Women in the Yoruba Religious Sphere

By Oyeronke Olajubu
Foreword by Jacob K. Olupona

Subjects: African Studies
Series: SUNY series, McGill Studies in the History of Religions, A Series Devoted to International Scholarship
Paperback : 9780791458860, 184 pages, October 2003
Hardcover : 9780791458853, 184 pages, October 2003
Out of print (Hardcover)

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Table of contents

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

An exploration of gender and power relations in Yoruba religion—both Christianity and Yoruba traditional religion.

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.

Oyeronke Olajubu is Senior Lecturer of Comparative Religion at the University of Ilorin.