People from all over the world come to the Oṣun-Oṣogobo festival to celebrate their religion and to celebrate and honor Oṣun. The film talks about the spread of the Yoruba religion through the slave trade and the ways African-Americans are reconnecting with their heritage through religion and pilgrimage. At the beginning when the 16 lamps are being lit there is a mix of traditionalists, non traditionalists, and people who don’t practice the Yoruba religion. One of the women in the film talks about how she was labeled as East Indian as a hard to place baby and that she fought to claim her African heritage. Another of the women talks about how she grew up christian but in her house there were altars for the catholic saints who correspond to different Oriṣas. Native Africans and people of African descent gather to celebrate Oṣun during the festival.
Johnson’s idea of hybridity in African diasporic religions fits some of the women’s experiences growing up. The matching of catholic saints to different Oriṣas and the different aspects of God found in christianity and catholicism speak to the idea of a hybrid sort of religion. The ways in which people of different religions worship varies but according to the priests in the film they are all worshipping the same God.
The festival is a good example of African diasporic religion due to all the different people shown attending the festival, and all their different backgrounds. Yoruba religion is practiced all over the world and all the different people who go to the festival show that the religion is not going away anytime soon. At the beginning of the film a man says that while slaves and people of African descent may have left Africa, Africa did not leave them. That quote speaks to the ways people worship and the immense importance of the pilgrimages that people make to Nigeria to reconnect with their roots. The two African American women who are initiated as priestesses during the film talk about rewriting their destinies, and how at the end of the initiation they felt like they were at home.
The Oṣun-Oṣogbo festival brings people together, whether they’re practitioners of the religion or not, and to those who are it holds an incredibly special meaning. It is obvious that no one is against the ways that African diasporic religions mixed or the way that Yoruba religion mixed with Christianity. Johnson talked about the use of the word “hybrid” in relation to religion throughout history and how different scholars used it negatively, however, the hybridity of African diasporic religions is not a bad thing. The vast diversity seen in the people attending the festival shows the ways in which the Yoruba people worship and how aspects of the religion are similar to those of other religions and yet the ways in which they worship are incredibly different. One of the women initiated as a priestess talks about how she tends to pray quietly but that it feels good to pray loudly so her prayers can be heard and how the bells force her to pray loudly. The Oṣun-Oṣogbo festival brings out aspects of African diasporic religions that are beautiful and interesting while showing how the Yoruba peoples’ rituals during the Oṣun-Oṣogbo festival affect the atmosphere in the town and how they affect all the people in the town, whether they are practitioners, traditionalists, non traditionalists, or people who are just there to celebrate Oṣun.

Greg Doyle

TAP: Altars of the Black Atlantic

Professor Brennan

9/15/17

Reflection

In the recent weeks of class, we have discussed the religions of the African continent, their cultures and traditions, and how they came to the Americas during the Mid-Atlantic Slave Trade. Specifically, we have been talking about Syncretism/Hybridism and how it has became apparent in many of both the practitioners and hybrid traditions in many African religions, mainly the Yoruba tradition. In many of our readings, we have discovered that many traditions originated on a specific continent, such as the Yoruba Tradition, in Africa, or Santeria, or Candomble, have been traveling from their original place of creation, to new lands, and even blend with existing religious traditions in these “new lands”. The prime example of this process, referred to as hybridization is described by Steve Engler as: “The way in which social boundaries that are activated and reworked within system of religious beliefs and practices, and how they reflect, retract, and combine with homologous boundaries present in a given society”. Many practitioners of Yoruba culture, were taken to the America’s, and despite the fact that they left their home, the memories of culture and sacred traditions never left their memories and hearts; as one practitioner stated in the video we watched: “Although we left Africa, Africa never left us”.
This blending of religious practices, can be understood as a process of evolution, in faith, almost a renaissance, as described in the video. A renaissance in essence, is a rebirth. With the blending of these religious practices amongst people of different backgrounds, ethnic belongings, lifestyles, etc. These religions which were long thought to have been laid to rest once the practitioners were taken and sent away from their homes of worship, are now beginning to see the light of a new dawn, a new day. These religions are growing, in strength and numbers each and every day, because their practitioners are now seeking safe, and nurturing places to practice their newly formed faiths, and to introduce their cultures to the world and the rest of its inhabitants. An emphasized example, of the blending of many religious traditions, is in the Osun-Osogbo festival, as seen in the video required for this assignment.
We can observe the Osun-Osogbo festival, that occurred in the video, and identify certain aspects of the ritualistic traditions occurring, and how we can relate the aspects of this particular tradition to other traditions of separate religious practices. For example, although not in the actual festival itself, there is a ceremony, where a child is taken to the side of a river and ran water over their heads and asked blessings from the goddess Osun. This ceremony is incredibly similar to the tradition of Baptism in Christianity/Catholicism, where a child is bathed in holy water and receives God’s blessings. Also, during the festival, candles, incense, and bells are used to both call the attention of the goddess into a ritualistic space, but also to center her attention amongst two initiate priestesses of the Osun tradition. Third, there are many instances where altars are sed to place various objects, offerings, statues, etc. That call the attention of the divine, and create a space to worship their presence and their influence. Again, in many modern monotheistic and polytheistic religions, altars are used to worship a god (s) or goddess (es).

The African diaspora religion was stripped from its roots during the slave trade. Communities were forced out of their homeland and shipped all over the Americas. This forceful movement of these people stripped individuals of their origins and identity. Practitioners of the African diaspora religion tend to look past the wrongfulness of their movement and look for a much more positive mindset; their religion and culture has managed to spread all over.

Oṣogbo is the largest city in Africa and is the heart of the African diaspora religion. It is known as Yoruba land and brings thousands of pilgrims every year to the Oṣun-Oṣogbo festival which celebrates Oṣun. This festival is held every August and welcomes everyone. Practitioners and nontraditionalists pack the streets of Oṣogbo learning and joining in on traditions of the African diaspora.

The festival begins with the welcoming of local Orisha. This is done with personal offerings to your personal Orisha. One may have a shrine with various items and offerings to your Orisha. As a community, the lighting of an ancient lamp represents the welcoming of Oṣun in the Yoruba kingdom. A significant part of the lighting ceremony is when the King and other political leaders come together to dance around the fire to welcome Oṣun. The presence of the King and political leaders represents the union between political powers and spiritual powers.

Privately, priests come together in a sacred ceremony to bless new priests. These newly blessed individuals are asked to give their hair to their Orisha as a way to symbolize all the negative powers leaving and the new growth to be positive and blessed. The Ifá, which is the scripture of the Yoruba people, contains the history, practices, beliefs, and traditions written. Priests foretell the future using the Ifá allowing individuals like the new priests to rewrite their story and pray for the things that they want.

Throughout the festival, an important site of worship is Oṣun’s sacred grove. Many shrines are placed here and it contains the sacred river where many sacrifices are made to Oṣun. A tradition of the African Diaspora is to worship history. At Oṣun’s sacred grove in Oṣogbo, Nigeria, it is the origin of Oṣun’s power. This is why during the Oṣun-Oṣogbo festival this grove is the spotlight of worship. Another part of history they worship is their past kings. The ceremony of the crowns involves the crowns of the past 18 kings that have ruled Oṣogbo. Each is blessed by the community and by Oṣun.

An important component of the African diaspora religion is clothing fabrics. It is believed that the patterns and colors of one’s clothes are associated with your Orisha. Those who take part in making the clothing, like those who make indigo clothing, are seen as Oṣun’s disciples.

All these traditions bring the African diaspora give the community a sense of being active and engaged with their beliefs. Simple objects like prayer bells bring traditions to life and allow the worshipers to connect with their Orisha. Humans and Orisha’s are meant to be connected and the Orisha’s goal is to help reinforce humanity’s role that humans and animals thrive and survive.

• In what way is Oṣun-Oṣogbo festival an example of an African diaspora religion? What specific people, events, or objects make you think that?

The Osun-Osogbo festival is an event where Yoruban peoples and descendants alike come together for a celebration of good fortune under the goddess Osun. The festival lasts for a duration of 2 weeks in August in Osun State of Nigeria, where people of all cultural backgrounds and preferences come to honor the goddess through a series of traditions and practices. First to understand the festival in context, individual parts of it must be analyzed.

The festival begins with the lighting of an ancient lamp that represents the goddess Osun and the kingdoms that persist in the heart of Yoruba land. The town surrounds the lamp in the form of glee, dance, and music under Osun. The excitement expressed by traditionalist and non-traditionalists alike is just a hint at the festivities that are to come. The lighting of the lamp is the first example of how the Osun-Osogbo festival is an example of African diaspora religion. The gathering of people who share a love of Osun are not all necessarily avid practitioners of the Yoruban lifestyle. In fact, the people who attend originate from a multitude of places including the United States. However, their exposure to the religion in their respective countries brought them to the festival in Western Nigeria. Professor Badejo of the University of Baltimore remarks during the ceremony that, “You don’t have to be Catholic to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day”. This parallel offers insight to the varying degrees of people who take part in Osun-Osogbo.

A further example of Osun-Osogbo festival’s diasporic characteristics is the story of Alafia and Oni, two college graduates who make their first pilgrimage to the sacred Yoruban land to gain status as priestesses. In days, they transform themselves into a “bridge” between the real world and the goddess Osun. They use various objects such as the Bell of Osun in prayer beside the grove where the final day of the festival commences. The bell is just one of many instruments and tools that carry spiritual significance used by the Yoruban people to call to their desired deity. Prospective practitioners of this specific culture attend the festival to revive hopes and dreams that may have dimmed over time. Johnson’s second definition of diasporic religions relates to the reasoning behind attending the event. That being diaspora as an internalized conversion of consciousness (pg. 518 para 3). Alafia and Oni traveled to Nigeria to take part in a conversion of their mindset, an adoption of a new way of life. In essence, they embody the very definition of diasporic religion.

The Osun-Osogbo festival is a symbol of resilience among other religions that dominate the worship community. The contagious energy of the celebration is a reminder that African culture is very much alive and experiencing a sort of renaissance. The Yoruba tradition is very welcoming, more so than other religions are to it, which represents a struggle felt by African traditionalists in history. Set aside your pre-conceived notions of religion, and it is easy to see the complex devotion and awesomeness that exists among Yoruban people.