An exploration into soteriology in ifa: Oral and intangible heritage for humanity

This article explores the concept of soteriology-the doctrine of salvation. Soteriology is central to Christian theology and is also fundamental to African indigenous religions and cultures. This article is an attempt to give theoretical and practical supports to the existence of soteriological concepts in African indigenous religion as evidenced in Ifa; an oral tradition of the Yoruba. It clarifies and reinforces the general assumptions that Ifa has certain theological ideas and that it is a principal source of African theology. The study claims that Ifa, which has been defined by UNESCO as an "oral and intangible heritage," if studied thoroughly, reveals the underlying African theologies of salvation. The theological content of African indigenous religion has been the concern of scholars in contextual or inculturation theology. This study opines that extensive study of Ifa is essential to the understanding of the Yoruba concept of salvation. The concept of salvation for any people is fundamental to the way they seek to utilize this belief as a means of solving their deepest problems in life. Most religions give emphasis to salvation in one form or another, and, as such, have their own developed forms of soteriology.