Ifá practice and perversions of natural order -- Oloye Fakunle Oyesanya
Every community or society has social norms which can be descriptive or injunctive in nature. Norms can refer to what is commonly done or what is commonly approved and disapproved. The practice of Ifá entails living and doing things in accordance with the tenets and norms of Ifa. It involves the application of Ifá teachings as contained in several verses of the 256 Odù Ifá, which are used to problem solve and exhibit such teachings in thoughts, speeches, and actions. These teachings include morality, ethics, philosophy, sociology, general human behavior, and character building. It is normative as an Ifa practitioner to continue to align himself/herself with what is commonly approved and/or expected in Ifá practice, as “conformity to the norm” and avoid any acts which may cause an individual to deviate from the normal Ifá course, whether it be in thought, action, and/or experimentation. The word “perversion” is derived from the Latin pervertere, which means “to tur...