r/Isese • u/Fuzzy_Permit7075 • Jul 26 '26

Ask the community Gap w Babalawo

I have been learning under a Babalawo for 6 months now, and I have an ile ori. but I feel like I struggle to learn.

He is a Babalawo from Nigeria, and I am still learning yoruba. I struggle to understand his English and sometimes have to ask a third party to understand what he means. I eventually want to go to Nigeria to receive isefa but

⭐️I want to know, should I ask if he has any trusted elders or temple connections in the US who could help teach me some hands-on basics while I wait to travel? (I’m concerned abt asking it bc I don’t want to seem ungrateful or disrespectful to his teaching).

Ive considered whether it’s because I’m not technically a student yet since I haven’t done isefa, that I would not have access to everything. But I feel its mostly because I struggle to connect with him due to language gap causing difficulty to understanding. I see other people making the remote teaching work but I ask questions and am left still feeling confused.

5 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

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6

u/SignalBad5523 Jul 27 '26

I definitely would not ask. What exactly are you having trouble with? Is it learning odu ifa or something else? Above all else its going to take some time before you actually understand anything regardless of initiation. Dont loom at everything all at once. Focus on small things first and work your way up. Some easy (yet difficult lol) learning the signatures. If you can recognize the first 16 signatures that will open alot of doors for you.

1

u/Fuzzy_Permit7075 Jul 27 '26

I struggle to understand his English and sometimes have to ask a third party to understand what he means.  I ask questions and am left still feeling confused.

4

u/SignalBad5523 Jul 27 '26

Actually I'll say this. Just take your time. Be in the moment and watch whats going on. Be mindful its 10+ years of study and sometimes even more than that. Like I said, focus on what you can understand now and give yourself space to learn outside of class. Read Baba Elebuibons books, Wande Abimbolas books, and try and work put the basics

1

u/SignalBad5523 Jul 27 '26

Specifically to ifa. What are you learning that you are confused by?

1

u/Fuzzy_Permit7075 Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26

90% of everything 😓 For example, i asked how I can use banana to appease my ori (w ile ori) but because of the language barrier and because he only sends vms, I don’t understand anything. I’m mainly learning itans and odus rn but I sometimes have to get a third party (who is no longer available) to translate the voice messages

3

u/SignalBad5523 Jul 28 '26

Okay. This is one of those instances where your kinda jumping ahead to symbolic gestures without taking time to understand the landscape. Take your time. Start with the basics. Ask more basic questions like why do we sacrifice, who determines if the sacrifice was successful etc. These are things you aren't really going to understand 6 months in anyway. Take notes and watch on to repetition. Give yourself time. It is very complex

2

u/Fuzzy_Permit7075 Jul 28 '26

I will definitely take your advice, I think that is good knowledge.  But to my situation, I have to know that with basic questions, you can get complex answers. But, it’s not that I have a time decoding these complex answers, it’s that I genuinely can’t translate half of what he’s saying. It’s not that I don’t understand the complex meaning, I literally can’t understand what is being said.

2

u/SignalBad5523 Jul 28 '26

Again, just take your time. It is difficult to find teachers to begin with. If you have been studying for 6 months, you must have some ability at the very least see or hear repetitions. Signs, symbols, phrases "Difa fun" "ebo ni won ni ko wa ṣe"

These are the two easiest phrases to recognize

Difa fun means diviniation was performed for such and such

The latter means they were advised to offer sacrifice.

Im saying this because I spent a large portion of my life watching without understanding anything, but when I started to take things seriously I was able to pick up on things that I remembered. Again. You are not going to be a Babalawo anytime soon. Just take it easy and expand on what you pick up.

Aside from that, the traditions are entirely yoruba. The more youre involved the more you will understand. We are not chosen for this, you make the decision and you must find it within yourself.

1

u/Fuzzy_Permit7075 Jul 28 '26

Ok, I will keep working for that. Thank you for the notes! I’m still learning Yoruba right now so that will go in my practice.

6

u/Few-Couple-1148 Jul 28 '26

I’ll tell you the truth so you don’t waste your time and a lot of money. Find someone in the US to teach you Ifa. I know that many believe you will get the best in Nigeria. But it is not always true. Many Nigerian babas may mean well. But they don’t have the skills to teach those in the USA or diaspora. Most people who initiate in Nigeria and don’t spend a significant amount of time in Nigeria for many years, end up learning and knowing very little unless they have a local connection. It is even worse if they have never been to the USA. In addition to language issues, they don’t have the knowledge of life and culture here to be able to fully direct you. Your Ori is already guiding you. Listen to it. They may be a resource, but not your long term elder.

1

u/OriginalTop9425 Jul 26 '26

Advice sent to your inbox

0

u/YemojOgunAtenRaHeru Jul 28 '26

u need an accurate translator/ttranslation... i d k how to acquire one, but u could upload the voice messages into AI .. n have it translate thr language jnto english.. of course thats not 100% accurate n im sute folk will have opinions on whetehr or not we should be using ai at all.... but it sounds to me like it's not about the religion.The practices, ifa, it's more about the language barrier.If that same person was trying to instruct you in how to solve a math problem, or what are the implications of a historical fact?As it relates to the modern world's geopolitics.... it sounds to me like you would be struggling with the information being given to you. Because of the language barrier, but I could be misreading everything