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‘Dance Your Sorrow Away!’: Spirituality, Community and Wellbeing in Christ Apostolic Church, Dublin
Abstract
Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) is a Pentecostal and African Initiated Church that
emerged from the YorubaAládǔrà movement of early twentieth-century Nigeria. In this article, I unpack the concept of ‘dancing away sorrow’, one of the distinctive rituals that members of CAC Dublin have brought with them from Nigeria. I explore members’ beliefs about wellbeing and its links with spirituality and community, and examine how music and dance help to facilitate connections with God and fellow worshippers. While the practice offers positive benefits to first generation migrants, it highlights the dissonance perceived by the second generation between Yoruba and Irish culture.
emerged from the YorubaAládǔrà movement of early twentieth-century Nigeria. In this article, I unpack the concept of ‘dancing away sorrow’, one of the distinctive rituals that members of CAC Dublin have brought with them from Nigeria. I explore members’ beliefs about wellbeing and its links with spirituality and community, and examine how music and dance help to facilitate connections with God and fellow worshippers. While the practice offers positive benefits to first generation migrants, it highlights the dissonance perceived by the second generation between Yoruba and Irish culture.