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The Nigerian Diaspora is now world-wide, and when Yoruba travel, they take with them their religious organizations. As a member of the Cherubim and Seraphim church in London for over thirty years, anthropologist Hermione Harris explores a world of prayer, spirit possession, and divination through dreams and visions. Through their religious practice, church members enlist the Holy Spirit to defend themselves against witchcraft and evil spirits, and make a success of their lives. Although the new Nigerian 'Born Again' Pentecostals in Britain turn away from C&S ritual, Harris argues that they too are engaged in the search for spiritual power.

Amazon Sales Rank: #2970669 in Books Published on: 2006-09-17 Original language: English Number of items: 1 Binding: Hardcover 304 pages

Review "The Yoruba community in London was one of the largest African groups, already substantial when Harris began her fieldwork in 1969, and is now an established and significant ‘ethnic minority.’ Her account is based on extensive participant observation, interviews, and written records kept by the church members at her request. The narrative is lively, and enriched with a number of fascinating descriptions of Aládùúrà services, and illuminating testimonies, reminiscences, and comments by the worshippers. It is clear that Harris was an excellent field worker, endowed with both resilience and empathy, and the material she presents is full and detailed. As a study of religious change, this book is important for its documentation of a substantial but neglected topic: the nature of Aládùúrà churches in Britain. Extensive and important work has been done on the Aládùúrà churches in Nigeria by Harold Turner, J. D. Y. Peel, and others, but very little on the variants found among Yoruba communities in Britain. It explores the interaction of traditional and Christian spiritual repertoires in commendable depth. As a study of the religious dimension of a particular community—Yoruba labor/educational migrants in late-twentieth century London–it is a pioneering piece of work which will find a readership in several academic disciplines."--Karin Barber, University of Birmingham, England "Deeply researched, beautifully written, and informed by a lively sympathy for its subjects, Hermione Harris's book is by far the richest study that has yet been done of an African Christian church in the Diaspora. Reaching back to the first big wave of Nigerian settlement in London over forty years ago, Harris's subtle analysis shows how indigenous Yoruba notions of spiritual power fuse with Bible interpretation to shape the life-worlds of Nigerian students and workers, and underpin the rituals of prayer and revelation that answer to their practical and existential needs. This will surely prove a benchmark study for anyone interested in the religious life of the African Diaspora for many years to come." -- (London)

Yoruba at Home and In Diaspora

Nigeria in the Diaspora