Iyalawo

Iyalawo is a term in the Yoruba

language that literally means
Mother of Mysteries or Mother of
Wisdom (Ìyá: “mother”; awó
“mysteries"). Some adherents use
the term "Mamalawo," which is a
partially African diaspora version of
the Yoruba term, Iyaláwo and
Yeyelawo are two more versions of
mother of mysteries. Ìyánífá is a
Yoruba word that can be translated
as Mother (Ìyá) has or of (ní) Ifá or
Mother in Ifá.

Differences between
terms
While Iyaláwo and Ìyánífá are often
used interchangeably, the terms
have different denotations and
connotations. The term Iyanífa
specifically relates to Ifá and could
indicate that a female undertakes
Ifa divination or is a custodian of Ifa
in a personal or professional
capacity; the term may also indicate
that a woman has had Itefa or
itelodu initiation. The term Iyaláwo
indicates a woman who has
knowledge of sacred wisdom that
may include Ifa but goes beyond Ifá
. The significance of the Iyaláwo in
Yoruba cosmology is said to extend
to its creator, Odù. In The Architects
of Existence: Àjẹ́ in Yoruba
Cosmology, Ontology, and Orature,
Teresa N. Washington says of Odù:
“Odù, as the Àjẹ́, is the consummate
Iyaláwo: The mysteries of the
Cosmos swirl in the core of her
being.”[1] Another term, Apetibi , is
sometimes confused with Iyanifa or
Iyalawo but is not the same. An
Apetibi is considered a wife of
Orunmila or a Babalawo. An apetibi
is not initiated into the mysteries of
Ifa and has not received Itefa or
itelodu levels of initiation.[2]

Ifá is a divination system that

represents the oracular utterance of
Odù, who is also known as
Odùduwà. Linguist and cultural
historian Modupe Oduyoye reveals
that the meaning of Odùduwà is
Odù-ó dá ìwà "Oracular utterance
created existence."[3] The system
that Odù devised for human beings
to manifest their destiny is called
Odù Ifá, and the chief emissary of
Odù Ifá is Orisha Orunmila. Both
Babaláwo and Iyanífa use Ifá and its
tools, including the divining chain
known as Opele or the sacred palm
nuts called Ikin, on the traditionally
wooden divination tray called Opon
Ifá, to help their clients better
understand their paths in life.

Historical accounts of
Iyalawo and Iyanifa
According to Babalawo K. Ositola
from Ijebu, Nigeria, it was a woman ,
Odu, who taught her husband
Orunmila how to divine so that he
could communicate with the
spiritual world. The history of
women casting Ifa is well-
documented in the ese Ifa.[4]
Oyeronke Olajubu's Women in the
Yoruba Religious Sphere analyzes an
ese Ifa of Eji Ogbe in which
Orunmila is asked why his daughter
is not practicing Ifa. When he replies
that she is female, he is informed
that that is no taboo. Following this,
Orunmila's daughter studied Ifa and
"From then on women have studied
Ifa / They prescribe sacrifice / They
are initiated into the Ifa corpus."[5] A
verse in Iwori Meji mentions that
Orunmila's daughter is named Alara
and that she underwent an
apprenticeship from Orunmila.
When he had a son, she was
responsible for a large part of her
younger brother's training.[6] The
Arugba Ifa, mother of Onibogi, the
8th Alaafin of Oyo, is documented
as introducing Ifa to Oyo .[7] Arugba
Ifa initiated the Alado of Ato into Ifa,
as well. The Alado later initiated the
priests of Oyo into Ifa. The sacred
odu Oturupon Irete cites a woman
named Oluwo being initiated into Ifa
after giving birth to a son by
Oduduwa. That son became known
as the Ooni.[8] The Ifa Odu Odi Ogbe
speaks of a woman divining and
performing ritual sacrifice for
Orunmila by the name Eruko-ya-
l'egan o d'Oosa also known as Orisa
Oke. The Odù Ifá describes how an
Ìyánífá called Ugbin Ejo divines for
Òfún Méji and also eventually
becomes the mother of Ògbóni.[9]

Royal mothers of Yoruba rulers were

also necessarily Iyaláwo and
Ìyánífá.[10] For example, Biodun
Adediran in "Women, Rituals, and
Politics in Pre-Colonial Yorubaland"
reveals that the Ìyá Mọlẹ̀ serves as
the Yoruba rulers' “personal Ifa
priestess and head of all Ifa
priests.”[11]

Another documented African

Iyalawo was Agbaye Arabinrin
Oluwa, who lived c. 200 AD in
Nigeria.[12][13] Chief Fama Aina
Adewale Somadhi, a contemporary
and prominent Yoruba born Iyalawo,
was initiated in 1988 by Chief
‘Fagbemi Ojo Alabi, the late Araba of
Ayetoro town, Egbado, and the
Oluwo (or High Priest) of Ogun
State, Nigeria.[14] The first
documented American Iyalawo was
Dr. D'Haifa Odufora Ifatogun, who
was initiated in 1985.[15][16]

Mattie Curtis-Iyanifa Ifakemi

Oyesanya, initiated in the Oyesanya
Compound by Araba Oyesanya and
Ayoka Oyesanya ,baptized into
Yoruba Religion by pioneering
Babalawo and Babalorisha Dr. Cliff
Stewart (Oba Dekun) was the first
African American women initiated
into Ifa in 1993. The first Lucumi
Iyaonifas initiatied were María
Cuesta Conde and Nidia Aguila de
León in 2000.[17]

Training
Iyalawo undergo training in the
memorization and interpretation of
the 256 Odu or mysteries, as well as
in the numerous verses or Ese of
Ifá. Traditionally, the Iyalawo usually
have additional professional
specialties. For instance, several
would also be herbalists, while
others would specialize in
extinguishing the troubles caused
by Ajogun.

The Iyalawos are, however, generally

trained in the determination of
problems, or to divine how good
fortune can be maintained, and the
application of both spiritual and
related secular diagnosis and
solutions. Their primary function is
to assist people in finding,
understanding, and being in
alignment with one's individual
destiny until they experience
spiritual wisdom as a part of their
daily experience.

The Iyalawo is charged with helping

people develop the discipline and
character that supports such
spiritual growth called "Iwa Pele", or
good character. This is done by
identifying the client's spiritual
destiny, or Ori, and developing a
spiritual blueprint which can be
used to support, cultivate, and live
out that destiny.

Lineage variations of
Iyanifa
The position of Iyalawo is found in
both West Africa and in the
Americas. Every town, country and
lineage has different customs,
although most towns in Yorubaland
initiate women at present. The
priesthood of women is denied by
many in the Lucumí tradition in
Cuba. As with the various lineages
throughout the Caribbean and the
Americas, the Lucumí lineage is
distinct from African lineages, as
can be seen in an accord reached by
a group of Lucumí Oba Oriatés,
Babalaos, and Olorichás on June 2,
2010.[18]

Initially, the Cuban lineage

dominated the United States due to
the large influx of Cuban immigrants
settling in its large cities. As a
result, the position of Iyanifa did not
become well known in the States
until the 1990s, when African
American women began to go to
Africa for their initiations. In the
book Orisa Devotion as World
Religion, Dr. Eason recounts how in
1992, the King of Oyotunji,
Adefunmi, under pressure from
women at Oyotunji to allow them to
be initiated as Ifá priests, went to
Benin, having assumed that Ile Ife
did not initiate women at the
time.[19]
It is noted that women have always
received Ifa initiations in West
Africa through Ifa, Afa, or Fa, as it is
known in various lineages.

The pressure began in Oyotunji after

Iyanifa Ifafunmike Osunbunmi was
initiated in Osogbo, Nigeria, in 1995
by the babalawo Ifayemi Elebuibon,
the Araba of Osogbo. In the book
"Iyanifa: Women of Wisdom", she
recounts the initial resistance of
Oyotunji village because its people
did not know women could be
initiated up to that point.

Ode Remo is an example of a

Yoruba kingdom that does not
currently offer Itefa to women. Ode
Remo demonstrates a history of
once having done so, as noted in the
book "Women in the Yoruba
Religion"[20] by Ode Remo author
Oluwo Olotunji Somorin. This claim
is further substantiated by other
sources.[21]
There are hundreds of women
initiated as Iyalawos or Iyanifas in
West Africa and the diaspora,
according to the Ifa Women's
Association. American women are
the fastest growing group of priests
in the tradition . This is due to
American women having advanced
degrees and the financial resources
to support themselves and finance
trips to Africa. They are still
challenged by some houses in the
Cuban Lukumi community, houses
generally headed by males, which
actively oppose their ministries.[22]

Many women have been reported to

be ostracized, harassed, and
stripped of credentials if they dare
to pursue Itefa. Some have reported
to have their lives threatened for
doing so, creating fear among and
compliance within the other
women.[8]

There is a small community of

Iyaonifas in the Cuban Lukumi
community, however. María Cuesta
Conde and Nidia Aguila de León
were the first Iyanifas initiated in
Cuba by Victor Betancourt Estrada
in March, 2000.[23] Matanzas
Babalawo Ernesto Acosta Cediez
went on to initiate the Venezuelan
lawyer, Alba Marina Portales, as an
Iyanifa in 2002 with the help of
Estrada.[24] The following quote
from Estrada explains his decision:
"In the Ifá room, initiation to the
feminine orisha Odú, the mother of
all living beings and the first woman
diviner (she who married Orúnmila
and had sixteen children who were
converted into the sixteen Olodú or
major signs of Ifá), is represented."
This demonstrates that to
consecrate any diviner, masculine
and feminine participation is
required.[25] The Ifá verse Oshe Tura
requires that women and their
power be recognized and
specifically that it is forbidden to
leave women out of religious
activities. Oshun, a female Orisha
who is featured in Oshe Tura,
"encountered men who would not
recognize her, so she established a
sect of women called Iyami Aje to
counterbalance the injustice. The
male Orishas were rendered
powerless, and were not effective
until Oshun was included amongst
their number.[26] "

See also
Ifá
Babalawo
Iyami Aje

References
1. Washington, Teresa N. (2014). The
Architects of Existence: Aje in Yoruba
Cosmology, Ontology, and Orature .
Oya's Tornado. p. 43. ISBN 978-
0991073016.
2. Kumari, Ayele. Iyanifa Women of
Wisdom.
3. Quoted in: Washington, Teresa N.
(2005). Our Mothers, Our Powers, Our
Texts: Manifestations of Aje in
Africana Literature . Indiana
University Press. pp. 16–17.
ISBN 978-0991073054.
4. Drewal, Margaret and Henry (1990).
Gelede: Art And Female Power
Among the Yoruba . United States:
Indiana University Press. pp. 9 .
ISBN 0-253-32569-2.
5. Women in the Yoruba Religious
Sphere, page 116
6. Agele Fawesagu Agbovi (2011). Iwe
Fun Odu Ifa. Kilombo Productions.
p. 152.
7. Johnson, Samuel (1921). History of
the Yorubas from the Earliest of
Times to the British Protectorate.
Nigeria Bookshops.
 8. Kumari, Ayele (2014). Iyanifa :
Women of Wisdom.
9. Ibie, C. Osamaro (1986). Ifism: The
Complete Works of Orunmila. Efehi.
pp. 247–248.
10. Washington, Teresa N. (2014). The
Architects of Existence: Aje In Yoruba
Cosmology, Ontology, and Orature .
Oya's Tornado. pp. 179–188.
ISBN 978-0991073016.
11. Quoted in: Washington, Teresa N.
(2014). The Architects of Existence:
Aje in Yoruba Cosmology, Ontology,
and Orature . Oya's Tornado. p. 182.
ISBN 978-0991073016.
12. Iyanfia: Women of Wisdom, page 362
13. "Babalawos Women's Meeting In
Holuguin" . Translating Cuba.
14. Fama, Chief (1990). Fundamentals to
the Yoruba Religion Orisha Worship.
Orunmila Publications.
ISBN 0971494908.
15. Iyanifa: Women of Wisdom, Chapter
Historical Notes, pg 352
16. Posted by Ilarí Obá at 11:38 am. "The
Guardian: Conscience Nurtured By
Truth" . Eleda.org. Retrieved
2020-01-16.
17. CITIZENSHIP, RELIGION AND
REVOLUTION IN CUBA by Carolyn E.
Watson, University of New Mexico,
December 2009
18. Ramos, Willie (2010). "Lucumi Oba
Oriate Council Agreement" .
19. Eason, Ikulomi Djisovi. “Historicizing
Ifá Culture in Oyotunji African
Village.” In Orisa Devotion as World
Religion: The Globalization of Yoruba
Religious Culture, edited by Jacob
Kehinde Olupona and Terry Rey, 278–
85. Madison: University of Wisconsin
Press, 2008.
20. "Amazon" .
21. "OdeRemo Iyanifa Corner" .
22. "Cuba Human Rights: Babalawos
Women's Meeting in Holguin / Dimas
Castellanos" .
Cubarights.blogspot.com. 2011-05-
28. Retrieved 2020-01-16.
23. El fenómeno Iyónifá en Cuba,”
Consenso 1 (2005), available from
www.consenso.org/01/articulos/02_
01.shtml, internet; accessed 8
February 2006.
24. Mirta Fernández, “Las mujeres
penetran en Ifá,” El Caiman Barbudo
345, 14 March 2009
 25. Betancourt Estrada, “Respuestas a
Felipe Ifaláde,” 2
26. "Archived copy" . Archived from the
original on 2015-03-25. Retrieved
2015-03-17.

Bibliography …

Oyeronke Olajubu, Women in the

Yoruba Religious Sphere ISBN 978-
0791458853

Ayele Fa'seguntunde Kumari,

Iyanifa:Woman of Wisdom
ISBN 978-1500492892
Oluwo Olotunji Somorin, Women in
the Yoruba Religion, Teledase
Publishing, Ode Remo, Nigeria 2009

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