Richard Wingo III
HIST 350.003
Dr. Brewer
Date
Ifa and the importance of African Religion
About a year ago back at home a new wave of African spirituality swept my home town
of Atlanta. A lot of rappers including “21 Savage”, whom is a very influential person in the city,
began practicing an African religion which went by called “Ifa”. When I originally heard about
the religion to be completely honest it scared me just a little bit. Only because many people who
I considered close to me began to follow the new craze. Over the course of one year I’d seen I
saw family members, close friends, and plenty of other people, change from being Christians to
die hard Ifa followers. I could understand wanting to learn about African belief systems, which
is fine, but there were people in Atlanta claiming this religion just to be "trendy". When it
became too much I knew that I had to know more about it.
In many societies, religious beliefs are the foundation that serves as the guide for how
man men should live their lives, and at the focus heart of most religious beliefs is the belief that
God is the Creator of mankind and the earth. Christianity believes that God is the heavenly father
and that Jesus Christ is his son and savior. Like many of the other Africa religions, “Ifa”
incorporates a wide amount range of different traditional beliefs. This religious group religion
shares many of the same aspects of Christianity. However, there are also some customs and
principles that are in unambiguous contrast to Christian beliefs. Although African religious
beliefs are sometimes shared by different local societies, they are usually exclusive to specific
populations or geographical regions.
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During one of the most darkest, and miserabilist most miserable, times in our country’s
history, we find that the Africans who suffered horrifying conditions during slavery, found ways
of harmony and confidence in their religious beliefs. African's where able to survive excruciating
conditions by concentrating on their spirituality. Being that Since most of the slave community
was born in America, converting slaves to Christianity was not a struggle, but over time slaves
made Christianity their own.
Ifá is a religion and system of prophecy, and refers to the verses of the legendary body
known as the Odu Ifá. known as the religion of the Yoruba peoples, Yoruba refers to a group of
cultures chained together by a common language. According to oral stories, the practice of Ifa
began as far back as eight thousand years ago. So, the Ifa Religion may just very well be the
oldest monotheistic religion in the world. They were in an area restricted by the Niger River, and
as well as what is now known as the present day Benin Republic, southwestern Nigeria, and part
of Togo. Orunmila is known as the Grand Priest, for he is the one believed to have exposed
spirituality and prophecy to the world. Babalawo's, or Iyanifas, use either the prophecy chain
(known as Opele), or the sacred palm, or kola nuts called Ikin, on the wooden foretelling tray,
called Opon “Ifá”.
Ifá has recently seen a major spike in practice throughout the Americas, West Africa, and
the Canary Islands, in the system of a composite religious system, as it plays a critical role in the
traditions of Santería, Candomblé, Palo, Umbanda, Vodou, and other Afro-American faiths, as
well as in some traditional African religions. The Ifa religion is balanced on three legs:
Orunmila, Orisa, and the Ancestors. The Supreme Being, Olodumare, is said to be without
gender, and is not a lively applicant in the affairs of the living. Olodumare is generous and has
provided a World with all that is required for humans to be satisfied and pleased. Ifa is
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categorized by a deep logic of the interdependence of all life, and every life form, and element of
Nature including, rocks, metals, flowers, rivers, thunder, clouds and the wind. These natural
energies that embrace the Universe are called Orisa. Each Orisa has its own specific function.
Humans are in continuous communication with the energy. Through Ifa, their followers
recognize that their Ancestors spirits are always with them and since they must be honored at all
times, recognized and referred. All persons people are born moral, and with a purpose meant to
progress their character or “Iwa-pele”. It is said that the prophecy was given to us, so that we
could every so often stay in check to make sure we are staying in balance and following the trail
of our purpose. The mysteries and teachings of Ifa revealed in prophecy are contained in a body
of scriptures called Odu.
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Grade: 3.5 /10
1. Add title page. Use sample on Blackboard. -1 pt.
2. Include your name and page number on each page, no page number on the title
page. To do that, go to insert, header, edit header, under options check different
first page. For second page and other Align Right, put your last name, space, and
then page number, current position. -1 pt.
3. Use spelling/grammar checker in MS Word, then proofread, then let it sit at least
one day, then get someone who knows English grammar to check it. Then
proofread again before submitting final paper. -1 pt.
4. Need footnotes/endnotes or in-text citations, and a bibliography in your final
paper. Use sample citations in Chicago Style Sheet and sample Chicago In-text
citations on Blackboard. -1.5 pts.
5. I keyboarded comments in the margins of your paper, using the Comments feature
in Word, please resolve, and remove the comments before you submit your final
paper. Also remove words/characters that are struck through, use the same font
throughout the paper, and use a black color font throughout the paper. -1 pt.
6. Drop Dead Deadline to submit Final Paper is Dec. 5, in Blog, in Discussion
Section on Blackboard. The first day you may submit your paper is MONDAY
AFTER THANKSGIVING, 11/26/19! Please submit paper once only. If
submitted more than once, only first paper will be graded.
7. Any papers received on Dec. 6, or after (up to 11:59 pm the day of the final –
Friday, December 7, 2018), will be graded at up to 25% of the score for on-time
papers. That means, if a perfect on-time paper gets a grade of ten (10), a late
perfect paper gets a grade of two point five (2.5). Points as outlined above
will still be deducted.
8. Any paper received after Dec. 7, 2018 gets a BIG FAT ZERO!
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