Educational Media Reviews Online

Oya is a brief meditation on the question: “as a gender nonconforming Nigerian artist, will I be able to find a place for myself between genders and spirituality?” By examining the Adebanjo family’s Yoruban spiritual roots, Seyi Adebanjo hopes to show that gender roles in Yoruban culture have always been progressive. This would be counter to a modern national trend toward strict heterosexual and cisgender norms, and prohibition of same-sex marriage (e.g., Nigeria’s Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act of 2013). While Adebanjo provides some evidence that indigenous spiritual practices have historically been more inclusive of fluid or nonconforming identities, this reviewer is left wanting a more thorough discussion to fully contextualize the role of indigenous spirituality in modern Nigeria, and to understand how it may impact the country’s broader cultural narrative in years to come.