UNESCO Statement on the Ifa Divination System (2005)

In 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.”