the gods and the Ifa in Ile-Ife

the grand priest of Ifa, Araba-Agbaye on the day of reading the future

The grand priest of the Ifa is Babalawo Adisa Aworeni Awoyemi. He is the Araba-Agbaye (Head of all Ifa priest in Ile-Ife). Every June, which coincides with the beginning of the Yoruba year, marks the beginning of the rainy season. It is then that the oracle will read the Ifa on a wooden board on which seeds linked by a string are thrown, from which the Ifa priest can interpret the future. Ifa is a divination system of drawing marks on the sand or on cam wood with Arabic origin (ARABIC GEOMANCY) entered into Yoruba land in the 16th century. Ifá divination system incorporated into its system the already existing stories, tales aspects, religious structures and functions of the Yoruba Òrìsà Mythology.

the Araba-Agbaye in his reception room

The town of Ile-Ife is hosting a number of shrines to several Yoruba divinities such as Obatala, the one that is moulding the body of human creatures at their birth. Every deity must receive gifts such as alcool, animal sacrifice.

the Obatala priest receives schnapps presents for Obatala

In the courtyard of the Obatala shrine is a hole which is always contains water. Obatala is the divinity creator of human bodies. The tradition calls for watering the hole so that it is always nearly full. However, it never dries completely. Any priest or staff entering the courtyard must feed the hole with water. In places heads of animals are hung dried, as a results of sacrifices which are not explained to us. They produce a strong smell when one gets nearer. The principle of worshipping seems to be to bring a present in form of alcool, food and kola nut for the divinities who in return provide protection and blessing. Obatala was also a king of Ile Ife. Oduduwa was another king who displaced Obatala and took control of Ile Ife.

Seaman's schnapps is good the yoruba divinities and humans

Oduduwa, the yoruba divinity who is moulding bodies of all things

Oduduwa, the divinity who is moulding bodies of all things

the Oduduwa priest is offering schnapps and kola to the divinity

the Oduduwa priest is offering schnapps to the divinity and kola nut

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The Ogiamien family in Benin City: about wood and history

Roland Ogiamien in his wood-carving workshop Wood Roland Ogiamien is a renown wood carver. He is now retired in his home town of Benin City and is now in his 80s. We met him in his simple workshop, a barn opened on the surrounding greenery. A part of the studio is used to store wood pieces and make sure they are well dried. He is using a collection of german ustensils to carve and polish the wood. He spent most of his career working out of Lagos before relocating to Benin. Roland was explaining that the wood he uses today is different that the one he worked on in his early days. Ebony has become rare and wood carvers have had to switch to other types of wood. Traditional heritage is a large part of his inspiration which he translates on wood with his own particular style, exploring various techniques for the finish of his pieces. Roland Ogiamien and two of his favourite masks History Ogiamien is the name of an important royal family in Benin Kingdom. Towards the end of the

The mysterious stones images of Esie

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Nigeria, the land of plenty

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