We
are a husband and wife team that started out more than a quarter of a
century ago much like you…part need, part  curiosity,
and part dissatisfaction with what Western spirituality seemed to offer.
When we first encountered the Orisa there was no Ifa in America, only
Santeria/Lucumi. So that was the path we took. It soon became clear that
we had simply traded the fear and dependency created by Western religions
for an Afro/Cuban world view that duplicated these traits. When we asked
questions we were told we were either not ready, being insolent, or it
was a “secret.” When we objected to the racial, sexual and
gender discrimination, we  were
told the Orisa would punish us. Through all of this we resonated to the
power and beauty of the Orisa…so we began a journey to find its
roots and its relevancy to our lives. That Journey resulted in re-discovering
Ifa in the African Tradition, and the founding of the Ifa Foundation of
North America. The books The Way of the Orisa – HarperCollins Publishing
& The Sacred Ifa Oracle – HarperCollins Publishing, introduced
African Ifa to both mainstream and academic America. We created the first
Spiritual Retreat with actual Orisa Shrines and Gardens that we call Ola
Olu, or Gift from God. We created the world’s most complete Web
Site with more free information on Orisa worship than anywhere else in
order to combat the intellectual and emotional slavery that secrecy and
lack of knowledge creates. We initiated the first female Iyanifa, the
first openly gay Babalawo as we began to restore Ifa to the inclusive
world view it was created to provide.
 Through
it all we have raised our children in the tradition, learned how to maintain
our own 25 year loving relationship and to help others obtain or create
their own.
We have done this through the following Sixteen Truths of American Ifa:
We have accomplished all this by uniting our male and
female energy to work together. By  learning,
and subsequently teaching, the imperative of Empowerment rather than dependence;
of Confidence rather than fear, of Self-Reliance rather than paternalism,
of logic rather than blind faith. We invite you to experience the Life
Shifting Power of this philosophy without the shackles of fear, dependence
and secrecy. Ase!
Blessings
Vassa & Philip Neimark
Iyanifa Olufadeke and Oluwo Fagbamilia
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