AFRICAN VODUN VS IFA/FA/AFA

First, there is no such thing as Vodun versus Ifa. Ifa is vodun! The term vodun means "spirit".
And Fa Na Gu Nu is a spirit! Yet, in the diaspora many think that Ifa is a totally different system.
It is not! It is the West African divination system, called Ifa in Nigeria, Fa in Benin, and Afa in
the Ghana region. Thus, all West African regions use it. It has been handed down by the
divinities themselves to allow us to communicate with the spirit realm. Yet, the first house of Ifa
comes out of the Yoruba pantheon of spirits. And that is why the Yoruba places such a great
emphasis on Ifa; just as the Ewe is known for the African Mami and the Fon the great Sakpata.
These great divinities originate out of specific African clans or regions.
And, depending upon one's ancestral regions of origin, one inherits their possible entrance into
the priesthood of Ifa. Thus, it is a priest from that clan that must initiate you into that priesthood,
teach, train you, and make your opele or whatever divination tool that your clan uses for
divination. That could be the opele, bones, mirror, or other means used in the tradition of that
clan.
Folks come to me saying I have one or two hands of Ifa assuming incorrectly that females only
get one hand of Ifa while men get two hands. But this is deceptive because depending upon one's
ancestral origins, spiritual inheritances, or head spirit(s) one could have one or two hands of Ifa
regardless of gender. Gender is fluid in the spirit realm. As we are subject to live many lives
(reincarnation) our head spirit(s) could be one gender and our physical persona another. For
example, my head spirit is distinctly male. In fact, most of them are. Yet, I am gendered as
female. But, due to my position in the spirit realm (spirits, priesthood, and destiny), I have two
hands of Fa. One can discover all these spiritual realities through the divination system. Yet, it
all starts with ancestry.
If one can determine ancestry then one can determine, how and in what capacity one is to serve
the spirits, and what spiritual or political thrones one may have inherited in one's clan. The
reality is that the transatlantic slave trade cut us off from these inheritances. The only way to
reconnect to these is to go through the divination process. And I am especially talking about the
employment of an authentic, reputable, and seasoned African diviner. These folks carrying Ifa
books around for study or those buying into the system cannot truly divine. A person born into
this priesthood is carrying specific gifts of divination that are activated upon the intuition
process. Their divination tool and they become one unit. Their entire body becomes a divination
tool. And one must find that ancestral clan in order to be initiated and taught by the diviner(s) of
that clan. Ifa is taught through oral tradition from one's priests, elders of Ifa, not books. Such
secrets of this vodun should have never been put in books. African oral traditions ensure that
only those who are supposed to have this knowledge are given it. Thus, when these diaspora
groups of Ifa run to Africa in attempts to join legitimate African societies of Ifa they are rejected
because they have not come to the Ifa priesthood through the proper methods of inheritance and
training. This is a good thing! Improper entrance and training in Ifa can ruin many lives.
Here is another thing, diasporans roll up on me speaking of their taking on one or two hands of
Ifa when they do not realize that getting Ifa is simply the first step in initiating into the African
priesthood. One must be able to communicate with one's spirits that is why it is given. But if one
does not know one's spirits or even if one is born to the African priesthood, what are you doing?
We are all born of spirits but not all of us are born to the African priesthood. But only divination
can tell us about any of this. African divination is the cog to which all other components of
African spirituality revolve. Without it and the ancestors you cannot do vodun or accomplish
anything in African spirituality. And, if one wants to serve in the African priesthood, one must
initiate if told it is their destiny. Gifts mean nothing if initiation does not occur.
I ask diasporans to study, learn and train in African Vodun before you all start putting up videos
trying to teach others when you do not know what you are talking about! This writing was
prompted by my seeing some sister who posted an 8.47-minute video, on YouTube, discussing
"Voodoo vs. Ifa" when there is no such thing! Where do such people even get the authority?
Social media has become a platform for all kinds of misinformation. Start vetting what you all
read or hear please.