One of the original spiritual practices in Africa, especially in Yorúbáland, is Ifá worship. It’s a widely practised belief system and plays a critical role in the traditions of Santeria and other Afro-American faiths. “Esu is not Satan,” Orisa priestess Ifawemimo Omitonade told Brittle Paper in a 2016 interview. “This is a grave misconception of who Esu is in the Yoruba tradition.”
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Ifá worship and other variants of African religious practises are steeped in misconceptions, fuelled by the monopoly of non-African religions like Christianity and Islam. Which is why Beyond Tolerance, a documentary produced by filmmakers Amaka Vanni and Rafeeat Aliyu, is a necessary tool in eradicating these erroneous beliefs. The one-minute trailer released recently offers a snapshot of Ifá worshippers and followers. We meet Ayinke Omidan Adefemi, an agricultural entrepreneur whose room is dotted with Ifá paraphernalia and symbols. “Different strokes for different folks,” she says, in response to the decision to follow the African religious path.
So excited to share the trailer for Beyond Tolerance! Produced @msamaka and me, coming soon to screens near you. pic.twitter.com/iK6OZAdT8m
— Rafeeat Aliyu (@rafeeeeta) September 25, 2018
What’s interesting about her comments is where she says she was born into a Christian home. The camera then pans to her bowing down on the floor as if to show her allegiance to Ifá. The trailer gives us an idea of the tone of the documentary, a string of interviews and perspectives challenging the danger of a single story. “It’s against the laws of Ifá to use humans as sacrifice,” an Ifá historian says, countering the overarching perception that African traditional worship is inherently evil. Beyond Tolerance is almost in the same vein as documentary film In Search of Voodoo: Roots to Heaven, the directorial debut of Beninese actor Djimon Hounsou, whose work on the project tried to re-examine the misunderstood religion of Voodoo.
Beyond Tolerance is set to premiere at this year’s Ake Festival, so make your way there next month.
Read » ‘Beyond Tolerance’ is the documentary trying to set the record straight about African traditional worship on YNaija
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