The Araba, Chief Priest of Ifa: "Yoruba Religion at the Crossroads"
Ifarinwale Ogundiran ("The Araba")
The Araba is the Chief Priest of Ifa, a traditional Yoruba religion, of the town of Modakeke, Nigeria. He has worked with scholars from American and European universities conducting research on his life and Yoruba religions. The visit incorporated dance and drum performance of various orisa rhythms, and a discussion of the Yoruba religion's inclusive cosmology and the challenges it faces in the increasingly exclusive religious landscape of contemporary Nigeria.
Public Event
Yoruba Religion at the Crossroads [October 11, 2017 video]
Theme for Fall 2017: IN / EXclusion
The processes of inclusion and exclusion involve both human and natural forms of curation. Who or what gains full or partial participation, or none? At the human level, consider excommunication and ecumenicalisms, outcasts and elites, the intellectual and creative margins and accepted canons. In the physical world, a foreign body enclosed in a mass, an inert or incendiary combination of elements. In architectural design, theories and policies of walls.
