WHAT GENDER IS MOTHERHOOD?

Transcription

1 WHAT GENDER IS MOTHERHOOD?

2 GENDER AND CULTURAL STUDIES IN AFRICA AND THE DIASPORA Series Editor : Oy è r ó nk ẹ Oy ě w ù mí, Stony Brook University Series Advisers: Adeleke Adeeko, Ohio State University N Dri Assi é -Lumumba, Cornell University Ayo Coly, Dartmouth College Carolyn Cooper, University of Western Indies, Mona Godwin Murunga, University of Nairobi Filomina Steady, Wellesley College This book series spotlights the experiences of Africans on the continent and in its multiple and multilayered diasporas. Its objective is to make available publications that focus on people of African descent wherever they are located, targeting innovative research that derives questions, concepts, and theories from historical and contemporary experiences. The broad scope of the series includes gender scholarship as well as studies that engage with culture in all its complexities. From a variety of disciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary orientations, these studies engage current debates, address urgent questions, and open up new perspectives in African knowledge production. PUBLISHED BY PALGRAVE: Spatial Literacy: Contemporary Asante Women s Place-making by Epifania Akosua Amoo-Adare Folklore, Gender, and AIDS in Malawi: No Secret Under the Sun by Anika Wilson Democracy at Home in South Africa: Family Fictions and Transitional Culture by Kerry Bystrom What Gender is Motherhood?: Changing Yor ù b á Ideals of Power, Procreation, and Identity in the Age of Modernity by Oy è r ó nk ẹ Oy ě w ù m í

3 WHAT GENDER IS MOTHERHOOD? CHANGING YOR Ù B Á IDEALS OF POWER, PROCREATION, AND IDENTITY IN THE AGE OF MODERNITY Oy è r ó nk ẹ Oy ě w ù m í

4 WHAT GENDER IS MOTHERHOOD? Copyright Oy è r ó nké Oye wùmí 2016 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission. In accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6-10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. First published 2016 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN The author has asserted their rights to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number , of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of Nature America, Inc., One New York Plaza, Suite 4500, New York, NY Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. ISBN: E-PDF ISBN: DOI: / Distribution in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number , of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Oye wùmí, Oyèrónké, author. Title: What gender is motherhood? : changing Yorù bá ideas on power, procreation, and identity in the age of modernity / by Oyèrónké Oye wùmí. Other titles: Gender and cultural studies in Africa and the diaspora. Description: New York : Palgrave Macmillan, Series: Gender and cultural studies in Africa and the diaspora Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN Subjects: LCSH: Motherhood Nigeria. Ifa (Religion) Gender identity Nigeria. Oyo (African people) Classification: LCC HQ759 O DDC / dc23 LC record available at A catalogue record for the book is available from the British Library.

5 In Praise of Iya Mo f ire f ú n Ò ṣ un Mo f ire f ú n Ọ ya Mo f ọ ire f ú n gbogbo à w ọ n ì y á Af ì m ọ f ob ì nrin, Iye wa t á a p é n í m ọ Af ì m ọ j ẹ t Ọṣ un o, Iye wa t á a p é n í m ọ Ǹ j ẹ, ẹ j ẹ k á w ó l ẹ f ob ì nrin Ob ì nrin l ó b í wa Ka wa to d è n ì y à n Ẹ j ẹ k á w ó l ẹ f ob ì nrin Ob ì nrin l ọ b Ọ ba K ọ ba ó t ó d Ò r ìṣà

6 CONTENTS Acknowledgments A Note on Orthography ix xiii Introduction: Exhuming Subjugated Knowledge and Liberating Marginalized Epistemes 1 1. Divining Knowledge: The Man Question in If á 9 2. (Re)Casting the Yor ù b á World: If á, Ì y á, and the Signification of Difference Matripotency: Ì y á in Philosophical Concepts and Sociopolitical Institutions Writing and Gendering the Past: Ak ọ w é and the Endogenous Production of History The Gender Dictaters: Making Gender Attributions in Religion and Culture Toward a Genealogy of Gender, Gendered Names, and Naming Practices The Poetry of Weeping Brides: The Role and Impact of Marriage Residence in the Making of Praise Names Changing Names: The Roles of Christianity and Islam in Making Yor ù b á Names Kosher for the Modern World 193 Conclusion: Motherhood in the Quest for Social Transformation 211 Notes 221 Glossary 247 Bibliography 251 Index 259

7 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS T he completion of this book represents another stage in my intellectual journey. During the long process of producing it, I drew on the generosity and support of a number of individuals and institutions. First, I want to thank my colleague Ad é l é k è Ad éẹ k ó for reading drafts of the evolving manuscript from the very beginning of the project to its completion. He has always patiently read anything I sent him, and his comments prompt me to refine my ideas. I am especially grateful to him for making available to me his expertise in Yor ù b á language, offering his translations of words and phrases and applying diacritical marks to my Yor ù b á -language texts. I thank Tolulope Idowu, my friend from youth, who read numerous versions of the manuscript from the very beginning of the process. She was always willing to read the crudest of my drafts, offering helpful suggestions and applying her strong editorial skills. My friend Diana Cassells listened patiently on a daily basis to my ideas, read various parts of the manuscript, and was especially helpful in providing insightful comments about the Yor ù b á Diasporic experiences in Cuba and Brazil. I am grateful to Filomina Steady, friend, mentor and colleague, who read a draft of the manuscript and shared her considerable knowledge and experience unstintingly throughout the writing process. In addition, the following friends and colleagues read all or parts of the manuscript and offered useful comments: Tushabe Tushabe, Abosede George, Abena Asare, Olakunle George, and Marame Gueye. Olasope Oyelaran also gave me the benefit of his knowledge of Yor ù b á society and letters. My colleague Akintunde Akinyemi drew my attention to recent studies on oriki and Oyo oral traditions including his own. Thank you for your insights and the book. Farooq Kperogi and Muhammad Shakir Balogun read chapters of the manuscript, shared their extensive knowledge of Islam, and gave insightful comments on the impact of Islam on the naming practices of various ethnic communities in Nigeria including Hausa, Yor ù b á, and Batonum. To them both, I offer my gratitude. I owe a load of thanks to my friend and colleague Jimi Adesina for his encouragement and unwavering support over the years. I appreciate my

8 x ACKNOWLEDGMENTS sista and colleague Cheryl Sterling for her encouragement and willingness to share her knowledge of the workings of the academy. It is a compliment to a scholar when another scholar takes up his or her work and looks at it critically. It is in that spirit that I hope my examination of the work of intellectuals writing on Yor ù b á culture will be taken. In this regard, I wish to thank Toyin Falola for responding by to my questions about aspects of his writings on Samuel Johnson, the pioneer Yor ù b á local historian. I am also grateful to him for lending books and documents from his formidable library when I could not get them anywhere else. I cannot thank enough my research assistants Titilayo Halimat Somotan and Emma Wilhelmina Parker Halm, and Ademide Adelusi-Adeluyi, who put in an inordinate number of hours in preparing the manuscript for publication. I am especially indebted to Ademide who dropped everything and came to the rescue at the last minute, solving technical glitches as we adhered to the publisher s guidelines. To my long-standing editor extraordinaire and friend Lindsey Reed, I have benefitted from your ideas and skill over many years, and this book is no exception. I am deeply appreciative of your efforts. I would like to acknowledge a series of grants from the Stony Brook University: The Provost s Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Science (FAHSS) initiative. These grants supported me over three summers, allowing me to go to Ogbomoso, Nigeria, to conduct research. I must acknowledge the babalawo in Ogbomoso, who gave generously of their time and knowledge, contributing significantly to the quality of my work. In this regard, I cannot thank enough babalawo Chief Akalaifa and his son Olayode Akalaifa (now deceased), who gave many hours of their time and knowledge to educate me about Ifa and Orisa Devotion. Olayode introduced me to an Orisa Devoted congregation in Ogbomoso named Ijo Elesin Ifa Adimula, Irunmole Parapo. It was on my visit to this house of worship that the 15-year-old girl Fafunso Oyetayo explained the procedure of the religious service to me. I appreciate them all. Chief Olagoke Adio Akanni, Araba Oluawo Ogbomoso, the head of the Babalawo in the town, granted me many interviews. He answered my numerous questions and also shared numerous Ifa verses. I am grateful. Special thanks to the anonymous reviewers whose comments and questions prodded me to refine the manuscript. This book is about motherhood. My gratitude must start with my very own iya, Igbayilola, the model of matripotency, who showed me the way, and from whom I gained much knowledge and experience. I am grateful to my children Olasunbo, Akinboye, and Mapate for choosing me and making me their mother. My omooya are always there to support me. I appreciate them all: Bolanle, Aderemi, Ademola, Oyewole, and Oyekemi for their

9 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xi encouragement. Eku oro iya o. I am appreciative of my father, His Royal Majesty Oba Oladunni Oyewumi, Laronke, and awon iya in the palace, who were always ready to entertain my questions, share their knowledge and experiences: most especially Iya Saki. Over the years, Soun s Palace has been a superb space for apprehending culture for a culture fiend like me. I must not forget my aunt Nkanlola, who always accompanied me on my interview rounds with babalawo. Finally, I appreciate my friends Bose Afolabi and Olajide Bello for their unwavering support. I was especially encouraged by their rapt attention whenever I discussed my visits to the babalawo. I take full responsibility for the content of this book.

10 A NOTE ON ORTHOGRAPHY Y or ù b á is a tonal language, with three underlying pitch levels for vowels and syllabic nasal: the low tone is marked with a grave accent; the midtone is unmarked; and the high tone is marked with an acute accent. I have used tonal accents and subscript marks (e.g., ẹ, ọ, ṣ ). Some syllables require two diacritics, as in my last name, Oy ě w ù m í, where an acute accent joins with a grave accent over the e to form a v. As to the subscript marks: the ẹ is approximately equivalent to the e in the English word yet ; the ọ is close to the sound in dog ; and the ṣ is close to the English sh sound. I have used tonal marks on the Yor ù b á words and names that are part of my text. However, there are many Yor ù b á names, especially of scholars, that remain unmarked because up to this point, the tendency has been to discount the diacritics in African languages. Yet, without the diacritics, those words do not make sense.