The Oshun Diaries

Diane Esguerra

Encounters with an African goddess

High priestesses are few and far between, white ones in Africa even more so. When Diane Esguerra hears of a mysterious Austrian woman worshipping the Ifa river goddess Oshun in Nigeria, her curiosity is aroused.

It is the start of an extraordinary friendship that sustains Diane through the death of her son and leads to a quest to take part in Oshun rituals. Prevented by Boko Haram from returning to Nigeria, she finds herself at Ifa shrines in Florida amid vultures, snakes, goats’ heads, machetes, a hurricane and a cigar-smoking god. Her quest steps up a gear when Beyoncé channels Oshun at the Grammys and the goddess goes global.

Mystifying, harrowing and funny, The Oshun Diaries explores the lure of Africa, the life of a remarkable woman and the appeal of the goddess as a symbol of female empowerment.

‘It was refreshing to read about a belief system that was so firmly rooted in the female form. This empowering and enlightening book reaffirmed my belief that you have to push out of your comfort zone at times, because you never, ever stop learning’ Book Bound

Paperback

Published: Eye (August 2019)

ISBN: 9781785631474