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Orisa: Yoruba Gods and Spiritual Identity in Africa and the Diaspora. Edited by Toyin FaIoIa and Ann Geneva. Trenton, N.J.: Africa World Press, 2005. Pp. ix, 457. $34.95 paper.
Falola and Genova have put together an interesting set of essays for those interested in orisha traditions as found in transnational contexts. Taking the premise that traditional orisha worship is indeed becoming a world religion, most of the authors in the volume address questions of cultural flow, authenticity, and practice in shifting and shared geographical contexts. As the volume's apt title suggests, the pieces put together create a montage of analysis that both support and deflect the notion of cultural, ethnic, racial, and social purity for Yoruba religious scholars and practitioners in Africa and in its Diaspora. Of particular interest to writers in the volume like Michael Marcuzzi, Jo Anna Hunter, and Anthony Attah Agbali is the role that the...