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

How this entity was disambiguated

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 Southwestern Nigeria ⓘ
linked to: Western Nigeria

Yorubaland ⓘ
knowledgeDomain Ifa theology ⓘ
Yoruba cosmology ⓘ
linked to: Yoruba religion

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 Odu Ifa ⓘ
linked to: Ifa

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Ifa → hasPractitioner → iyanifa ⓘ