Ifá: A Forest of Mystery by Nicholaj de Mattos Frisvold

Asides from a few attempts by people like Fagunwa, Ben Okri, Amos Tutuola, and a few others, there is a dearth of information on Nigerian indigenous religions and mythologies.

Growing up reading the Percy Jackson series, myths, and religious stories have always fascinated me.

I’m excited about picking up any book that contains information about religion and myth, and picking up this book was no less different.

As an African, I have always felt that the pre-colonial African myths and religions are not well represented in literature. Asides from a few attempts by people like Fagunwa, Ben Okri, Amos Tutuola, and a few others, there is a dearth of information on Nigerian indigenous religions and mythologies.

From the preface, I was completely hooked. The author gave a detailed explanation of the encompassing characteristics of Ifa both as a religion and Ifa being deeply rooted in the consciousness of its faithful adherents as a way of life.

Asides from a hard first start trying to grasp the philosophy of Ifa completely, the book continues seamlessly with the author interspersing proverbs, witty sayings, and songs to get his points across.

I was particularly intrigued by his explanation of Esu and his duties, whom I always believed to be just a mischievous and cruel god. This is just an example of the many ways the author clarified misconceptions in both the Ifa philosophy and Yoruba myths.

I totally recommend it as I believe this book is a must-read for Africans, particularly people of Yoruba ancestry.