Revisiting Oyotunji Village

• In Event: Including Students in Oral History Projects: Preserving Black History for Another Century

Abstract

This presentation will focus on Oyotunji Village, a South Carolina intended community of African-American cultural-nationalist Orisha worshippers, which was founded in 1970. The author gathered information for this paper from visits during the 1990s and in 2015. Journalist Mark Hay has pointed out that popular depictions of the Village present a story of decline. To be sure, at its high point in the mid-1970s, the Village was home to more than two hundred citizens; however, the number dwindled to a handful of families in subsequent years. Using oral history methods, the author explores certain Villagers’ self-narratives. The main contention is that their stories counter aspects of the declension narrative in terms of Oyotunji's influence beyond the borders of its Carolina land base.

Author

• Kenja R McCray, Atlanta Metropolitan State College