This is not a book for those seeking an introductory ethnography of Ifa in Cuba, nor answers to questions about who babalawos are, who consults them (beyond "mostly women"), nor how
Ifa divinations matter in the Cuban context in any but the broadest ontological terms of being taken to be indubitably true by some (but not all) Cubans.
150) notes the universalizing Jungian qualities of
Ifa divination as imago mundi.
At one end stood
Ifa divination and herbalism practiced by babalawos (male diviner-priests whose patron deity is Orunmila), referred to as La Regla de Ifa; at the other an array of devotional and therapeutic practices mediated by olorichas (priests and, more often, priestesses--literally "owner of the oricha"), referred to as La Regla de Ocha.
Unlike studies of specific African traditional genres such as Trevor Cope's book on the Zulu izibongo praise poems or Wande Abimbola's on the Yoruba
ifa divination poetry, Poetry, Prose and Popular Culture in Hausa is both a survey and an in-depth study of Hausa literature.
Mora had been initiated as a high priest of Ifa in Cuba on January 27, 1944, by Babalawo Quintin Lecon, a renowned Cuban Ifa priest, and was the first babalawo in New York to practice
Ifa divination (Murphy 49-50).
The babalawo is the custodian of the paraphernalia of
Ifa divination (he can also be referred to as curator of Ifa literary corpus).
In keeping with this year's theme, the Almanac provides informative essays on various oracle practices, such as African
Ifa divination and the arcane use of ribbons to discern the future, which originated in Western Europe and Scotland.
Given the controversy of authority surrounding the Carnival issue, he was careful to consult with his cohorts and advisors in Nigeria who, according to Massetungi, confirmed through
Ifa divination that Olodumare (Creator Supreme) and the Orisha supported his shrine's intentions for Carnival.
