Native Deities and Multiple Identities: An Anthropological Approach to Reconceptualising Divine Marriage in the Roman Provinces

Abstract

The provincial religions of the Roman Empire exhibited considerable diversity, reflecting the adoption and adaptation of Roman and non-Roman beliefs, traditions and deities. Divine marriage, as viewed through the postcolonial lens, was argued to provide a unique insight into these complex religious interactions, reflecting multiple, nuanced approaches to the divine. The intention of this paper is to expand upon these perspectives by engaging with new theoretical approaches developed in the analysis of religious change in modern colonial contexts. The juxtaposition of indigenous and non-indigenous deities in provincial divine marriage is mirrored in the Creole religions of the Americas, and the significance of these pairings as a means to negotiate the colonial encounter has been the subject of recent anthropological research. This paper will consider the extent to which the insights derived from these studies may inform new interpretations of divine marriage and the processes of religious negotiation in the provinces.