The Five Blessings of Ifá: Reclaiming Black Futures Through Afro-Indigenous Spirituality

Data analyst Felder maps core concepts from the 10,000-year-old African spiritual system of Ifá onto contemporary notions of self-care and mutual aid in her intimate if scattered debut. Noting that the spiritual tradition has been “flattened” by “colonial mistranslations” that liken it to Abrahamic faiths, she centers its emphasis on “deciphering information from the natural world to inform our physical, mental, and spiritual lives.” From there, Felder describes how Ifá’s five central blessings—for longevity, wealth, marriage, children, and “victory over negative forces”—have been innovated across the Black diaspora. For example, aiku—the blessing of longevity—takes shape through Indigenous seed keeping, urban farming, and other sustainable practices that let Black people control how food is produced in their communities, connecting with the Earth and healing their bodies in the process. (The flexibility of such adaptive practices, Felder argues, also ensures longevity of the Ifá tradition itself.) Though some readers may find Felder’s interpretations selective and too closely hewn to her personal experiences (the chapter on wealth and abundance stitches in recollections of her own childhood holiday meals without making clear how they bear on the blessing of wealth), her enthusiasm for “the beauty and complexity of Black life and culture” is unfailingly enthusiastic and expansive. The result is an insightful if imperfect ode to the richness of Black spiritual traditions. (Oct.)