Born in 1967, Erwan Dianteill is a French anthropologist and sociologist, a former student of the École normale supérieure de Cachan, and today professor of cultural anthropology at Université Paris-Descartes - Sorbonne.
His research focuses on the anthropological and sociological theories of religion, on the relations between political power and religious power, on the symbolic motives of domination and resistance. He conducts research on African-American cultures (Cuba, United States, Brazil) on the evolution of native religions in West Africa (Benin) and on new forms of Christianity.
Erwan Dianteill was appointed Senior Member of the Institut universitaire de France in 2012.
Gun (or Gun-Gbe) is, together with Fongbe, Yoruba, Bariba, Adja, Ayizo-Gbe, etc., is one of the some 40 languages spoken in Benin.
Ifa (also spelled Ifá) is a system of divination practiced by the Yoruba in Africa. In Togo, it is called Afa. It was exported via the African slave trade to the American continent where it was practised by followers of Santeria, Candomblé and Vodou (Vodun).
Ife (or Ilé-Ifé) is an ancient Yoruba city located in south-western Nigeria. It was in this city that one of the most unique civilisations of Sub-Saharan Africa between the 12th and 15th century.
Robert Jaulin (1928-1996) was a French ethnologist. His early research looked at the Sara people in Chad - research which led him to become an initiate himself of this civilisation. In his book La Mort Sara (1967), he describes his initiation as "a sharing of universes and an example of the existence of inter-cultural communication and alliance".
In La paix Blanche (1970), he wrote of ethnocide, of cultural extermination. This book spurred debate that alienated him from other ethnologists.
The Orishas (or Orixás) are divinities that are revered to this day in Benin (ancient Dahomey) and Nigeria, and, in different forms, in Brazil (Candomblé), the Caribbean (Santeria), and in the form of voodoo (Vondun).
Porto-Novo (also known as Hogbonou and Adjacé), is located in the south of Benin, near the Nigerian border. The languages spoken in this town are Gun and Yoruba.
The Santería (other names are: Lucumi, regla Lucumi, regla de Ocha) is a religion originating from Africa, practised in Cuba, Colombia and Venezuela. It is closely related to the Yoruba religion practiced today in certain regions of Nigeria, Togo and Benin. It was exported to the American continent during the black slave trade, and gave rise to other local religious practices, such as Umbanda and Candomblé, closely related to Santeria.
The religious practices of slaves, it seems, allowed both the worship of Catholic saints and that of the Orishas, human demi-gods sent to the Earth by a supreme God.
Today the Orishas (Orixás) continue to ensure that men accomplish their destiny. This obligation leads them to follow a reincarnation cycle reminiscent of Hinduism and Buddhism.
The Sara mainly come from southern Chad. The term comprises several populations: the Ngambaye, the Mbaye, the Goulay and the Madjingaye.
The Sara are believed to have lived in north-eastern Egypt along the Nile before migrating to Chad in the 16th century to escape the slave trade practiced by the Arabs.
The Yoruba (or Yorùbá) religion comprises the original beliefs and customs of the Yoruba people. The geographical region of origin of this religion stretches from the south west of Nigeria to the adjacent regions of Togo and Benin. During the black slave trade this religion was exported to the American continent where it developed into various local systems such as the Umbanda, the Candomblé and the Santeria (Lucumi).