Babalola Adeboye Ifatoogun
Born: 17 November 1924
Died: 26 November 2009
The Awo Ifatoogun Lecture on Philosophy and Development is delivered by a senior Africana scholar selected by the International Steering Committee of Orisaworld. Babalola Adeboye Ifatoogun was a babalawo, lecturer and Research Fellow at Obafemi Awolowo University, University of Ibadan, and Rio de Janeiro. He maintained that Ifa provides a public service for the enrichment of intellectual and cultural life. The Awo Ifatoogun lecture is presented during the Orisaworld Congress.
Prince Babalola Adeboye Ifatoogun was born in Ilobu, Osun State, Nigeria on the 17th of November 1924. His father, Omooba Adeboye and mother, Moromomke Akike, were practitioners of Ifa and Erinle.
Ifatoogun began his studies in Ifa at a very young age, studying, first from his father in Ilobu, and then across various Yoruba cities, notably: Ilobu, Iwo, Ile-Ife, and across various Egba cities in Ogun State, Nigeria.
Although Babalola Ifatoogun never studied at any Western educational institution, by the age of fifteen he had taught himself how to read and write in Yoruba. By the age of eighteen, he had acquired an excellent understanding of the English Language, and he could write the English Language in his own self-created Yoruba-based orthography for the English language.
Ifa is a body of knowledge with numerous academic disciplines which include: Ifa dida (Ifa divination), Ifa Kiki (the chanting of Ifa), Itan (History); Arojinle (Philosophy), Etutu (Offerings), and Ifa (herbal medicine). Ifatoogun was a world renowned expert in Arojinle (Philosophy), Itan (History), and Etutu (Herbal Medicine). He had an encyclopedic and photographic memory. For example, if Ifatoogun were asked to chant Ifa poems on the theme of “morality” (or any other concept), he would chant up to 200 poems on this theme at will. Moreover, if Ifatoogun were given just one line from any poem, he would instantly recall the whole poem, and identify the Odu to which it belonged. Ifatoogun was one of the very few Ifa priests who could chant and recite over one hundred poems from each of the 256 Odu of the Ifa literary corpus.
Peoplesmind