The Yoruba Diaspora
- Why did the Yoruba seem to become so culturally dominant in Cuba and Brazil in the nineteenth century?
- What institutions and networks supported this?
- what features of Afro-Brazilian and Afro-Cuban religious and cultural practice have recognisably Yoruba associations today?
- What were the implications for slave resistance?
Readings: choose at least 1:
Falola, Toyin, and Childs, Matt, eds. The Yoruba Diaspora in the Atlantic World. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2004. Chapter 5: João José Reis and Beatriz Mamigonian, “Nagô and Mina: the Yoruba Diaspora in Brazil,” pp 77-110.
Graham, Sandra Lauderdale. “Being Yoruba in Rio de Janeiro.” Slavery & Abolition, 32:1 (March 2011): 1-26.
Joao Jose Reis, Divining Freedom: The Story of Domingos Sodre, an African Priest in Nineteenth-Century Brazil CUP 2015. Choose the chapter that most interests you!
Henry Lovejoy, Prieto: Yoruba Kingship in Colonial Cuba during the Age of Revolutions, UNC PRess, 2019. Introduction (and/or choose a chapter that interests you)
Further reading
Eltis, David. “The Diaspora of Yoruba Speakers, 1650 - 1865: Dimensions and Implications,” in Toyin Falola and Matt Childs (eds), The Yoruba Diaspora in the Atlantic World (Bloomington, 2005), pp. 3-26.
George Brandon, Santeria from Africa to the New World: The Dead Sell Memories (1998) [paper copy @ library]
David H Brown, Santeria Enthroned: Art, Ritual, and Innovation in an Afro-Cuban Religion. Routledge, 2003
Stephan Palmie, Wizards and Scientists: Explorations in Afro-Cuban Modernity and Tradition. Duke 2002
https://africankingdoms.co.uk/ fantastic resources on African kingdoms, including Oyo and Dahomey as well as Kongo (including a whole A-level syllabus!)
Toby Green, A Fistful of Shells: West Africa from the Rise of the Slave Trade to the Age of Revolution. Allen Lane, 2019