What is Ifá?
An overview written by Baba Ifayemi KaradeIn 2005, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) added the following to its recognition of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
The Ifa Divination System of Nigeria, Benin, Togo
"The Ifa divination system, which makes use of an extensive corpus of texts and mathematical formulas, is practiced among Yoruba communities and by the African diaspora in the Americas and the Caribbean. The word Ifa refers to the mystical figure Ifa or Orunmila, regarded by the Yoruba as the deity of wisdom and intellectual development. In contrast to other forms of divination in the region that employ spirit mediumship, Ifa divination doesn't rely on a person having oracular powers but rather on a system of signs that are interpreted by a diviner, the Ifa priest or babalawo. The knowledge of Ifa has been preserved within Yoruba communities and transmitted among Ifa priests. Under the influence of colonial rule and religious pressures, traditional beliefs and practices were discriminated against. The Ifa priests, most of whom are quite old, have only modest means to maintain the tradition, transmit their complex knowledge and train future practitioners. As a result, the youth and the Yoruba people are losing interest in practicing and consulting Ifa divination, which goes hand-in-hand with growing intolerance towards traditional divination systems in general.”
Philosophy seeks to understand how we think about ourselves and the world. It is about the ideas, values and beliefs that tell us who we are, about how we relate to each other, and about our place in the universe. You can think of philosophy as the roots of the tree of culture: philosophy informs artistic expression, religion, education and social institutions.
The philosophy of Ifá traces as far back as 6,000 years ago and informs the cultural reality of the Yoruba people of West Africa and their cultural descendents. It has given rise to some of the largest nations and empires on the African continent, such as the Hausa States, the Oyo Empire and the Kingdom of Benin.
Today, Ifá is the foundation for diverse cultural expressions that have evolved through centuries throughout the world. This includes over 1 million practitioners of variants of Ifá-based religions, including Lucumi, Santeria, Voudun, Candomble and Shango Baptist.
Ifá also lives in cultural expressions, like African and Afro-Latino percussion, Brazilian capoeira (a form of martial arts), and Brazilian samba and Carnival.
What are the core ideas of the philosophy of Ifá?
Ifá can be understood through the concept of Asùwàdà. Asùwàdà is the Yoruba concept of communal harmony. It is a conception of the universe in which all beings, physical and spiritual, collaborate together to maintain balance.
Maintaining balance requires that an individual have Iwa Pele, or good and balanced character. By good “good and balanced,” we don’t mean in the dualistic, moralistic ways in which the Biblical traditions distinguish between good and evil. Rather, it is about the ways in which our behavior reflect our divine nature as unique and individual expressions of Olodumare, the Yoruba concept of God.
To have Iwa Pele, one must turn to their Orí or consciousness. Orí is the indwelling spirit. It is what connects us to the larger whole that is the universe. It is associated with the head, which is the symbol of how our senses make sense of the world around us and inform how we move in the world.
Ayanmo is the Ifa philosophical concept of destiny. Unlike the classic Greek interpretation of destiny as predetermined, Ayanmo assumes that we each have the ability to make choices that expand the possibilities for our lives (what is oftentimes called Ire or “good luck / blessings”) and those that constrict and become obstacles in our lives (what has been understood as “ibi” or “bad luck or energy”). There is a Yoruba proverb that roughly translated says “Only birth and death is fixed; everything else is up to us.” Thus, Ayanmo is a concept of empowerment, because it is assumes that we have agency and can freely choose our actions in this material world.
Finally, there is the concept of Atunwa, or reincarnation. Ifá understands that the universe has both a material dimension (Aye, loosely translated as the earthly realm) and a spiritual dimension (Orun, loosely translated as the spiritual realm). It is believed that our fundamental nature is a spiritual or divine one. When we die, we are said to return home to the spiritual realm or the ancestral plane. It is in this ancestral plane that we have an opportunity to come back to the material realm to learn new lessons that will help us and our family evolve.
What do you mean by “Esoteric”?
Much of what we know about the philosophy of Ifá is through exoteric practices, like cultural artifacts (e.g., ritual paraphernalia) and religious rituals. And yet, Ifá is inherenly an esoteric tradition, meaning it is about self-awareness and self-growth. The Orí is about consciousness; it is about making intentional choices that allow us to move forward in the path of destiny. Ifá is a philosophy that explores how to close the gap between our various social expressions / performances and who we are at our essence / unique individuality (the Yoruba concept of Eniyan Gidi or the “authentic human being.” Through esoteric practices, like self-reflection, meditation and somatic expression, we are able to access the essence of who we are before we became socialized to be how we behave now.
Who is Orunmila, and what are the Odu Ifá?
“The prophet of the Yoruba religion is Orunmila. Orunmila actually existed. He lived in the Nigerian region of Africa approximately 4,000 years ago (circa 2,000 B.C.). Although many legends, myths and religious epics have been born of his life and teachings, let is be said that Orunmila actually existed. He is revered as that entity which is second to Olodumare (God), and as the witness of fate. Orunmila holds the title of Ifá, which he is often to referred to as. Ifá, as we will explore is the corpus of Yoruba traditional knowledge, developmental sciences, philosophy and religiosity.
Orunmila developed the life experiences of the Sixteen Primordial Entities, which he named the odu, into a systematic form of worldly and metaphysical teachings. These teachings would become the foundations of the Yoruba religious culture.” (Baba Ifa Karade, Ojise: Messenger of the Yoruba Tradition)
Like other prophetic figures like Jesus, Mohammed and the Buddha, Orunmila has many dimensions. In the metaphysical and religious context, he is viewed as the Spirit of Wisdom and is known as the “Witness to Destiny,” as he is believed to be present at the time in which and records the unique path of destiny we choose before incarnating in the material world.
In the philosophical context, Orunmila was the one who organized and systematized the Yoruba people’s vast knowledge into what is now known as the Odu Ifá. The Odu are 16 major philosophical principles and 240 combinations of those principles (a total of 256 Odu) that address every possible life situation. Contained in each Odu are thousands ese Ifá, or verses, which provide insight into life challenges, offer potential solutions based on how past figures dealt with them, and prescribes indigenous medicine, metaphysical charms and exoteric rituals meant to assist an individual’s personal transformation.
However, just as the descendants of West African people who were enslaved survived by adapting and evolving in their new contexts, Ifá continues to evolve. We can continue to discover new insights about the Odu Ifá that we can add to the collective knowledge of our ancestors.
How can I start to study Ifá?
Much of what is widely available on the Internet about Ifá are written accounts of what has historically been an oral tradition. Put a different way, what is available is an interpretation of an interpretation.
Further, a lot of what is written focuses on the exoteric: there is an inordinate focus on ritual and performance.
The Ifá Esoteric Institute seeks to build upon the existing literature by going to the roots of what is widely available by looking at the philosophy underneath the religious and cultural expressions.
The following books written by Oloye Karade are good starting points for exploring the philosophy of Ifá:
The Handbook of Yoruba Religious Concepts: This foundational work has been translated into multiple languages and is globally acclaimed as a resource for those starting their exploration of the Ifá philosophical tradition.
Ojise: Messenger of the Yoruba Tradition: This autobiographical account follows the Oloye’s path to initiation as a Babalawo, or keeper of the sacred mysteries of Ifá.
Imoye - A Definition of the Ifa Tradition: This work contextualized the Ifá tradition within the religious and cultural context in which it is practiced today, in order to underscore how it is a philosophy that helps us to be authentic human beings.
Souls of Myrrh: This urban fictional work follows the path of Deborah Hendricks, whose lover dies in a tragic car accident and whose initiation into the Ifá / Orisha tradition leads her to strange places in the world and others.
A Place of Nights: War & Resurrection: This novel focuses on a general, Ku’unbu, whose crushed to protect the princess Emina exposes the political and supernatural foundations of the kingdom and more importantly, the human nature that gives rise to them.
The Ifa / Orisha Religion: A New Global Perspective: Building on his three decades on studying the Ifá / Orisha tradition, the Oloye explores historical references, lectures and travel journals to apply a comparative religion to Ifá.