On Ifa : My response

TAYO AKINOLA’S QUESTION: Ifa: An art or a religion? Some people see Ifa in Yoruba culture as an art and they believe that the way you learn music, astrology/astronomy and painting/fine arts, the same way you can learn Ifa if you put your mind to it; while another school of thought believes that Ifa is a religion.  What is your view concerning Ifa? Please support your comment(s) with reason(s) and it will be appreciated if we all stick to the topic and no name calling.  Thank you. MY RESPONSE: Mahatma Ghandi said that one of the sins of humanity is 'religion without sacrifice'. On that basis, I would say any so called art, divination or practices which either offer sacrifices or mediate between man & G(g)od in the offer of sacrificial oblation is a religion. On a particular note, in Yoruba culture, there is a tradition borne out of what I call the 'exasperation of Orunmila': Ifa, who mediates between men & gods, and would succumb to these principalities, perceiving wrongly that the only way out is to beg evil through sacrifices, for it knows not the way of conquering it through love, thus, in the attempt at mediating, Ifa becomes an accomplice in evil. There is only one manner of conquering evil: through love, that which comes about through the one sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. Every other sacrifice falls under aiding and abetting evils. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly Side of Ifa: The Good: Ifa has developed a searching and deeply intuitive prerogative amongst the Yorubas. And has balanced an otherwise warlike tribe with the virtue of 'Iba' and 'Iwapele'. Note that it would be hard to find someone with a name having the prefix 'Fa', who hasn't a high form of intelligence. They should thank their fore fathers. Except perhaps that person's fore father is a fake Ifa priest, just like we have fake prophets. The Bad: The Ifa precedence has created a 'can-not- do' culture. Even in the emerged Islam and Christianity culture that resulted, we have a populace who is fearful, and would rather consult a pastor or Imam before they embark on the tiniest venture, and this decision of the so called men of God is what determines their destiny ever after. What we have as a result is a mediocre religion which is entirely dependent , gullible,superstitious and thus remaining a baby of faith forever. The Ugly: The nation of Yoruba is at the mercies of the gods which are the principalities holding the society to ransom. Even in our days , the oracles are consulted before kings are chosen, chieftancy ceremonies are filled with oaths and occultic practices. As I said , I really don't blame Orunmila, it sees a situation which seems entirely hopeless, and rather than despair, requests of its adherents to make sacrifices to this demons holding the barriers of progress. And the land remains stuck in a parambulation of living and not progress. Christianity have come, and little by little, ancient gates are been opened, but I continue to wonder if we are not going from one demonized criteria to another , for the western culture as we have it today is composed of a whole lot of garbage dictated my Marxists and Freemasons, including our modern day religions. And these things do not stop at killing the body like the Orishas, they kill the soul! Humanity has thrown away the baby of truth with the water of superstition. Mythology has been completely erased and has been replaced with science and in the process, the sense of 'awe' in the face of the spiritual has been immensely affected. Have we taken the time to ponder on the wisdom of the 'odus'? We should; because it is on these basis that the whole foundation and destiny of Yorubaland get established. To redeem our motherland of the falsehood upon which it is established, we need to embark on an inculturated journey , and endeavor to sieve out the baby of truth from the water of superstition. This is no little task, and hardly has anyone dared to embark on the task already, we , as a result have become intellectually berserk by the garbage fed us by westernization and we remain complacent with the fact that we live under a curse propounded by an ancient king ( Alaafin Aole; read history) that people shall come from afar of and laud it over the sons of the land. And in succession, we are held bondage under the Sultanate of Uthman Dan Fodio, the Queen of the British Empire, then the kingdom of America. They come , become our Lords,raze our resources and take over our lands. He who plays the piper dictates the tune. In the process we have completely lost our identity and the realization of our collective destiny. But from the advent of this raze have developed a Pearl of great treasure: not a myth, not odu, but a Truth that has discovered us: herein is our epiphany : that everything that Orunmila has despaired about, that mythology even in her presumption and creative endeavors have dared not to fashion out , have become factual: God has become man. God was killed and has risen from death to redeem man so that he may die no more. Life is a continuum for he with faith in Christ! The task on the Yorubans, if they are serious about liberating their land from the shackles of the Orishas who have held the land to ransom and have conspired with the external gods of Marxist atheism and freemasonry to kill , to steal and to destroy souls, is to commence on the arduous journey starts of understanding the history of the land and its accompanying rituals. Just like I laugh at a professed Christian who has not seek to understand the history of the church, catholism and the mystery surrounding the Mass. Or a catholic who refuses to understand Judaism, her history and the mystery surrounding the covenant . If we don't understand the odus- armed with the strength of Christ- Yorubaland shall forever remain locked under the shackles of external agencies and her lying gods. INTERJECTIONS FROM BABALOLA @Niyi Francis Akinola, Tayo said no name calling. You don't need the attack on Marxist, Freemasons, British and Americans. They have done their own good to humanity, in some cases more than your so-called Yoruba people and even the politics of the Church. Before Freemasons, the whole Europe was engulfed by religious wars and persecution. They delivered us from 'monkish ignorance' - to use Jefferson's words. I humbly suggest the following; First, I think you should separate your religious intent from the political one. Yoruba tradition has to be re-invented along multi-religious and non-religious lines with respect to current religious liberalism and the same religious liberalism that Ifa represents. Using Odus as a basis for redemptive homily through inculturation as Pope John-Paul II had encouraged is another matter. Both should be encouraged. The first entails reading Orunmila as one would read Socrates. The inculturation would entail the baptism of Orunmila as Aquinas did to Aristotle and the reading of Ifa as an Old Testament. Second, Ifa, which means the Truth, cannot be boxed like Judaism or Christianity or Islam. Even if all Odus are written down. Ifa cannot be entirely understood by one person or a single group. You can only see a small glimpse. Thirdly, Ifa is not exclusivist but unlike Judaism or Christianity or Islam, allows for growth of religious pluralism - or progressive religious accumulation. Fourth, Ifa is not only about divination and sacrifices, it is also concerned with other realms like - psychology, philosophy, astronomy, geometry, medicine, geometry, science, etc. As Wande Abimbola stated it is a body of knowledge. Like the Chinese I Ching, these aspects are more relevant today. Fifth, there are many eses in Ifa, where sacrfices are not proposed. Rather, the customer or patient is told to change his/her ways. The sixth is that on the issue of sacrifice, Ifa is closest to Judaism and not so different. Sacrifices are not as important as obedience to natual laws. Seventh, orisha means 'ori ti asa' [chosen heads]. Yoruba people only see them as spirits and sometimes as companion of Olodumare. They are not more important in the scheme of things than Olodumare. Yoruba people say - orisa, bo le gbe mi, fi mi si bo se bami. We don't say that about Olodumare - who is central to Ifa via Orunmila. Eighth, Uthman Dan Fodio's children do respect justice among themselves more than us. Unlike us, they respect merit among themselves, as we employ arrangements and the injustice of dispoilment through spiritual, economic and physical might. That is why we are exhausted and weak. Eloquent but no moral force - no conviction. Powerful but no permanence - Photo-trick culture. I do not believe in the so-caled Aole curse. Our problem is lack of justice among ourselves. And finally, the greatest threat to your proposed project of revisiting Ifa are the the badly educated Christians and Muslims, the former especially. MY RESPONSE Aaah at last! Just what I needed: To get people talking on a topic that I feel should be of utmost concern to every well meaning Yorubaman. And it is a real pleasure to have a response from no less a person than Olusegun Richard Babalola, for I am well aware of his long held passion regarding this subject. I hold Segun in high respect, and would beg pardon before I begin (Only for the sake of truth) that I would be objecting some of his objections. To begin with, when Tayo said no name calling, I take it to mean a mutual respect for each person that comments regarding the subject he tabled, not on bodies, institutions, organisations or individuals that are alien to the post in question, otherwise much havoc would be perpetrated if we would have to be ‘nice’, and the rationale to the arguments would then have been defeated. I feel it would be absolutely whimsical and quite nonsensical if one attempts to be nice to all protagonist in the face of such salient topic. Please correct me if I am wrong: I believe that, conciliation in the face of injustice shall never reconcile the world to truth. Your response made me jubilant, for it gives me an opportunity to express my long held position in the face of history and my conviction about humanity and the life we live.I am passionate about living! As a preamble, I would like to note that, while it would be callous and biased to disapprove entirely of the progress made through science, westernization and secularism, I would also say that we should not be negligent about the many tares generated among the wheats of progress, and I would like to raise our consciousness to the rapid spreading of this tares, most especially in our days, and I believe that  if there is no radical change of attitude, actions and culture, the tare would end up consuming all that remains of the wheat. My opinion is not borne out of sentiment, the clarion call for change is urgent! I would like to reiterate my insistence that Freemansonry and Marxist ideologies are  at the root cause of our dilema .Freemasonry is the father of all fifth column lodges, prominent of its ideology is that you believe in a supreme being, but the manner of the being that you believe is entirely up to you. At first, this looks entirely harmless; after all what is my business about whatever ‘garbage’ anybody takes as god, but beginning from the middle ages and accelerated through the French revolutions, Freemasons have infiltrated everywhere, they hold the top echelon of power in politics, business, media, religion and every facet of wordly power, they have institutionalise the ideology of the dictatorship of relativism, and man is basking in the euphoria of this fake freedom which they have propounded. Assisting Freemasonry is Marxism. A communal utopia which aims at building a world empire of materialism, consumerism and has as its  mission the putting of religion at bay! On the face of it again we see nothing wrong, but the error of Marxism which has polluted everything and has as its mission the death of God, is putting posterity in peril. Marxism does not relent, because the idea is the seat of money and earthly well being, it is spreading its error like an aggressive cankerworm. It is the source of the tare, the aggressive secularism as we have it today. What is my problem? My problem is that I am acutely aware of the war we fight. I call it the ‘Ki ijoba a Re de war’ or the ‘Thy kingdom come war’. The world is once again telling God, this is not Your domain, You come here we kill You. And for me, staying on the fence is not given to me as an option in this war, fighting on the world stage is herculean and dreadful. My little strategy is tackling secularism and relativism in myself, my home, my family, my community , and whenever I am opportuned, on social media, I use my gadgets to air my opinion. The first objection you raised is precisely what I would not be tempted to support anymore. The resources of the dichotomy between art and belief, between politics and religion, between church and state has been spent, they are not working anymore. It is only a question of time before the monster of state rear its head in its entirerity. The present separation does nothing but send a multitude of souls packing into hell, promoting apostasy and providing a wide and credible platform for the spread of atheism. The only part of Christianity left for us is a watered down and shallow one, and there is this uncomfortable and growing opinion about getting rid of religion. There is nothing wrong with religion; it is fake ideologies (also in religion) that something is wrong with. Asking me to separate my religious intent from my political one is telling me to stop at truth at some point. It is because we are complacent about the world forever remaining under the shackles of evil that we refuse to venture into some sensitive human endeavours like politics. We tend to give that part of life to the realm of the devil. I am not suggesting that we return to the political atrocities perpetrated when the church was in power during the medieval periods, what is at stake is not earthly power, what is at stake is truth and the salvation of souls. I am passionate about the reign of truth, of peace, of authentic liberation which makes man live forever. Marxism promises worldly comfort at the detriment of souls, what I foresee is a leadership that practices the beatitudes and a justice where everyone is equal before the Law. ‘Onijogbo ni I sin ilu, ilu kii sin Onijogbo’-(Saworoide). Let he who would be first be the last, that is not happening at the moment in most world politics, and I am optimistic about its possibility. I am more of a realist than an idealist. I KNOW THIS IS POSSIBLE. If Christianity does not speak out now, politics would come into the realm of the church anyway (that which is already starting) and would make it known that there has never been any dichotomy. The state rules all along. And I don’t have any problem with state leadership, but that it should provide authentic and just leadership. When issues like abortion, gay marriages, and the likes are brought to the fore front, the position of religion should not be criminalised. And I try not to be a prophet of doom, but the time is near when he who does not contribute to the common purse of America to abort children, or the church which does not consent to marry gays in the UK, would face the justice of the human right campaigners and would be sentenced for treason. It would then be too late to object anything, and it would be very obvious that the divorce between church and state does not help souls anymore.’ B’aa wi ‘ a o ku, b’aa wi orun la n lo’. Nobody sends me to say anything; I even fear my church would term my position heretical. If at this age I cannot stand for what I believe, then I would live a fool forever. Now, lets come back home to Yorubaland where I would like to say something regarding your second objection. In the quest of freeing our land, and as a consequence her people, we have to search for truth. The scripture says: you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free. I believe any authentic search for truth, that which you said Ifa is, should bring about a reconciliation of ideas, and that this reconciliation should be borne out of mutual respect for each others’ views, and that any attempt at arrogance from either side would only return us to the status quo. Contrary to your objection, in the quest towards this liberation, I have as a major mission, the precise quest to ‘box’ Ifa. I know you would think that statement is quite presumptous and rash. Let me explain my strategy : armed with the whole armour of Christ, I shall venture into the school of Agboniregun and learn about odu and the mystery of Orunmila. Just as Christianity spread through contact with the Hellenistic culture, I have concluded that my understanding of the nature of Truth lies precisely in the quest of boxing Ifa , not into any ideology, for as you explain, this is dangerous and harmful, but into a person, the person of Jesus Christ. The crisis point between God and the world is this: The Word was made flesh. Everything has to be reconciled through Him and in Him. And thus shall our land be truly liberated, not so much the importation of Roman culture in form of Catholism, or that of American ways in form of Pentecostalism, or the British way through Protestantism, or the Arabic ways through Islam. But the journey towards inculturation demands the patience of a student in a school; and we shall not be tempted to take a short cut as happens in the Caribbean Sancteria religion which attempted to baptise the Orishas into saints, causing havocs. By educating ourselves to freedom, harmed with the grace of Christ, we shall bring forth the long awaited reconciliation and the authentic freedom of a race. I know whom I believe, and like the Magi, I know it would be the ultimate joy for Orunmila to be reconciled with its objects of quest since ages past. When the practices of Ifa authentically meets the person of Christ, then shall we be better placed to understand the mysteries of the odus and be able to separate the wheat of truth from the tare of unnecessary sacrifices which only feeds the ego of the demons holding our land to ransom. I know of only one sacrifice, one Lord, one Master, and one God. Lift up your heads you ancient gates; let the king of glory enter! As per the third point you raised; the occult kingdom flourished in Yoruba land in spite of the advent of westernisation and Christianity because it found a ready home with the Freemasonry. Fifth columns persisted in Islam and Christianity in the land in the name of Ogbonis, the Awos et all. These groups facilitated and encouraged this pluralism and the culture of the survival of the fittest. Relativism doctrine thrived, even in our religions. But the inconvenience of Christianity within this group lies precisely in the profession of Truth as one, of God as one, of the Lord and Master as one. Lets say it as it is, because much evils are being perpetrated by silence and complacency.I respect diversity, and God Himself is a Unity in Diversity. But the motive of diversification and pluralism, if it is selfish and narcist in view becomes evil. In answer to your fifth and sixth issue, I maintain that without religion; Arts, Philosophy, Science and Psychology would become exasperated in the search for truth. Separating these arms from religion does not do justice to a holistic quest of life and reality.   There was a cry which resounded in the book of Revelation which I would like to bring our attention to; It was that of John the divine when confronted with the futility of humanity and creation in the quest towards opening the seal. It was an exasperated cry of despair and the recognition of  the urgency and the necessity of tackling this desperation towards the realisation of life and freedom. This exasperation takes many form; you often hear of karma, reincarnation, cyclic existentiality and the likes in religions like Bhudism, Hinduism, Shintoism and African religions and you wonder why this is so . Even Judaism and Islam at certain points succumb to this exasperation of John the divine.This sensitive area needs elaboration and I confess, without falling into sentimental bias, I am still in the process of studying this issue and shall not discuss this further, but what I am sure of is that the event of Calvary broke open the seal, and I am convinced that no human, no god, no orisha, no scientific postulation, no artistic construction or reconstruiction could reveal the reality of that moment. This is borne, not out of sentiment, this is a conviction of mine: There is something more than oscillation, cyclism and perambulation. Light travels perpetually and in a straight line, and that Light is Christ. On your seventh objection regarding Orishas, I insist that the intricacies and complexity surrounding them makes me hold no apology in my condemnation of them. The ways of the Orishas can only facilitate chaos and confusion. I respect Orunmila, but I have very little tolerance for the Orishas. Not all of them are mythological characters and the humans figures among them have got a pedigree for immorality, violence, chaos, vengeance, and amidst all this, their agencies have raised them to divine status because of their unrestrained desires. No servant is greater than his master. Regarding the issue you raised on the eight point I would say categorically that I respect Islam, and we ( Yoruba) should feel indebted to Islam for promoting a continuum of integrity and morality in the land. Islam has contributed and still continues to contribute to the advancement of the human race, and has been a great factor towards the continuation of the idea of God in the world. We share a lot in common, and we should not take lightly our common patrimony with Islam and the Jews as the fruits of Abraham of whom the promise was made. Islam is destined in the world for a positive purpose. The extent of the negative aspect of secularisation would have been worse if it has not been countered by radical Islam. I vehemently oppose the idea of reprisal attack and the ideology of demonising a party who is in opposition, to the extent of killing fellow humanity, but the point I am making is this: though, virtue lies in the middle, but extreme situations sometimes demands extreme measures as a counter.Now, lets take what extremity means in context. If Mohammed supports or actually fought wars, it is logical for the adherents of Islam to do same. If Sango sends fire, brimstone  and thunder upon his enemies ,it is logical for the leftist among his followers to do the same. If Christ stood for a Truth and carried his cross and died rather than deny this Truth, it is pertinent that his adherents do same in the face of extreme measures. The beatitude is the consequence of authentic leadership, and flesh and blood would naturally shrink from this. That is the reason behind every opposition  of  all wordly gods and ideology . Finally , I recognise the fact that I had pulled the string of this topic beyond the realm proposed by its originator, but it was an opportunity for me at grasping on an issue that has been burning and lingering inside me for a long time, and every objection as the one proposed is a further chance for me to propound more on my idea. I am less interested in winning the argument; I am more interested in keeping the discussion going. Thank you