Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Abridged summary of usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com - 13 updates in 10 topics
Oyeronke Oyewumi
Adieu Professor Olabiyi Yai
E KUSÉ O. ÀWA TI DI ELÉHA NIBI O. ÈDÙMÀRÈ Á SO WA O. ÀSE
Ojogbon, eku'jo meta. Awon enia mi nko? Eha tiwa ju ti yin lo o. K'Edumare so gbogbo wa. Ase!
The last time I heard from Professor Yai—the professor of professors-- he made me laugh. It was a post on my Facebook wall on April 9, 2020 written in Yoruba, lamenting the social isolation that had been mandated as a result of Covid 19: “we are in purdah here”, he wrote (my translation).The Ojogbon’s use of the noun Eleha calls forth a word that is used to describe Muslim women in purdah, whose movements have been restricted by their husbands. In that spirit, I replied that our purdah in New York City is greater than theirs in Cotonou, as if comparing husbands! A great multilinguist, the professor is a person of words: brilliant words, thought-provoking words, conceptual words, many words, carefully curated.
I acknowledged with great appreciation the Professor’s support for my work, and contribution to my intellectual growth in my book, The Invention of Women: Making an African Sense of Western Gender Discourses (1997). Although at the time, I had not met him in person, he was always available and ready to phone chat with me as I worked to make a Yoruba sense of one thing, or the other. For a young and emerging scholar like me, trapped and (academically) isolated in a Historically White College (Berkeley), his encouragement and engagement with my work were invaluable.
Ojogbon Yai’s writings proved to be a great methodological, theoretical and substantive resource for a student of Yoruba language who was just beginning to understand the epistemic wealth that the language encodes. Allow me mention one of his erudite conceptualizations. His brilliant elucidation of the concept of asa (tradition) proved to be what I needed as I grappled with questions of tradition and modernity in the Yoruba experience. Unshackling tradition from the frozen silo of anthropological thinking, he wrote dazzlingly:
Something cannot qualify as asa (tradition) which is not a result of deliberate choice (sa) based on discernment and awareness of historical practices and processes (itan) by individual or collective ori. And since choice presides over te birth of asa (tradition), the latter is permanently liable to metamorphoses (1994).
The implications of this theoretical intervention cannot be overstated!
The last time I saw Professor Yai was in January 2018, at
his home, Maison Yai, in Cotonou, Benin (see picture). After a wonderful Accra Christmas, in a spirit
of West African adventure, I took a bus from Accra through Togo, en route to
Cotonou, Benin. I was a guest of
Professor Elise and Maria Soumani, and their son Ogundiran. I enjoyed a few glorious days of their gracious hospitality. Professor
Yai invited us all to lunch one afternoon. The lunch was sumptuous in more ways
than one: the food and wine of course, the animated conversations, not to talk
of just being in the presence of great minds. It was a memorable time, but
little did I know that this was the last time I would be in his presence. We
are grateful for his life and the rich legacy he has bequeath us.
Ojogbon, sun re o!
- Sharing from ABC News: This is against the backdrop of the announced "peculiar peace" deal between Morocco and Israel - 1 Update
- African Literature and the CIA - 1 Update
- Seductiveness of Conventional Politics and Challenges facing APC - 1 Update
- Nigerian Protest Solidarity Songs, 19: Blessing Nigeria - 2 Updates
- U-Report: James Ibori Says Late Nigerian Newspaper Publisher, Sam Nda-Isaiah Had Strong Convictions - 1 Update
- Today's Quote - 2 Updates
- Understanding and Shaping Life throughStudying and Creating Yoruba Poetry of Laughter, Delight and Wonder - 2 Updates
- To Secure Northern Lives, First Secure Northern Brains - 1 Update
- China Undercover (full film) | FRONTLINE - 1 Update
- – NIPSS: Comment on Publication by Tunji OlaopaTHISDAYLIVE - 1 Update
Emmanuel Udogu <udo...@appstate.edu>: Dec 12 04:02PM -0500
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-admin-offered-700m-911-victims-save-sudan/story?id=74672919&cid=clicksource_4380645_2_heads_hero_live_headlines_hed
Traveling from Haifa to Tel Aviv and ...more
Toyin Falola <toyin...@austin.utexas.edu>: Dec 12 09:15PM
https://www.cambridge.org/core/elements/african-literature-and-the-cia/20B041DA056BA09282991D14DF33D6D5
Sent from my iPhone
...more
Salihu Lukman <smlu...@gmail.com>: Dec 12 09:22PM +0100
Seductiveness of Conventional Politics and the Challenges facing APC
Salihu Moh. Lukman
Progressive Governors Forum
Abuja
This is dedicated to Mr. Sam Nda-Isaiah, a founding ...more
Toyin Falola <toyin...@austin.utexas.edu>: Dec 12 06:48PM
https://youtu.be/lewZ8ZhZB3Q
...more
kojo <ando...@gmail.com>: Dec 12 03:20PM -0500
[image: image.png]
On Sat, Dec 12, 2020 at 2:23 PM Toyin Falola <toyin...@austin.utexas.edu>
wrote:
--
andoh
...more
"Chidi Anthony Opara, FIIM" <chidi...@gmail.com>: Dec 12 08:58PM +0100
Report by: Tony Eluemunor
Chief James Onanefe Ibori has described the late Sam Nda-Isaiah, who died
Friday night, as a man with strong convictions and who expressed them ...more
"Chidi Anthony Opara, FIIM" <chidi...@gmail.com>: Dec 12 04:12AM +0100
To The "Trumptards":
For the umpteenth time, "hear say" and conspiracy theories cannot stand
the judicial requirement of "beyond all reasonable doubts".
-Chidi Anthony Opara(CAO)
-- ...more
"Chidi Anthony Opara, FIIM" <chidi...@gmail.com>: Dec 12 07:56PM +0100
The crux of Trump's allegation is that there is systemic election fraud in
the US presidential election of 3rd November, 2020. Even without being a
legal expert, I know that it is almost impossible ...more
Dr BioDun J Ogundayo <akand...@gmail.com>: Dec 11 09:46PM -0500
Esteemed participants,
Silence is truly golden. I have "lurked" on this forum as many great minds
have enlightened us. Especially about the intellectual and spiritual hubris
garbed (or garbled!!) ...more
Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju <toyin....@gmail.com>: Dec 12 09:05AM +0100
To clarify-
I see Ogundayo's summation as a critique of my position, giving much food
for thought but which ironically only that looks to me as an
effective means of reinforcing that position, ...more
"Farooq A. Kperogi" <farooq...@gmail.com>: Dec 12 12:34AM -0500
Saturday, December 12, 2020
To Secure Northern Lives, First Secure Northern Brains
<https://www.farooqkperogi.com/2020/12/to-secure-northern-lives-first-secure.html>
*By Farooq A. Kperogi*
...more
Dr BioDun J Ogundayo <akand...@gmail.com>: Dec 12 03:34AM -0500
https://youtu.be/wM1DjkPWtj0
--
BioDun J. Ogundayo , PhD. Arokesagun
...more
Tunji Olaopa <tolao...@gmail.com>: Dec 11 08:50PM +0100
https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2020/12/11/nipss-comment-on-publication-by-tunji-olaopa/
...more
You received this digest because you're subscribed to updates for this group. You can change your settings on the group membership page.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it send an email to usaafricadialo...@googlegroups.com.
OLAYINKA AGBETUYI
Listserv moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfric...@googlegroups.com
To subscribe to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDial...@googlegroups.com
Current archives at http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
Early archives at http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "USA Africa Dialogue Series" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to usaafricadialo...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/usaafricadialogue/CALFdaiCWBaNWL8KBtXRc7aJQ__mRJzbFotPc1%3Dx67576tmAmvg%40mail.gmail.com.