The world has truly
become small. Abdulrafiu Lawal, in the United States of America visits a
‘Babalawo’ and reports on his encounter.
The gray staircase banister leading to
the five bedroom house smells of fresh paint. As he opens the kitchen
door and murmurs ifa poems in Yoruba laced in American accent, the
neatness of the kitchen and scent of rose air freshener is convivial.
Moving through the passage to the divination room, one needs to remove
shoes before proceeding further. On the right is a black wooden shelf
containing books on Ifa authored by scholars from all over the world. On
top of this shelf are a black gong, pictures and ifa divination chain,
known as opele.
Unlike the room of an ifa priest in
Nigeria, this room has no strange wall hangings. In the middle of the
room there is a rug, two small chairs facing each other, a small table
between and some ifa paraphernalia. On the table is a divination tray
carved from wood known as Opon ifa containing divination powder
(Iyerosun), carved Ivory object used to invoke ifa during divination
(Iroke) and cowrie shells (Eerindinlogun). Welcome to the home of Tony
Vandermeer, an African American ifa priest known as babalawo located in
Dorchester area of Boston,Massachusetts,United States of America.
Vandermeer, an enigmatic character in
many ways hails from Harlem, New York, a predominantly black settlement,
famous for producing a generation of black intellectuals. He comes from
a family of seven. Coincidentally, he also has seven children, five
boys and two girls. This is unusual in America where most families do
not have more than three children.
Unlike most Americans, he does not
celebrate Christmas, Easter or any of the Christian holidays. Rather, he
observes the ifa new year (odun ifa) and other celebrations recognised
by his religion. He is known for his ifa practice throughout New England
and beyond by his students and clients. New England is a region in the
northeastern corner of United States consisting of six states namely
Maine,Vermont, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire and
Massachusetts .
Why would someone in America need the services of an ifa priest?
One of his clients, Yvette Modestin, a
social worker and coordinator for Network for Afro Latin American and
Afro Caribbean Women says divination allows her to understand the
sequence of events unfolding in her life. “ I have been in the position
where ifa divination has spoken directly to a situation that I was in. I
actually find it hard to explain because it is an internal thing that
happens, that validates the next step you are about to make.’’
According to Modestin, “ Ifa has become
my voice and whisper because I felt like my ancestors were speaking to
me. I had tapped into something that was deeper than me. This is what
has been calling me and what I need in my life.’’
For Askia Toure, a 73-year old writer,
poet and political activist who comes for divination when his mind is
troubled, ifa has shaped his direction in life. ‘’Ifa is a blessing for
me because I get the right answers. I grew up in the African American
church, my father was a deacon. Then, I had influence of Sunni Islam. My
whole life has been a search for how best to communicate with my
creator. After a very traumatic experience in my life, I met (Prof)
Wande Abimbola.”
Prof Abimbola, a former vice chancellor of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife is a world renowned ifa scholar.
Similar to what obtains in Nigeria,
African Americans, Latinos, Jamaicans, Cubans or Brazilians in America
who believe in it , consult an ifa priest when searching for jobs,
setting up a new business, failed marriages and other challenges of
life.
Bridgit Brown, an African American
blogger and writer in Boston says she had an ifa divination when she was
going to work in West Africa for the first time a few years ago. She
wanted to know how the journey will be and the divination revealed that
it will be a major success.
“ And it was. It also told me to be
mindful of the importance of ordinary things, and to not just see wealth
in terms of money, but in terms of having those things which are of
basic needs: food, shelter, love, and so on, which is very contrary to
the American way that I grew up knowing.’’
The method of divination for
Vandermeer’s clients is also similar to that of Nigerian ifa priests.
All a client needs is to give a small consultation fee, whisper his
intentions on it and Vandemeer consults ifa for answers. For him, ifa
divination is a vehicle to help the society rather than an avenue for
material gains. “This is why I have no fixed price for divination. I
have students who come with coins or a dollar from their pockets. I tell
people who come to see me that if they are doing well, I am happy to be
part of it.’’
He says some of qualities he has learnt
from ifa in dealing with clients are honesty and patience. “No
divination can bless one unless one’s ori (godhead) accepts it. It is a
two prong process involving divination and sacrifice (ebo). So, if you
are not gonna go through the process, don’t even bother. This is because
the idea of sacrifice concretizes what is it you came for and
manifests.’’
First Contact with Ifa
Vandermeer recalls his first contact
with traditional African religion in 1978 when he was about graduating
from the University. “Things were kind of rough, I was having problems
with the mother of my daughter. I went to an Obatala priest for
divination which enabled me to get through these problems but things got
worse in 1983’’. The priest was of Jamaican ancestry who got initiated
through the Cuban system and was part of the African Americans who set
up the poipular Oyotunji Village in South Carolina.
In 1983, sensing that his life had not
really changed for the better, the father of seven met some Cubans who
introduced him to their own form of ifa practice. He was given a
caudron,beads of various deities (awon orisa),Esu and Osanyin. Still not
fulfilled, Vandermeer left the Cuban house in 1994 when he met a
Nigerian, Afolabi Epega, whose father had written a book on ifa.
The turning point
However, his romance with ifa took a
turning point when he met Wande Abimbola, who is spokesperson for
Babalawos worldwide (Awise Awo Ni Agbaye) in the Unites States.
“I began classes on the ancestors,
orisas and ifa for four years. I knew more than I have ever thought
which necessitated my doing a serious study around ifa’’, says
Vandermeer.
Comparing the Cuban system with the
Nigerian style of ifa practice, he says studying under Abimbola who has a
long history with the religion and a linguist made him understand the
ifa philosophy. “Like the notion of iwa pele (good character and
humility) which set the tempo for my getting deeper in terms of
practice. Though the Cuban system was based on the Nigerian practice,
not being familiar with Spanish made it more difficult studying under
Cubans.’’
Like the proverbial journey of a
thousand mile beginning with a step, getting his first hand of ifa
signaled his sojourn to the esoteric and spiritual world of ifa priests.
Vandermeer ended up studying with Abimbola for 12 years. “If people
come for divination, I would help or any kind of spiritual work like ebo
(sacrifice). At this point, he (Abimbola) had set up the Ifa Institute
in Atlanta where people were coming to see him.’’ This culminated in his
initiation in Oyo in 1999, adding that when he got involved, his
mission was to use the ifa “to get the kind of spiritual balance and
guide that I need to navigate the challenges of life’’ but his destiny
decided otherwise.
Like adherents of Islam and
Christianity, who observe their morning prayers before leaving the
house, Vandermeer begins his day chanting ifa verses,odus and ancestral
chants for Egungun and throwing kolanuts before Esu. The essence is for
him to have an idea how the day will be and may determine what his
schedule will look like . “ If it is caution and I don’t have to go
out,I will stay indoors. If I have to, I will be cautious.’’
He says going to Nigeria where he was in
seclusion as part of the initiation process made him appreciate how ifa
related to his character, that of other people and the notion of
sacrifice. “ The notion of ori, were concepts that makes a lot of sense,
stories around Esu and the idea of being able to reconstruct your life.
Someone in a bad situation can be better if he makes efforts. That is
why the Esu is on the opon ifa and the in the ebo (sacrifice), Esu gets
something’’.
Why would an educated, widely travelled
African American choose to become an ifa priest? Vandermeer says before
embracing the religion he had developed a sense of himself as a
descendant of Africa. “So it made sense to me that my spiritual system
should be one that related to Africa.’’
However, he makes a distinction between
his relationship to ifa and its relationship to Nigeria stressing that
he was not tracing his roots to Nigeria. Though, his parents are all
from the United States, he believes they have links to Ghana and Sierra
Leone.‘
Stressing that some may dispute his
claim of being an African, he supports his claims with the statement of
Malcom X that “putting puppies in” the oven, does not make them
biscuits.’ So as Africans, just because trans-Atlantic slave trade
brought us here does not make us less Africans. For me, exploring ifa as
one of the gifts of Africa, the birth place of civilisation,you see the
richness in terms of its value systems and philosophy which intrigues
me.’’
Ifa divination system and religion
associated with Yoruba history is common in most cultures in West Africa
and later Cuba, Brazil, Haiti, Jamaica, Colombia,Mexico and Venezuela
due to the trans Atlantic slave trade.The divination system uses an
extensive corpus of texts and mathematical formula interpreted by the
diviner.
In the United States, Prof. Abimbola has
given it so much prominence through his works especially in the last
two decades. Its philosophy centres around belief in Olodumare, the
Yoruba high God, humility and honesty. Statistics from the Council for
Parliament of the World Religions estimates that ifa religion has over
70 million followers in Africa and the Americas.
In 2005, United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) proclaimed ifa as one of
the 86 traditions of the world to be regarded as masterpieces of oral
and intangible heritage of humanity. By this proclaimation,ifa joined
the league of heritage elements that require urgent measures by the
state to preserve it. Abimbola, on the other hand, has become an
ambassador of sort conveying the message of religious tolerance around
the world including a visit to the pope.
Challenges
Ifa, like any other thing coming to
America from Africa, is associated with some negative stereotypes such
as voodoo or something primitive. But to Vandermeer those stereotypes
have not discouraged him in any way because history rewards those who
research it. “We live in western imperialist society which played a role
historically in slave trade and being part of society of people trying
to dominate African people. Part of colonialism says what the coloniser
does is right and the colonised whatever they do is wrong. So, their
belief in god is wrong but their belief in the coloniser’s god is
correct.’’
He describes the negative strand around
ifa like blood sacrifice, witchcraft and devil worship as nothing but
imperialists’ propaganda. He emphasises that research done by many
scholars around the world has proved that ifa is more valid than many
other belief systems. “I have studied how Christian missionary society
used its relationship with those in power to convince people that
Christianity was the way and not to believe in their own indigenous
belief system’’, he says.
Working as an ifa diviner in America is
not without challenges especially language, says Vandermeer. “We as
babalawos in the Diaspora especially North America don’t have that type
of learning community that exists in Nigeria. This is one of our
dilemmas, how do we build communities among practitioners so that we are
able to learn and share more knowledge around ifa’’. As a way out, he
had to get people who understand Yoruba language to help him out.
He notes that another challenge is
learning the odu and ese ifa in English which is kind of problematic.
Stressing that Nigeria has a stronger apprenticeship model where a young
person goes to live and study with the babalawo. Though, he says this
does not make them inferior to other babalawos but a mere difference in
cultural context.
“ We are at a unique place because we
understand the culture here. When we look at ifa as a people here, we
are able to relate those circumstances in relation to ifa. The babalawos
in Nigeria are at a higher level in terms of history as some know five
or six generations of their families involved in ifa”, he said. Another
challenge is sourcing herbs because the country has laws protecting
forest reserves. In this case, he relies on his contacts in Nigeria for
help especially from Prof. Abimbola.
As a way to expand knowledge of ifa,
Vandermeer formed a study group of 24 people consisting of young and the
old who meet once a week to learn ifa songs,chants and the orishas.
Another unique difference between Ifa
diviners in the US like Vandermeer and Nigeria is that they have paid
jobs through which they feed their families. He is a senior lecturer in
the department of African American studies at the University of
Massachusetts, Boston and working towards his doctorate degree.
Passing it to the next generation
In keeping with the African culture of
maintaining family traditions by passing it to off- springs, Vandermeer
is grooming his 13 year old daughter, Adetutu, whose name rituals was
performed by Prof. Abimbola.
Like a Muslim or Christian preacher will
call the name of God before doing anything, Adetutu, laced with
innocence and oblivious of the challenges of becoming a success story as
a black person in America chants “ifa lo loni, ifa lo lola,ifa lo
lotunla pelu e” before answering the reporter’s questions. “ Every
morning, I get my kolanut(Obi abata),some water , recite my odu ifa and
throw it to the ground, that is how I say my prayers. My friends in
school do not know ifa is my religion, but they notice I wear different
Yoruba clothes especially on Fridays’’, she says. At her age, she
already knows how to interpret the message of ifa when kolanut is thrown
and helps her father in doing sacrifice (ebo) for clients.
Her mother’s name at birth was Maria
Clemencia but in 2003 became Fatuma Atoke, after her initiation, says
the hospital staff were surprised when they refused to give her a name
immediately after Adetutu was born which is the usual practice in
America. “Over 200 people attended her naming at our home with Baba
Wande Abimbola presiding. The hospital asked us why we had to wait to
have a gathering. I told them this is the way we want to do it.’’
Challenges facing African Americans
For African Americans who believe in
ifa, it goes beyond being a guide to resolve the puzzle of life but
partly an answer to racism and something to give them a true a sense of
belonging . Also their relationship with Africans from the mother
continent has been saddled with tension and mistrust.
Toure who pioneered the African American
and Black studies programme in the US at San Francisco State University
in 1968 says it has been a struggle to maintain a small bit of their
African heritage. “The racist colonialists claimed the African was
sub-human and a little more advanced than the ape. Ifa gives us a common
way of thinking, looking at the universe and ancestral grounding for
those us in the Diaspora and our brethren in the mother continent. We in
the Diaspora can be viewed as the lost tribes who have been re-linking
with motherland and re-establishing respect for African traditional
religion and spirituality.’’
For Modestin, who has spoken at the
African Union (AU) , United Nations (UN) and travelled all over Latin
America, coming to the United States made her realise the excruciating
effect of racism. She says this experience compounded her problems
because “you are told you are not black enough because you were not born
here and you are not Latino enough because am black.’’
Ayoka Onifade, a mother of two whose
name before her conversion to ifa religion was Maura Gaines, says it has
enabled her to redefine herself. “ My conversion has given me a
stronger sense of identity around being an African woman. This has a
different political ideology because the sense of being hyphenated
African-American, like what does it mean ? When I was initiated in Oyo, I
felt I was home. It changes who you are and how you see the world’’.
Onifade was initially a Christian, moved
to Cometic religion and then converted to ifa. She and her husband also
had the only Yoruba ifa wedding in New England conducted by Abimbola.
Her two children Oyade and Ifatayo,aged nine and 11 respectively had
their life story divined by Prof. Abimbola and their names were chosen
from the odus.
Though,Onifade has not been able to
trace her roots to any country in Africa,she would love to go back to
live in Nigeria. “ I have committed myself to ifa and Yoruba culture,
hence I will feel more comfortable in Nigeria. When I came back to the
US, I was homesick for three weeks. It was difficult to re-acclamatise
because I felt I was home. I had a profound experience in Nigeria,’’ she
confessed. Vandermeer captures the plight of African Americans more
succinctly.
“ Here, in the African American
community that we have been stolen from our native countries. Our
languages have been stripped from us; we are made to believe we are
somebody else. And we still suffer from a different level of
oppression”, he says.
Askia Toure and Modestin believe ifa can
be used to unite Africans in the mother continent and the Diaspora.
“This could be a way for us to begin to understand each other a lot
better. This could be a place to validate ourselves within ourselves in a
way that we would not get in other platforms,’’ she says.
Counting his blessings, Vandermeer says
studying under Prof. Abimbola is a “transforming’’ experience and ifa
has made him a “seeker of knowledge’’. This is because he is now
interested in learning many languages fluently like Japanese
Akida,Spanish, Suriname and Cape Verdean Creole as well as Yoruba.
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