Awo, Part I

by Awo Fa'lokun Fatunmbi

In the chat room on this web site I have expressed some personal annoyance over the fact that the
first three books I wrote about Ifa remain out of print while still being in apparent demand by the
reading public and by members of our community. My effort to unravel the mystery of why there
have been problems in locating an interested publisher have until very recently been ineffective and
confusing. When diviners finds themselves in this situation it is frequently because they do not have
enough understanding of the problem to properly frame the question. When this type of situation
develops the diviner needs to step back and wait for direct intervention from Orisa to provide
enough clarity about the problem to allow the diviner to ask the appropriate questions.
I was recently blessed with insights into the publishing problem by the voice of Sango who spoke
through one of his elder daughters. The message from Sango resulted in a re-examination of my
understanding and appreciation for the role of Ifa in relationship to Orisa.
Twenty years ago when I was first exposed to Orisa, through Lucumi in the San Francisco Bay
area, I was told through divination I needed to receive Ifa. At the time there was only one Ifa priest
known to me in my community and he was in the beginning stages of his training and practice. Five
years later I was blessed with the opportunity to travel to Nigeria and to receive Ifa in Ode Remo.
The admonition from the elders of Egbe Ifa was to do my best to seat Ifa well in my community back
home.
Being young, innocent and enthusiastic I thought I had some understanding of what the admonition
from my elders meant. Looking back from the hindsight of thirteen years of experience I can see my
enthusiasm was mistakenly confused with wisdom.
When Iwa-pele was first published I was accused of revealing secrets, I was accused of putting
things in writing that should remain a part of the oral traditions of our faith. After checking with my
elders they re-assured me that writing about what we believe is different from revealing the details
of how we make use of sacred technology. Iwa-pele was my attempt to explain the internal
transformation I experienced as a result of going through Ifa initiation. It was also an attempt to
frame that understanding in the language of Ifa oral tradition. In an effort to express my personal
understanding of Ifa sacred symbols I made reference to similar symbols in other earth centered
spiritual traditions. Nowhere in the book did I describe any of the ritual events that shaped the
transformation I experienced. In all the writing about Ifa I have ever made available to public I have
been careful not to discuss any sacred technology not previously discussed in some other printed
source. In my own mind I thought I was preserving the integrity of awo.
The word awo in Yoruba means both divination and mystery. In my youthful enthusiasm for Ifa I
mistakenly believed the mystery of awo was limited to knowledge about the sacred technology of
Ifa. By sacred technology I mean the methodology associated with ritual, divination and initiation.
The recent blessing of direct communication from Sango brought to me the revelation that awo has
essential components that are far more important than knowing the mechanics of how to function as
an Ifa priest.
The real secret of awo is that no Babalawo can ever work effectively alone. Everything done in the
name of Ifa should be a manifestation of individual connection to spirit and collective connection to
egbe. This means there is no awo without community and there is no community without connection
to elders and there are no effective elders who are not connected to the ancestors and there are no
ancestors who become elevated without guidance from Orisa and there is no Orisa without
connection to the human spirit. An understanding of these relationships is at the heart of what has
come to be known as the Afro-centric worldview. This worldview is an expression of the belief that
everything is interrelated, everything is interconnected, and spirit is manifest in all things.

Before being exposed to Ifa I studied law and worked as an investigator preparing complex legal
defenses for civil and criminal litigation. By training and temperament everything I did was based on
the Euro-centric, linear, straight-line model of understanding and problem solving. The methodology
works well in court, it does not work well in divination and it is useless for an understanding of awo.
Everything from Orisa is either a blessin' or a lesson. With regard to the failure to republish my
books there clearly was no blessin' so there must have been a lesson. The message to me from
Sango was this: to many people have read my books and decided that they were all powerful, and
all knowing Babalawo simply because they could afford the price of initiation and were literate
enough to read a few books. Sango made it painfully clear to me that too many people who claim to
be holders of ase do so without connection to spirit, without connection to elders, without
connection to community and without connection to egbe. This total and complete denigration of the
inner essence of awo has reduced divination to fortune telling, reduced ritual to an empty
performance of ineffective gestures and reduced initiation to a pointless exercise more often
grounded in financial hustle than in spiritual elevation.
Western culture teaches that change comes from the outside in. We look for the latest fad diet, we
look for the most popular guru, we look for the hippest things to put on our alters, and we assume
that because something was done for us and because we paid a lot of money for it we must have
somehow become spiritual [Link] have even reached the point of absurdity where some folks
believe they can call themselves a Babalawo simply because they have read one of my books.
Nowhere in this trend is there even the slightest recognition of the need for connection to spirit, the
need for community, and the need for elders. Instead initiation has become the deification of
ignorance, dysfunction, and self-delusion.
Our communities are becoming obsessed with the need to be fully initiated into Ifa based on the
false notion that receiving Ifa makes a child with only a few weeks of experience an elder to
Babalorisa and Iyalorisa with ten, twenty and even thirty years of experience preserving,
developing, nurturing, guiding and protecting the true essence of awo. Not only is this situation
shameful, arrogant and self-delusional, it creates chaos in the very structures that are designed by
tradition to support the effective interaction between Ifa and Orisa as the two pillars of survival and
illumination in our communities.
The message from Sango to me was very clear, very simple and very straightforward, Sango said if
the chaos is not transformed Orisa will withdraw ase from all those who call their name. Awo is the
mystery of creating an opening between Ile Orun and Ile Aye. This opening is too powerful, too vast,
too complex and too overwhelming to be contained by any single individual, especially a single
individual who believes simply because they have received initiation and can consult a book they
are the be-all and end-all of any problem brought to them. The opening between Ile Orun and Ile
Aye is the result of a sustained collective effort nurtured by those on earth who are sincere in their
belief and by those Orisa who respond when they hear their oriki. If Orisa are called by those who
do not fully understand and appreciate the depth and power existing in the realm of Awo, Spirit will
not respond because the opening will have been broken and damaged beyond the point where
interaction can occur. Odu Ifa refers to this phenomenon as famine and loss of fertility caused by
the failure to respect taboo. In Ifa it is taboo for the child to guide the parent, it is taboo for those
who know nothing to be given authority over those with lifetimes of experience, it is taboo for any
one person to think they are able to invoke ase without the full support of all those around us and all
those who have come before us.
I believe this is an important and serious message from Sango. It is consistent with the
understanding of Ifa as expressed in Odu Ifa and it is a reflection of the laws of Nature as preserved
in all earth centers religions throughout the history of human life on the planet. It has always been
clear to me that those who try to manipulate the Forces of Nature without a real understanding of
the Laws of Nature do so at their own risk. It was not clear to me before hearing the message from

Sango that those who invoke ase without a deep appreciation of the meaning of awo do so at great
peril to others.
To those who have read any of my books and have come to the false and dangerous conclusions
they can practice Ifa without guidance from Spirit, without the support of community and without
correction from Orisa elders I say not only are you mistaken, you run the risk of closing access to
Awo for those who are sincerely interested in spiritual development. On the day the doors between
Ile Orun and Ile Aye are closed Earth will not be a good place to live. To anyone who has enough
sense to look around and ask a few questions about what is going on in the world it should be
apparent that anything that contributes to the possibility of loosing access to Spirit is creating a
disaster that will make the threat of terrorism look like a walk through Mr. Roger's neighborhood.
Having been given a glimpse of the problem I now hold responsibility for trying to fix it. There are no
easy answers. As I sit here today considering the implications of Sango's message I don't even
have any clear suggestions. I do ask those who share my concerns about the consequences of
applying a Western world view to a African system of spiritual technology to join hands an engage in
the dialogue that will allow us to frame questions worthy of being taken to the oracle
Awo, Part II
by Awo Fa'lokun Fatunmbi
Over the years a number of Ifa priests initiated outside of Africa have asked me to introduce them to
elders in Ode Remo. The initiates who have made this request were largely from the Lucumi
tradition. They were all sincerely interested in understanding the traditional Africa practice of Ifa.
When a visiting Babalawo comes to Ode Remo the younger Babalawo of the village test the visitor's
knowledge of Ifa before welcoming him as an initiate.
As you progress in Ifa and reach certain levels of training you are taught hand signals and gestures
that identify your level of progress. Advanced levels of instruction cannot be purchased at the
various Ifa factories that are springing up around the country simply because they do not seem to
realize such a thing exits. Those who know awo open the door to advanced training when they
make the determination you are ready to walk through it. It doesn't happen any other way, ever. The
test is always the same; it is a test of humility. When you see an awo who does not demonstrate
true humility consider it a clear indication of their level of training.
If ten African Babalawos who have never met each other enter a room they can determine the line
of seniority quickly and without speaking to one another. There is a reason for this related to the
preservation of the mystery of awo and the orderly process of opening the gates between Ikole
Orun and Ikole Aye. When Babalawo meet to pray the opening between Ikole Orun and Ikole Aye
occurs through the ori of the eldest initiate in the room. It is the job of the other Babalawo to support
the opening coming through their elder. If there is a conflict over the question of who is the Chief no
opening occurs and all the spiritual work which is attempted is a waste of time. Awo is governed by
natural law, the first rule is this; confusion over structure creates chaos and when there is chaos
there is no ase and there is no awo.
If I go to a Babalawo for divination the way I greet the mat will tell him I have received Ifa initiation.
How I greet him after that will indicate my level of training. All of this protocol and structure was put
in place by Egbe Ifa thousands of years ago to insure smooth communication between humans and
Spirit. Access to Ifa Egun (initiated ancestors) only occurs if the Egun recognize the structure of the
ritual. These Egun provide the foundation for connection with Spirit. If this foundation is not in place
there is no access to awo. My position on the need to embrace traditional expressions of protocol is
very simple; if it isn't broken don't fix it. If you think you have a better way show me by
demonstrating your access to awo. If you have not embraced and internalized traditional protocol
the chances you have learned awo are virtually non-existent.

In the ten years since I started writing about Ifa the number of Orisa worshippers who have sought
initiation into Ifa has grown exponentially and is now far beyond anything I could have imagined
when I was sitting alone in the basement of my home in Oakland with notes and books scattered all
over a big table trying to figure out what it meant to be initiated into Ifa. When I wrote Iwa-pele I had
studied Ifa for five years in a Euro-centric linear fashion, gathering the data, and trying to figure out
how A leads to B. I do not apologize for this approach because at the time it was the only window of
learning available to me. On the first day of my first visit to Ode Remo I realized all my book
learning, all my knowledge of theology and all my attempts to understand the language were close
to useless when sitting at the feet of true awo. Since then my personal growth has included an
attempt to balance the Euro-centric linear view of reality with the Afro-centric circular view of reality
because I live in a world where both points of view struggle to be heard clearly.
The Euro-centric linear worldview is an effective means of gathering data. Where it becomes selfdefeating is when the ability to gather data becomes confused with the idea of privilege. There is no
spiritual growth once a person confuses the accumulation of objective facts with the need to engage
in the constant process of critical self-examination. This simple law of nature has been so lost on
Western culture the idea of privilege is on the verge of disrupting the entire planet. If the
consequences of arrogance are not examined from the inside out, Esu has a way of bringing the
issue from the outside in. It is the role of Esu as trickster to remind us that human will may not
always be in alignment with the will of Creation.
I fear that many of my attempts to explain awo have either been misunderstood or ignored. Based
on a message to me from Sango I see the need to take responsibility for this unfortunate situation
and to own it as a failure of effective communication. It is with a deep sense of weariness that I
know attempt to bring greater clarity to a fundamental tenet of Ifa forming the foundation for the
study of awo. I pray to my elders, to my ori, to the Egun, to the Orisa, to the Irunmole and to the
Igbamole to give me the guidance necessary to find the proper words to communicate ideas that
have no adequate vocabulary in the English language.
I will start by making the primary point as simple and direct as possible. Going through tefa (Ifa
initiation) does not make you a Babalawo. Going through tefa prepares your ori (consciousness) for
the study of awo. You do not become a Babalawo until you learn and understand the mysteries of
awo. There is no written test to determine whether or not you know and understand the mysteries of
awo. You become a Babalawo when your elder gives you permission to practice Ifa. If the
permission to practice Ifa comes from someone who does not know awo the sanction to practice Ifa
is worthless, dangerous, arrogant, ineffective, presumptuous, misguided, and painfully idiotic. The
more a person learns about awo the more humbled they become by the perception of what remains
unknown. This is the inner meaning of Iwa-pele (gentle character), we become gentle and
temperate so as to not disturb what we still do not understand. Arrogance is Spirits way of marking
the fool. The person who claims to know everything, the person who claims to be all-powerful, the
person who believes all their internal conflicts are resolved is a train wreck waiting to happen. I am
old enough to remember a time when the idea of segregated toilets was considered an expression
of God's Will. Ifa teaches that anyone who claims to speak for the Creator is invoking a
confrontation with Esu.
After thirteen years of study I think I am at the place where I am beginning to get a glimpse of what
awo looks like, no more no less. I believe I have the ability to recognize those who carry ase based
on their access to some expression of awo. I know enough to say without hesitation I am not a
Babalawo, I remain at the level of training where at best I can call myself a student of Ifa or
omolawo (child of the secrets). Because I recognize the limitations of my own level of understanding
I treat everyone I encounter as a potential teacher and as a potential elder. Those who have
stepped forward to offer me a glimpse into awo were not always those who I turned to for guidance.
If you want to know if a person is a Babalawo the answer is not determined by their ability to prove
they went through tefa. A Babalawo can recite at least four verses from each of the two hundred

and fifty six odu. A Babalawo can invoke all the manifestations of Spirit we appeal to for survival on
the planet. A Babalawo knows the sacred power of all the herbs in their immediate environment. A
Babalawo can heal the sick better than most Western medical doctors. A Babalawo can wrestle with
Iku (Spirit of Death) and bring the dead back to life. A Babalawo can change the weather. Every
time a Babalawo invokes Oya there is a windstorm. Every time a Babalawo invokes Osun there is a
gentle rain. Ever time a Babalawo invokes Sango lightning streaks across the sky. Every time a
Babalawo journeys into the land of the birds he finds a way to appease the anger of the mothers by
fixing that, which has provoked their anger. Every time a Babalawo sees famine in the village he
finds a way to feed his extended family. Every time a Babalawo sees a barren woman he finds a
way to make her fertile. Every time a Babalawo sees injustice in the world he invokes the powers of
peace and stability. Every time a Babalawo sees an elder mother he gives her proper respect as the
ultimate source of awo in the world. Anything less means the self-described Babalawo is still in
training - period, end of sentence, no further discussion required. If someone you don't know comes
to your ritual and identifies himself as a Babalawo you have the right to require some demonstration
of their access to awo.
If they are unable to past the test the kindest most compassionate thing you can do is say; "Iyawo
put your mat in the corner of the room keep quiet and try to learn something." I say this because it is
taboo for an Ifa initiate to assert authority in the context of an Orisa ritual. If Ifa is present at an
Orisa ritual their task is to provide support on request not to assume control based on some false
notion of elevated status. Remember where there is arrogance there is no awo.
Western culture has reached a level of dysfunction and abuse that makes insecurity and low self
esteem epidemic. As a culture we suffer from the illusion we can fix insecurity and low self-esteem
by purchasing spiritual titles giving us an air of authority. All spiritual growth comes from the inside
out, not the outside in. That is a law of nature wisdom is developed not purchased. When you
attempt to fix an internal problem by purchasing power you must intimidate and bully others into
accepting the value of what you have purchased in order to convince yourself your investment was
money well spent. This creates a situation where the biggest bully gets the most respect.
Sociologists call this phenomena fascism, which is establishing communal structure through the
threat of violence. There is no access to awo through the fascist model of social organization. The
Egun of Egbe Ifa do not respond to this approach. Anyone who has even the slightest inkling of the
meaning of awo knows and understands the only road to awo is unconditional love. It is the
symbolic meaning of our sacred city Ile Ife meaning the place where love comes to Earth.
You do not and cannot buy awo. You can only move towards it bit by bit. The movement towards
awo only occurs if it involves the constant effort to remove that which becomes manifest in the world
as arrogance. In the Yoruba language those who have done the internal work to cleanse their ori of
arrogance are said to exhibit iwa-pele. Ifa is founded on the belief that there is no access to awo
without iwa-pele.
If I were living in Ode Remo my training would have progressed much more quickly and as a
grandfather I should be in a position where I could consider calling myself a Babalawo. I am not
there yet. If anyone who is reading this is serious about becoming a Babalawo I will share with them
a process of learning that has been effective for me in the Diaspora. When I am in the presence of
other initiates I consider myself an iyawo (newly initiated priest) and try to behave like an iyawo. As
a student of Ifa my primary responsibility is to listen and learn. I never assert authority based on
some idiot notion of being a high priest, elder priest, all knowing diviner, or holder of some vast
amount of secret wisdom. I will never demand to be treated in a certain way, and I will always kunle
to anyone who is biological older than me out of respect for the wisdom gained by their life journey
whether they are initiated or not. This is especially true of our grandmothers.
Our grandmothers are the keepers of the awo that has allowed us to survive in a hostile
environment that has no respect for the idea of woman hood, family, the development of good
character and the preservation of ancestral wisdom. Any grandmother connected with our faith in

anyway deserves to sit in a place of honor so that we can have access to her deep wisdom. Any
person who calls himself a Babalawo who does not understand this basic principle needs to be
knocked up side the head with a brick. There is no Ifa without Iyaami. Any person who calls
themselves a Babalawo who doesn't understand what I mean when I say this either wasn't paying
attention when they got initiated or they went through some bogus initiation that is not worthy of
being called Ifa. I say these things in the softest voice I can find and pray that I never utter the real
wrath of my true feelings on this matter.
For those who are interested in practicing the faith of our ancestors and do not want to waste time
with made up stuff that claims to be Ifa I make a simple suggestion; determine the lineage of any
group that claims to do Ifa initations. Any Babalawo who has been initiated in Lucumi can trace their
lineage ancestors back at least four hundred years. Such a person can and should be taken
seriously. Any Babalawo initiated in Africa can trace their lineage back to the time when Orunmila
walked the earth. Any Babalawo initiated in the Village can trace their lineage back to various
places in West Africa. These lineages all embrace the possibility of access to Egun from Egbe Ifa.
Any person initiated in the America Ifa cookie factories traces their lineage back to the founder of
the cookie factory. Tracing your lineage back one-generation gives you access to the Egun of that
person and that person alone. To call this Ifa is to make a mockery of the use of language as a form
of communication.
I have personal opinions that influence my preference for the African style of Ifa. My expression of
these opinions has frequently been misinterpreted to mean I do not respect the traditions of Lucumi
and other expressions of Orisa worship developed in the Diaspora. This is a false assumption. The
focus of my study has been an effort to reclaim parts of Ifa I believe were lost during the middle
crossing. I have tried to make the results of my effort available to anyone in any lineage who is
interested in moving closer to awo. To anyone who has suffered from my failure to communicate
this properly I offer my deeply felt apology. I especially want to apologize to Baba Ed James who
tried to explain to me I was being misunderstood on this point at a time when I was not mature
enough to fully hear his words.
My concern here is a phenomenon that occurs throughout the history of religion. It is a process
theologians call the emergence of false prophets. A prophet is any person who attempts to apply the
universal and eternal principles of any religions tradition to the current historical situation. Martin
Luther King was a prophet. Malcom X was a prophet. Gandhi was a prophet. Nelson Mandela is a
prophet. The task of a prophet is to interpret natural law as it applies to the life and times of the
people who embrace a particular system of spiritual belief. Anyone who attempts to influence the
direction of Orisa extended families in the name of Ifa without access to awo is invoking a
confrontation with Esu the trickster.
The task for those who are sincerely interested in using awo to elevate the quality of life on earth
and who want to use awo to develop good character on the spiritual journey towards iwa-pele need
to collectively learn to recognize the presence of false prophets in our midst. The Euro-centric linear
worldview based on arrogance and a sense of self-entitlement has led to the shameful
manifestation of cultural appropriation. This phenomenon is the curse of what is commonly called
the New Age Movement, which has reduced itself to a misguided effort to falsely claim mastery of
any cultural tradition that promises salvation. Most earth-centered spiritual traditions embrace the
notion that all people are children of the Creator. This does not mean they relinquish the right to
define the meaning and forms of expression of cultural wisdom.
Reading one of my books does not give anyone the moral right to assume they know more than
someone who functions from within the lineage guidance of awo. It is this type of thinking that has
supported the belief that America deserves a disproportionate share of the world's resources. It is
opposition to this line of thinking that generates violent reactions to this particular expression of
arrogance.

The mystery of awo suggests to me there is a better way.

Ire,
Awo Fa'lokun Fatunmbi