Between Memoir and Metaphysics: Narrative, Religious and Philosophical Conjunctions in Africa, and Yorubaland, in Particular: Toyin Falola's Malaika and the Seven Heavens and his Yoruba Metaphysics: Spirituality and Supernaturality

[Oluwatoyin Adepoju]

Between Memoir and Metaphysics:  

Narrative, Religious and Philosophical Conjunctions in Africa, and Yorubaland, in Particular: Toyin Falola's Malaika and the Seven Heavens and his Yoruba Metaphysics: Spirituality and Supernaturality  

             Ouwatoyin Vincent Adepoju 

                      Compcros

                           Abstract

This paper examines the forthcoming publications of preeminent Nigerian scholar Toyin Falola—Malaika and the Seven Heavens: A Memoir of My Encounters with Islam and his Yoruba Metaphysics: Spirituality and Supernaturality—as a significant conjuncture in the study of African religious and philosophical systems.

 It analyzes these works as potential culminations of Falola's long-standing methodological project: bridging subjective, autobiographical narrative with rigorous scholarly analysis to articulate the dynamism of Yoruba and African thought.

The analysis situates these new works within Falola's existing oeuvre, including his previous memoirs and theoretical texts like "Ritual Archives", questioning whether they will achieve a synthesis of the personal and the analytical hitherto seen as disparate in his writing. 

Furthermore, the paper frames this inquiry through a personal reflection on the city of Osogbo, a historical and cultural epicenter where Islam, Christianity, and Indigenous Yoruba spirituality (Ìṣẹ̀ṣe) coexist and intermingle. 

Ultimately, this pre-publication review anticipates Falola's contribution to forging a "totalistically configured" understanding of Yoruba history and metaphysics, one that is locally grounded yet universally resonant.

In the closing months of this year two books by the polymatic scholar and writer Toyin Falola will be published.

They are the  autobiographical  Malaika and the  Seven Heavens:A Memoir of My Encounters with Islam ( October 2, 2025)  as well as the scholarly text Yoruba Metaphysics: Spirituality and Supernaturality ( September 23, 2025).

Malaika and the  Seven Heavens:A Memoir of My Encounters with Islam

Falola is a master in the narrative depiction of encounter with spiritual realities, as evident in his accounts of his mentor the spiritual and herbal adept Iya Lekukeja in his two previous autobiographies A Mouth Sweeter than Salt and Counting the Tiger's Teeth, about his childhood and teenage years, respectively, as well as the section of his theoretical  essay "Ritual Archives" where he depicts his meditation on the Yoruba origin Orisa spirituality deity Esu.

All those textual sections are centred in classical Yoruba spirituality while the forthcoming autobiography addresses his experience with Islam. 

His discussion of Islam in his scholarly book African Spirituality, Politics and Knowledge Systems: Sacred Words and Holy Realms demonstrates his keen senstivity to Islamic vision, the section on Sufism being particularly luminous.

I anticipate what he will do with the subject in an autobiography titled in terms of the more luxuriant aspects of Islamic metaphysics, the idea of seven heavens, resonating with the story of Muhammed's journey to celestial spheres and with the little I have encountered about the cosmic vision of such an expansive Islamic thinker as Ibn Arabi.

A quick online search reveals this idea involves successive realms beyond the Earth, each occupied by a prophet. 

Paul Twitchell adapts the image with compelling force in his creation of the religion Eckankar, describing the elevated personages occupying those realms as human beings, drawn from various spiritualities, within diverse points in space and time, from Africa to Europe to Asia and North America, across world history, who have matured spiritually to act as divine teachers and sustainer of cosmic processes, a state a spiritual practitioner may reach through committed living, thereby transforming the idea into a template demonstrating the creative possibilities of all spiritualities and all peoples.

Will Falola's book open me more to the Islamic cosmos, helping me better appreciate its vital force through the enthusiasm represented by a lived experience of the religion?

Will reading the book expose me further to those authours on Islam in my library who I'm yet to read- Ibn Arabi, Rumi and more?

The book's descriptions suggest that a very rich treatment of the intersection of the individual and the communal,  the personal and the institutional,  the local and the universal, is to be expected with this publication. 

Malaika's Amazon page states:

"Malaika and the Seven Heavens explores Toyin Falola’s personal journey with Islam, beginning with his early years in Ibadan, Nigeria. 

Growing up in environments where Islam coexisted with traditional African religions and later living in a predominantly Christian country, he witnessed the complexities of cultural and religious diversity.

 In this memoir, Falola shares stories of deep understanding, personal development, and the beauty of a faith that transcends language, nationality, and culture.

Although faith is a lifelong journey, Falola identifies key moments in his upbringing that shaped his perception of faith, such as observing Islamic prayers, witnessing the significance of pilgrimage, engaging with spiritual leaders, and interacting with both Muslims and non-Muslims. "

Very promising suggestions  of Falola's characteristic mastery of personal narrative in relation to  social observation, correlated with profound sensitivity to lived spiritual values. 

The description continues:  

"By blending personal observations and reflections with the broader historical and cultural contexts of Islam, the book provides a unique perspective on the lived experiences of Muslims."

This suggests Falola is taking forward and extending the achievements represented by his two previous autobiographies and by his  Autoethnography and African Epistemologies.

A Mouth Sweeter than Salt and Counting the Tiger's Teeth are rich in subjective encounter and profound senstivity to the philosophical significance of the experiences described, but I don't recall the author taking time to explicitly engage those philosophical possibilities.

This circumscription suggests that the distinctive ontologues at play in those books- the understanding of the nature of identity, either human, as with Iya Lekukeja or inanimate,  as with the amulets she meticulously consecrated by her verbal powers for use in the historic Agbekoya Revolt, along with the significance of Falola's description of his personal experience of her spiritual mystery and power, transcending time and space and even penetrating his dreams,  would have to wait for another day, even as that narrative remains classically powerful in accounts of spiritual masters and a signal contrbution to that little developed genre in writings on classical African spiritualities. 

Falola puts in some effort to critically addressing the subject, as different from limiting himself to vivid narrative depictions,  in Decolonizing African Knowledge: Autoethnography and African Epistemologies, but he limits himself to describing Iya Lekukeja 's effect on him in terms of a magical reinforcing of his memory without analysing why he saw the herbal preparations she made him drink for that purpose as  a demonstration of magic.

Autoethnography and African Epistemologies is rich in depictions of Yoruba culture but I don't recall much of a subjective element to it  projecting what I understand as what would be the autoethnographic element of such a work, dramatising the intersection of lived experience and social contextualization within a reflective context.

Will Falola's latest autobiography harmonise these hitherto disparate elements of his engagement with the subjective and the critical,  the personal and the analytical, the individualistic and the cultural?

Will these new publications subsume these diverse modes of engagement  within a contextualisation of universally resonant and yet locally grounded knowledge systems?

The further account of the book suggests the effort to ground the personal in the cultural and universal:

"In addition, Falola’s comparative perspective on the interaction of Christianity, Islam, and African Traditional Religion illustrates how these faiths influence and coexist with one another.

Chapters explore firsthand experiences at madrassas, Islamic education, the influence of Islamic music on Yoruba culture, the historical importance of places like Oja Oba in Ibadan, the role of women in Islam, the intersection of traditional medicine with Islamic healing practices, and the broader social and political implications of Islam in Nigerian cities such as Ilorin and Lagos.

 Ultimately, Malaika and the Seven Heavens aims to foster a deeper appreciation for our shared humanity, inspire meaningful conversations that bridge cultural divides, and enrich our collective knowledge."

This suggests Yoruba ecumenical spirituality at its finest, in which faiths coexist in harmony, although such harmony is not uniform even across those Yoruba communities where a policy ranging from mutual accomodation to mutual appreciation holds.

Classical African spiritualities are marginalized across most of Nigeria in favour of Christianity and Islam,  even as these older spirituality constitutes the indispensable foundation of spiritual life,  resorted to even in secret and inspiring adaptations by the dominant spiritualities. 

Yoruba Metaphysics: Spirituality and Supernaturality

I'm better exposed to Yoruba spirituality and philosophy and have read some of Falola's works in the field, in which he is an established author.

Yoruba metaphysics is a clearly mapped field, its contours well known. Falola's edited Esu: Yoruba God and Imaginative Frontiers and his sole written "Ritual Archives" are  strategic contributions to the subject, complementing other works of his in the field. His account of the symbolism of Yoruba female hairstyles at the intersection of metaphysics- theory of being and aesthetics, theory of beauty, in Autoethnography is magnificent and perhaps unrivalled.

How will he approach the subject of Yoruba metaphysics in a way that goes beyond replicating  the basic descriptions of classical Yoruba thought that have become so visible?

Will he examine the constituting concepts critically?

Will he weave such an analysis into a cohesive and comprehensive statement?

Or will he approach the totality in terms of a more atomistic engagement with the concepts he particularly identifies with?

To what degree will the outcome restate what is already known and to what degree will it engage the known from either an individualistic perspective or a marshaling of responses from diverse perspectives on the foundational concepts?

The book's Amazon page states: 

"Toyin Falola comprehensively explores the complex interplay between the physical and spiritual worlds as understood by the Yorùbá people, offering a fresh perspective on metaphysics, spirituality, and the societal roles these elements play in African communities.

Each of the book’s fifteen chapters focuses on a distinct aspect of Yorùbá life and cosmology.

Topics encompass the everyday consequences of spiritual beliefs on social interactions and community living as well as the philosophical foundations that inform these practices. 

Noteworthy discussions include the function of language in conveying metaphysical knowledge, the societal impact of esoteric beliefs, and the application of these traditional understandings to contemporary life challenges."

That summary suggests the book lays a solid foundation in the known coordinates of the field.

Such axes of knowledge may be presented in a manner that clearly states the facts but may also project them in a compelling manner dramatising their ideational force and imaginative potential.  

Abiola Irele,  Wole Soyinka, Susanne Wenger, Ulli Beier and Awo Falokun Fatumnbi are masters of that style of memorable presentation in the Yoruba context,  crafting summation of aspects of Yoruba thought that are equatable with some of the greatest expressions in world literature.

The further mapping of the text on its Amazon page indicates it goes beyond such foundational depictions to probing into the possibilities of this body of knowledge for discourse beyond its own traditional frameworks of activity:

"The book contributes to the fields of philosophy, religious studies, and African studies by revealing how indigenous epistemologies can inform broader discussions of metaphysics, ethics, and societal development that are outside the Western frame of thought.

This work not only elucidates the nuances of Yorùbá metaphysical thought but also promotes the integration of this knowledge into broader academic and practical settings to advance societal development and sustainability.

As global discourse increasingly seeks to acknowledge and incorporate diverse viewpoints, this book provides essential insights into the workings of an African metaphysical philosophy and its relevance to both regional and international concerns.

 Falola urges the academic community to reconsider the value and role of indigenous knowledge systems in present-day education and policy formation. 

This work is vital for scholars, policymakers, and practitioners interested in cultural studies, philosophy, religious studies, and African studies. 

It is not merely a scholarly work; it is an appeal for a reassessment of the methods by which indigenous knowledge is viewed and applied on an international scale."

Clearly, Falola seems to be pulling out all the stops with this book,  launching himself into an unrestrained examination of his subject within and beyond the metaphysical structurations that are his launching pad.

He is presented as expounding the conceptual systems at play, describing their role in organizing people's lives.

He is also depicted as going beyond that to explore their potential in shaping society beyond the endogenous contexts where these systems are dominant.

The book is presented as  bringing these cognitive structures into dialogue with academia,  not simply as subjects of study,  as fixed systems,  as neatly categorised cognitive architectures, but as dynamic streams adaptable to various contexts, open to rethinking and adaptation across various cognitive and practical domains across the world. 

Could Falola really have carried out such a tour de force?

I think so.

The seeds of such an achievement are evident in his earlier works,  such as "Ritual Archives" which may be understood as a manifesto for what Yoruba Metaphysics promises.

Bridge building between ritual and intellect, between spiritual practice and scholarship, between imagination, analysis and application, are aspirations radiating within that essay.

Visuality and Self Projection

Whose images are those on the covers of both books?

Images of Falola, a practice he has been cultivating on covers of some of his books of the last few years, amplifying it to including such artistic depictions  of himself in the interior of his Milestones in African Literature,  a self focused visuality that is unconventional for scholarly writing, in which the power of words is meant to construct an image of the intellectual visage of the author rather than using visualization of the author as a communicative vehicle.

Why is a veteran of academic publishing changing that unwritten rule in favour of painting his image into the intellectual landscapes constituted by his books?

Does he seek an immortality beyond that provided by the verbal text?

Vanity?

A suggestion of the authour as embodying the subjects of his books- the Islamic personage in the cover of Malaika and the half-human, half-mask face on the front of Yoruba Metaphysics?

A Cavalcade of Masters

The achievement promised by Malaika and the Seven Heavens, complemented by the explorations of classical Yoruba philosophy and spirituality represented by Yoruba Metaphysics would bring Falola firmly into the orbit of  great dramatizers and expositors of multiple spiritualities.

Closest to the cognitive world promised by those Falola texts is such a figure as the Malian writer and scholar Ahmadou Hampate Ba, whose book on the Islamic sage Tierno Borkar ( A Spirit of Tolerance: The Inspiring Life of Tierno Bokar) is a classic and whose expositions and narratives on classical African thought are sublime,  as in his Kaidara: A Fulani Cosmological Epic from Mali, his wonderful essay on the philosophy and practice of classical African orality "The Oral Tradition"  his various essays on classical Fulani, Bamabara and related cosmologies,  and beyond those texts translated into English, others yet untranslated from French, such as L'Éclat de la grande étoile ( The Brightness of the Great Star).

These multi-religious identifications and immersive and scholarly explorations further open out into the constellation of masters represented by Mircea Eliade whose uniquely authoritative work is fed by spiritual practice and scholarly exploration,  from fictional narratives to scholarship, from yoga to shamanism to comparative philosophy of religion.

Also belonging to this firmament into which Falola is moving  are the Swiss and French scholars Fritjof Schuon and Rene Guenon, who, between them, are majestic on Islam, Hinduism and comparative religion, and the Swiss thinker Titus Buckhardt, whose writings across Islam, Christianity and other religions, in their writings and arts,  bring these thought and life worlds uniquely alive.

Falola, however, likely moves beyond these masters of what is known as the Traditionalist school, not in scope of contribution so far, since his work is ongoing while those others were active across their lifetimes in the 20th century  though their work is perenially resonant,  but in terms of a broader cultural scope,  integrating such systems as Islam and Christianity, in which those figures are eminent but also classical African worlds,  which were outside their orbit, even as Falalola is initiating an engagement with science and technology, a zone in which the Traditionalists are not known to have significantly addressed, if at all.

A Climatic Synthesis Among Continually  Escalating Peaks of Creativity?

It would seem that the journeyer from "Ritual Archives" to Decolonizing African Studies,  to Decolonizing African Knowledge,  from A Mouth Sweeter than Salt to Counting the Tiger's Teeth to Memories of Africa:Home and Abroad in the United States, among other works, might achieve in these anticipated books  a long pursued synthesis and escalation of things previously foreshadowed, "the eagle flying from steeple to steeple until it reached Paris".

Unlike the French conquer Napoleon of whom those words were stated about his revived exploits aspiring to military mastery of Europe, Falola never reaches a creative climax from which he retreats into reduced activity nor into the equivalence of the surrender at Waterloo when it took the armies of two countries to defeat Napoleon. 

This far flying bird,  crossing vast oceans in pursuit of something perhaps not fully unravelable by the human mind is always " moving, into another intensity,  for a further union, a deeper communion", as T. S. Eliot puts it.

What books will come out next year? Books gestated and executed over years of dogged work, their release dates with various publishers  already fixed?

Reflections in Osogbo 

Sitting up in bed in the guest house of the Osogbo Sports Club last month, July 2025, I considered the grouping of statues from Osogbo sculptors  Afolabi  Esuleke and Olujide Francis Adesina, positioned on a table in the room  like figures in a drama.

They  evoked for me the efforts of  Toyin Falola in Global Yoruba: Regional and Diasporic Networks, of  Akinwunmi Ogundiran in The Yoruba: A New History and Susan Preston Blier's Art and Risk in Ancient Yoruba: Ife History,  Power and Identity, c. 1300, in harnessing such cultural creativities as the statues of Oduduwa, Obatala and babalawo (Ifa priests)-as those I was looking at in my Osogbo room into a story of the intertwining of the cognitive, social and economic histories of Yorubaland.

I had come to Osogbo expressly to acquire those works of art and considered extending my one day trip to reflect on those ideas in the context of a visit to the Osun forest, a naturalistic and artistic  concretization of the religious and philosophical dynamism of Yoruba history.

Osogbo’s Osun forest and its conjunction of symbolic sculpture and architecture and forest space is the primary visual mapping of classical Yoruba cosmology. 

Osogbo is also the location of the epochal Battle of Osogbo in which the Yoruba army defeated the Islamic jihadist forces, which, pushing on from the conquest of the Hausa nations and the occupation of Ilorin in Yorubaland,  were trying to bring the rest of Yorubaland into their fold.

The Battle of Osogbo secured the political and cultural independence and sovereignty of Yorubaland outside Ilorin and ensured that the Islam that eventually flourished in Osogbo was different from the Islam of Ilorin and that of the Hausa states as shaped by the Fulani jihad.

There exists a profound unity between Osogbo Islam and classical Yoruba spirituality. 

The lekuleja of Osogbo, sellers of items for traditional Yoruba herbalogy and spirituality have what looks like a significant Muslim demographic among them,  from my experience there this year.

Some of the high ranking members of the Iledi Ontoto Ogboni shrine house in Osogbo are Muslims,  as I also observed from my time there this year.

Osogbo was therefore an ideal environment to reflect on the synergy represented by Falola- the scholarly unity of classical Yoruba spirituality, Islamic and Christian spiritualities shaping Africa and Yorubaland in particular. 

When I get the new Falola books, I intend to go on a retreat to Osogbo to read them and perhaps do some of the reading in the Osun forest and if I'm permitted, in the Ogboni grove there, a magnificent natural environment, both uplifting and welcoming.

Isese, a name of classical Yoruba spirituality, along with Islam and Christianity, are aspects of that grand narrative of Yoruba becoming and being, all these being religions Falola explores in their African and at times Yoruba contexts in Sacred Words and Holy Realms. 

An Emerging Configuration

With the publication of Malaika and the Seven Heavens and Yoruba Metaphysics, Falola will move closer towards projecting a totalistically configured Yoruba history as presented from the biographical and scholarly compass enabled by his own explorations of the possibilities of the story of his people.

With these publications, he approaches the synthesis toward which his career has been moving: a totalistic vision of Yoruba spirituality, philosophy, and history, mediated through personal narrative and theoretical rigor. 

These books promise to enrich not only Yoruba studies but also the wider conversations about religion, metaphysics, and human community.

In years to come, scholars will return to them as key nodes in Falola’s vast intellectual constellation, unravelling and reorganising this varied assemblage of biography, autoethnography, theory and pure exposition and analysis, creating images of their own indicating what they see in the assemblage, reinterpreting and reorganizing their insights into new maps of meaning.