Osun across the Waters: A Yoruba Goddess in Africa and the Americas

Ã'sun is a brilliant deity whose imagery and worldwide devotion demand
broad and deep scholarly reflection. Contributors to the ground-breaking Africa's
Ogun, edited by Sandra Barnes (Indiana University Press, 1997), explored the complex
nature of Ogun, the orisa who transforms life through iron and technology. Ã'sun
across the Waters continues this exploration of Yoruba religion by documenting Ã'sun
religion. Ã'sun presents a dynamic example of the resilience and renewed importance
of traditional Yoruba images in negotiating spiritual experience, social identity,
and political power in contemporary Africa and the African
diaspora.

The 17 contributors to Ã'sun across the Waters
delineate the special dimensions of Ã'sun religion as it appears through multiple
disciplines in multiple cultural contexts. Tracing the extent of Ã'sun traditions
takes us across the waters and back again. Ã'sun traditions continue to grow and
change as they flow and return from their sources in Africa and the
Americas.