Rival empires: Islam and the religions of spirit possession among the Òyóo‐Yorùbá

Abstract

Possession religions have frequently been treated as women's means to redress their subordination. Like many other religions so discussed, the Òyóo‐Yorùbá worship of Sàngó and Yem⊙ja endures in a predominantly Muslim region. The following discussion will illustrate that such religions, though highly gendered in their symbolism and personnel, need not redress the interests of women or of the deprived alone. For the weak and the strong, they may dramatize a rival construction of collective life. In order to grasp how they do so, we must understand (1) the history of Islam and such possession religions in the particular context and, therefore, (2) the way they constitute each other in that context. As they serve and structure material rivalries in the world, they take on each others' signs and criteria of power. The gendered religious pluralism of the Òyóo‐Yorùbá illustrates a gestalt common across “the Muslim world” and bears implications for the study of possession religions practiced in conjunction with other “world religions” as well. [women's religion, gender, spirit possession, African Islam, religious conflict, symbolism, syncretism]