Sacred Journeys Reflection

Seth Epling

African Diaspora is a term that is used to describe the mass movement of african culture and religion during the slave trade. During this time, the colonists who were taking away the slaves freedom, names, and life, did not take away their religion and belief.  The religion of Yoruba was able to spread to so many different areas on the atlantic coast during this time and with this came populations who brought their own, new culture to the religion. In this documentary, Sacred Journeys with Bruce Feiler: “Oṣun-Oṣogbo”, it follows two American girls journey to Nigeria in order to become priestess. The documentary is able to tell a story of thousands of people by following these two young adults.

The main story follows two students, Alatin Stewart and Oni Yebiye Hinton, and their journey to Oshogbo, Nigeria. It starts off with the back streets of the biggest city of Nigeria, Lagos. This is an compelling start because the images in the video show a part of town that is run down, dirty and has stray animals running everywhere. Then, a gate open for these two americans to show a beautiful altar. It shows the connective power that this religion holds. Later in the documentary, these Americans go to a sacred festival called Oshun-Oshogbo. This is an incredible, passionate festival in where anyone is welcome. It starts in the streets, where everyone is trying different foods provided by different types of people and culture. One of the most interesting parts about this festival is the shear number of people that the are not only African Diaspora followers. This is incredible because of the history. These people were forced out of their land and pushed to change religion. As the priest said towards the end of the film, “We left Africa, but Africa never left us.” This is an important detail in this religion that makes it a African Diaspora religion. They were able to spread out all over the globe hundreds of years ago, and each year are able to make it back to where their ancestors once lived and celebrate unity.

“Diasporas are social products that must be rehearsed, represented and refreshed; they do not spring up or endure automatically; rather they demand continuous long-enduring effort.” (Johnson, 515) This quote comes from an excerpt from “Religions of the African Diaspora” written by Paul Christopher Johnson. This quote explains that the African Diaspora religion needs to be constantly practiced to ensure that the long history of the religion won’t be

forgotten. This is shown in the film by this festival. This festival is done often and most things about it do not change. These people are continuing to practice this religion over and over again and barely changing anything about it. This is in agreement with Johnson because these people are constantly keeping their religion in mind and making sure that the little aspects and traditions are being kept generation after generation. This is also an example of what Johnson said because this religion did not spontaneously arise. It has been worked on from the slave trade to present day  and will continue growing. This religion will be around for awhile because the people who follow and believe are accepting. They are not secluded, lots of the followers are also Christian and Muslim and they are able to integrate aspects of both religions into their own beliefs. This festival is a perfect example of why this is a African Diaspora religion.