliminary research in Bahia, Brazil; The Reed Foundation’s Ruth Landes Memorial Research Fund grant for research and write-up support; CUNY Graduate Center Andrew W. Mellon Committee for the Study of Religion Dissertation Fellowship for write-up support; CUNY Institute for Research on the African Diaspora in the Americas and the Caribbean (IRADAC) for summer research support and their Dissertation Fellowship; The Graduate Center Office of Educational Opportunity and Diversity Programs’ (OEODP) Magnet Two-Year President’s Fellowship and Dean K. Harrison Award; and the National Science Foundation and the Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (NSF-AGEP) Summer Research Award. To my mother, Barbara Britton, your fierce style of loving has given me the strength I needed to push through when I was ready to give up. My sister, Kiani Britton, thanks for your sweet yet biting sarcasm-laden love. It has given me life on so many occasions. To my aunt/ojugbona Geraldine Boschulte-Hilson, “the king does not lie” and your brutal honesty kept me real and focused. To my “little sister” Kaia Hilson, thank you for being the most grounded person I know. Your words of wisdom helped pull me out of many a fog. To the Terry/Marcial family, thank you for loving and caring for my children on those many many days I stayed in my office at school to get this Ph.D. thing done. So many friends both in and outside of academia have had my back at different moments throughout this process. This list is by no means exhaustive but…you get my drift: Hank Williams, Alan Takeall, Darren Kwong, Dr.
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