Women in Yoruba Religions

Women in Yoruba Religions explores the impact of Yoruba culture on women's religious lives and leadership in religions practiced by Yoruba people, highlighting the ways in which women have contested patriarchal gender roles and achieved agency through their economic and religious roles.

Format: Hardback
Length: 192 pages
Publication date: 24 June 2022
Publisher: New York University Press

Women in Yoruba Religions delves into the intricate interplay between Yoruba culture and the religious lives and leadership of women within the diverse religions practiced by the Yoruba people. It explores the profound influence of Yoruba culture on Yoruba religion, Christianity, Islam, and Afro-Diasporic religions such as Santeria and Candomblé, contextualizing gender relations within historical and social frameworks. While the arrival of Christianity and Islam to Yorubaland has brought about challenges to traditional Yoruba gender relations, the rich resources within Yoruba culture have provided women with the means to challenge the full acceptance of these new norms. Oyeronke Olademo posits that Yoruba women achieve and exercise agency in family and society through their economic and religious roles, and Yoruba society operates within a system of gender balance, ensuring that neither gender is subsumed by the other. Through a combination of historical and phenomenological methods, Olademo presents compelling data derived from interviews and participant-observation, illustrating how religion plays a central role in Yoruba lived experiences and is intricately intertwined with various aspects of daily life in Yorubaland and the Yoruba diaspora.

Women in Yoruba Religions explores the profound influence of Yoruba culture on the religious lives and leadership of women within the diverse religions practiced by the Yoruba people. It delves into the intricate interplay between Yoruba culture and Yoruba religion, Christianity, Islam, and Afro-Diasporic religions such as Santeria and Candomblé, contextualizing gender relations within historical and social frameworks. While the arrival of Christianity and Islam to Yorubaland has posed challenges to traditional Yoruba gender relations, the rich resources within Yoruba culture have enabled women to contest the full acceptance of these new norms. Oyeronke Olademo asserts that Yoruba women attain and wield agency in family and society through their economic and religious roles, and Yoruba society operates within a system of gender balance, ensuring that neither gender is subsumed by the other. Through a combination of historical and phenomenological methods, Olademo presents compelling data derived from interviews and participant-observation, illustrating how religion plays a central role in Yoruba lived experiences and is intricately intertwined with various aspects of daily life in Yorubaland and the Yoruba diaspora.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781479813971