Description
Book SynopsisThe Souls of Yoruba Folk explores the spiritual lives and experiences of sixteen Africans of Yoruba descent in Canada, and investigates how they make meaning of their Indigenous heritage within the geopolitical space of Eurocentric Canadian culture. The book highlights how Yoruba peoples in the African diaspora strategically utilize their Indigenous spiritual knowledges as decolonizing tools of navigation, subversion, and resistance to colonial oppression in the purportedly multicultural' space of Canada. The author powerfully weaves together literature of Yoruba peoples from multiple contexts, spanning the African continent and its diaspora, including the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, and Europe. With its strong emphasis on equity and the usefulness of spirituality in contexts of schooling, education, teaching, and learning,
The Souls of Yoruba Folk is ideal for critical and multicultural education courses, and will be especially useful for educators and research
Trade Review«Temitope E. Adefarakan has written a provocative and exciting book about one of the great cultures of the modern world. Her research into the indigenous spirituality of the Yoruba of Canada is a pioneering work of incredible beauty and power. It will become a classic for those who engage in the discourse on indigeneity as well as those who are interested in the productive spaces for an invigorating spirituality. This is a necessary read for any contemporary intellectual.» (Molefi Kete Asante, Author of
An Afrocentric Manifesto)
«Challenging simplistic approaches to religion and the indigenous heritage of African peoples, Adefarakan develops and suggests the rigorous framework of ‘critical spiritual literacy’ as a concept which powerfully articulates the complex nuances of African spiritual life. Drawing from her own experiences as an African-Canadian of Yoruba descent, Adefarakan presents a case that is powerful and enriching. Indeed, this book is a well-researched contribution to African-centered feminist pedagogy: it will reshape our thinking about culture, race, and indigeneity, and what this means for teaching practice that is both critical and spiritual.» (George J. Sefa Dei, Professor of Social Justice Education and Director, Centre for Integrative Anti-Racism Studies, OISE, University of Toronto, and 2015 Carnegie African Diaspora Fellow)
«Temitope E. Adefarakan has written a provocative and exciting book about one of the great cultures of the modern world. Her research into the indigenous spirituality of the Yoruba of Canada is a pioneering work of incredible beauty and power. It will become a classic for those who engage in the discourse on indigeneity as well as those who are interested in the productive spaces for an invigorating spirituality. This is a necessary read for any contemporary intellectual.» (Molefi Kete Asante, Author of
An Afrocentric Manifesto)
«Challenging simplistic approaches to religion and the indigenous heritage of African peoples, Adefarakan develops and suggests the rigorous framework of ‘critical spiritual literacy’ as a concept which powerfully articulates the complex nuances of African spiritual life. Drawing from her own experiences as an African-Canadian of Yoruba descent, Adefarakan presents a case that is powerful and enriching. Indeed, this book is a well-researched contribution to African-centered feminist pedagogy: it will reshape our thinking about culture, race, and indigeneity, and what this means for teaching practice that is both critical and spiritual.» (George J. Sefa Dei, Professor of Social Justice Education and Director, Centre for Integrative Anti-Racism Studies, OISE, University of Toronto, and 2015 Carnegie African Diaspora Fellow)
Table of ContentsContents: A Call … to the Souls of Yoruba Folk – Theories of Diasporic Indigeneity and Black Feminisms: Living and Imagining Indigeneity Differently – In Dialogue With the Souls of Yoruba Folk: Engaging a Yoruba Worldsense - Overtly Christian, Covertly Yoruba – At a Crossroads: Esu, Language, and the Politics of Critical Spiritual Literacy – «They’re not always right but they’re older»: The Polemics and Paradoxes of Seniority in Yoruba (Indigenous) Culture – The Response: «Ohun ti o wa leyin offa, o ju oje lo» [What follows six is more than seven] – An Open Letter to Teachers: Pedagogical Implications and Applications of The Souls of Yoruba Folk.
