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Iyalawo
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Iyalawo
Iyalawo is a term in the Lucumi religion that literally means "mother of mysteries" or "mother of wisdom" (iyá: “mother”; awó “mysteries"). Some adherents use the term "mamalawo," which is a partially African diaspora version of the Lucumi term, iyaláwo and yeyelawo are two more versions of mother of mysteries. ìyánífá is a Yoruba word that can be translated as "mother (ìyá) has or of (ní) Ifá" or "mother in Ifá" and is the Yoruba title for mother of mysteries and the female equivalent of a babalawo.
While iyaláwo and ìyánífá are often used interchangeably, the terms have different denotations and connotations. The term ìyánífá specifically relates to Ifá and could indicate that a female undertakes Ifá divination or is a custodian of Ifá in a personal or professional capacity; the term may also indicate that a woman has had Itefa or itelodu initiation. The term iyaláwo indicates a woman who has knowledge of sacred wisdom that may include Ifa but goes beyond Ifá. The significance of the iyaláwo in Yoruba cosmology is said to extend to its creator, Odù. In The Architects of Existence: Àjẹ́ in Yoruba Cosmology, Ontology, and Orature, Teresa N. Washington says of Odù: “Odù, as the Àjẹ́, is the consummate Iyaláwo: The mysteries of the Cosmos swirl in the core of her being.”
Ifá is a divination system that represents the oracular utterance of Odù, who is also known as Odùduwà. Linguist and cultural historian Modupe Oduyoye said that the meaning of Odùduwà is Odù-ó dá ìwà "oracular utterance created existence."
According to Babalawo K. Ositola from Ijebu, Nigeria, it was a woman, Odu, who taught her husband Orunmila how to divine so that he could communicate with the spiritual world. The history of women casting Ifa is well-documented in the ese Ifa. Oyeronke Olajubu's Women in the Yoruba Religious Sphere analyzes an ese Ifa of Eji Ogbe in which Orunmila is asked why his daughter is not practicing Ifa. When he replies that she is female, he is informed that that is no taboo. Following this, Orunmila's daughter studied Ifa and "From then on women have studied Ifa / They prescribe sacrifice / They are initiated into the Ifa corpus." A verse in Iwori Meji mentions that Orunmila's daughter is named Alara and that she underwent an apprenticeship from Orunmila. When he had a son, she was responsible for a large part of her younger brother's training. The Arugba Ifa, mother of Onibogi, the 8th Alaafin of Oyo, is documented as introducing Ifa to Oyo.
The Ifa Odu Odi Ogbe speaks of a woman divining and performing ritual sacrifice for Orunmila by the name Eruko-ya-l'egan o d'Oosa also known as Orisa Oke. The Odù Ifá describes how an ìyánífá called Ugbin Ejo divines for Òfún Méji and also eventually becomes the mother of Ògbóni.
Royal mothers of Yoruba rulers were also necessarily iyaláwo and ìyánífá. For example, Biodun Adediran in "Women, Rituals, and Politics in Pre-Colonial Yorubaland" reveals that the Ìyá Mọlẹ̀ serves as the Yoruba rulers' “personal Ifa priestess and head of all Ifa priests.”
Another documented African iyalawo was Agbaye Arabinrin Oluwa, who lived c. 200 AD in Nigeria. Chief Fama Aina Adewale Somadhi, a contemporary and prominent Yoruba born iyalawo, was initiated in 1988 by Chief ‘Fagbemi Ojo Alabi, the late Araba of Ayetoro town, Egbado, and the Oluwo (or High Priest) of Ogun State, Nigeria. The first documented American Iyalawo was Dr. D'Haifa Odufora Ifatogun, who was initiated in 1985.
Mattie Curtis-Iyanifa Ifakemi Oyesanya, initiated in the Oyesanya Compound by Araba Oyesanya and Ayoka Oyesanya, baptized into Yoruba religion by pioneering Babalawo and Babalorisha Dr. Cliff Stewart (Oba Dekun) was the first African American women initiated into Ifa in 1993. The first Lucumi iyaonifas initiated were María Cuesta Conde and Nidia Aguila de León in 2000.
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Iyalawo
Iyalawo is a term in the Lucumi religion that literally means "mother of mysteries" or "mother of wisdom" (iyá: “mother”; awó “mysteries"). Some adherents use the term "mamalawo," which is a partially African diaspora version of the Lucumi term, iyaláwo and yeyelawo are two more versions of mother of mysteries. ìyánífá is a Yoruba word that can be translated as "mother (ìyá) has or of (ní) Ifá" or "mother in Ifá" and is the Yoruba title for mother of mysteries and the female equivalent of a babalawo.
While iyaláwo and ìyánífá are often used interchangeably, the terms have different denotations and connotations. The term ìyánífá specifically relates to Ifá and could indicate that a female undertakes Ifá divination or is a custodian of Ifá in a personal or professional capacity; the term may also indicate that a woman has had Itefa or itelodu initiation. The term iyaláwo indicates a woman who has knowledge of sacred wisdom that may include Ifa but goes beyond Ifá. The significance of the iyaláwo in Yoruba cosmology is said to extend to its creator, Odù. In The Architects of Existence: Àjẹ́ in Yoruba Cosmology, Ontology, and Orature, Teresa N. Washington says of Odù: “Odù, as the Àjẹ́, is the consummate Iyaláwo: The mysteries of the Cosmos swirl in the core of her being.”
Ifá is a divination system that represents the oracular utterance of Odù, who is also known as Odùduwà. Linguist and cultural historian Modupe Oduyoye said that the meaning of Odùduwà is Odù-ó dá ìwà "oracular utterance created existence."
According to Babalawo K. Ositola from Ijebu, Nigeria, it was a woman, Odu, who taught her husband Orunmila how to divine so that he could communicate with the spiritual world. The history of women casting Ifa is well-documented in the ese Ifa. Oyeronke Olajubu's Women in the Yoruba Religious Sphere analyzes an ese Ifa of Eji Ogbe in which Orunmila is asked why his daughter is not practicing Ifa. When he replies that she is female, he is informed that that is no taboo. Following this, Orunmila's daughter studied Ifa and "From then on women have studied Ifa / They prescribe sacrifice / They are initiated into the Ifa corpus." A verse in Iwori Meji mentions that Orunmila's daughter is named Alara and that she underwent an apprenticeship from Orunmila. When he had a son, she was responsible for a large part of her younger brother's training. The Arugba Ifa, mother of Onibogi, the 8th Alaafin of Oyo, is documented as introducing Ifa to Oyo.
The Ifa Odu Odi Ogbe speaks of a woman divining and performing ritual sacrifice for Orunmila by the name Eruko-ya-l'egan o d'Oosa also known as Orisa Oke. The Odù Ifá describes how an ìyánífá called Ugbin Ejo divines for Òfún Méji and also eventually becomes the mother of Ògbóni.
Royal mothers of Yoruba rulers were also necessarily iyaláwo and ìyánífá. For example, Biodun Adediran in "Women, Rituals, and Politics in Pre-Colonial Yorubaland" reveals that the Ìyá Mọlẹ̀ serves as the Yoruba rulers' “personal Ifa priestess and head of all Ifa priests.”
Another documented African iyalawo was Agbaye Arabinrin Oluwa, who lived c. 200 AD in Nigeria. Chief Fama Aina Adewale Somadhi, a contemporary and prominent Yoruba born iyalawo, was initiated in 1988 by Chief ‘Fagbemi Ojo Alabi, the late Araba of Ayetoro town, Egbado, and the Oluwo (or High Priest) of Ogun State, Nigeria. The first documented American Iyalawo was Dr. D'Haifa Odufora Ifatogun, who was initiated in 1985.
Mattie Curtis-Iyanifa Ifakemi Oyesanya, initiated in the Oyesanya Compound by Araba Oyesanya and Ayoka Oyesanya, baptized into Yoruba religion by pioneering Babalawo and Babalorisha Dr. Cliff Stewart (Oba Dekun) was the first African American women initiated into Ifa in 1993. The first Lucumi iyaonifas initiated were María Cuesta Conde and Nidia Aguila de León in 2000.