The Complete Ifá Library: Every Orisha, Every Teaching, Every Secret - The Largest Published Collection of Ifá and Orisha Books in the English Language

For centuries, Ifá knowledge was transmitted only through oral tradition - from Babalawo to apprentice, mouth to ear, generation to generation. The colonizers burned the books. The missionaries demonized the gods. The slavers scattered the people. But Ifá survived. Today, a landmark collection of over 140 titles by a single author makes this knowledge available to English-language readers worldwide at a scale never before achieved.

WHAT IS IFÁ?

Ifá is the world's oldest system of divination, philosophy, medicine, and spiritual science. Originating with the Yorùbá people of West Africa (modern-day Nigeria, Benin, and Togo), Ifá is a complete operating system of consciousness - predating every major world religion by thousands of years. As Professor Wande Abimbola, UNESCO's foremost authority on the Ifá literary corpus, writes: "Ifá is the storehouse of Yorùbá culture... it contains the total philosophy of the Yorùbá people." In 2005, UNESCO formally recognized Ifá as a "Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity" (https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/ifa-divination-system-00146).

Ifá is not a "belief." It is a science - a binary system of 256 patterns (Odu) that maps every possible state of human consciousness, every life situation, and every solution. Today, Ifá is practiced by over 100 million people worldwide across its various forms: Yorùbá Ifá, Cuban Santería (Regla de Ocha/Lucumí), Brazilian Candomblé, Haitian Vodou, Trinidad Orisha, and diaspora traditions throughout the Americas, Europe, and beyond.

WHO ARE THE ORISHA?

The Orisha (also spelled Òrìṣà) are the divine forces of nature and consciousness in the Yorùbá spiritual system. They are not "gods" in the Western sense - they are cosmic energies, archetypal intelligences, and ancestral forces that govern specific domains of existence. There are 401 Orisha in the Yorùbá pantheon, though 16 primary Orisha form the foundation of practice.

THE FOUNDATION: UNDERSTANDING THE SYSTEM

The collection begins with three foundational works that establish the complete system before turning to the individual Orisha.

The Original AI: Ancestral Intelligence - The 256 Odu of Ifá reveals how Ifá's 256 Odu function as the world's first binary code, predating modern computer binary by thousands of years and serving as humanity's original operating system of consciousness.
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Ajarn_Shaman_Shu_The_Original_AI_Ancestral_Intelli?id=YaT1EQAAQBAJ
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id6794326065

Roots of Heaven: The Sixteen Orisa of Santería, Candomblé, and Lucumí is the foundational text for understanding the complete Yorùbá spiritual system, from the Supreme Being (Olodumare) to the 16 Orisha and the concepts of Ashe and Ori.
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Ajarn_Shaman_Shu_Roots_of_Heaven?id=33jxEQAAQBAJ
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/roots-of-heaven/id6793958115

ASE in Action: Ritual Work, Ebo, and the Three Divination Systems of Ifá, Diloggún, and Obi is the practical manual for ritual technology across Santería, Candomblé, and Lucumí.
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Ajarn_Shaman_Shu_ASE_in_Action?id=2XjxEQAAQBAJ
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id6797530691

THE ORISHA: INDIVIDUAL STUDIES

Ori: The Personal Orisha reveals the most important teaching in all of Ifá - that your personal divine consciousness chose your destiny before birth and is more powerful than any external deity.
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Ajarn_Shaman_Shu_Ori_The_Personal_Orisha?id=z6T1EQAAQBAJ
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/ori-the-personal-orisha/id6794320008

Shango: The Thunder King - the Orisha of thunder, lightning, fire, justice, and kingship.
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Ajarn_Shaman_Shu_Shango_The_Thunder_King?id=cvjzEQAAQBAJ
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id6797521254

Oshun: Queen of All Sweetness - the Orisha of sweet water, love, fertility, beauty, diplomacy, and wealth.
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Ajarn_Shaman_Shu_Oshun_Queen_of_All_Sweetness?id=EvjzEQAAQBAJ
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id6795562682

Oya: The Storm Queen - the Orisha of wind, storms, transformation, death, rebirth, and the marketplace.
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Ajarn_Shaman_Shu_Oya_The_Storm_Queen?id=UPjzEQAAQBAJ
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id6797522382

Aje: The Wealth Within You - the Orisha of wealth, commerce, and material abundance.
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Ajarn_Shaman_Shu_Aje_The_Wealth_Within_You?id=dPnzEQAAQBAJ
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id6795119025

Osain: The Green Intelligence - the Orisha of herbs, leaves, plant medicine, and the African roots of all herbal medicine.
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Ajarn_Shaman_Shu_Osain_The_Green_Intelligence?id=1Ev0EQAAQBAJ
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id6795558449

Oshoosi: The Divine Hunter - the Orisha of the hunt, justice, precision, and tracking.
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Ajarn_Shaman_Shu_Oshoosi_The_Divine_Hunter?id=99n0EQAAQBAJ
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id6795560301

They Made the Devil Black: The Hidden History of Eshu exposes how Christian missionaries deliberately demonized Eshu - the divine messenger and guardian of the crossroads.
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Ajarn_Shaman_Shu_They_Made_the_Devil_Black?id=v0z0EQAAQBAJ
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id6798299105

Oduduwa: The First King - the progenitor of the Yorùbá people and first king of Ile-Ife.
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/oduduwa/id6793940332

Obatala: The King of the White Cloth - the Orisha of creation, purity, wisdom, and peace.
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id6795550265

OLOKUN: Lord of the Deep - the Orisha of the deep ocean and infinite abundance.
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/olukun/id6793954182

Ogun: The God of Iron - the Orisha of iron, war, technology, and civilization.
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id6795551831

BABALU AYE: The Healer King - the Orisha of disease, healing, and the earth.
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id6795123144

Egungun: Your Ancestors Are Still Talking - the Orisha tradition of ancestor veneration.
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id6795182587

Ibeji - the divine twins, Orisha of duality, balance, joy, and abundance.
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id6795537470

Orisa Oko - the Orisha of agriculture, fertility, and the harvest.
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id6795554658

RELATED WORKS: THE BROADER AFRICAN SPIRITUAL TRADITION

The Original African Book of the Dead reveals the Kemetic and Yorùbá roots of the Tibetan Bardo tradition.
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Ajarn_Shaman_Shu_The_Original_African_Book_of_the?id=jEz0EQAAQBAJ
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id6798294097

The Black Christ: The African Origins of Jesus, Horus, and the World's Savior Tradition traces the "dying and rising god" motif from Osiris to Jesus back to African spiritual traditions.
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Ajarn_Shaman_Shu_The_Black_Christ?id=bEz0EQAAQBAJ
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id6798290922

WHY THIS COLLECTION EXISTS

Most English-language books on Ifá fall into one of three categories: academic texts written by non-practitioners who observe from outside, initiated authors who write about only one Orisha or one aspect of practice, or sensationalized accounts that distort the tradition. This collection is different because it combines initiated authority (the author is an Oluwo of Osain, initiated in Aje) with comprehensive scope (every major Orisha covered individually) and cross-traditional scholarship. As Professor Gbadegesin writes: "The Yorùbá philosophical system is not inferior to any other philosophical tradition in the world."

CONTINUE THE PATH AT ORISHA UNIVERSITY

Readers who wish to go beyond study can enroll at Orisha University - the world's first AI-powered institution dedicated to the academic study and practice of Ifá, Orisha, and African spiritual traditions. It offers Certificate, Bachelor's, Master's, and PhD programs entirely online at $99/month.

Visit: http://orishauniversity.com
Enroll: imready@orishauniversity.com

Explore the sister schools:
Buddha University - http://buddhauniversity.org | imready@buddhauniversity.org
Shiva University - http://shivauniversity.com | imready@shivauniversity.com

"Wisdom is not owned by one people. It flows through all traditions - from the Odu of Ifá to the Ayat of the Qur'an. The source is one. The rivers are many. It's time to come home."

19875 west 12 mile rd Southfield mi, 48076 Michigan, United States

Robert S. Shumake PhD - also known as Ajarn Shaman Shu, Oluwo Jolaoso Osainbola PhD, and Shri Suryanarayana Swamikal - is the author of more than 140 published books and 86+ DOI-registered academic publications indexed on Zenodo (CERN), the Open Science Framework, and ORCID.

He is the founder and chancellor of seven religious universities operating under Buddha Digital Temple, a 508(c)(1)(a) religious educational institution:

Buddha University - http://buddhauniversity.org/
Orisha University - http://orishauniversity.com/
Shiva University - http://shivauniversity.com/
Krishna University - http://krishna.university/
Islam University - http://islamuniversity.org/
Enoch University - http://enochuniversity.com/
Egziabher University - http://egziabheruniversity.org/

This release was published on openPR.