Women in the Yoruba Religious Sphere

Oyeronke Olajubu

Description

Drawing on a wide range of oral and written sources, this book shows that women occupy a central place in the religious worldview and life of the Yoruba people and shows how men and women engage in mutually beneficial roles in the Yoruba religious sphere. It explores how gender issues play out in two Yoruba religious traditions—indigenous religion and Christianity in Southwestern Nigeria. Rather than shy away from illuminating the tensions between the prominent roles of Yoruba women in religion and their perceived marginalization, author Oyeronke Olajubu underscores how Yoruba women have challenged marginalization in ways unprecedented in other world religions.

Foreword

Acknowledgments

1. Concepts and Theories on Women in Yoruba Religious Sphere

2. Women in Yoruba Culture and Society

3. Women in Yoruba Christian Tradition

4. Identity, Power, and Gender Relations in Yoruba Religious Traditions

5. Women and Rituals in Yoruba Religion

Conclusion

Notes

References

Index

Sujets

• Religion
• Christianisme
• Comparative religion
• Christianity

Informations

• Publié par: State University of New York Press
• Date de parution: 01 février 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 2
• EAN13: 9780791486115
• Langue: English

Extrait

Women in the Yoruba Religious Sphere

McGill Studies in the History of Religions, A Series Devoted to International Scholarship

Katherine K. Young, editor

Women in the Yoruba Religious Sphere

Oyeronke Olajubu

Foreword by Jacob K. Olupona

State University of New York Press

Published by State University of New York Press, Albany

© 2003 State University of New York

All rights reserved

Printed in the United States of America

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner what soever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.

For information, address State University of New York Press, 90 State Street, Suite 700, Albany, N.Y., 12207

Production of Diane Ganeles Marketing by Michael Campochiaro

Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data

Olajubu, Oyeronke, 1965– Women in the Yoruba religious sphere / Oyeronke Olajubu; foreword by Jacob K. Olupona. p. cm. — (McGill studies in the history of religions) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0791458857 (alk. paper) — ISBN 0791458865 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Women, Yoruba—Religion. 2. Women, Yoruba—Rites and ceremonies. 3. Women, Yoruba—Social conditions. 4. Christianity and other religions—Nigeria. 5. Christianity and culture—Nigeria. 6. Sex role—Nigeria. 7. Sex role—Religious aspects—Christianity. 8. Nigeria—Religious life and customs. I. Title. II. Series.

DT515.45.Y67O425 2003 299’.68333’082—dc21

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

2002045252

3

9

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3  Women in Yoruba Christian Tradition

Contents

5  Women and Rituals in Yoruba Religion

1  Concepts and Theories on Women in Yoruba Religious Sphere

2  Women in Yoruba Culture and Society

4  Identity, Power, and Gender Relations in Yoruba Religious Traditions

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i

145

Notes

References

Index

vii

Conclusion

3

4

Acknowledgments

v

Foreword

1

2

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6

5

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Foreword

It is quite gratifying to witness the beginning and ending of this project by a young, upcoming Nigerian scholar of comparative history of religion. We are at a very critical time in the history of religions and gender studies in Africa. African nations, and particu larly African universities, are obscuring the call from several quar ters, both national and international, to recognize the tremendous role of women in the society. Most importantly, Africans are ob scuring the call to provide space in the academy for women to tell their own stories, rather than for men to pontificate on their per ceptions of women’s religious experiences. Oyeronke Olajubu’s own response to this call is to engage Yoruba religious traditions—especially Christianity and indigenous religions—in critical dialogue. Olajubu provides not only historical phenomenological and ethnographic interpretation of the status and role of women in these two traditions, but also gender issues para mount in traditional and contemporary Yoruba society. Olajubu’s work points to new vistas of meaning, intrinsic values, and func tion of oral and written traditions in creating and producing Yoruba indigenous and Christian identities and gender relations. Yoruba indigenous religion, the first subject of her analysis, shows a complex array of sources for understanding the status of women in traditional and contemporary society. Take, for example, the oftencited cosmological myth of world creation in IleIfe, Nigeria, and the descent of the primary deities into the created

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Women in the Yoruba Religious Sphere

world. In this narrative, the figure of Goddess Osun reminds us that women were critical to the founding of the world. Moreover, contrary to the biblical story of Genesis, the Osun narrative chal lenges the hegemony of male deities and their neglect and dis crimination against female agency. I mention Genesis because, while most Yoruba know the story of Adam and Eve, ironically very few are familiar with the Osun narratives. At the end of the narrative, Osun conquered and prevailed on the gods to disclose and revert to the pacts they had revised in secret. The power of the myth lies precisely in making the male principles retrace their steps and communicate with female principles for the overall good of the world. It is not surprising that womanist and feminist scholars in Africa and the African diasporas find in the Yoruba tradition endur ing and liberating agency for women today. Traditional Yoruba myth resounds with practical daily life experiences of women in our contemporary society. Women gener ally play central roles in the religious and social lives of their communities. Women function as priestesses in ritual ceremonial lineage groups. Female patronage of Yoruba Orisa traditions is ex alted, as it is in many other world religions. Take, for example, the myth of origin of the Nigerian Ondo, Yoruba people who indicate that a ruling female, Pupupu, founded this crowned city (Ilu Alade). She reigned until her demise in a palace coup whereby men re placed her with her first son, the Aiho (substitute). Today, Ondo indigenous political organizations exist as a dual parallel system of male and female chieftaincy, each gender complimenting itself in governing Ondo society. Ondo city, a city in which women ruled as leaders and entrepreneurs, still lives up to its heritage, even today. Thus, the mythic history and political ideology based in traditional Ondo reflects the city’s contemporary life. Oyeronke Olajubu’s work details gender relations in Yoruba Christianity. Christianity is experiencing a phenomenal growth among the Yoruba and indeed in Africa today. The missionfounded churches—Anglican, Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, the independent African churches (Aladura), and the new Pentecostal Charismatic— are buoyant. These Christian churches have wrestled with issues of gender because women constitute the larger segment of mem bership. Although their leadership remains predominantly male, women have invented creative ways of overcoming marginalization. Women encounter and at times confront male chauvinism and the church power structure, making waves and headlines in Nigerian

Foreword

ix

newspapers. Some stories have entered the annals of Nigerian church history. Two particular cases deserve our attention here. In the first case, as a young girl, Mama Abiodun (Emmanuel) helped to found the Cherubim and Seraphim church. Recognized throughout most of her life as a church leader, she struggled against the hierarchy that pitted her against Yoruba Oba (kings) and rulers, who tried to cajole her into surrendering her right to lead the church. Eventu ally, she was declared the Olori (leader) of the largest Aladura in dependent church in West Africa and abroad. Today, Abiodun Emmanuel will be remembered in African church history as the spiritual woman who struggled and conquered. In the second case, the Nigerian Anglican church disapproved of the ordination of women. (Nonetheless, in the Diocese of Ilorin “rebel” Bishop Haruna [retired] had ordained three women. A few years later, after Haruna retired, the Anglican Church disrobed them.) The unexamined trauma and the frustration this event created for these women are yet to be analyzed. As, Olajubu notes, many Pentecostal churches were founded and controlled by women. Her point becomes even more significant given that a number of the Pentecostal churches are now making appearances in Europe, America, and Asia. This is an era of the “reverse mission” in which African missionaries are convinced that “the great commission” (Matthew 28:19) enjoins them to bring Christ to the “pagan” West. Regarding gender relations and the status of women, three types of Yoruba Christianity maintain different doctrinal, cultural, and social scenarios. Historically, mission Christianity targeted for the conversion of male agents and heads of households. This focus on males, along with the mission ideology of marriage, ultimately resulted in large numbers of women abandoning their indigenous Orisa religion for the new faith. However, it also created extensive problems because monogamy—the prescribed, mandatory Chris tian marriage arrangement—upset the traditional structure of po lygamy. New male converts were forced to choose one from many wives and to abandon others. Otherwise, they were doomed to re main only partial Christians. Paradoxically, single sex Christian schools were established to train boys and girls to advance Christ’s kingdom, as well as to promote habits of obedience and discipline among male and female youths. Ultimately, the goal was to fashion devoted Christian spinsters as wouldbe “brides” for educated Christian males. The rise of the independent African churches