iyanifa
E288903
An iyanifa is a female priest and diviner initiated into the Yoruba Ifa spiritual tradition, responsible for interpreting its sacred wisdom and guiding devotees.
All labels observed (1)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| iyanifa canonical | 2 |
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Ifa priest
ⓘ
Yoruba religious role ⓘ religious title ⓘ |
| advisesOn |
ethical conduct
ⓘ
healing and well-being ⓘ personal destiny (ori) ⓘ |
| associatedDeity | Orunmila ⓘ |
| distinguishedFrom | babalawo (male Ifa priest) ⓘ |
| ethnicCulture | Yoruba ⓘ |
| etymology | Yoruba term often glossed as “mother of Ifa” or “woman of Ifa” ⓘ |
| genderAssociation | female ⓘ |
| geographicOrigin |
Western Nigeria
ⓘ
surface form:
Southwestern Nigeria
Yorubaland ⓘ |
| knowledgeDomain |
Ifa theology
ⓘ
Yoruba religion ⓘ
surface form:
Yoruba cosmology
Yoruba ritual practice ⓘ |
| languageContext | Yoruba language ⓘ |
| moralExpectation | upholding taboos and prescriptions revealed by Ifa ⓘ |
| presentInDiasporaTraditions |
Afro-Caribbean Ifa communities
ⓘ
Brazilian Candomblé-related Ifa lineages ⓘ Cuban Ifa-Orisha practices ⓘ |
| primaryFunction |
divination
ⓘ
interpretation of Ifa corpus ⓘ spiritual guidance ⓘ |
| relatedRole | babalawo ⓘ |
| religiousRole |
diviner
ⓘ
priest ⓘ |
| religiousSphere | Yoruba traditional religion ⓘ |
| religiousTradition | Ifa ⓘ |
| requires |
apprenticeship under established Ifa priests
ⓘ
formal initiation into Ifa ⓘ training in Odu Ifa verses ⓘ |
| responsibility |
guiding devotees in spiritual matters
ⓘ
performing Ifa divination sessions ⓘ preserving Ifa teachings ⓘ ritual leadership in Ifa ceremonies ⓘ |
| ritualActivity |
conducting cleansing and protection rituals
ⓘ
initiating new devotees into Ifa (where permitted by lineage) ⓘ offering sacrifices prescribed by Ifa ⓘ |
| socialRole |
community counselor
ⓘ
custodian of oral tradition ⓘ |
| status | recognized spiritual authority in Ifa communities ⓘ |
| trainingEmphasis |
mastery of divination techniques
ⓘ
memorization of Odu Ifa verses ⓘ ritual protocol and offerings ⓘ |
| usesDivinationInstruments |
ikin (palm nuts)
ⓘ
opele (divining chain) ⓘ |
| usesDivinationSystem |
Ifa
ⓘ
surface form:
Odu Ifa
|
Referenced by (2)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.