The Library of Congress > Linked Data Service > LC Subject Headings (LCSH)

Ifa


  • URI(s)

  • Variants

    • Fa
    • Ifa (Cult)
    • Ifa (Religion)
  • Broader Terms

  • Closely Matching Concepts from Other Schemes

  • Earlier Established Forms

    • Ifa (Cult)
    • Ifa (Religion)
  • Sources

    • found: Work cat.: Ifa, su historia en Cuba, 1996(identified as Yoruba religion, now common throughout the Caribbean Area and Brazil)
    • found: Eliade encyc. relig.:v. 15, p. 537 (Ifa divination under Yoruba religion)
    • found: Dict. comp. rel.:p. 43 (cult of Ifa, centered in S.W. Nigeria but spread from Ghana to Cameroun)
    • found: Parrinder, G. Dict. non-Christian religions(Ifa: a west African system of geomancy)
    • found: Leach, M. Guide to the gods(Ifa: god of divination and oracles. Nigeria, Brazil, and Puerto Rico)
    • found: The SAGE encyclopedia of African cultural heritage in North America, online, viewed March 13, 2024(Ifá is the divination system practiced by both the Yoruba people of Nigeria and devotees of Yoruba-influenced traditions such as Santería and Lucumí throughout the African diaspora. Some devotees also refer to the orisha (also orisa; orixá) or deity, associated with divination--Orunmila--by the name Ifá as well.)
    • found: Encyclopedia of African Religion , online, viewed March 13, 2024(Ifa is first and foremost an orisha or deity in Yoruba traditional religion. Ifa is also a complete system of divination. As an oracle, it plays a practical and significant role in Yoruba traditional religion by offering answers and solutions to existential problems in forms of ritual offerings and sacrifices to the appropriate deities. It is one of the higher divinities in the Yoruba pantheon, which contains as many as 400 deities responsible for all aspects of life and living in the Yoruba community. Ifa divination is also used by contiguous cultures such as the Edo, Itsekiri, Ewe of Togo (Afa), Fon of Bénin (Fa), and the Ga people of Ghana.
    • found: Introduction to Fa divination of Benin, online, viewed March 13, 2024(In Vodun, a religion originating in coastal West Africa, Fa (also known as Ifa) divination is a key component of religious practice.) - https://www.si.edu/object/introduction-fa-divination-benin%3Aposts_3cef92c37c7aec496ccb3839e6efceb6
  • LC Classification

    • BF1779.I4
    • BL2532.I33
  • History Notes

    • [Heading changed from Ifa (Religion) to Ifa in July 2024.]
  • Instance Of

  • Scheme Membership(s)

  • Collection Membership(s)

  • Change Notes

    • 2000-06-12: new
    • 2024-12-19: revised
  • Alternate Formats