In 1980 I started attending Lucumi rituals in northern California. At the time I was denied permission to formally join an Lucumi ile because of my ethnic background. In 1989 I made the decision to journey to Nigeria in an effort to find a Ifa Orisa teacher who would consider initiating me as a student. At the time the Lucumi elders in northern California believed Ifa Orisa did not exist in Africa. I arrived in Ode Remo Nigeria in April 1989 and was initiated into Ifa by Egbe Ifa Ogunti Ode Remo. I made a total of six trips to Africa and discovered what I believe to be significant aspects of our faith which were lost in the Diaspora. In an effort to reclaim those lost elements I wrote a series of books to share the wisdom of my elders with Ifa Orisa worshippers who were interested in the origins of our faith. In particular I noticed that traditional Ifa Orisa as I saw it practiced in Nigeria made extensive use of oriki as a tool of invocation and ritual practice. I also noticed that Ifa initiated entered various altered states of consciousness commonly called possession to support their work and I believed the emphasis of traditional Ifa was to create healthy extended family as the basis for supporting the development of good character.
In my travels to Nigeria it was always apparent to me that the traditional Yoruba Ifa elders who I met considered Ifa a world religion open to anyone who was willing to follow the guidance of the Immortals, the ancestors, our sacred scripture and the teachings of the prophet Orunmila. The senior elders of Ifa in traditional Yoruba culture are the advisors to the Oni of Ile Ife called Awoni. In my conversations with members of the Awoni they made it clear to me that Ifa has taboo against racism, sexism and homophobia. They also made it clear that the point of Ifa ritual is to give us what we need and not necessarily what we want. This idea is based on the belief that Ifa spiritual discipline is based on the idea of developing good character and the belief that the develop of good character brings a blessing of family, good health and abundance.
When I returned to California after initiation I started a multi-cultural ile rooted in traditional Ifa as I learned it from elders in Ode Remo and Ile Ife Nigeria. Since that time I have witnessed a huge surge in interest in the origins of our faith and I have seen the start of the construction of a bridge between Ifa in Nigeria and Ifa as it is practiced throughout the Diaspora. This bridge has been built in spite of some serious and understandable resistance. It is my hope and prayer that we can continue to reclaim lost and misunderstood elements of our faith in an atmosphere of dialogue, mutual appreciation and unconditional love.
Ire
Awo Falokun Fatunmbi
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