Latest Dissertation News and other stuff

I recently became acquainted with the work of Mikelle Smith Omari-Tunkara and was immediately impressed by her breadth of knowledge, which extends from the deep source of African religion and art to Candomble in Brazil. Dr. O, as I refer to her, has been widely published and referenced, and is a passionate and rigorous scholar. Her book, "Manipulating the Sacred: Yoruba Art, Ritual, and Resistance in Candomble," can be purchased online through the Wayne State University Press website: http://wsupress.wayne.edu/africana/afranthropology/omarims/omarib.html

She has over 20 years of fieldwork experience as an "outsider/within" initiate (Manipulating the Sacred, xvii). A term I had not yet come across until I read her book. Dr. O. decribes the "outsider/within" position as a liminal place:

"The term resonates for me: I straddle many cultural fences and navigate multpile domains as a Ph.D.-educated African American woman who is a full professor and who maintains, among others, close ties to uninitiated African American Christian communities and to a global community of individuals who are initiated into the Yoruba religion." (Manipulating the Sacred, xvii)

I am elated to report that Dr. O. has agreed to assist me in my dissertation endeavor as an external reader. I know I will be in capable hands!

I am still trying to contact Mae Marinalva to lock down my dates for Brazil in June. I will post that information when it is settled.

Tomorrow, I am leaving for San Francisco for five days. I am going to attend a public Umbanda ceremony in Oakland led by Iyalorixa Tina de Souza from Sao Paulo. I look forward to speaking with her about the place of Umbanda religion in Brazil and the world and the subject of women drummers. Her daughter is a drummer and knows the 16 sacred rhythms. Should be very exciting!