Encyclopedia of African Religion

330 Ifa A wand or tapper used in Yoruba Ifa divination.The babalawo taps the Ifa board with the point of the tapper repeatedly t ...

The 256 chapters are subdivided into verses called ese, whose exact number is unknown because they are constantly increasing (th ...

They also train in the magical arts—how to make curative potions from the local flora and fauna. Furthermore, the Ifa neophyte i ...

Courlander, H. (1996).A Treasury of Afro-American Folklore:The Oral Literature,Traditions, Recollections,Legends,Tales,Songs,Rel ...

This, in turn, allows inclusive spiritual space for both genders, especially for women, who are excluded from the highest panthe ...

IKIN Ikin are some of the special instruments that are part of the Ifa divination apparatus within the Yoruba religion. They als ...

Fatunmbi, A. F. (1992).Awo:Ifa and the Theology of Orisha Divination. Bronx, NY: Original Publications. Knappert, J. (1995).Afri ...

Serving His King As a vizer of King Djoser, Imhotep was responsi- ble for serving as chief judge, with duties such as overseeing ...

today. Although he lived during the period of the III Dynasty, about 2900 BC, he was inducted to the community of gods Kemet dur ...

all sides of the belief orientations. Whereas the Christian community stretched across both the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Se ...

The medium is turned into a loaner for a spirit from the invisible realm to occupy, enabling the spirit to temporarily manifest ...

massaging King Tutankhamun’s arm with floral scented oil; Pharaoh Thutmose IV (18th dynasty, reigned, 1401–1391 BC) burning ince ...

Generally speaking, rituals abound to propitiate the ancestors who, among all spiritual entities, are most closely associated wi ...

that mark the transition from child to adolescent to adult status in the community are the second major point in the life of the ...

Rites delineating the transition from childhood to adulthood for boys are not commonly practiced among the Ashanti. There are, h ...

the Zulu. Likewise, although people pray directly to the Supreme Being, most religious rituals are dedicated to spirits and ance ...

the Gyemprem Shrine in the Akyem region of Ghana believes that invocations can be traced to the earliest African ancestors who c ...

For character is all that is required.” In other words, the central requirement for a good life and future is to have good chara ...

IWAPELE Iwa means character among the Yoruba of Nigeria. Iwa refers to a person’s essential nature and psychic self, as well as ...

believe that people have an Ori or destiny, which may be reflected in their way of life, but a good Ori does not automatically l ...