Between Mysticism and Divination in Ifa, the Premier Yoruba Knowledge System: Laying Foundations for a Do-it-Yourself Ifa Part 1

[Oluwatoyin Adepoju]

Between Mysticism and Divination in  Ifa, the Premier Yoruba Knowledge System

Laying Foundations for a Do-it-Yourself Ifa Part 1

Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju 

Ifa, the premier Yoruba knowledge system, may be understood as a multi-disciplinary constellation of knowledge organised around a divinatory core.

I deeply admire Ifa, but even though I know Ifa divination can be insightful, the manner in which it is traditionally carried out does not suit me.

I'm not interested in directives from an external source about issues in my life. Even if the creator of the universe, described as all-knowing, were to offer to give me directives on all aspects of my life I would decline.

Even if the same creator were to offer to imbue me with the comprehensive knowledge through which he or she assesses issues, I would wonder what the value of life on Earth would be with such knowledge in which all possible outcomes are already known.

The idea of infallible knowledge robs life of it's uncertainty and creativity, in my view. Deprives existence of it's adventure, as I see it.

Hence I'm interested in what I call Do-it-Yourself Ifa, close to what one view calls Independent Ifa.

Independent Ifa, I understand, is a form of Ifa that does not pass through traditional channels of training, as developed over the centuries in Yorubaland, adapted in Benin-City and spreading to the African Diaspora in the Americas and beyond.

The key exponent of Independent Ifa known to me is the Dutchman Jaap Verduijn who has published a book on how to perform Ifa divination.

The traditional approach insists on being trained by a babalawo, an adept in the esoteric knowledge of Ifa, the term "awo" implying knowledge hidden from others outside a group and to some degree, occult knowledge, knowledge about the nature of reality that is not ordinarily accessible.

Other approaches outside the traditional are represented by the digitalization of the divinatory process. This involves  the use of electronic collections of ese ifa, Ifa literature, to be used in divination rather than the traditional approach of memorizing them.

At a  more fundamental level, it may be demonstrated in the use of an electronic device in carrying out the entire divination process in which the oracle is consulted and it's response presented in literary form.

I see the digitalization of the divinatory process as another approach to the externalization of divinatory insight. The response to the client's enquiry is again coming from an external source, in this case, the electronic device.

I consider Jaap's approach to teaching oneself to divine through the process described in his book as more helpful for me. I intend to read the book soon.

At the same time, though,  my own approach to Do it Yourself Ifa involves, not relying on any one's approach to Ifa but constructing one's own, in line with my approach to knowledge systems generally.

I approach ideas and structures of knowledge as tools open to me to use in my own way, the way that satisfies me and which others could also learn from.

In that light, therefore, I would ask- is Jaap's method another approach to the externalization of knowledge in Ifa?

Would the insight gained be coming from my own understanding or delivered through the symbols of the oracle?

Would I be able to justify the rationale for the answers given by the oracle, would I be able to understand their logic, the reasons for them and how that conclusion was reached?

Even if all these answers are affirmative in relation to Jaap's method, I would still want to develop my own approach to Ifa through which those goals of internalized rather than externalized knowledge would be gained.

Why?

Why not simply continue in my approach to decision making through the use of my intellect, intuition and perhaps emotions, my preferred approach?

Why not confine myself to this approach rather than seeking guidance from an oracle, since I believe each person has innate access to an oracular intelligence within themselves?

This  view of innate oracular intelligence is also evident in Ifa in the concept of Ori, the immortal self of a person, their guide and embodiment of their ultimate potential.

That is my own interpretation of that idea to emphasize the free will of the individual rather than the emphasis on destiny in some views on Ori.

This is  an intelligence Ifa is meant to be a guide to understanding through the help of a person trained in Ifa divination.

I remain interested in Ifa, in adapting it's practices for my own use, on account of the scope of ambition the system represents, it's integration of a broad range of knowledge in relation to the divinatory process, a range of knowledge open to adaptation and expansion in conjoining all possible knowledge,  not as contained in Ifa, as one view claims, but understanding Ifa as providing tools through which such a muti-cognitive and multi-disciplinary synergy may be achieved.

At the core of this synergy is a relationship between visual, verbal and mathematical symbolism shaping understanding of relationships between the total scope of a person's life and each action they take.

Waking up in the morning, I enter into silence, appreciating the beauty of being alive and being aware that I am alive.

My mind ranges over various possibilities as I reflect on various interests and on what I need to do. Ideally I would plan my day although I'm beginning to think each day ought to be generally planned in advance while leaving room for spontaneity or for the unexpected.

I give thanks for the day and ask for guidance in relation to what I understand as my life's primary goals.

I might meditate, sitting in silence as I listen to my centre, the oracular intelligence understood by various schools of thought across the world, including Ifa, as being at the core of the human being.

I might visualize the relationship between myself and the universe in terms of the circle of the opon ifa, it's empty centre the source of all possibilities.

The carvings on the circumference may be for me the various possibilities of existence in their structured dynamism.

The face at the top of the circle, watching the entire tableau, could be seen as my own face, as well as the face of Eshu, embodiment of ase,  the creativity inherent to each element in existence, the dynamism of the unexpected, the paradoxical, the confluence of opposites enabling cosmic dynamism and harmony, the capacity to understand the voice of my inner self in relation to the perception of my other cognitive faculties, my other ways of knowing, from intellect to the senses, this being  my own understanding of Eshu drawn from various sources.

I am also the empty centre of the opon ifa as it evokes the source of existence, the "odu" in "Olodumare, the creator of the universe", "the calabash from which each moment is born" according to Shloma Rosenberg at his site Mystic Curio.

Is my Ori, my inner self, not an expression of " the one and only Origun in orun, the zone of ultimate origins, from which each earthly Ori branches" according to the Ifa poem "Ayajo Asuwada" as translated by Akinsola Akiwowo?

If so, am I not therefore a part of that   immensity represented by the empty centre of the opon ifa, the source of existence directing the symbolic patterning of the opele and ikin, the divination instruments as they are cast on the opon to reveal the answers of the oracle to questions asked of it?

This, the opon ifa represents, for me, the human being as both an expression of the Ultimate and as distant from it, distant beceause of lack of awareness of one's underlying unity with the source of existence.

These ideas are similar to those of various spiritualities in different parts of the  world.

Are they factual?

I don't know but I find them inspiring.

Thus, each day for me is a journey towards what I already am, a journey towards better understanding of the foundation of myself, a journey from ori lasan or ori ode, my everyday self to ori inu, my inner self, and from ori ode/ori inu to Ori, the superordinate Ori at the source of the universe.

How can each action I take, the way I live my life, benefit from these inspiring possibilities, how can Ifa's methods of seeking knowledge from those exalted realms guide my life?

I can gain inspiration from ese ifa. I can meditate on myself, listening to my ori. I can study relationships between Ifa ideas and those of other schools of thought.