The sacred wisdom of Ifá, one of Africa’s oldest and most sophisticated systems of divination, is facing a new kind of threat. not from colonial erasure or missionary pressure, but from the unchecked influence of social media and popular entertainment. This warning echoed throughout the 1st Africana Indigenous Religious Week, an international online conference held from August 18 to 20, 2025, which brought together leading scholars and practitioners of Indigenous Religions across Africa and the diaspora.
Dr. Samuel Káyọ̀de Olálẹ́yẹ́
The program, jointly organized by PANAFSTRAG (Pan-Africana Strategic and Policy Research Group, Nigeria), the IFA-VOODOO LAB (LAREFA, University of Abomey-Calavi, Benin) and the Centre de Cultures Akanga (Porto Novo, Benin Republic), attracted a wide range of presenters and participants from Nigeria, Benin, South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Brazil, the Caribbean, and Europe. Each participant presented original research on Indigenous Religions, contributing to what many hailed as one of the most significant digital gatherings on Africa’s ancestral spiritualities to date.
A highlight of the conference came from Dr. Samuel Káyọ̀de Olálẹ́yẹ́ of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, who presented a paper titled “Creativity, Distortion versus Authenticity: Contemporary Ifá Creation on Social Media, a Case Study of Odù Ogbè Ganu.” In his presentation, Dr. Samuel Káyọ̀de Olálẹ́yẹ́ criticized the rise of fabricated Ifá verses circulating on TikTok, YouTube, and Nollywood films. He explained how self-proclaimed Babaláwo and spiritual influencers invent verses without grounding in the 256 canonical Odù Ifá, from Èjìogbè to Òfún Méjì, turning sacred knowledge into vulgar entertainment.
He highlighted the fabricated so-called “Ogbè Ganu” verse—filled with crude references to sexual organs and modern objects , as a dangerous example of how misinformation spreads unchecked. “Ifá is not a theatre script, neither is it a tool for cheap entertainment,” Dr. Samuel Káyọ̀de Olálẹ́yẹ́ warned “ To invent verses without lineage knowledge or initiation is sacrilege. It undermines centuries of Yoruba intellectual and spiritual heritage.”
Dr Olaleye’s intervention was not the only voice of urgency. Scholars from across Africa and beyond contributed perspectives on similar challenges facing other Indigenous Religions. Papers addressed issues of Vodun rituals in Benin, the Tiv traditions in Nigeria, the misrepresentation of Bori practices in the north, and the cultural stereotypes shaping the global perception of Zulu, Tswana, Sotho, Xhosa, and Ndebele spiritualities.
Among the scholars and cultural leaders who presented papers were Dr. Gnimankou (Centre Akanga, Benin Republic); Prof. C. Okoro (University of Lagos, Nigeria – Ifá); Prof. Kakpo M. (Ifá-Vodun Centre, University of Abomey-Calavi, Benin – Vodun); Prof. D. Shishima (Benue State University, Nigeria – Tiv); Mrs. M. Ruthie Gadzama (PhD Candidate, University of Jos, Nigeria – Bori); Prof. Tabona Shoko (University of Zimbabwe, Harare); Prof. J. Mokhoati (University of South Africa – Sotho); Dr. L. Khuzwayo (University of South Africa, Pretoria – Zulu); Dr. S. Setume (University of Botswana – Tswana); Princess Palessa (Cultural Activist – Swati); L. Z. Khumayo (PhD Candidate – Batwa); Dr. Mlisa (Cleric – Xhosa); Dr. Click (University of Zimbabwe – Ndebele); Dr. Ulrich Kleinhempel (University of Free State, South Africa , Dr. Adeyinka Olaiya (São Paulo, Brazil); Ms. Esuseeke O-Griffith (PANAFSTRAG, Trinidad); Baba Ṣàngóleke Orlando (Brazil); Ms. Marian Papenfuss (PhD Candidate, University of Bayreuth, Germany – AIR in Mexico); General Ishola Williams (Rtd.) (PANAFSTRAG, Lagos, Nigeria); and Prof. Félix Ayoh Omidire (Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria).
Their presentations demonstrated that while each tradition has its specific struggles, the broader pattern is the same: ancestral knowledge is increasingly being reshaped—or distorted—by digital circulation, popular culture, and globalization. “The distortion of Indigenous Religion is not a Yoruba problem alone. It is an African problem,” remarked Prof. Felix Ayoh Omidire , stressing the need for fidelity to ancestral authenticity even in the age of creativity and digital freedom.
Although participants expressed concern, the tone of the gathering remained hopeful. Scholars agreed that online platforms, if used with responsibility and proper custodianship, could become invaluable tools for education, preservation, and intergenerational continuity. “What is required,” one participant concluded, “is the leadership of authentic custodians, trained priests, and serious scholars—so that our religions are not reduced to spectacle, but elevated as systems of ethics, philosophy, and identity.”
As Dr. Samuel Káyọ̀de Olálẹ́yẹ́ emphasized in his paper, Ifá and other African religions are not static relics but living philosophies. Yet without vigilance, their survival risks being compromised by opportunism. “If we allow fabricated verses to dominate public space,” he warned, “we risk eroding not just ritual accuracy but the moral fabric and ancestral respect embedded in Ifá. Misrepresentation of Ifá is not creativity—it is desecration.” The conference ended with a resounding call: to defend, document, and transmit Indigenous Religions with integrity, while engaging the modern world on African terms.
The Indigenous religions advocate , General Ishola Williams (Rtd.) of PANAFSTRAG urged African institutions, spiritual leaders, and academics to form stronger collaborations to safeguard the integrity of Indigenous Religions as vital pillars of Africa’s cultural sovereignty.
