Ifa: A Redefinition of Concept

This is an opportune moment for a conceptual investigation of Ifá, the most enduring pan-Yoruba cultural form. In a time when the media, old and new, inundate us with definitions and redefinitions of ourselves based on ideologies from elsewhere, Ifá is one of the most traduced Yoruba cultural sites. The monograph both reviews and updates the existing definitions of Ifá. From his pupillage under seasoned practitioners and interaction with patrons, this writer distils new insights and ultimately generates an encompassing description that, no doubt, leads us to ourselves as it leads others to us.
Dr. Ayo Adeduntan.
(Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, NIGERIA)
This write-up makes a good reading even though I find the use of Yoruba Traditional Religion novel compared to the popularly used
African Traditional Religion in the description of Ifa.
I also find the author's redefinition an attempt to unseat some generally accepted views in Yoruba belief. In all, I think this work will open up new frontiers for discussing some fundamental areas of the belief of the Yoruba with regard to Ifa.
Dr O.O. Adekola
(Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, NIGERIA)
Akinmayowa's paper is an eye opener exposing scholars into Ifá: an important aspect of African indigenous knowledge systems. Though this argument has been defended by Wande Abimbola, Akinmayowa's position furthers Abimbola's argument based on purely objective and phenomenological standpoints.
İndeed, writing on Ifá away from its epistemological underpinnings reduces it to only religion. If Ifá must be mainstreamed into Africa's developmental agenda, it will have to begin by seeing it as a body of knowledge.
Dr C.O. Jegede.
(Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, NIGERIA)