Geocrisiographer | Mapping global crises, conflict, and opportunity Founder of Geocrisisography & Homoluminouslogy
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IFA: YORUBA ORIGIN OR ARAB IMPORT? LET'S SETTLE IT
You are confusing similarity with origin.
Yes, Ilm al-Raml uses 16 figures and 256 combinations. Ifa also uses 16 + 256 Odu. That is a shared binary math, not proof of copying.
Al-Zanati was Berber, not Arab from Aswan. And the earliest clear Arabic geomancy texts are 9th century CE. There is no manuscript showing Arabs brought it to Yorubaland.
The figures look similar, but the content is not. Geomancy = short interpretation. Ifa Odu = thousands of verses, stories, medicine, sacrifice, and a whole cosmology around Olodumare, Orunmila, Ori and Iwa Pele.
Sikidy in Madagascar was clearly influenced by Arabic geomancy. Ifa is debated by scholars - shared ancestor, parallel development, or limited exchange. No scholar has proven "Yoruba imported it from Arabs."
And your own example defeats you. You said Fon call it Fa, Ewe call it Afa. Why do Fon, Ewe and Ga all point back to Ile-Ife?
Ga oral tradition, recorded by historians Kilson and Quaye, says Ga came from Ile-Ife. In 2022, Ga Mantse King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II went to Ile-Ife himself and reaffirmed it before the Ooni.
Fon oral tradition also says they mixed with Yoruba Gedevi on Abomey plateau. Ewe tradition says they left Ile-Ife through Ketu.
So Ile-Ife was the centre everyone was moving OUT of - not a place importing its religion from Arab caravans.
Ifa is not Esin Arabu. It has no Quran, no Islamic cosmology. If similarity = origin, then Arabic geomancy is also Esin Africa, because al-Zanati was Berber and the figures predate Arab manuscripts.
Yoruba did not invent Ifa. They imported it.
Before you let your emotions take over, calm yourself down. The original name of this system was ΚΏIlm al-Raml, The Science of Sand. It was developed by Black populations in Aswan and the Nile Valley long before it ever reached West Africa.
The whole framework is pure binary mathematics. It uses a base of 16 figures that multiply out into 256 probabilities. This is what Yoruba people call the 256 Odu.
If you want to know, go and read the historical manuscripts of North African scholars especially that of Shaykh Abdallah al-Zanati.
He documented this binary science centuries ago. Every single one of the 16 primary Odu in Ifa has a direct Arabic mathematical equivalent in Zanatiβs records.
The figure the Arabs called Tariq is what the Yoruba call Ogbe. The figure they called Jama'a is what the Yoruba call Oyeku. The mathematical coding is identical. You cannot debate this.
When ancient people migrated from the Nubian corridors and Arab Trans-Saharan trade routes opened up, Islamic scholars and merchants brought this architectural blueprint with them into West Africa.
The Yoruba are genius custodians. They assimilated it brilliantly. They mapped this imported Arab-transmitted science onto their own indigenous cosmology, attributed it to Orunmila, and named it Ifa.
But being a great preserver is not the same as being the originator.
This is why you find the very same system everywhere along those migration routes. The Fon call it Fa. The Ewe call it Afa. In Madagascar it is Sikidy. The medieval Europeans even copied it and translated the Arabic name into Geomancy.
If we have been quiet about this, it does not mean we do not know. History does not care about modern sentiments.
By historical origin and transmission, Ifa is Esin Arabu. The blueprint came from Aswan and arrived through Arab corridors.
Facts donβt lie.
Allah knows best.
A SON CAN NOT BE GREATER THAN IS FATHER, ORANMIYAN CAME FROM IFE-
WE HAVE GONE BEYOND FIGHTING FOR WHO IS HEAD. IT IS TIME TO BUILD YORUBALAND.
There have been several disagreements online regarding who is the supreme king of the Yoruba.
The Alaafin seems to be very confrontational, decorating himself as the supreme head of the Yoruba.
While the Ooni of Ife has not been so outspoken about being supreme, his attitude of comportment and his role as the Yoruba custodian around the world has shown that he is so powerful.
But let us be honest with ourselves.
This fight is no longer necessary.
The Yoruba race has gone beyond fighting for head.
We need to see how we can improve our region, build our people, and live a better legacy.
What is the role of a king in this era?
It should be more of contributing to the progress and success of the Yoruba race.
The Alaafin is king in his domain.
The Ooni is king in his domain.
The Alake is king in his domain.
The Olubadan is king in his domain.
The Awujale, the Owa Obokun, the Deji, the Oba of Lagos, and several other first-class kings β all are kings in their domains.
No one can take that away from them.
These monarchs should UNITE to promote Yoruba civilization. Not competition for superiority.
Because we are no longer in the era of the old empire.
We are in a DEMOCRATIC era.
In the old days, kings fought for land, for tribute, for empire.
Today, the battle is different. The battle is for education, for jobs, for security, for good roads, for industries, for technology, for the dignity of our people.
A king today is not measured by how many kings bow to him. A king today is measured by how many children in his domain go to school. How many youths have jobs. How many businesses thrive. How many Yoruba sons and daughters in diaspora are proud to come home.
If Alaafin builds Oyo and Ooni builds Ife, and Alake builds Abeokuta, and Olubadan builds Ibadan β then Yorubaland is built.
That is true supremacy.
Let us stop dividing our fathers online. Let us stop turning our thrones into a competition.
The Ooni is our spiritual father. The Alaafin is our political father. The other Obas are our fathers too.
Let them respect each other. Let them sit at one table. Let them speak with one voice for Yoruba progress.
Yoruba is too big, too rich in history, too blessed in culture to be reduced to βwho is number one.β
We are ONE.
Let us build. Let us unite. Let us leave a legacy that our children will be proud of.
#YorubaCivilization
In Ile-Ife, Ifa crowns kings. Ifa chooses the Ooni. Ifa settles the throne.
In Arab lands, geomancy never crowned a king.
A borrowed system cannot be the kingmaker of a civilization. Only the source can.
Ifa speaks Yoruba. Odu Ifa speaks Yoruba. Oriki speaks Yoruba. Iwe Ifa speaks Yoruba.
Not Arabic. Not Berber. Yoruba.
A borrowed religion would speak the language of its lender. Ifa speaks OUR language.
Because Ifa is OURS.
IFA: YORUBA ORIGIN OR ARAB IMPORT? LET'S SETTLE IT
You are confusing similarity with origin.
Yes, Ilm al-Raml uses 16 figures and 256 combinations. Ifa also uses 16 + 256 Odu. That is a shared binary math, not proof of copying.
Al-Zanati was Berber, not Arab from Aswan. And the earliest clear Arabic geomancy texts are 9th century CE. There is no manuscript showing Arabs brought it to Yorubaland.
The figures look similar, but the content is not. Geomancy = short interpretation. Ifa Odu = thousands of verses, stories, medicine, sacrifice, and a whole cosmology around Olodumare, Orunmila, Ori and Iwa Pele.
Sikidy in Madagascar was clearly influenced by Arabic geomancy. Ifa is debated by scholars - shared ancestor, parallel development, or limited exchange. No scholar has proven "Yoruba imported it from Arabs."
And your own example defeats you. You said Fon call it Fa, Ewe call it Afa. Why do Fon, Ewe and Ga all point back to Ile-Ife?
Ga oral tradition, recorded by historians Kilson and Quaye, says Ga came from Ile-Ife. In 2022, Ga Mantse King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II went to Ile-Ife himself and reaffirmed it before the Ooni.
Fon oral tradition also says they mixed with Yoruba Gedevi on Abomey plateau. Ewe tradition says they left Ile-Ife through Ketu.
So Ile-Ife was the centre everyone was moving OUT of - not a place importing its religion from Arab caravans.
Ifa is not Esin Arabu. It has no Quran, no Islamic cosmology. If similarity = origin, then Arabic geomancy is also Esin Africa, because al-Zanati was Berber and the figures predate Arab manuscripts.
If Ifa came from Arabs, how did it travel?
By camel? By ship? By book?
But Ile-Ife in 800 AD had no Arab book, no Arab school, no Arab teacher.
Yet Ifa was already there. Explain that.
IfΓ‘ vs. Al-Raml: Why The Yoruba Ancient Wisdom System Is Entirely Its Own
For decades, Eurocentric history books and Arab islamists claimed that complex mathematical ideas had to be imported into West Africa. A common theory suggested that IfΓ‘, the profound Yoruba system of wisdom and divination, was merely a derivative of Aliramy (βIlm al-Raml or Arabic geomancy), which spread across the Sahel between the 9th and 10th centuries.
But modern scholarship, oral history, and deep structural analysis reveal a different truth: IfΓ‘ is an indigenous West African marvel that far predates external contact, possessing a depth of human philosophy that Aliramy simply does not hold.
They say "Ilm al-Raml" means "Science of the Sand."
We say "Ifa" means wisdom, divination, the word of Orunmila.
One is named after SAND. One is named after WISDOM.
Which one sounds like the original?
Our ancestors did not need paper to be intelligent.
Ifa was stored in MEMORY, in VERSE, in RITUAL.
Just because Samuel Johnson wrote it in 1921 does not mean Ifa started in 1921.
Just because Al-Zanati wrote in 1200 does not mean Ifa started in 1200.
Writing is not creation. Writing is recording.
Odu Ifa = 256 Odu. 16 Oju Odu + 240 Amulu Odu.
A complete system of mathematics, philosophy, medicine, ethics, and cosmology.
Ilm al-Raml has 16 figures. Ifa has 256 chapters of verses.
A river does not come from a cup. A cup comes from a river.
Ile-Ife is called "The Source" for a reason.
Not the copy. Not the student. The SOURCE.
Orunmila did not learn from the sand. The sand learned from Orunmila.
#IleIfeIsTheSource
Simple question for those saying "Ifa came from Arab geomancy":
If Ifa came from _Kitab al-Fasl_ (1200 CE), who was worshipping Ifa in Ita Yemoo Grove in the 12th Century?
Who was using the quartz tray in 800 AD?
Answer it, or stop lying.
The Bronze Post*
By the 12th Century, Ife was already casting bronze heads by lost-wax for Ifa shrines.
Al-Zanati was still 100 years away from writing his book.
A civilization that casts bronze does not borrow its religion from a book that does not exist yet.
Before Al-Zanati wrote a single page, Igbo Olokun in Ile-Ife was already making glass beads in the 11th Century.
Ide Ifa. Odigba Ifa. Crowns of Babalawo.
Ifa was already a ROYAL system. Not a borrowed idea.
IFA: YORUBA ORIGIN OR ARAB IMPORT? LET'S SETTLE IT
You are confusing similarity with origin.
Yes, Ilm al-Raml uses 16 figures and 256 combinations. Ifa also uses 16 + 256 Odu. That is a shared binary math, not proof of copying.
Al-Zanati was Berber, not Arab from Aswan. And the earliest clear Arabic geomancy texts are 9th century CE. There is no manuscript showing Arabs brought it to Yorubaland.
The figures look similar, but the content is not. Geomancy = short interpretation. Ifa Odu = thousands of verses, stories, medicine, sacrifice, and a whole cosmology around Olodumare, Orunmila, Ori and Iwa Pele.
Sikidy in Madagascar was clearly influenced by Arabic geomancy. Ifa is debated by scholars - shared ancestor, parallel development, or limited exchange. No scholar has proven "Yoruba imported it from Arabs."
And your own example defeats you. You said Fon call it Fa, Ewe call it Afa. Why do Fon, Ewe and Ga all point back to Ile-Ife?
Ga oral tradition, recorded by historians Kilson and Quaye, says Ga came from Ile-Ife. In 2022, Ga Mantse King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II went to Ile-Ife himself and reaffirmed it before the Ooni.
Fon oral tradition also says they mixed with Yoruba Gedevi on Abomey plateau. Ewe tradition says they left Ile-Ife through Ketu.
So Ile-Ife was the centre everyone was moving OUT of - not a place importing its religion from Arab caravans.
Ifa is not Esin Arabu. It has no Quran, no Islamic cosmology. If similarity = origin, then Arabic geomancy is also Esin Africa, because al-Zanati was Berber and the figures predate Arab manuscripts.
I am not Yoruba by accident. I am Yoruba by the grace of Olodumare.
My father Orunmila's intellect and ethics are great.
No one can bring down Yoruba civilization with a borrowed theory.
We are the origin.
Bring ONE material evidence of Al-Raml in Ile-Ife older than Igbo Olokun (11th Century).
Bring ONE book of geomancy older than the quartz Opon Ifa (800 AD).
If you cannot, then admit the truth:
IFA PREDATES AL-RAML.
IFA IS THE SOURE
IFA: YORUBA ORIGIN OR ARAB IMPORT? LET'S SETTLE IT
You are confusing similarity with origin.
Yes, Ilm al-Raml uses 16 figures and 256 combinations. Ifa also uses 16 + 256 Odu. That is a shared binary math, not proof of copying.
Al-Zanati was Berber, not Arab from Aswan. And the earliest clear Arabic geomancy texts are 9th century CE. There is no manuscript showing Arabs brought it to Yorubaland.
The figures look similar, but the content is not. Geomancy = short interpretation. Ifa Odu = thousands of verses, stories, medicine, sacrifice, and a whole cosmology around Olodumare, Orunmila, Ori and Iwa Pele.
Sikidy in Madagascar was clearly influenced by Arabic geomancy. Ifa is debated by scholars - shared ancestor, parallel development, or limited exchange. No scholar has proven "Yoruba imported it from Arabs."
And your own example defeats you. You said Fon call it Fa, Ewe call it Afa. Why do Fon, Ewe and Ga all point back to Ile-Ife?
Ga oral tradition, recorded by historians Kilson and Quaye, says Ga came from Ile-Ife. In 2022, Ga Mantse King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II went to Ile-Ife himself and reaffirmed it before the Ooni.
Fon oral tradition also says they mixed with Yoruba Gedevi on Abomey plateau. Ewe tradition says they left Ile-Ife through Ketu.
So Ile-Ife was the centre everyone was moving OUT of - not a place importing its religion from Arab caravans.
Ifa is not Esin Arabu. It has no Quran, no Islamic cosmology. If similarity = origin, then Arabic geomancy is also Esin Africa, because al-Zanati was Berber and the figures predate Arab manuscripts.
WHO IS THE HEAD OF THE YORUBA RACE? OONI OR ALAAFIN? LET US SETTLE IT.
This is the oldest debate in Yorubaland, and both sides are right β but they are right about different kinds of power.
Ooni sits in Ile-Ife, Osun State β Arole Oduduwa.
Alaafin sits in Oyo, Oyo State β Iku Baba Yeye.
One is the SOURCE. One is the EMPIRE.
WHY PEOPLE SAY ALAAFIN IS THE HEAD:
Because of IMPERIAL HISTORY.
From the 14th to the 18th century, Oyo was the biggest, strongest, most organised empire in Yorubaland. Army. Cavalry. Bashorun. Oyo Mesi. Trade routes. Guns. Horses. When Oyo sneezed, all Yorubaland caught cold.
Oyo conquered and influenced others. Many Obas in Ilesa, Ondo, Ekiti, Ijebu, Egbado, even Dahomey, either paid tribute to Oyo or got their beaded crown through Oyo's approval. So in people's minds: Alaafin = the one who makes kings.
Oyo also controlled the ECONOMY. Kola. Horses. Trade. Later, guns. Whoever controls trade controls power. And when the British came, they found Oyo's government easy to use. They made Alaafin a powerful Native Authority. That colonial boost made many believe Alaafin is supreme.
In short: People think Alaafin is head because OYO WAS THE GOVERNMENT. That is true. But that is only HALF the truth.
WHY PEOPLE SAY OONI IS THE HEAD:
Because of ORIGIN HISTORY.
Every Yoruba creation story starts in Ile-Ife. Oduduwa in Ile-Ife. Creation in Ile-Ife. Oranmiyan was born in Ile-Ife, then LEFT Ile-Ife to found Oyo. The son cannot be greater than the father.
Ooni is Arole Oduduwa β the direct inheritor of Oduduwa's throne. Even Alaafin traces his lineage to Oranmiyan, son of Oduduwa from Ile-Ife. You cannot be greater than your source.
In the old system: IFE CROWNS, OYO RULES. The Ooni blesses the Ida Oranmiyan β the Sword of Oranmiyan. The Alaafin receives spiritual authority from Ife on coronation. That is why even when Oyo was militarily stronger, Oyo NEVER attacked Ife. You don't fight your source. It is taboo.
And spirituality lives in Ife. Ifa was revealed in Ife. Orunmila lived in Ife. Obatala, Ogun, Osun, Sango β root shrines in Ife. The Ooni is custodian for ALL Yoruba worldwide β Nigeria, Brazil, Cuba, USA, Trinidad. Alaafin may command an army, but Ooni commands the ancestors.
In short: People think Ooni is head because ILE-IFE IS THE ORIGIN. That is also true. That is the OTHER HALF of the truth.
SO WHAT IS THE CORRECT CONCLUSION?
OONI OF IFE = SPIRITUAL HEAD OF THE YORUBA RACE. Head of origin, tradition, Ifa, Orisa, and spiritual unity.
ALAAFIN OF OYO = ADMINISTRATIVE / POLITICAL HEAD OF THE YORUBA RACE. Head of empire, governance, diplomacy, and political organisation.
One is the FATHER. One is the ELDER SON WHO BECAME A KING. A father does not compete with his son. A son does not disrespect his father. If Ooni tries to be Alaafin, he loses his spiritual power. If Alaafin tries to be Ooni, he loses his historical legitimacy.
What Yoruba needs now is NOT a fight for who is number 1. Yoruba needs: Ooni to unite us spiritually. Alaafin to organise us politically. Both to respect themselves and work TOGETHER IN HARMONY for the progress of the Yoruba race.
Ife is the ROOT. Oyo is the BRANCH. A tree needs both to stand. When the spiritual head and the administrative head work together, NO ONE can bring down Yoruba civilization.
I am not Yoruba by accident. I am Yoruba by the grace of Olodumare. Let us stop dividing our fathers. Let us honour both thrones.
#OoniOfIfe #AlaafinOfOyo #YorubaCivilization #IleIfe #Oyo #Oduduwa #Oranmiyan
IFA DID NOT COME FROM SAND. SAND CAME FROM IFA. β AL-ZANATI WROTE IN 1200 CE, IFA WAS ALREADY IN STONE IN 800 AD
IFA IS OLDER THAN SAND SCIENCE. PERIOD.
Some people still push the lie that Ifa came from Islamic geomancy, from "sand science", from Arab _Ilm al-Raml_.
Let us settle it with MATERIALS, not mouth, and with NAMES and DATES.
There is NO single wooden Opon Ifa from Ile-Ife dated 1,000 years ago β not because Ifa is young, but because WOOD ROTS in Ile-Ife forest soil.
What we DO have in Ile-Ife is older than any book of geomancy ever written:
1. Igbo Olokun β 11th Century
The glass bead workshop at Igbo Olokun was producing beads in the 11th century. Beads are the heart of Ifa regalia β Ide Ifa, Odigba Ifa, crowns of Babalawo. Ifa was already a fully formed royal system before the first book of sand science was compiled.
2. Ife Terracotta & Bronze β 12th to 14th Century
By the late 12th century, Ife artisans were already casting naturalistic bronze heads and terracottas by lost-wax for Ifa and Obatala shrines. This is a civilization already practicing, already carving, already worshipping β centuries before geomancy books spread.
3. Ita Yemoo Grove β 12th-13th Century
Excavations show the oldest level at Ita Yemoo belongs to the 12th and 13th century. This was a ritual centre of Ifa priests, kings and shrines. Not a theory. A site. Dug. Dated.
4. Quartz Opon Ifa / Quartz Stools β Pre-Pavement Era, 800-1000 AD
Bascom recorded a tray in Ife carved of QUARTZ, believed to belong to Ifa himself. Quartz cannot be carbon-dated, but quartz stools are among the oldest stone objects in Ife. Stone does not rot. Stone remembers.
Now, let us name their own book:
The most famous and foundational book on _Ilm al-Raml_ β the "science of the sand" β is:
Writer: Shaykh Muhammad al-Zanati, a Berber Shaykh
Book: _Kitab al-Fasl fi Usul 'Ilm al-Raml_ β "The Book of the Chapter on the Principles of the Science of the Sand"
Date: c. 1200 CE β around the 13th century
That is the book they point to as the source of geomancy. That is the book that spread it across North Africa, the Islamic world, and into Europe.
1200 CE.
Compare that to Ile-Ife:
Igbo Olokun β 11th Century, already 100-200 years BEFORE al-Zanati wrote his book.
Quartz Opon Ifa β 800-1000 AD, already 200-400 years BEFORE al-Zanati was even born.
Ita Yemoo β 12th Century, already standing when al-Zanati was writing.
So how can Ifa come from a book written in 1200 CE, when Ifa was already in STONE, in BEADS, in BRONZE, in SHRINES in Ile-Ife centuries before that book existed?
It cannot.
IFA PREDATES AL-RAML. IFA PREDATES AL-ZANATI.
Ifa did not borrow from _Kitab al-Fasl fi Usul 'Ilm al-Raml_.
_Kitab al-Fasl_ did not create Ifa.
There is NO link. There is NO origin.
Ifa is indigenous. Ifa is Yoruba. Ifa is from Ile-Ife, the source.
Orunmila did not learn from the sand. The sand learned from Orunmila.
The Odu Ifa β 256 Odu, 16 Oju Odu + 240 Amulu Odu β is a complete mathematical, philosophical and spiritual system of its own. It was oral before it was written, because our ancestors stored knowledge in memory, in verse, in ritual β not in paper.
Samuel Johnson wrote it in 1921. Bascom studied it in 1969. UNESCO recognised it in 2008.
But Ifa was already ancient before any of them held a pen, and ancient before al-Zanati held his.
I am not Yoruba by accident. I am Yoruba by the grace of Olodumare.
Stop telling us our father borrowed his wisdom from a 13th-century book.
Ifa is the source.
#IfaIsOlder #IleIfe #Orunmila #YorubaCivilization #OponIfa #IfaPredatesGeomancy #NoLinkToSandScience #AlZanati #KitabAlFasl
Al-Zanati wrote _Kitab al-Fasl fi Usul 'Ilm al-Raml_ in c. 1200 CE.
Ile-Ife Quartz Opon Ifa is 800-1000 AD.
Do the math. 800 AD is BEFORE 1200 CE.
Ifa did not come from Al-Raml. Al-Raml came 400 years later.
Did you read the paper inside the link you just posted, or did you just ask an AI to find you a link and copy-paste it without opening it?
Because I just opened your link and screenshotted page 249 for everyone to see. You just scored the biggest own-goal of this entire thread.Β This makes me doubt if you even know this topic.
Let me expose what is inside the paper you called a study by "the world's top scholars"β¦lol..
1) It is not an archaeological or scientific dating study by "the world's top scholars". Please stop that π
. It is a single philosophical essay written by one Nigerian philosophy lecturer, Emmanuel Ofuasia (National Open University of Nigeria), titled "α»ΜrΓΊnmΓ¬lΓ , OdΓΉ IfΓ‘, Approximately 1100".Β
2) You claimed the paper "explicitly dates Orunmila and the Odu Ifa corpus back to around 500 CE and 1100 CE".
Abaβ¦ why not read the second paragraph of the screenshot from your own link. The paper addresses Sophie Oluwole's claim of 500 BCE (you did not even know it was BCE, not CE). lol π
And here is what the author writes word-for-word: "Obviously, I do not agree with my former teacher, the late Sophie Oluwole, concerning her estimated date of 500 BCE, which lacks both corroboration within the IfΓ‘ corpus and scientific endorsement via carbon dating. Her estimate of 500 BCE is speculation, whereas my 1100 CE is an approximation".Β
Read that again. The author of your own link explicitly rejects the 500 date as unscientific speculation!Β
3) How did he get his "1100 CE approximation"?
He said and I quote: "since IlΓ©-IfαΊΉΜ and the α»Μyα»Μ Empire were thriving YorΓΉbΓ‘ communities around the ninth and twelfth centuries".
Did you check his Footnote 2 (Willett; Calvocoressi and David)?
Zero Odu Ifa artifacts were carbon-dated. Archaeologists carbon-dated general city walls and potsherds in Ile-Ife, and this philosophy lecturer guessed that because the town existed, therefore the 256 Odu must have existed there too.
Pause and think: is this how scientific dating works? If archaeologists carbon-date the ancient walls of London to 1100 CE, does that mean the iPhone existed in London in 1100 CE?
How can you carbon-date a town's soil and claim you have scientifically dated an unwritten oral binary system?
Sincerely speaking, accepting such leap in logic without questioning it shows you are not a critical reader at all.
Worse still, he claims the Oyo Empire was thriving in the 9th century (800s CE), which any historian of West Africa knows is a basic chronological error.
4) The verse you quoted ("Our IfΓ‘ became Muslim") is from OdΓΉ ΓtΓΊrΓ MΓ©jΓ¬.
Anyone who knows Yorubaland knows ΓtΓΊrΓ MΓ©jΓ¬ is the Odu of the Imale (Muslims). This Odu records how the early Babalawo observed the Muslim clerics (Alufaa), adopted their turban (lawani), copied their ablution (aluwala), imitated their dress, and absorbed their practices.
Again, look at paragraph three of your own screenshot: the author admits the corpus cannot be accessed via ANY ancient text, "only orally from traditional IfΓ‘ diviners".Β
At the end, you thought dropping a University of Chicago link would scare people away from checking it. lol.
Your own source calls the 500 date "speculation," admits 1100 CE is just an "approximation" based on town settlements rather than any Odu artifact, and presents zero physical evidence of the 16 binary figures.Β
So, my challenge remains undefeated. You have to apologize to me for stressing me because you didnβt read the paper or better still, you didnβt comprehend it.
To all of you: Bring one dated archaeological artifact or manuscript before 1100 CE bearing the 16 binary Odu signatures.
The challenge is still OPEN.
