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

Rating:
Summary: The journey of a thousand miles begins with this book
Review: As someone who was initiated into Santeria and did not find what I needed there, I bought this book to learn about Ifa. I wanted to know just what Ifa is, what the difference between it and Santeria is and many other questions. This book is excellent. It gave answered all my questions and gave me enough information to get started.

The best thing about this book is that it gives some guidelines for what the non-initated can do to begin practicing Ifa. It tells us how to get in touch with Orisa energy.

I needed someplace to start - and Oluwo Philip Neimark's book was the answer to my prayers. I am very thankful that he has written this book and would highly recommend it for any person looking to understand the basics of Ifa.

Rating:
Summary: Unfortunate
Review: 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!

Rating:
Summary: Valuable Resource To Have For a Long Time
Review: Ifa is about self-empowerment through good character. Good character is achieved by allowing for introspection and connection to the Orisa, Ancestors and Ori. This book will *never* lose it's value to you and you will go back to it over and over again as incorporating Ifa into your life is an ongoing process. I've had this book for close to 10 years. It was the first book I ever read on the Orisa and it comforted me and made a world of sense long before I was initiated as a priest. It is still a book I value almost five years later after priesthood. Oluwo Phil Neimark's invaluable insights into this phenomenal philosophy (Ifa) have remained a positive and inspiring influence all these years. GET THIS BOOK.

Rating:
Summary: Inaccuracies Abound
Review: Not only is this book poorly structured and riddled with inaccuracies, it has little to do with the actual practice of Ifa. I have attended workshops with Mr. Neimark and all I can say is "Run, don't walk, the other way."

Rating:
Summary: Unfortunate
Review: This book does contain much information. However, it does not go into the differences or the interdependence of Ifa and Ocha.

Rating:
Summary: Good reference
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Concise, logical, A great place to start..
Review: This book presents the orishas from the viewpoint of being primal energies, moreso then Deities or god/goddess energy.
It is definitly coming from the more African based view of orisha lore, and is not very colored with the Santeria/Lucumi interpretations.
In this, you will not find references to syncretism with the saints, nor alot of space devoted to any particular dogma, specifically.
If you are interested in stripping away the pretense of putting a face on the orisha, and more interested in just working with the energy of the orisha in raw form, I highly recomend this book.
...
Give the book a try..

Rating:
Summary: A primer of IFA
Review: 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!

Rating:
Summary: Not worthy of print!
Review: This book should be burned....was my intial reaction reading it. To this day I don't know what happen to it. Reading it made me very angry!

Rating:
Summary: Where's the beef ? Leaves you searching for more.
Review: 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.