of any person within the society. In the Idoma belief
system, man’s suffering arises from the ability of
forces beyond him, particularly death, to manipu-
late and dictate his actions and thoughts.
Therefore, the inquest is a collective investigation
of death by the society and man’s attempt to debate,
inquire, interact, and solve the conflicts and, in
short, come to terms with the forces that cause suf-
fering. Although it is performed for persons of all
ages, it comes in an elaborate form for the middle-
aged and the very aged members of society. The ora-
cle determines the cause of death, while the elders
demand restitution in the form of sacrifice and repa-
ration to the forces responsible for the death, as well
as for the accountability of the members of the com-
munity to prevent a reoccurrence, drive chaos away,
and restore balance and harmony.
Ana Monteiro-FerreiraSeealsoReincarnation
Further Readings
Abraham, R. C. (1968).Idoma Language. London:
University of London Press.
Asante, M. K. (2007).The History of Africa. London:
Routledge.
IFA
Ifa is first and foremost an orisha or deity in
Yoruba traditional religion. Ifa is also a complete
system of divination. As an oracle, it plays a prac-
tical and significant role in Yoruba traditional
religion by offering answers and solutions to exis-
tential problems in forms of ritual offerings and
sacrifices to the appropriate deities. It is one of the
higher divinities in the Yoruba pantheon, which
contains as many as 400 deities responsible for all
aspects of life and living in the Yoruba community.
Ifa divination is also used by contiguous cultures
such as the Edo, Itsekiri, Ewe of Togo (Afa), Fon of
Bénin (Fa), and the Ga people of Ghana.
In the African Diaspora, especially in the United
States, Brazil, and the Caribbean, Yoruba tradi-
tional religion has successfully survived slavery
and some four centuries of imposed Christianity.
Lately, there has been a resurgence of Yoruba
traditional religion in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and
Brazil. Enslaved Africans, their descendants, and
new African immigrants have adapted original
African religious practices to American soil, and
Ifa has been a significant part of this cultural
survival and renaissance. Today, Afro-Caribbean
syncretism is expressed through religions such as
Candomblé, Vodun, and Santería.
The latter presents obvious and strong affini-
ties with the Yoruba tradition. For example,
Santería has faifthfully preserved the names of
deities, Ifa divination procedures, liturgical
music, and musical instruments (bata,dundun),
incantations, and sacrificial practices. Santería
also relies on a vast repository of herbal medicine
and healing rituals, much of which can be found
in Ifa practices back in Yorubaland. It must not
be forgotten that at least a third of all Africans
enslaved in Cuba were Yoruba.
This entry looks at Ifa as a system of divina-
tion, as a god, and as a sacred text; at the training
of its priests; and at the contemporary impact of
this belief system.Divination System
As a divinatory system, scholars agree that the
ancient origins of Ifa may have been lost to
history, but there is sufficient reason to believe
that it may have been derived from Nupe (north-
ern neighbors of the Yoruba) geomancy. The
Nupe divination method is derived from the div-
inatory practices of Siwah, an ancient city of
pharaonic Egypt, which was famous for the tem-
ple and oracle of Zeus Ammon during the 5th cen-
tury BC. The main idea is that quite likely Ifa may
be part of ancient Egyptian religion.
Ifa divination is based on the mathematical
square (4^2 , which equals 16). Sixteen palm nuts or
cowrie shells are held with the right hand, while
one or two nuts are left in the left hand. If two
nuts remain, a single mark (I) is made on a divin-
ing tray (opele) or on the sand; if one nut remains,
a double mark (II) is made. These nuts can be
tossed repeatedly in conjunction with the 256
derivative figures to arrive at specific answers or
revelations. Therefore, the 256 (again 16^2 ) deriva-
tive figures orodus(esoteric meanings) function
as interpretative keys to the whole process.Ifa 329