Ife, Cradle of the Yoruba - Part II

  • Original Wraps
  • Nigeria: J.A. Ademakinwa, Printed by Pacific Printing Works, 1958
By Ademakinwa, J.A.
Nigeria: J.A. Ademakinwa, Printed by Pacific Printing Works, 1958. First Edition. Original Wraps. Very Good+. First Edition. Original Wraps. The central focus is the city of Ile-Ife; the author, the late J. A. Ademakinwa, was an Ife indigene. He puts the mythologies and traditions of his people to good use to speak to a host of subjects.". . . "Ademakinwa's book fulfills the goals set out by the author, conveying ideas to understand historical events within the idioms and conception of history by his own people. It links rituals with mythologies to explain events and phenomena. It explains the formation of Yoruba customs and culture in combination with traditional accounts that tell us about Yoruba history and culture. The book deals primarily with a past that is no more, that very distant time not covered by scientific explanations but by mythologies. In this sense, the myths are valid within the rubric of traditional stories. The book is the history of Ife and the Yoruba; as a body of impressive myths about the past; and as the memory of a different age." -Toyin Falola University Distinguished Teaching Professor Jacob and Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in the Humanities The University of Texas at Austin

J. A. Ademakinwa is believed to have been born in Ile-Ife sometime in 1894 according to the Yoruba traditional method of age calculation in the absence of official birth registry records. He was among the earliest Ife indigenes to embrace the Christian faith. As a result of this conversion, he was admitted to the CMS Primary School, Aiyegbaju, Ile-Ife. His brilliant performance at the school earned him a scholarship to the prestigious St. Andrew's College, Oyo from where he graduated in 1918. Upon graduation, he taught in several schools in the Old Western Region of Nigeria before moving to Lagos in 1928 where he continued his teaching career and eventually retired. During a teaching tenure at Ijebu-Ode, he met a fellow teacher and an indigene of the town, Victoria Abosede Oluyemi-Wright whom he later married in Lagos in 1930. The union was blessed with six children. J. A. Ademakinwa was one of the founding members of the Yoruba Research Council. Between the early 1940s and late 1960s, he was a regular contributor to major Lagos-based newspapers as well as Radio programs. He was also the author of The History of St. Andrew's College, Oyo and The History of Christ Apostolic Church (both written in Yoruba language).

Sacred scriptures and teaching of the Yoruba religion of Ifa. The Yoruba people live on the west coast of Africa in Nigeria and can also be found in the eastern Republic of Benin and Togo. The Grand Priest of Ifa, the Babalawo or Iyanifas are the Priests and Priestesses of the Ifa Oracle that receive and decode the meaning of the divine messages contained in the Odu Ifa Parables that are transmitted to them using a divination chain known as Opele or the sacred palm or kola nuts. The Ifa priests and priestesses retain and memorize the spiritual corpus to pass down to ancestors threatened by colonization. The Odu Ifa is such verse and scripture. Oyeku Meji is the 15th odu, the sacred container or deity. Scarce. Toned throughout, else tight, bright, and unmarred. [4], 56pp. Illus. (b/w reproduced photographs and drawings). Original printed wrappers, stapled as issued. Part II only.

MORE FROM THIS SELLER

Lux Mentis, Booksellers

Specializing in Collection/Library Development, Esoterica, Fine Press, Artist Books, Heirloom Quality Books and Unique Items