When Words Come From Divination: Ifa and the Image of Women

Abstract

Ifá is the Yoruba god of divination. It embodies Yoruba’s worldview in practically every sphere of life. In this paper we examined Ifá’s image of women from a feminist perspective and the conclusion is that Ifá’s image of women is biased against women. We contend that this view of women in Ifá is pervasive in Yoruba society even in contemporary Yoruba society. We examined the alternative view of the African theorist Oyewumi who argues that in Yoruba society especially Old Oyo society gender did not exist. We argued that this is a sweeping generalization and that in most Yoruba societies gender features prominently and that our feminist perspective captures the realities of the male dominated society or patriarchal society of the Yoruba. Our conclusion is that Oyewumi’s critique of feminist methodology as it applies to Yoruba society does not capture the epistemological reality of the Yorubas.