Gendering Agency in Spirit Possession of Yoruba Eegun and Imole

Abstract

In Yorubaland, there exists many ethnic subgroups with different cultural identities and affiliations. In the mist of mosaic affiliations, there are shared religious practices, that are consistent, regardless of disparate cultural affinities. Spirit possession is one of these common traditional practices. Spirit possession is not new in studies on Yoruba rituality. While this has been given scholarly attention by many scholars, it has not been seriously engaged in Akoko, an eastern Yoruba sub-group. Indeed, there are many perspectives to the study of spirit possession; this study focuses on gender. In the study of ori inu (inner head),which is central to the possession, the study argues that its activation and possession are not specific to a gender, rather, it is a collaborative effort where both genders are indispensable. Also, gender category of male priest as deity’s wife feminises his gender, further globalising gendering in the possession. Ori is discussed in two prominent institutions of the possession: imole (deity) and eegun (masquerade). These two are discussed as trajectories to gender studies in Akoko religious history. Gendering spirit possession in a Yoruba subgroup that has not been sufficiently researched is germane to scholarship. Historical research methodology is used with the technique of critical analysis of data. The theory of historical feminism is used to emphasize non-gender specificity of spirit possession. Inter-disciplinary approach like ethnography is used to have firm grasp of the practices. In all, gendering history is crucial to knowledge production, especially in understanding the agency and hierarchies that forged Akoko and Yoruba history.