The Transnationalization of the Akan Religion: Religion and Identity among the U.S. African American Community
Journal Title: Religions - Year 2015, Vol 6, Issue 1
Abstract
In 1965, Gus Dinizulu, an African American percussionist, traveled to Ghana with the dance company he was leading. There, he took the trip as an opportunity to explore his African roots and met Nana Oparebea, the Ghanaian chief-priestess of the Akonedi Shrine, one of the most famous shrine houses north of Accra. At the Akonedi Shrine, Nana Oparebea performed for Dinizulu a divination, during which she explained that his enslaved ancestors were parts of the Akan people of Ghana and gave him the mission to search for other African Americans who, like him, were of Ghanaian ancestries. She also offered him a set of altars, containing the spiritual forces of the deities revered in the Akonedi Shrine and asked him to import in the United States what was then labelled the Akan religion. Based on research led both in Ghana and in the United States, the aim of this paper will be to describe the process of diffusion, importation, transnationalization and indigenization of the Akan religion between West Africa and the East Coast of the United States. Focusing on ethnographic data, we will argue that this process can only be understood if it is placed in the context of African American identity formations. Therefore, we will show how in the context of globalization, religion and identity constructions are walking hand-in-hand, creating new discourses on hybridity and authenticity.
Authors and Affiliations
Pauline Guedj
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP25409
- DOI https://doi.org/10.3390/rel6010024
- Views 330
- Downloads 8
Kun . d. alin¯ı Rising and Liberation in the Yogavasis ¯ .t.ha: The Story of Cud ¯ . al ¯ a and ¯ Sikhidhvaja
Various Saiva Tantric elements have been identified in the ´ Yogavasi ¯ s.t .ha, but little has been written about the role of kun . d. alin¯ı rising in relation to this text’s notion of living liberation (j¯ıvanmukt...
Intergenerational Transmission of Religious Giving: Instilling Giving Habits across the Life Course
This paper investigates the research question: How do religious youth learn to give? While it is likely that youth learn religious financial giving from a variety of different sources, this investigation focuses primar...
Discipline, Resistance, Solace and the Body: Catholic Women Religious’ Convent Experiences from the Late 1930s to the Late 1960s
This paper examines the corporal forms of discipline and techniques of resistance exercised through and by Catholic women religious (sisters/nuns) in Ontario, Canada. Borrowing from Foucault’s conception of controlled...
Ifa Fuyu’s Search for Okinawan-Japanese Identity
This paper focuses on the crucial role played by Ifa Fuyu, the “father of Okinawan studies,” in ¯ articulating ideas related to Okinawan-Japanese identity. Starting with a brief overview of Ifa’s life and work, especia...
Religiosity and the Wish of Older Adults for Physician-Assisted Suicide
In industrialized countries, population ageing is associated with intense discussions on the issue of dying with dignity. Some countries have legalized assisted suicide and authorized physicians to provide the knowledg...