Customer Reviews

The Way of Orisa: Empowering Your Life Through the Ancient African Religion of Ifa

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This is a book that I would only recommend to a novice or newcomer in the Yoruba studies and culture. For a practitioner or an avid student or person with knowledge on the subject matter is leaves you saying "Where's the beef".

It is written in a rather sophmoric manner that may only be satisfying to a very very new beginner in the Yoruba religion, or Santeria or a newly initiated person. For practitioners of Ifa, or accomplished practitioners of Santeria or Yoruba's religion, it will leave you longing for more...... much much more.

I hope that this accomplished author will find it in his heart to write more with more substance in the future as I am sure that he is well capable of doing.

This is a book that I would only recommend to a non-Yoruba religion practicing person who is interested in learning BASIC concepts of the religion and it's practices.

This book is okay, and I really do not like to write bad reviews, I hate being a critic to others works. But since I own this book I felt the need to state my opinion. Okay this book is a bit confusing and misleading. It misleads you on the whole Egun section. As I was reading it, I kept thinking of that old Batman TV commercials. "Same Bat channel, Same Bat station!" These part makes no sense, and it seams kind of foolish First of all time is a concept created buy Mankind, "the Living!" And it really seams sort of ridiculous thinking your Ancestors run such a tight Time Schedule, that you have to call them at the same time, and if you do not, then you have to start al over. Where this information came from I do not know. Sadly many people, who have little knowledge of Orisha Worship or Espiritismo, believe this as fact.

Then there is the section of Yemaya and Olokun and how the author says that Santeria and the Lucumis have seperated and Orisha and created two. Meaning that Yemaya and Olokun are one and the same. This is an interesting point, but lets face it, in Africa Olokun is the deity that rules the Ocean depths, while Yemaya is the deity that rules motherhood and water in general. Also Olokun originated in Benin while Yemaya originated more in Oyo.

This book is another book claiming to be more Yoruba, or more Ifa, and of course knocking down Lucumi in the process, but then again if you look at the section on the Boveda, it would be interesting to note that this is a Boveda as constructed in the Lucumi tradition, and not the Yoruba tradition.

This book is okay for those interested in "New Age American Ifa." ( "You know the kind that recieve Eleggua and Intiations through the Mail.") But for those who are serious and respectful in the traditions of the Orishas, this book is not completely accurate.

This book, highly praised by some, yet not taken seriously by many highly respected initiates in the Ifa'Orisa community is, on one hand, an "interesting" introduction to a very "western" version of the Ifa tradition (that has little to do with the way the religion is practices in Nigeria. "Interesting" is not necessarily a good thing. For exaple, the author's absolutely false joining of Yemoja & Olokun reflect a lack of knowledge regarding the religion & ignorance regarding the background of each of these Orisa. It is this lack of knowledge, when circulated, that creates false practices in the United States, Cuba & elsewhere. If one reads this book, take it with a grain of sand. The truths in this book sound strangely familar to things written in more reliable texts. The rest... is not only untrue, but founded on nothing more than intellectual understanding of a religion that can be only be known spiritually. Beware!

How much you enjoy this book will hindge on how you view the efforts of White people to "de-africanize" Traditional African Religion. Many of us that have lived the Yoruba/Orisa'Ifa lifestyle are very uncomfortable with his blatant attempt to misled people into believing that any part of the Yoruba pantheon are white or european. In this way, I am speaking about his description of Obatala. This is beyond irresponsible, its malicious. But I suppose its no more malicious than trying to make outsiders believe he has the leader of a nonexisting "American Ifa" movement that seems to inch further and further away from tradition each day.

He also attempts to make a definitive statement about the relationship of Yemoja and Olokun, choosing to use Nigerian name dropping to purposefully deceive people into believing that these two Spiritual Entities are one in the same, when they are not and never have been. Why he does this, I am not sure. Why he makes the case that you cannot work with one without the other I have no idea. But misusing the names of others to validate he inaccurate information and continuing to publish it rather than make adjustments to future printings even now that the Orisa have asked for the language to be changed is disrespectful and amoral.

So, again how and if you enjoy this book will depend largely upon how important you believe it is that westerners stop exploiting, redesigning and strongarming indigenous people and their culture. This is nothing more than a continuation of the acts that escalated into the Transatlantic Slave Trade and later Jim Crow. Its oppressive.

This makes it easy to forget about the books brief moments of clarity and just beeline it to a more accurate book with no racist leanings.

DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME, MONEY OR SPIRITUAL THOUGHT ON THIS HORRIBLE BOOK!!!
RULE NUMBER ONE:
Obatala is not, was not and never will be a white man. Why would a white person be a supreme being in an African religion?? The Yoruba of antiquity were not brainwashed westerner's. They were highy intelligent and skilled people.
RULE NUMBER TWO:
Never never never venerate any ancestor that has raped or sexually molested you or anyone else. If you find these entities lurking around you or your home, seek professional spiritual cleansing immediately! The only ancestors that should be venerated are those who have lived a long life and who have lived it righteously. The ancestors are venerated for wisdom, guidance and counsel on morals and ethics. If a person abused you in any way obviously they have no morals and ethics and did not live their life upright. What can a molestor show you...how to hurt some more!!

Neimark is a businessman feeding off the spritual starvation of contemporary Americans. Anybody who is anybody in the IFA community knows that he accepts the riff-raff and rejects, that can't and won't be initiated by honorable, qualified and knowledgable Ifa high Priests and Priestesses. He writes all of his books from this standpoint...to attract the confused.

Odabo!

This book is fair and has a good summary of the Orisha. What lower its'rating by this devotee of the religion is its' misnomer by the author.He states that the Orisha "Obatala" is a "white" Orisha.Oba=king T'ala=refers to white cloth.All Orisha are African in origin.

This book serves as a good primer for those who are interested in Ifá, but one must keep in mind that this is the African way of worshipping the Orishas, not the Santería way. I feel it is important to make the distinction to those who are interested in learning more about Santería specifically. The religion changed a lot when it crossed the Atlantic, and although there are strings of likenesses and about 60% of it is shared between Ifá and Santería, one must be careful not to get confused when first learning about a spritual path. If you are looking for Ifá then I would say to start here. If you are looking for Santería check out different books (not Migene Gonzales Wippler's) for a better understanding there.

This book does a nice job of explaining the different orishas, their characteristics and their attributes. It is a little lacking in depth, but I think that is to its benefit because it is a primer, a beginning - a place to start. Keep that in mind when purchasing this book.

Best of luck and peace!

Editing review - I did not intend to give five stars but ONE star. Full disclosure, when I first read this book, I thought it was great. But that was when I didn't know any better. Today, I can tell you that this is one of the most inauthentic primers of our faith out today. It claims to promote and praise ony branch of faith (Traditional Yoruba), while mocking another (Santeria), but then offers what is basically thinly veiled Santeria. His explanations and descriptions are out of the New Age cliche catalog. If you are just starting your journey to Orisa, pick up Joseph Murphy , Wande Abimbola or just about anybody else. NOT THIS BOOK. santeria.blog.com

If you are new to Orisa worship, the are much better places to start. I apologize for being so harsh, but I truly feel that this book is dangerous! It is just another token in the ongoing caucasian attempt to rewrite, revamp and europeanize everything African.
For the record, Baba Obatala has never been, and will never be, a caucasian man. He is the chief of white, meaning he is pure of essence and spirit. He is the embodiment of purity, healing, peace and calm.
For the sake of your spirit, keep your worship as pure as possible. This culture is not based on mail-order initiations and online godparents. Mr. Neimark is capitalizing on people's spiritual emptiness and lack of guidance. I pray for those who follow him.

I reviewed this book earlier as a new initiate. As the years passed and I investigated Niemark, I have found him to be a fraud. Some of his descriptions of the Orisa, likes, dislikes are misleading and inaccurate. Also, he practices the religion like a priest/pimp. You cannot be initiated online although he does. He is like many Europeans/Caucasians who try to immerse themselves in Black/African culture in order to exploit it for their own benefit. Legitimate priests know him to be a fraud and have nothing to do with him or his institute. Don't waste your money. He is shunned by the Yoruba/Lukumi/Santeria community. Although it is well-written, this is not a reputable source of information.