From “Negro Brujo” to Cultural Patrimony: Transnational Circulation of the “Orisha Tradition”

Abstract

By looking at the transnational circulation of the “Orisha tradition†between Nigeria, Cuba and Mexico, this article shows how cultural patrimonialization of “Yoruba culture†has allowed Orisha religions to go from being regarded as atavisms of an “undesirable race†to being legitimized as cultural patrimony. Drawing from multi-sited ethnographic research in the three contexts I explore how culture is transformed into a resource which is mobilized to generate legitimacy in both of these contexts, while also shaping the religious organization and praxis of Orisha adherents. What contradictions and conflicts are engendered through these patrimonialization processes? How is patrimonialization connected to the State and the market?