A Bounteous Gift

Zoya has a perfect life. A happy marriage, loving children, and a satisfying career. She never pondered how things could have been different until a sudden disaster struck. A disaster which trapped her between life and death, in a realm where the past and the present exist at the same time. There, she is compelled to come to terms with the ghosts of her past—an infant she lost in childbirth, a romance, and a secret that was so traumatic at the time of its occurrence that it remained submerged for many years. Reliving these memories in a different realm, she learns to appreciate the numerous blessings she had taken for granted and desires to return to her life. Will Zoya be able to make peace with her memories, and her past, and get a chance to be with her loved ones again? Will she ever be able to come back to who she was and who she loved?

Ã’sun is a brilliant deity whose imagery and worldwide devotion demand broad and deep scholarly reflection. Contributors to the ground-breaking Africa's Ogun, edited by Sandra Barnes (Indiana University Press, 1997), explored the complex nature of Ogun, the orisa who transforms life through iron and technology. Ã’sun across the Waters continues this exploration of Yoruba religion by documenting Ã’sun religion. Ã’sun presents a dynamic example of the resilience and renewed importance of traditional Yoruba images in negotiating spiritual experience, social identity, and political power in contemporary Africa and the African diaspora. The 17 contributors to Ã’sun across the Waters delineate the special dimensions of Ã’sun religion as it appears through multiple disciplines in multiple cultural contexts. Tracing the extent of Ã’sun traditions takes us across the waters and back again. Ã’sun traditions continue to grow and change as they flow and return from their sources in Africa and the Americas.