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7/29/2019 The Path of Initiation in Ifa
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The path of initiation in Ifa: Lucumi and Traditional Yoruba
Aboru aboye aboshishe,
After a few conversations including a longer one with my Oluwo in Nigeria, I
thought that it would be quite useful to post my understanding of the
processes of initiation into Ifa for both Lucumi/santeria Ifa practitioners
and traditional Yoruba Ifa practitioners. I'm not doing this to say that one
is right, and one is wrong. They are their own interpretations of Ifa, and
while they agree on many things, this particular area of ritual/theology,
they differ quite a bit.
For Lucumi practitioners, the process goes like this. One can be introduced
to Ifa through their "madrina/padrino" if they have ilekes first, or they can
go directly to a Babalawo, if they are not yet affiliated with a house.
Having a divination session is something every Lucumi practitioner that works
with Ifa eventual does, with varying degrees of frequency. Everyone, at some
point, who is associated with lucumi Ifa can and should receive Ifa via
Awofakan (ceremony for men) or Ikofa (ceremony for women). For women, Ikofa
gives them their birth Odu, and can dictate only one more potential
initiation, that of Apetebii (wife of Orunmila). Becoming an Apetebii is
however, a requirement for any women who is the wife of a Babalawo.
For men, Awofakan (owo ifa kan-one hand of Ifa), gives them their birth Odu,
unless it is determined they have an Odu which destines them for the
priesthood of Ifa. If this is the case, and they observes the taboos of Ifa
for his priests, he would do his Itefa (Ifa initiation) during which he
receives his true birth Odu and Odu of priesthood (which he uses to identify
himself). Of course having an Odu for the priesthood comes with
responsibility, please see my article on this for further
information:http://ifalola.blogspot.com/2008/06/on-having-right-odu-for-
priesthood.html
I will also mention here that during Ikofa or Awofakan, it is perfectly
acceptable to determine a person's "guardian Orisa", instead of having a
separate "plante" to do this. In lucumi Ifa, homosexuals are forbidden from
the Ifa priesthood, as are women. I don't say this to get into a debate about
it, it's simply religious law, but it does not forbid either from going to
http://ifalola.blogspot.com/2008/06/on-having-right-odu-for-priesthood.htmlhttp://ifalola.blogspot.com/2008/06/on-having-right-odu-for-priesthood.htmlhttp://ifalola.blogspot.com/2008/06/on-having-right-odu-for-priesthood.htmlhttp://ifalola.blogspot.com/2008/06/on-having-right-odu-for-priesthood.htmlhttp://ifalola.blogspot.com/2008/06/on-having-right-odu-for-priesthood.html7/29/2019 The Path of Initiation in Ifa
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Ifa for divination, help or Awofakan/Ikofa.
In traditional Yoruba Ifa practice, Ifa worship begin dramatically earlier.
Everyone who comes from an Ifa worshipping family should first do their
Ese'ntaye 7 days after birth, (like I just did for my son). Ese'ntaye
[meaning "stepping on the earth"] acts as a guide for your early life,
revealing personality, direction on what they will do, and Ewoo (taboo) for
the child, as well as their Ifa name.
This is where traditional Yoruba Ifa varies from Lucumi Ifa. In traditional
Yoruba Ifa, all men who can/have the resources, should Te'Fa, or Itefa
(initiate Ifa, like the lucumi) either either in the Itelegan style (where
the man does not see Odu the mythical wife of Ifa, not done in the Lucumi
system) or Itelodu (where the man does see Odu, equivalent to Lucumi
initiation into the Ifa priesthood). However, if they do not have the
resources they should Ishefa (this is the traditional Yoruba equivalent to
the Lucumi Awofakan-owo ifa kan). If they took the second route and only did
their Ishefa, they may receive an Odu in Ishefa that says it's compulsory
that they do their Itefa (similar to the cuban system) in which case they are
required to do their Itefa anyways.
This is where things truly diverge because, in traditional Yoruba Ifa, once
one has done their Itefa (either Itelegan style or Itelodu style), they are
not considered a Babalawo, but only an initiated follower of Ifa. It is only
through the Odu they receive during Itefa (their true birth odu) that it is
determined whether they will be allowed to be an Ifa priest (and thus a
Babalawo) and learn the deeper secrets/knowledge of Ifa. This is radically
different from the lucumi interpretation which says once you Itefa you are a
Babalawo. To clarify, in my own case, even though I had Odu for babalawo in
my Awofakan (received via lucumi priests), since I did Itefa Traditional
Yoruba, I didn't truly know whether I was going to be allowed to be a
Babalawo until I received my birth Odu in Itefa (which I didn't understand at
the time!). So it's my Odu of Ifa (birth Odu received in Itefa) that allows
me to be a Babalawo. The logic is perfectly clear to me, it's only in
receiving your birth Odu that you know your path. The unfortunate thing is
that many go to Nigeria to Itefa thinking then they are a Babalawo (and
perhaps are sometimes misled to believe so), but this is not the case, you
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are only a follower of Ifa unless being a Babalawo is your destiny. The
commonality between Lucumi Ifa and traditional Yoruba Ifa is that being a
Babalawo is a destiny, not a choice, the only difference is which Odu
determines that, and what the timing and meaning of different ceremonies are.
So even if you want to be a Babalawo and go to Nigeria to Itefa, it's your
birth Odu that determines it. If you decide to be a Babalawo anyways without
the Odu, you are simply going against your destiny, which is completely
contrary to Ifa theology, and why would you do that?
I still maintain, before calling yourself a Babalawo, you must adhere to the
commitments and Ewoo (taboo) of a Babalawo and if you are committing Ewoo
(taboos) you should not act as a practicing priest nor call yourself a
Babalawo without respecting those ewoo. In traditional Yoruba Ifa, treatment
of homosexuals is varied, most typically they are viewed as acting contrary
to Ifa and nature and are outright shunned. There are other who don't believe
this and work with homosexuals, however all factions bar homosexuals from
being Ifa priests. This comes in part from the requirements of Ifa priests
(ie, having an apetebii (being married to a woman), having children, and from
other things. There does seem to be a don't ask, don't tell or look the other
way policy as of late, and some folks who were shunned by Lucumi
practitioners have taken to going to Nigeria where they are not known. This
does not mean that traditional Yoruba Ifa accepts gay babalawos, just that
some people are working around the system.
Women follow this path, first receiving ese'ntaye, then Isodu (the Ide
(bracelet) of Ifa and one ikin - an Ijebu practice, which is exactly like
some Lucumi lineages) for those who are not a Babalawos wife. When receiving
Isodu, the Babalawo casts his own ikin to determine the woman's Odu. In
receiving this Odu, it can be determined she needs to Itefa and become an
Iyanifa, a position not recognized by Lucumi Ifa. Iyanifa are female Ifa
priestesses that can Te'Fa, but are NOT allowed to see Odu (the mythical wife
of Orunmila). In some areas, she can cast Opele (divine), but not Ikin. In
all areas an Iyanifa learns Ifa verses and other rituals of Ifa.
If the woman is married, the Babalawos Odu is the Odu of the house, but she
receives an Odu during her Apetebii ceremonies which tells more about her
specifically, including whether she should Te'fa and become Iyanifa. All
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Babalawo are required to have an Apetebii (ie, be married) and during said
ceremony, the women are ritually married to both the man and Ifa.
Other important notes are that Ishefa (owo ifa kan) would be given to the
child of a babalawo within a month of birth, but can be received 1 - 2 years,
3 at most later. Itefa is typically done around puberty (when he becomes a
man) but can occur anytime after that.
In Ogbe Ate, Ifa says:
A kii ji ni kutukutu
Ka ma mo Odu to da nu s'aiye
D'ifa fun Olupo Alaelu
Eyi t f'eyin ti
To n fekun surahun ire gbogbo
Eyi ti ti ile aye ni lare kokooko bi ota
Won ni ko sakaale ebo ni sise
Ko si lo ree te ifa
O gbe'bo o rubo
Ko pe, ko jinna
Ire gbogbo wa ya de tuturu
Ifa de o, Alase
Ope abise warawara
Translation:
It is not advisable for one to wake up in the dawn of one's life
without knowing the Odu that gave birth to one
Divined for Olupo Alaelu
Who reclined and was weeping in lamenation of his inability to achieve all
Ire in life
He whose life was as hard and tough as pebbles
He was advised to sacrifice
He complied
Before long, not to far
All IRE in life came to him in abundance.
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I hope that this helps clarify some of the processes and differences in
Lucumi and traditional Yoruba Ifa practices. It's been a learning process for
me as I shed some of my own layers to learn how things are done in my
particular path.
Odabo
Marcos Ifalola