Ifá Divination, Knowledge, Power, and Performance (African Expressive Cultures) - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 025301882X ISBN 13: 9780253018823

Publisher: Indiana University Press, 2016

Synopsis

This landmark volume compiled by Jacob K. Olupona and Rowland O. Abiodun brings readers into the diverse world of Ifá―its discourse, ways of thinking, and artistic expression as manifested throughout the Afro-Atlantic. Firmly rooting Ifá within African religious traditions, the essays consider Ifá and Ifá divination from the perspectives of philosophy, performance studies, and cultural studies. They also examine the sacred context, verbal art, and the interpretation of Ifá texts and philosophy. With essays from the most respected scholars in the field, the book makes a substantial contribution toward understanding Ifá and its role in contemporary Yoruba and diaspora cultures.

About this title

About the Author:

Jacob K. Olupona is Professor of African Religious Traditions at Harvard Divinity School and Professor of African and African American Studies at Harvard University. He is author of City of 201 Gods: Ile-Ife in Time, Space, and the Imagination and editor of Orisa Devotion as World Religion: The Globalization of Yoruba Religious Culture.

Rowland O. Abiodun is John C. Newton Professor of Art, the History of Art, and Black Studies at Amherst College. He is author of Yoruba Art and Language: Seeking the African in African Art and What Follows Six is More than Seven: Understanding African Art.

Review:

Ifá Divination, Knowledge, Power, and Performance is a valuable addition to the scholarly literature on Ifá. The essays, with amazing depth and complexity, situate this practice and the religion it represents into a broader global context. (H-AfrArts)

This is a rich book with diverse perspectives converging on Ifa divination as a complex knowledge system. It informs readers new to Ifa studies, challenges experts to question their presuppositions, and does all this with multidisciplinary acuity.

(Magic, Ritual, and Witchcraft)

Ifá Divination, Knowledge, Power, and Performance provides an invaluable glimpse into the richness of indigenous African spiritualities, even when they are transmitted into new geo-cultural environments as African-derived religiosities. . . . This book is a must read. (Reading Religion)

About this edition

• Publisher: Indiana University Press
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 025301882X
• ISBN 13: 9780253018823
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 386
• Editor: Olupona Jacob K., Abiodun Rowland O.