Overcoming Self-Negation
The Church and Junkanoo in Contemporary Bahamian Society
- Theology
- Publisher: Pickwick Publications (Wipf and Stock)
- Published: 2020
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Publisher's Description
Bearing in mind the complex and multiple legacies of slavery and colonialism, particularly as they present themselves in the African Caribbean, Turner addresses what he sees as a fundamental but underexplored phenomenon: Self-Negation. He defines this as the tendency for persons living in the aftermath of slavery and colonialism to "not" like themselves, or to live with a dissonance in their identity. This problem is particularly seen in the relationship between the Church and African indigenous religious heritages within the region. Using the Bahamas as the site for qualitative research and theological reflection, he explores the complex relationship between the Church and Junkanoo, an African Caribbean street festival. Whilst Bahamians eagerly participate in both spheres, it is the common belief that Church is sacred and Junkanoo is secular, and the two should never mix. Turner theorizes that the theological root of the issue is the kinds of colonial hermeneutics that still inform church and cultural practices. Whilst Self-Negation is perpetuated by a hermeneutic of dichotomy, Turner proposes a counter, a hermeneutic of embrace, that takes African indigenous cultural heritages seriously and brings wholeness to the kinds of religious and cultural identities within postcolonial and post-slavery societies.
Endorsements (3)
“One of the perennial problems facing the church in the former expanses of the British Empire has been the challenge of contextualizing the faith in a manner that seeks to refute the hegemonic control of their former colonial masters. . . . In producing Overcoming Self-Negation, Carlton Turner has written a remarkable book that provides a startling array of theological tools that seek to empower all believers in postcolonial contexts to shake off the shackles of internalized oppression. . . . This is genuinely a must-read book.”
“Carlton Turner is among a growing number of renowned Caribbean theologians. His book, Overcoming Self-Negation, is a brilliant theological reflection on the major Bahamian Cultural Festival of Junkanoo. It is among a short list of pioneering works on the role that cultural celebration plays in a Caribbean theology of liberation. All who know, or know of, the Caribbean experience should read Overcoming Self-Negation.”
“Thoughtful and scholarly, Turner’s passion for his native country and church is refracted through multi-layered analysis and tested by original ethnographic research. He challenges the ideology of self-negation which pervades the consciousness of the enslaved and is perpetuated by the church’s rejection of indigenous culture. He advocates a hermeneutic of embrace which can bring healing and empowerment to those caught in the unresolved tension between the culture and the church they love. Practical, contextual, postcolonial, Black, and womanist theologians, scholars, and practitioners, as well as those engaging in ethnographic research, have much to learn from this wise, rich, and creative work.”
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