I'm currently in the middle of organising my one-month trip to Nigeria in April this year. I will stay in Ibadan, Oyo State, for about three weeks and then travel around Yorubaland, the Southwest of the country, for another week.
I'm planning to work in the National Archive in Ibadan to research private letters and journals of prominent political and religious figures like Herbert Macaulay, the grandson of Africa's first bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther and pioneer of Nigerian nationalism, as well as the brothers Alexander Babatunde Akinyele, bishop of Ibadan and CBE, and HRH Isaac Babalola Akinyele, Ibadan's second Christian Olubadan. I'm hoping to explore the ramifications of 19th century missionary language use on religious coexistence and tensions of early 20th century Yorubaland, and the rise of Nigerian nationalism in the same period,
From consulting the material I expect to learn about the space allowed for Yoruba religious heritage in early modern forms of Nigerian Christianity. The Akinyele brothers were highly influential public figures in positions of both clerical and mundane power; tracing back their views on syncretism as well as their position towards Islam to 19th century missionary language use connects the missionary enterprise I mainly focus on in my research with the formative period of Nigerian Christianity. From the private papers of Herbert Macaulay I also expect to discover more about the relation between the rise of Nigerian nationalism and the religious landscape of the early 20th century. The role of Yoruba religious heritage and Christianity respectively in mundane power struggles will be of equal interest to me as the dialectic of Islam as an ally against European influence and a threat to a Christian elite in the emerging nation.
Towards the end of my stay I'm planning to travel to several places in Yorubaland: Abẹokuta, the centre of the Yoruba mission between the late 1840s and 1860s; Ile-Ife, according to Yoruba anthropogony the birthplace of all human beings; possibly the sacred forest of Osogbo with its shrine to the Yoruba goddess Osun; Lagos, centre of the British colonial administration. I'm hoping to experience first-hand the long-term repercussions of the 19th century religious encounter between European and African missionaries, African converts, Muslims, and the traditional Yoruba population.
I'm of course planning to post regular updates on this blog, where possible including photos.
I'm planning to work in the National Archive in Ibadan to research private letters and journals of prominent political and religious figures like Herbert Macaulay, the grandson of Africa's first bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther and pioneer of Nigerian nationalism, as well as the brothers Alexander Babatunde Akinyele, bishop of Ibadan and CBE, and HRH Isaac Babalola Akinyele, Ibadan's second Christian Olubadan. I'm hoping to explore the ramifications of 19th century missionary language use on religious coexistence and tensions of early 20th century Yorubaland, and the rise of Nigerian nationalism in the same period,
From consulting the material I expect to learn about the space allowed for Yoruba religious heritage in early modern forms of Nigerian Christianity. The Akinyele brothers were highly influential public figures in positions of both clerical and mundane power; tracing back their views on syncretism as well as their position towards Islam to 19th century missionary language use connects the missionary enterprise I mainly focus on in my research with the formative period of Nigerian Christianity. From the private papers of Herbert Macaulay I also expect to discover more about the relation between the rise of Nigerian nationalism and the religious landscape of the early 20th century. The role of Yoruba religious heritage and Christianity respectively in mundane power struggles will be of equal interest to me as the dialectic of Islam as an ally against European influence and a threat to a Christian elite in the emerging nation.
Towards the end of my stay I'm planning to travel to several places in Yorubaland: Abẹokuta, the centre of the Yoruba mission between the late 1840s and 1860s; Ile-Ife, according to Yoruba anthropogony the birthplace of all human beings; possibly the sacred forest of Osogbo with its shrine to the Yoruba goddess Osun; Lagos, centre of the British colonial administration. I'm hoping to experience first-hand the long-term repercussions of the 19th century religious encounter between European and African missionaries, African converts, Muslims, and the traditional Yoruba population.
I'm of course planning to post regular updates on this blog, where possible including photos.
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