make sure they “bring about the good condition
Olodumare has ordained for every human being.”
Here the status of “chosenness” requires working
and struggling for and having a divinely ordained
good condition (ipò rere). In other words, here a life
of dignity is tied to a decent life, indeed a good life.
For it is divinely ordained that every human being
should enjoy a good life in a good world. So the
chosen status carries with it not simply an endow-
ment, but also an assignment; to both honor and
fulfill this status and task, humans must create con-
ditions that this status deserves and demands.
In the text, Orunmila, the sage, master teacher,
and divine witness to creation, is asked to define
this good condition (position) ordained by
Olodumare for everyone. He replies that it is a
good world (i.e., the condition conducive to a
good life). Thus, he says that to achieve a good life
for every human being, humans must achieve a
good world. That good world is defined as having
several fundamental features, including full
knowledge of things; happiness everywhere; free-
dom from anxiety and fear of opponents, enemies,
or hostile others; the end of antagonism with
other beings or Earth (i.e., animals, reptiles, etc.);
well-being and the end of fear of forces that
threaten it; and freedom from poverty and misery.
How It Is AchievedHaving outlined the necessary conditions of a good
world (ayé rere), Orunmila states also the require-
ments for achieving this world. In this teaching is
reflected stress on human agency—the will and
capacity to act and create the good world humans
want and deserve to live and flourish in. These
requirements first are summed up as three essen-
tials: “wisdom, the compelling desire for good
character and internal strength.” To be noted is the
stress on wisdom and knowledge, an emphasis
made again in the longer list of requirements. This
reaffirms the central importance of knowledge in
the Ifa tradition because as noted about the first cri-
terion for a good world is full knowledge of things.
In the longer list of requirements for achieving
the good world, Orunmila lists: “wisdom ade-
quate to govern the world; sacrifice; character; the
love of doing good, especially for those who need
it most and for those who ask...and the eager-
ness and ongoing struggle to increase good in the
world and not let any good be lost.” It is impor-
tant to note here that the Yoruba word “to gov-
ern” (àkóso), in its original meaning, suggests “a
gathering of people together for good purposes.”
Thus, the first requirement for achieving good in
the world is posed as a moral wisdom for gather-
ing the people together for good purposes, as
indicated in other passages in the Odu Ifa. For
example, in Odu 33:2, it says “Those whose turn
it is to take responsibility for the world, they
should do good for the world.” Elsewhere, it says
that, to do this, one must “Speak truth, do just, be
kind and do not do evil.” But again, it is impor-
tant to note the emphasis placed on “full knowl-
edge” of the world and self-conscious and
committed struggle for good in the world and the
strong sense of agency this requires to honor the
identity and task of being “divinely chosen to
bring good into the world.”Maulana KarengaSeealsoIfa; YorubaFurther Readings
Abimbola, W. (1976).Ifa:An Exposition of the Ifa
Literary Corpus. Ibadan, Nigeria: Oxford University
Press.
Abimbola, W. (1997).Ifa Will Mend Our Broken Ways:
Thoughts on Yoruba Religion and Culture in Africa
and the Diaspora. Roxbury, MA: Aim Books.
Karenga, M. (1999).Odu Ifa:The Ethical Teachings.
Los Angeles: University of Sankore Press.ENNEAD
Ennead is the name given to a set of nine gods in
Ancient Egypt. The Great Ennead of On, called
by the Greeks Heliopolis, contained the following
deities: Atum, Shu and Tefnut, Geb and Nut,
Ausar, Auset, Set, and Nebhet. These nine gods
participated in the Myth of Creation when the
sun god emerged from the primeval waters of
nun. In the Ennead, it is Atum, the almighty, who
sets the act of creation on its course and estab-
lishes the foundation of the cosmic universe.
Clearly the Myth of Creation is not based on240 Ennead