“Fullknowledge”and“wisdomadequatetogovern
theworld”arecitedasthefirstrequirementstohave
agoodworldandtoachieveagoodworld.Thewis-
dom required is always undergirded and informed
bythe moral,butitmustalsobegroundedinafull
range of disciplines of human knowledge to ade-
quatelygoverntheworld.Theconceptof“govern”
here,asthewordforgoverninthetext,àkóso,indi-
cates, is to gather people together for good pur-
poses. This stresses shared responsibility for the
goodinandoftheworldandreaffirmstheteaching
that humans are “to take care of the world...and
do good for the world” (Odu 33:2). This requires,
as Odu 33:1 says, that we “speak truth, do justice,
be kind and do not do evil.” Indeed, we, Odu 78:1
says,areto“lovedoinggood”inandfortheworld,
especiallyfortheneedyandvulnerable.Inthisway,
we constantly repair and renew our injured world
andhonorouridentityandtaskaschosenones.
Maulana KarengaSee alsoIlé-Ifé; Oduduwa
Further Readings
Abimbola, W. (1975).Ifá:An Exposition of the Ifá
Literary Corpus. Ibadan, Nigeria: Oxford University
Press.
Epega, A. A., & Neimark, P. J. (1995).The Sacred Ifa
Oracle. San Francisco: HarperCollins.
Karenga, M. (1999).Odu Ifa:The Ethical Teachings.
Los Angeles: University of Sankore Press.
OFFERING
Two acts of piety and devotion represent the core
expression of fidelity and loyalty to traditional
African religion: offering and sacrifice. Offering is
the purest act of gratitude to the ancestors and
deities. It is usually motivated out of desire to
demonstrate humility and respect to the ancestors
forthemaintenanceandwell-beingofcommunity.
Onemayseedailyofferingsoffoodordrinkinthe
formofalibationgiventoexpresstheunderstand-
ing that the ancestors are also present and must
be acknowledged. However, the ancestors or the
deities require sacrifice as a response to some act,
misdeed, or violation of taboo within the society
by one or more of the members of the traditional
religious community. Thus, sacrifice is motivated
by the community’s interest in reestablishing the
cosmicbalanceintheuniverse.Violationsandtrans-
gressions alter the relationship between humans
and deities and between the living and the ances-
tors. To rearrange the structural, spiritual order,
the deity requires of humans sacrifice. In most
casesinAfrica,theideaofsacrificeisaccompanied
by blood, which means that an animal has to be
killed for propitiation.
Offerings are among the most prominent acts
of worship shown on the walls of the ancient
African temples in Egypt. As early as the Old
Kingdom,thereareexamplesofAfricansbringing
giftstoPtahandAtum.Throughoutthehistoryof
ancient Kemet, one sees evidence of the offerings
made to Ra and Amen as well. Sometimes offer-
ings are received by the per-aa (pharaoh) in his
position as a deity, as in the representations of
Ramses II as god.
Sacrifice is usually related to the letting of
blood. In such instances, animals are killed, pre-
paredinaspecialway,andofferedasasacrificeto
God or the ancestors. Always in sacrifice the idea
is to give life, even to the point that some have
been willing to give their own lives to the deity to
safeguardtherestofthecommunity.Suchselfless-
ness is regarded as one of the supreme forms of
sacrifice. It has been demonstrated and celebrated
throughout African traditional culture. For exam-
ple, during the 18th century, among the Asante,
the king of Mampong offered himself in sacrifice
to go with the Asantehene in death to seal the
covenant between the living Asante community.
There have been other examples, formidable in
nature, because of the unadulterated belief on the
part of the sacrificing persons that they were, in
effect, by giving their lives saving the entire com-
munity from calamity.
The YorubaOdu Ifa says that when there is
imbalance in the spiritual universe, God requires
onlyonething:sacrifice.Therefore,prayers,collo-
quial solicitations, praise songs, invocations, and
incantations may be correct and useful, but in the
end,tomakethecosmicandcommunalordercor-
rect and in harmony, it is necessary for sacrifice.
Sacrifices of lambs, goats, chickens, and other
domesticatedanimalsarethetypethatareusually478 Offering