Orisha Worship Communities: A Reconsideration of Organisational Structure

It is commonly understood by both scholars and practitioners of Yoruba religion in the Americas that initiates in Africa worship only one or two Orisha, whereas in the New World each individual worships multiple Orisha. However, an analysis of both textual and visual sources points to a more complex religious environment among the Yoruba in their homeland. It is suggested that the innovations found in the New World were less radical than received wisdom indicates. In addition, such research challenges the assumption that the form of New World Orisha worship is a consequence of colonial oppression and suggests instead that it is based on existing African antecedents.     

Effects of some physiological and pharmacological manipulations on shock- facilitated mouse killing by onychomys leucogaster (Northern grasshopper mouse)

Onychomys leucogaster (northern grasshopper mice) were induced to kill mice with response-contingent shock, and the effects of several physiological, pharmacological, and endocrinological variables were assessed. Lesions of the septum facilitated mouse killing, while lesions of the amygdala abolished spontaneous mouse killing and delayed shock-facilitated killing. Chlorpromazine (2.5–5 mg/kg) and chlordiazepoxide (5–10 mg/kg) facilitated mouse killing on postdrug trials but did not affect killing when the animals were drugged. Adrenalectomy, castration, and castration adrenalectomy did not alter the frequency of kill nor were sex-related differences in killing noted. These results were compared to those found by others studying the effects of lesions and drugs on mouse killing by rats.