Ifá is a spiritual and divinatory tradition from West Africa that guides the lives and destinies of its followers. It involves the use of divination tools such as the Opele, a divination chain, and the Ikin, sacred palm nuts. These tools are used in specific rituals to interpret the messages of the Orishas, with the Babalawo casting the tools and then interpreting the resulting patterns, which correspond to the verses of the Odù.
Ifá is organized as an initiatory tradition, with an initiate called a babaláwo or bokɔnɔ. Traditionally, these are all-male, although women have been initiated in Cuba and Mexico. Ifá divination is both a body of knowledge and a system of social, emotional, and pathological control, employing relevant historical and mythological aspects.
The Ifa divination process begins when a client consults a diviner, who casts the divining chain (opele) on the divining mat or uses a set of sixteen palm nuts. The Ifa divination system is practiced primarily by the Yoruba people of West Africa, particularly in Nigeria. The Ifa literary corpus, called odu, consists of various elements, including the Orunmila spirit, which is believed to have given the divinatory system to humanity.
Ifa teachings emphasize the importance of tapping into one’s unconscious mind to retrieve contents from which the conscious mind can retrieve. In the Ifá divination process, the ikin are held by the priest in their left hand and repeatedly scooped up or cast by the right.
Ifa teaches that everything in the universe has some form of consciousness (ori), and saying the word Obatala places human consciousness in the universe. UNESCO safeguards this intangible cultural heritage, providing guidance on propitiating and caring for Ifa shrines at home.
📹 Ifa Divination Animated & Explained
This is part of a new “Worlds of Wisdom” series I am creating that builds from my Introduction to the World’s Religions class. This is …
Does Ifa believe in God?
Ifa is a monotheistic religion with a supreme creative figure, Olodumare, who shares power with numerous subsidiary deities representing life or nature elements. These deities act as intercessors between humans and the creator. Ritualistic practice allows believers to access their wisdom and counsel through incantations, prayers, and divination. These deities may speak to the petitioners’ ancestors in dreams, audible sounds, or even in conversation during in-person visits.
How does divination work?
Divination is a practice that employs omens or visions to predict future events, offering spiritual guidance and practical solutions to problems in both ancient and modern cultures. Those engaged in the practice of divination utilize a variety of techniques and signs to attempt to predict future events.
How does Ifa reading work?
Babalawos are individuals who are initiated into a vodún cult, where they are given a pot containing palm nuts, believed to be the embodiment of Orula. Babalawos offer offerings to Orula, including animal sacrifices and gifts of money. In Cuba, Ifá involves casting consecrated palm nuts to answer a question, which the babalawo interprets based on their fallen state. Individuals seek guidance, often on financial matters, and the diviner consults Orula through the established divinatory method.
Initiation as a babalawo requires a payment to the initiator and is typically considered expensive. In Benin, Fá initiation usually takes less than a week, while initiations into other vodún cults may take several weeks or months. A distinction is made between the initiation called yǐ Fá (“to receive Fá”), which offers protection, and the priestly initiation, Fázùnyí (“receive Fá’s forest”).
Among the Fon, the sacred forest of Fá is called fázùn, distinguished from ordinary forest by shredded palm fronds. New initiates are led to the forest, accompanied by animals for sacrifice, existing initiates singing praise songs, and a person carrying a fásɛn. A figurine of the spirit Lɛgbá may be brought along for the ritual, invoking the deity to guard the initiates’ passage into the forest. Offerings are given and divination is employed to check acceptance.
What is the Yoruba divination ritual?
In Nigeria, the Yoruba practice divination through a diviner called a babalawo, who seeks information from the deity Ifa to assist in resolving personal, medical, social, political, and religious issues. Ifa provides humans with the capacity to comprehend life forces, to exert influence over events through prayer and sacrifice, and to perform rituals that facilitate healing from illness.
What is IFA and how does it work?
IFA is a network marketing division of Clientèle Life, a reputable South African financial services company. It offers a unique business opportunity for individuals to earn additional income while helping others in their financial journey. To become an IFA, individuals can invite others to an IFA Presentation or watch the IFA Digital Presentation, which introduces comprehensive insurance and Rewards products offered by Clientèle and IFA.
These products include life, hospital, disability, dread disease, and savings benefits. Once people sign up for a product and pay for it monthly, IFAs receive regular earnings and bonuses. IFA has been in the financial services industry for over 24 years.
How accurate is IFA testing?
The 2009 H1N1 pandemic evaluated the performance of indirect fluorescent antibody (IFA) assays and rapid influenza diagnostic tests (RIDT) in detecting the pandemic H1N1 strain, now officially named influenza A(H1N1)pdm09. The study involved 638 specimens submitted to public health for PCR testing in Orange County, CA. The sensitivity and specificity of IFA and RIDT were calculated for 638 specimens.
Approximately 30 of IFA tests and RIDTs tested by PCR were falsely negative, with sensitivity ranging from 71 to 69, respectively. RIDT sensitivity ranged from 45 to 84 depending on patient severity and age. In hospitalized children, IFA sensitivity was similar to RIDT, while sensitivity of tests performed on hospitalized children was 94 for IFA and 80 for RIDT.
The overall sensitivity of RIDT in this study was comparable to previous studies on pandemic H1N1 influenza and sensitivity of IFA was similar to seasonal influenza in children. Both diagnostic tests produced a high number of false negatives and should not be used to rule out influenza infection.
Accurate and rapid testing of patients for influenza virus is crucial for optimizing antiviral use, minimizing antibiotic use, and appropriately isolating hospitalized patients to prevent hospital-acquired infections. IFA and DFA tests are performed in hospitals or reference laboratories, and results can be obtained within two to four hours. Sensitivity of DFA for the detection of A(H1N1)pdm09 has been reported between 47 to 93. More information on the accuracy of IFA tests compared to other diagnostic methods is needed to determine their utility in diagnosing and managing febrile respiratory infections.
What is Ifa and how does it work?
IFA is a network marketing division of Clientèle Life, a reputable South African financial services company. It offers a unique business opportunity for individuals to earn additional income while helping others in their financial journey. To become an IFA, individuals can invite others to an IFA Presentation or watch the IFA Digital Presentation, which introduces comprehensive insurance and Rewards products offered by Clientèle and IFA.
These products include life, hospital, disability, dread disease, and savings benefits. Once people sign up for a product and pay for it monthly, IFAs receive regular earnings and bonuses. IFA has been in the financial services industry for over 24 years.
How is Ifa working?
To become an IFA Earner, introduce 5 Key Appointments who pay a premium in the same month. This will establish you as an IFA Earner, earning an income every month. When these Key Appointments introduce IFAs below them, you are rewarded on 6 levels for their efforts. Keep motivating your Key Appointments and encourage them to do the same. Monthly earnings are crucial for securing your financial future and establishing a regular extra income.
If you have 5 or more paid Key Appointments and an active DebiCheck mandate for your membership, you become an IFA Earner. The calculation of monthly earnings depends on the products bought by your downline.
How does the Ifa work?
The Irish Farmers Association (IFA) is a democratic association representing Irish farmers in Europe and the UK, advocating for improved conditions and incomes for farm families. The association is organized into branches, county executives, and national committees, allowing each member to have a say in policy development. The IFA Constitution and Rules outline the organization’s structure and operations, allowing members to have a say in the development of policies and priorities.
What is the spiritual practice of Ifa?
Ifa divination is a unique form of Yoruba spiritual practice that relies on a system of signs interpreted by a diviner, the Ifa priest or babalawo. This system is used for important decisions and is based on the Ifa literary corpus, odu, which consists of 256 parts divided into verses called ese. The ese, considered the most important part of Ifa divination, reflect Yoruba history, language, beliefs, cosmovision, and contemporary social issues. The knowledge of Ifa has been preserved within Yoruba communities and transmitted among Ifa priests.
However, under colonial rule and religious pressures, traditional beliefs and practices were discriminated against. The Ifa priests, who are mostly old, have limited means to maintain the tradition and train future practitioners. As a result, the youth and Yoruba people are losing interest in practicing and consulting Ifa divination, leading to growing intolerance towards traditional divination systems.
📹 The Ifa Divination System
In contrast to other forms of divination in the region that employ spirit mediumship, Ifa divination does not rely on a person having …
People should stop demonizing what they have not taken the time to know more about. Ask yourself, how old is christianity or Islam? Weren’t our ancient ancestors in contact with or worshipping God before these modern religions that virtually waged war against us in order to win our souls. It’s simple. And here is the answer to lead you to truth, the right path: “From their seeds, we shall know them”. Look around you and around the world to see the “seeds” of modern religions. You know the answer.
The way you explain everything is amazing. Unfortunately, we were living in a world full of lies. I grew up as a Catholic, but IFA brought me to the religion. It has not been easy. Day by day, I heard people call me ignorant. This religion is beautiful, and we are not demononiac like most people believed. Im 37 years old. I have 3 months since my initiation as a babalawo it hasn’t been easy, but Im doing my best to keep learning and help others. I hope that someday people see as different as a kind people. I believe that we deserve respect like others because IFA teaches to promote love and respect. Thank you for providing such amazing articles about our beautiful religion. 👏 👏 👏
Here again, as good as this presentation is, the Western idea of Yorubas (and other Africans) having many gods is being imposed on the African. In Yoruba belief, there’s only one GOD, OLORUN OLODUMARE. The Orisas are not Gods or gods – the use of a small ‘g’ is a method by which Westerners try to impose their biased theology on Africans. Yorubas know only one GOD. The Orisas are messengers of GOD.
Ifa (traditional Yoruba understanding) says that humans have asked and been chosen to come to earth to create “the good condition.” This means in all that we do, we should be aiming to create a place where everyone has good and gentle character, where there’s wisdom sufficient to rule the world in harmony, where peace exists among all living things, and where there’s no more poverty, violence, or fear. Lack of understanding about Ifa philosophy (and sometimes out right aggression against the tradition) makes others misjudge the rituals and their symbolism. Ifa does not participate in harming others, proselytizing, or condemnation of the ways others choose to practice their spirituality. Ifa practitioners seek wisdom and peace. Thank you for this article and a genuine attempt to show some of the beauty of this tradition.
I am Yoruba. Half of my family practices Islam and the other half practices Christianity. It wasn’t until I went to College that I learned that Yoruba’s actually had their own religion. All I heard growing up was idol worship. It is beautiful to see and to also to know that it is practiced in Latin America. As I am leaning towards Islam and was more agnostic in the past, I still have great curiosity to understand Ifa and the Yoruba traditions.
Thank you for representing us so Succinctly 👏🏽 And to the Christian vs ATR debate I say these, 1. what’s the difference between coming under the Holy Ghost and being mounted by an Orisa ? 2. Speaking in tongues vs incantations 4. Alters vs Altars 😅 5. Ilekes vs rosaries 📿 You miss the fact that it’s creepy that communion is supposed to symbolize the flesh and blood 🩸 of your saviour ? How convenient 😅 This is just one of the effects Of colonialism that still has a chokehold. It is not for everybody but we’ve always and would always have a seat on the religion and spirituality table.✨
I’ve been familiar with Yoruba for years and was so excited when Beyonce came out with Lemonade. I love learning about new things and other ways to live! As an ISangoma Priestess, I highly recommend that people open their minds and broaden their perspectives!!! You don’t have to follow anything you’re not comfortable with, but don’t demonize it just because you don’t know anything about it. Research and be open to other ways of living! I love this 🥰
Thank you thank you thank you great article I’m so glad that some descendants of the diaspora recognize that we have our own spirituality and don’t need to adopt a narrative that was forced on our ancestors by their captors and brainwashed their descendants to sleep. Thank the source for WOKE Ashe Modupe
I absolutely loved this article!!! I have no regrets being crowned Ochosi and I’m was so blessed to go back to my roots, even though the belief’s slightly differ. I’m growing as an elder and will never stop learning our ancient Orisha faith which is all loving. We face challenges and must follow our Oduns snd advice of Orisha. Maferfun Eggun, Maferfun Orisha 👑🌍
Michael I absolutely adored this article. You have a beautiful and completely non judgmental and unbiased way or presenting the facts of each religion, that I absolutely love listening to. I am without religion, I dont wish to say atheist, I just haven’t had that calling yet or felt that connection with any one religion, but I absolutely loooove learning about religionsand belief systems. I find it so very very sad that people can’t allow each other to practice whatever they choose, in peace and with respect for each others choices. When you actually read and research each religion, you find that each one is supposed to be about love and peace and how to be a better human, how to love the earth and each other, sadly humanity has got in the way of these beliefs, of these true fundamental facts, and they have caused untold horrors in the name of their religions. These people need to know that their evil doings and thoughts are not in the name of their religion of choice, these awful deeds are about who they are inside themselves, that is all. Religion is not to blame, humans are to blame. But anyway thank you Michael, that was an absolute pleasure to listen to. ❤
Beautiful and well explained. As a Yoruba man, I think of the pronunciations could use some work :), but that doesn’t over shadow the great work you’ve done. I grew up in Nigeria where I was surrounded by my culture, the Yoruba culture which I would love to share with the world. I live in Chicago now (my Mom’s hometown) with sons of my own. Their childhood is so different than mine, but I am determined to teach them about their culture and where they come from. I will definitely show them this article. Thank you
It gets even more “Buddhist-Upanishadic-Vedantic” like: The Higher Self in Yoruba is called,”Iponri”, which is ALREADY liberated in Heaven! ..while the Ori(your conscious self) is living it’s life here, unaware of it’s Higher Self. The REAL reason for a divination with a Babalawo, regardless of the reason that a client thinks he’s going to him is-to be in ALIGNMENT with his Higher Self, his actual MISSION in THIS life. ..when the person is in alignment with his Iponri, there is good fortune, he is IN “IRE”( alignment, good fortune) when he is not in alignment with his/her Iponri, they are in the opposite, ” IBI”, or as Cubans call it,”Osorbo).When in PERFECT alignment, the person experiences a state called, “Lae-Lae”-“The Place of Beginnings”,which is really the eternal place, beyond space and time as we know it-also called,”Heaven”,”Orun”. Also, in perfect alignment one is in BLISS (Enlightenment, varying degrees of it) “Possession” helps to get a glimpse of this sate, IF one can maintain conscious awareness simultaneously. There is the “inner self” which is called “Ori Inu” as well. Even in “reincarnation”, there is a part that is always venerated of that ancestor, while at the same time, a part is reincarnated! .So it is very deep and non-linear even.
Aboru Aboye, Eku e motumba. I will say that it is important yo understand out tradition from out point of view. You characterizations of the Orisa did not match my understanding, and I am a priest and practitioner. There need to be more knowledgeable voices on social media so that the understanding that practitioners have is the default understanding. I have seen articlebof someone describing Christianity of Islsm in this way.
Personally I don’t like seeing celebs use Orishas as a marketing tool. Let’s get real, this isn’t art, she’s an industry created pop star. If she’s not careful, Oshun may give her a spanking cause she don’t play. In the other hand, in its lesser benefit, it opens up discussion about spirituality most ppl discussing know nothing about. If you’re not crowned don’t even weigh in, cause you don’t know.
This white dude is literally saying rubbish because Eledumare is not black and white like you said dummie…!!! Eledumare means God Almighty in Yoruba dialect. He is the Most high God that created both the heavens and the earth including mankind. Because yoruba have other names for Orisha doesn’t mean they didn’t have Yoruba words they use in calling out their creator. English is not our dialect, just like every other countries but please don’t lie or interprete other people’s languages the wrong way Mr white man.
Olodumare does not mean what you’ve said here. “O” means “owner”… “Odu” means “womb”… “Mare” means “serpent.” Altogether, it means “owner of the serpent’s womb.” It eludes to the idea that the universe is a womb, and that The Creator, the being or force which created the universe and everything within it (which is all yet to actually be born) is she/he who possesses this womb her/himself. The “serpent” is a symbol of the spiral nature of the universe as a whole, a la what many call the “fibonnaci sequence.”
How did a river goddess create rivers when there wasn’t a world with river to begin with. No planet equals no rivers . Once a planet was created then the rivers came. GOD is GOD ALONE AND NEEDED ON ONE ELSE TO MAKE EVERTHING. HELL -the nether realm of the devil and the demons in which condemned people suffer everlasting punishment Why would someone be happy to use that word as a way to be happy about something. GOD keep me far from hell, in JESUS CHRIST’S NAME AMEN.
It’s sad that we r the only group of ppl who do worship our ancestors…. Every other race does… I am a Yoruba priestess I really don’t need a Whyte ppl to teach me about my spirituality who God is….. We as black folks have listen to long to ppl trying to tell us who we r and what we need…. Whyte man went into Africa to steal and take from us and turn us against our traditional culture weather u realize it or not many of them r practicing Yoruba ….. Black folks WAKE UP This is ur birth right investigate Research for yourself…. Whatever ur religion is Practicing Yoruba doesn’t take away from it!!! Do ur Homework…. Mic dropped
If people study and really pay attention to the Catholic faith, The Catholic faith is mixed full of the Yoruba spiritual system. A lot of people do not know this. Also you think your religion is so different but the Catholic Church is over all Dominations. The created and control all religious faith.
So those who have fallen prey to.ignorance shall denounce their originality for foreign beliefs brought through the lens of the tyrant, but clearly how many blacks are aware of their roots, that is why they get lost its just an indication of their lack of research and they do remain in the main frames of ignorance, majority of them don’t have proper educational background in their own elements of self knowledge and ontological facts. Some didn’t even accomplish much in their educational upbringing, their interests of life are steered through the lens Westerncentricism
It has been said that the original or shall I say ancient Yorubans didn’t sacrifice animals . Animals were regarded as sacred. It’s when people branch off and create their own religions or cultures they incorporate what would be new ideas or practices. We must always be aware of these things a it takes us bad to the Laws of Polarity.
Let me begin by saying firstly I’m a Yoruba man but most of the presentation and the representation of the deities in Yoruba land in western nations is moving further away from the true meaning and understanding, however the sixteen elders were all humans but possessed strong spiritual power given to them by Olodumare(Almighty God) non of them shares divinity with God nor do they ever help in creation, after them we the council of twelve elders who were sons and daughters of the sixteen elders so in total making twenty eight elders, they all sit round the throne of God the most High, lastly the were mentioned in the bible,book of revelations by apostle John.
Looks like an identity crisis in the Black community to me. In my opinion, this is a way to nowhere. I hope one day they will open their eyes and will abandon all the religions. Humanity needs more rational people so that peace can prevail. Great analysis and wonderful cartoons, Michael! I just can imagine how much time it took for you to make them in Powerpoint. You are doing your best job as always!
Mr. Wesch, Please those intertwined blue and white ballons depict atoms rather than Olodumare. 2. Are you a white man from Europe or its USA diaspora? 3. If you should be, please desist from trying to make money out of interpreting Native religions from the Black Nation. 4. However, if you are one of us who just happens to have such light pink skin tone and blue eyes, then look around indigenous the Black communities for more relevant visuals. Cheers!
What is causing problems for Yoruba people we abandoned our traditions meaning ISESE for Christianity and Islam and that is part of the reasons we Yoruba are suffering for it OLODUMARE is the same meaning as GOD or ALLAH if our people have written their own book about IFA and about ORUNMILA we will not be in this position IFA is a prophet of GOD OLODUMARE and IRUNMOLA are angels of OLODUMARE and OGUN OBATANLA and more are the greatest powerful and spiritual people from OLODUMARE like people in the Bible and Quran OSHUN and others are also from OLODUMARE people just need to be careful if you want to practice ISESE religion you have to know what you’re doing some people are practicing witchcraft with it and I don’t think that is from OLODUMARE Anyway
Nice article. Jesus is so easy. I appreciate Him much more, the more I learn about the labor of other beliefs. Food Offered to Idols …. Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “an idol has no real existence,” and that “there is no God but one.” 5 For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”— 6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist…. 1 Corinthians 8
While I understand the concept. As a cultural anthropologist, there are so many problems with just the first 10 minutes of your article. I truly wanted to know who you spoke with and how much you may have missed. Someone who knew absolutely nothing about the religion but was curious would be all types of confused if they were to speak with a practitioner. I have to watch the end, just because I want to know how you summarize the divination and the belief system. But I do hope you do better on other religions.
I appreciate your understanding of our culture 🙏🏽. You actually have a better overstandind of lukumi than many of my God brothers and sisters 😆 who’ve been born into orisha veneration. We worship God by the many names given to IT by humans. We appreciate and respect all religions and all life forces. We thank the animals for their life blood and nourishment for which the orishas trade for our proper paths in life.
I absolutely loved this article🤍🖤. I started following you because my son is taking an anthropology class and I like to follow along with some of his studies to learn myself and encourage him. I thought it was so cool you made this article about this religion and I recently started following this religion about five years ago. It has helped me better my life and there is so much still to learn about it. I really felt and enjoyed so much when you mentioned such a great reminder about our Ori and how we loose touch. 🤍🖤🫶🏼🙏🏻🥲 (The power point animation was awesome)