Vodu of Divination and Destiny
Ewe · deity · primordial · Recorded classification
Vodu of divination and destiny — the Fa/Ifa oracle. The descriptive title leads name.primary; the Ewe name Afa and the Fon Fa stand in alt/etymology. Its messages are interpreted by Legba (see ewe_legba 'associate of' edge); in Fon theology its power-source is the female spirit Gbadu set by Mawu in the palm-tree. Not a consistently-begotten son of Mawu-Lisa — see SOLITARY flag. Typed deity. Documented for the Ewe of Togo by Parrinder (1961) and for the cognate Fon by Herskovits (1938).
Domains
- divination
- destiny and fate
- sacred knowledge and counsel
Powers
- Reveal the destiny (kpoli) that Mawu has set for each person
- Speak through the sixteen signs (du) and their two hundred and fifty-six combinations
Relations
- equated with: FaThe same West African deity under its Gbe/Yoruba reflex (Fa/Ifa).West African vodun/òrìṣà cognates: the same deity across the Gbe (Ewe, Fon) and Yoruba traditions (M. Herskovits, Dahomey, 1938; G. Parrinder, West African Religion, 1961; P. Verger, Notes sur le culte des Orisa et Vodun, 1957) (secondary)
- equated with: OrunmilaThe same West African deity under its Gbe/Yoruba reflex (Fa/Ifa).West African vodun/òrìṣà cognates: the same deity across the Gbe (Ewe, Fon) and Yoruba traditions (M. Herskovits, Dahomey, 1938; G. Parrinder, West African Religion, 1961; P. Verger, Notes sur le culte des Orisa et Vodun, 1957) (secondary)
Sources
- Afa (Fon Fa; the Gbe form of Yoruba Ifa) is the Ewe vodu and oracle of divination and of personal destiny, made known through the sixteen signs (du) cast with the sacred palm-kernels or the divining chain.: E. G. Parrinder, West African Religion (2nd ed. 1961), Fa/Afa divination. (secondary); M. J. Herskovits, Dahomey: An Ancient West African Kingdom (1938), vol. 2, the cult of Fa. (secondary)