BOOK SIGNING -
Wednesday,
February 24, 2010
L'Afrique
a Cuba La Regla de Osha: Culte ou Religion?
(An essay on Yoruba Religion in Cuba by Professor Ndeye Anna
Gaye Fall, Department of Roman Languages,
University Cheilh Anta Diop, Dakar)
L'Afrique
a Cuba La Regla de Osha: Culte ou Religion?
(An essay on
Yoruba Religion in Cuba)
As part of an agreement entered with the publishing house
"L'Harmattan Senegal", the West African Research Center
(WARC), on Wednesday, February 24, organized the signing
ceremony of the recently published essay written by Professor
Ndeye Anna Gaye-Fall, chair of the Department of Roman
Languages at University Cheikh Anta Diop, "L'Afrique a
Cuba/La Regla de Osha: Culte ou Religion?". This essay
is a condensed edition of Professor Fall's These d'Etat
(the second dissertation which, until very recently, was
required from academics in francophone west African universities)
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Pr Anna Gaye Fall
signing copies of her book
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The press covered the
event.
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| In her work,
Professor Fall submits that "La Regla de Osha", which is
a Cuban version of Yoruba spiritual practices should, indeed,
be perceived as a religion of its own and not brushed aside
as a cult. For the purpose, Professor Fall engages in erudite
comparative approaches between Islam, Christianity and Osha
cosmogony and pantheon. She also insists on the uphill fights
practitioners of that African religion had to wage in order
to preserve it in a Christian context and in the days of
the Cuban communist revolution. |
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Professor Abdoulaye Bara Diop, a retired
don at University Cheikh Anta Diop and former Director
of IFAN, presiding over the preliminary discussions of
the book, praised the work for its in-depth investigation
and its significant contribution to a better understanding
of the Black Diaspora, religious and cultural practices
in the Caribbeans and repossession of the African cultural
and religious heritage the world over.
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The event was attended by over 100 participants including
academics, researchers, students, reporters and the
larger public.
This is an opportunity for WARC to stress the cardinal
importance of this joint venture with L'Harmattan Senegal
and to suggest further initiatives such as the translation
in English of these new publications which are a major
contribution to learning on West Africa in particular,
on Africa and the Diaspora in general.
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A large public attended the ceremony
among them Mrs Mbengue and Cisse
from UCAD
Ousmane Sene Director, WARC
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