Ifa divination, knowledge, power, and performance / edited by Jacob K. Olupona and Rowland O. Abiodun.

Papers from a conference held March 13-16, 2008 at Harvard University.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Foreword / His Royal Highness Oba Okunade Sijuade Olubuse II -- Preface / Jacob K. Olupona and Rowland O. Abiodun -- Introduction / Jacob K. Olupona and Rowland O. Abiodun with Niyi Afolabi -- Ifa orature: its interpretation and translation -- Ayajo as Ifa in mythical and sacred contexts / Ayo Opefeyitimi -- Continuity and change in the verbal, artistic, ritualistic, and performance traditions of Ifa divination / Wande Abimb�ola -- Recasting Ifa : historicity and recursive recollection in ifa divination texts / Andrew Apter -- Ifa, knowledge, performance, the sacred, and the medium / Olasope O. Oyelaran -- "Writing" and "reference" in Ifa / Ad�el�eke Ad�e��ek��o -- Ifa as knowledge : theoretical questions and concerns -- Ifa : sixteen odu, sixteen questions / Barry Hallen -- Kin n'ifa wi? : philosophical issues in Ifa divination / Olufemi Taiwo -- Diviner as explorer : the Afuwape paradigm / Rowland O. Abiodun -- "The hunter thinks the monkey is not wise. the monkey is wise, but has its own logic" : -- Multiple divination systems and multiple knowledge systems in Yoruba religious life / Mei-Mei Sanford -- Dagbon, Oyo, Kongo : critical and comparative reflections on sacrifice / Wyatt MacGaffey -- Ifa : the quintessential builder of our bank of images / Akinwumi Isola -- Odu imole : Islamic tradition in Ifa and the Yoruba religious imagination / Jacob K. Olupona -- Ifa in the Afro-Atlantic -- Ifa divination as sacred compass for reading self and world / Velma Love -- Itan odu oni : tales of strivers today / John Mason -- Orunmila's faithful dog : transmitting sacred knowledge in a Lucumi Orisha tradition / Joseph M. Murphy -- Mofa and the Oba : translation of Ifa epistemology in the Afro-Cuban dilogun / Ysamur M. Flores-Pena -- The pai-de-santo and the babalawo : religious interaction and ritual rearrangements within Orisha religion / Stefania Capone -- The role of women in the Ifa priesthood : inclusion versus exclusion / M. Ajisebo McElwaine Abimbola -- Transnational Ifa : the "readings of the year" and contemporary economies of Orisa knowledge / Kamari Maxine Clarke -- Sacred art in Ifa -- The creatures of Ifa / Philip M. Peek -- Of color, character, attributes, and values of Orunmila / Bolaji Campbell -- Signs, doors, and games : divination's dynamic visual canon / Laura S. Grillo -- Ifa : visual and sensorial aspects / Henry John Drewal -- Art, culture, and creativity : the representation of Ifa in Yoruba video films / Akintunde Akinyemi.

Online resource; title from PDF title page (EBSCO, viewed March 22, 2016).

This landmark volume compiled by Jacob K. Olupona and Rowland O. Abiodun brings readers into the diverse world of If�-its discourse, ways of thinking, and artistic expression as manifested throughout the Afro-Atlantic. Firmly rooting If� within African religious traditions, the essays consider If� and If� divination from the perspectives of philosophy, performance studies, and cultural studies. They also examine the sacred context, verbal art, and the interpretation of If� texts and philosophy. With essays from the most respected scholars in the field, the book makes a substantial contribution toward understanding If� and its role in contemporary Yoruba and diaspora cultures.

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