Women in Yoruba Religions

Yoruba cultural practices are among the most heavily studied and documented of any African traditions. Despite the wealth of information, surprisingly little centers on women and their experiences; this is particularly true of the religious studies literature, as much of it highlights the male-dominated spaces of Ifa priesthood and Christian clergy. Oyèrónké Olademo’s Women in Yoruba Religions is a welcome and needed addition to the field of Yoruba religious studies, and African religious studies more broadly, as it takes seriously women’s roles and representations within Yoruba religious communities. This is important, Olademo centrally argues, because religious roles are a primary locus of power and agency for Yoruba women.

The book is composed of six chapters, exclusive of the introduction and conclusion, and each examines a different facet of female religiosity and leadership in Yoruba society. The work is well-researched and interdisciplinary—primarily incorporating religious studies, historical, art historical, and anthropological sources, including Olademo’s own ethnographic vignettes. She begins by examining women’s traditional roles within Yoruba society at large, including the economic and political roles, and then goes on to devote one chapter to each facet of what has been called the Yoruba triple religious heritage: Traditional Religion, Christianity, and Islam. The final two chapters highlight women’s roles in diasporic variants of Yoruba Traditional Religion and the effects of globalization on the tradition. Readers of Olademo’s first book, Women in the Yoruba Religious Sphere (SUNY Press, 2003), will certainly notice some overlap, particularly in the discussion of Traditional Religion and Christianity, but this book meaningfully distinguishes itself in its richer ethnography, deeper discussion of Islam, highlighting of women in the diaspora, and discussion of globalization.

One of Olademo’s primary and oft-repeated points is that, while patriarchy is a global phenomenon, Yoruba women wield a great deal of power as economic, social, and religious leaders, particularly within traditional religious formations. She notes that complementarity and mutual respect are the hallmarks of gender relations between traditional worshipers, with iyalosa and iyanifa (female religious leaders) enjoying the same societal prestige as babalosa and babalawo (male religious leaders). To illustrate this, Olademo offers ethnographic sketches of some of the iyalosa with whom she worked and provides insightful analyses—this is a place where the book shines. Of note, she records previously undocumented information on priestesses of Erinle, a less-studied orisa (deity) within the traditional religion, as well as on female manifestations of other deities typically regarded as male, which both scholars and practitioners are sure to find of interest.

A key subject on which Olademo touches is the issue of menstrual taboos within Yoruba traditional religion, a point of contention that has often arisen among scholars and adherents alike. She notes, first, that prohibitions on female participation in certain rituals during menstruation exist not because it is thought “unclean,” as is the case in some other religious traditions. Rather, it is because menstruation is a time during which women’s power is heightened and so their encountering shrines during this time might result in “a clash of powers that is best avoided” (49). Further, while there is a widespread conception that traditionalist women are universally barred from their duties as worship leaders while menstruating, Olademo’s ethnographic data shows that this varies from place to place and deity to deity, with priestesses of Erinle in Ogun State, for example, being sanctioned to continue their duties during their cycles. 

Olademo convincingly demonstrates the centrality of women’s position in Yoruba society in the opening chapters of the book. As the discussion turns to Christianity and Islam, she laments that the “prescribed subordinate roles for women” (64) these traditions brought with them severely undermined women’s power and authority within Yoruba society. Unlike the widespread female leadership within the Traditional Religion, she notes that women are seldom given leadership over Christian churches or Islamic ministries despite the significant roles they play within them. Yoruba Christian women, she says, have challenged this exclusion in a number of ways, including founding their own religious movements and creating alternate extrachurch spaces that center women. Women’s presence is felt most heavily within African Independent Churches, which, Olademo contends, were created to “contextualize the Christian message within African cultural beliefs and worship practices” (79) and, therefore, are often more accepting of female leadership that mirrors the traditional culture. While Muslim women enjoy even less access to formal leadership than do Christians, Olademo explains that they, too, exert agency within their religious communities. This is accomplished primarily through market activity, participation in charitable organizations, and the formation of egbe alasalatu (independent prayer groups). Of note, she says that these female-led spaces, both the Christian and Muslim variety, are more inclined to engage in practices found in Yoruba Traditional Religion, such as ritual bathing.

The chapter on Yoruba traditional religion in the diaspora, including related traditions like Santeria, Candomble, and Haitian Vodou, highlights the continuity of women’s centrality as religious leaders. It also helpfully touches on the timely and contentious issues of gender identity and sexual orientation. Olademo says that while these are not overt issues in continental formations of Yoruba Traditional Religion, the “reality of LGBTQ adherents . . . in the diaspora means that analysis of Yoruba gender [and sexuality] ideology must be expanded” (122). While heterosexism is still a widespread norm even in the diaspora, she notes that Yoruba religion is generally welcoming to all people and that LGBTQ women are present as priestesses.

As the book concludes, Olademo discusses the globalization of Yoruba religious culture and how the intertwined factors of the rise of air travel, technology, and global commerce have contributed to its dissemination, with women as key participants. While this chapter felt sparse compared to the others, it introduced ideas ripe for further study. Olademo’s wide scope and nuanced discussion makes Women in Yoruba Religions a valuable contribution to the field of Yoruba studies, Africana studies, religious studies, and women’s studies that both scholars and practitioners will greatly benefit from reading.

Funlayo E. Wood is the founding director of the African and Diasporic Religious Studies Association (ADRSA) and chief priestess of Ile Ase Ire, Inc.

Funlayo Wood

Date Of Review:

April 3, 2024