Oyotunji

32°36′34.51″N 80°48′10.24″W Oyotunji African Village is a village located near Sheldon, Beaufort County, South Carolina that was founded by Oba Efuntola Oseijeman Adelabu Adefunmi I in 1970.^[1][2]

Oyotunji village is named after the Oyo empire, and the name literally means Oyo returns or Oyo rises again.^[1][3] Oyotunji village covers 27 acres (11 ha) and has a Yoruba temple which was moved from Harlem, New York to its present location in 1960.^[4][5][6] During the 1970s, the era of greatest population growth at the village, the number of inhabitants grew from 5 to between 200 and 250.^[7][8][9] The population is rumored to fluctuate between 5 and 9 families as of the last 10 years. It was originally intended to be located in Savannah, Georgia, but was eventually settled into its current position after disputes with neighbors in Sheldon proper, over drumming and tourists.

The village is constructed to be analogous to the villages of the traditional Yoruba city-states in modern-day Nigeria, although modernization of the village's public works have been carried out under Adefunmi II.^{[citation needed]}

Following Adefunmi I's death in 2005, he was succeeded by his son, Oba Adejuyigbe Adefunmi II. In July 2024, Adefunmi II was fatally stabbed to death by his sister Akiba Meredith after a "heated argument". Adefumni II was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.^[10]

References

1. Peek, Philip M.; Yankah, Kwesi (2004). African Folklore: An Encyclopedia. Routledge. p. 660. ISBN 9781135948733. OCLC 7385565477.
2. Jalloh, Alusine; Falola, Toyin (2008). The United States and West Africa: Interactions and Relations (Rochester studies in African history and the diaspora). Vol. 34. University Rochester Press. p. 32. ISBN 9781580463089. OCLC 166379802.
3. Hunt, Carl M. (1979). yotunji Village: the Yoruba movement in America. University Press of America (University of Michigan). ISBN 9780819107480. OCLC 5625761.
4. Curry, Mary Cuthrell (1997). Making the Gods in New York (The Yoruba Religion in the African American Community). Taylor & Francis, Garland series (Studies in African American history and culture). p. 7. ISBN 9780815329190. OCLC 925262399.
5. Murphy, Larry G (2000). Down by the Riverside: Readings in African American Religion (Religion, Race, and Ethnicity). NYU Press. p. 257. ISBN 9780814755808. OCLC 44727724.
6. Kail, Tony M. (2008). Magico-Religious Groups and Ritualistic Activities: A Guide for First Responders. CRC Press. pp. 41–42. ISBN 9781420051872. OCLC 941224974.
7. Goldstein 1978.
8. Hunt 1980.
9. McCray 2002.
10. Coverage by WJCL & The Punch Magazine https://www.wjcl.com/article/oyotunji-african-village-king-stabbed-murder/61752878 https://punchng.com/oba-of-yoruba-village-in-us-stabbed-to-death-by-sister/

Sources

• Goldstein, Joshua (1978-05-27). "A King in South Carolina". The New Republic. Vol. 18. ISSN 0028-6583. OCLC 67075715.
• Hunt, Carl M (1980) [1977]. Oyotunji village : the Yoruba movement in America (Thesis). Ann Arbor: University Microfilms International. OCLC 38348866.
• McCray, Kenja R (2002). Black gods, Black power : life at Oyotunji Village 1970-1990 (Thesis). Clark Atlanta University. OCLC 875481079.

Further reading

• Capone, Stefania (2005). Les Yoruba du nouveau monde : religion, ethnicité et nationalisme noir aux Etats-Unis (in French). Paris: Karthala. pp. 151–178. ISBN 2845867034. OCLC 607667095.
• Clarke, Kamari Maxine (2004). Mapping Yorùbá networks : power and agency in the making of transnational communities. Durham: Duke University Press. ISBN 9780822385417. OCLC 652107996. Retrieved 2018-04-29.
• Davis, Rod; Ebrary, Inc (2000). American voudou : journey into a hidden world. Denton, TX: University of North Texas Press. pp. 177-190. ISBN 1574410814. OCLC 475183846. {{cite book}}: |first2= has generic name (help)
• Lefever, Harry G. (2000). "Leaving the United States". Journal of Black Studies. 31 (2). SAGE Publications: 174–195. doi:10.1177/002193470003100203. ISSN 0021-9347. OCLC 5723831040. S2CID 143803474.
• Ogunyemi, Yemi D, ed. (2004). Literatures of the African diaspora. Gival Press. ISBN 1-928589-22-7. OCLC 55952884.
• An Oral History of the West African Village That Has Been in South Carolina for Four Decades
• Ile Ifa Jalumi - Oyotunji Outpost
• RoadsideAmerica.com article
• Òyötùnjí Village: Making Africans in America - Anthropology Master's Thesis by Antionette B. Brown-Waithe
• Welcome to the Kingdom Oyotunji African Village via Internet Archive
• About Oyotunji African Village
• "Against the Odds, A 40-Year Old West African Village in South Carolina Has Thrived"

External links

• Official website