When should one go to the Ifa priest?

When should one go to see the Ifa priest?

The Ifa priest is seen in authentic African community as the person who has best understanding of our world, I mean human life. So we go to him/her not only to know who we are spiritually but also in order to understand or have solutions to anything that seems to be beyond our explanation like failure in business (why despite my efforts, I never happen to reach the fixed goal) or why do I always have bad dreams like being raped or seeing snakes running after me, etc. Apart from the above mentioned situations, here are some cases often make people call for the Ifa priest.

1-Adôgo Fa (when a woman is pregnant)

The Ifa priest is called for when a woman is pregnant. This is known in Benin as “Adôgo Fa”. This type of reading is requested to every father-to-be for the security of the child to be born because spirituality is so high in Africa that witches and wizards are able to read out the destiny of the baby from her mother’s womb and can prevent the good from happening as well. Through the Adôgo Fa, you are prescribed measures to take so as to avoid all traps from the wicked. Sometimes, the mother bearing the baby is just prescribed a new lifestyle till she delivers, not necessarily because of any wicked plan but maybe because this will be of great help in achieving his/her destiny. If the baby is already attacked before you go to the Ifa priest, then a sacrifice is required for deities to break the evil plan.

2- Agbassa (to know more about a new-born child)

A divination is required when a new child has seen the light. This divination is part of an important ceremony which varies from one family to another. It can be considered similar to what is known in European system as baptism, which most people today call naming ceremony.  In Benin, especially in Vodun-Hwendo (West African spirituality) such ceremony does not take place before the new born child sees three (03) moonlights, that is three months. It is only after three months that we can admit that the baby has completed his/her trip to our world and we can then question his/her arrival. Some families may consider longer than three months but not less. When parents are abroad when they conceive the child, they can take it whenever they come back home. This divination aims at finding out which ancestors in the family or which deity has opened the door of the family to the new born, on which spiritual sign was the child born and what should be his/her lifestyle for a happy life. Measures are taken by the priest to avoid revealing everything to the crowd since among them we may have all type of people (wickedness). The mother observes the given lifestyle till the child grow to some age. For example, if okra soup is prohibited to the new-born during the Agbassa, her mother will no longer eat okra soup till the child stops sucking her mom’s breasts.

3- Mè j’ayi Fa (when a person is dead)

The Ifa priest is paid a visit for a divination when someone dies. The goal of this reading is to know if it is a natural death or it is related to something else. This reading is important because it can prevent other deaths in the family. For example someone may die because he was doing no good to the family. He holds some spiritual technology tools (fetishes) and does nothing than hurt people in the community and deities have got rid of him or he has been victim of one of his own traps. Maybe he had already activated the machine before passing away. The reading will help deactivate it. Sometimes, you will notice a series of deaths in some families within few months. Such things are avoided if Mè J’ayi Fa were carried out when the first person dies. This consultation is also important because when it is done help solve different problems within members of the family. For example if there were misunderstanding or dispute between or among some members, the dead may say that he can be buried only when understanding and forgiveness occur among the target members, and promise danger if his request is not followed as prescribed.

4- Xwé Fa (new year divination)
Every authentic practitioner of West African spirituality (Vodun-Hwɛndo) takes this exercise every year. This divination is generally done either in mid-december (between 15-25) or the second half of January (from 15 to beginning Feb.). The main question we ask Ifa in this reading is "How should I take this year for it to be successful with sound health?" Ifa on this occasion will reveal the challenges you are going to face in different domains during the year and tell you how to overcome them as well. If you were initiated to Ifa, the best way to do this reading is to bring your shrine to an Ifa priest or invite one in your house to feed the shrine and do the Xwé Fa with your Ifa shrine (the nuts). The priesthood of every main district takes this exercise for the well-being of their people and the kingdom palace calls for selected priests to do it for the well-being of the whole kingdom(country). When it is tot personal but concerns a whole community or a whole country, the reading is then called Tô Fa.

5- Fa Titè (for men) and Fa Sinsèn (for women): Initiation to Fa

When you are willing to know yourself more, to know who you are spiritually, what clan you spiritually belong to, what energy governs you, you call for the Fa priest, not for an ordinary divination but to get initiated to Ifa. This process consists in finding out which Odu ( spiritual sign/clan/house) you belong to and what deities go with your sign. A lifestyle is prescribed for life, I mean a lifestyle you have to follow till you pass away. You are put into direct contact with your Sè Kpoli (your god creator) and related deities. Everybody is allowed to get initiated to Ifa but it is not necessary for everyone to take that initiation. When some signs often come out when you take Fa reading, the initiation to Fa may become your only chance for rescue. In the other case, sacrifices after readings are enough to help as solutions.

Many are the other cases in which one can go to the Ifa priest. When you have a consistent project, a trip, self-employment issue, marrital life, health problems, etc. you can go to the Ifa priest. Anyway, considering Ifa priest as an important library or advisor does not make him/her a master of all mysteries of life. "The Babalawo has been doing great about life but has not yet mastered great about life", sang Gbèzé. It is on these words of the singer that I'm going to say " let's keep in touch!"

How to reconnect to the root

What African Spirituality is all About and How to Reconnect to the Root 

The confusion is high as far as reconnecting to the root is concerned. Most people, especially Africans of the diaspora confuse the connection to the root with initiation to some spirituality; which is not right.

Spirituality in Africa is not like western religions where everybody willing to integrate is required to follow a common philosophy, a given lifestyle, or take through a special ritual. We all are human being but we are not physically the same; nor are we spiritually the same. We have different missions on this trip of ours on earth. The plants, trees and flowers of the forest don't have the same virtues but they all are called flowers. We all are human being but our life purposes are not the same. There, lies the truth that true spirituality is African. I said so because one thing is to recognize that one mighty being rules the universe but it becomes a lie when we speak on the behalf of that mighty being and set some rules that are said to be the only one way to go to paradise, a place where no one of us has the exact knowledge of. African spirituality sees every person as single in their being, and regards to that particularity, an approximate lifestyle is prescribed to them via Ifa. All this is like the diabetic is not prescribed the same medicine like the hepatitis career. In Vodun-Hwendo, no deity is said to be the most powerful that can protect everyone and against everything. No lifestyle is known as the best and then prescribed as the standard for everyone like formulated in the other religions. Fire and water cannot be good friends. The way every country has a chairperson, the same way the whole universe has a mighty master; but that might master is not good at everything or cannot do everything alone and at the same time. Based on my experience in Vodun-Hwendo and the knowledge acquired, here is the definition I give to African spirituality: the universe is made up of four main ministries: air,earth,water, and fire. Each of these ministries has a chief. The minister of air is known as Dan, the minister of earth is known as Sakpata, the one of water is Toxosu, and the fourth is governed by Xebioso also called Chango. Connecting to African spirituality is like finding out which department you belong to and which level your mission on earth is located. This is known through divination and a spiritual lifestyle is prescribed accordingly. This process of divination to find out who and what you are spiritually is not yet an initiation to any Vodun or to Ifa but can be considered as connecting to African Spirituality if the sacrifice related to the divination is carried out.
So, when should we speak of initiation?

Difference between Practising Vodun and Initiation to Vodun

Not all people are required to get initiated to Vodun though everybody is Vodun practitioner in one way or another. In fact, here is what happens when you go to the Ifa priest for the divination about who you are:
1- The priest may tell you that some deities are responsible for your life, and you need to take a spiritual work before they cause the change in your life
2- It may be revealed that you are not linked to any deity but to your own Sè, your creator, the spirit that is responsible for your life and death, and then you just have to follow a lifestyle the the Sè will prescribe if you get the chance to meet one of those very rare priests able to have direct communication with Sè.