Roots of Heaven

Roots of Heaven is the definitive introduction to the theology, mythology, and living gods of the Yoruba tradition—the sacred science of the Orisa and the wisdom of Ifa as it was born in West Africa, carried across the Middle Passage, and reborn across Cuba, Brazil, Trinidad, and the Americas. Written by Oluwo Jolaoso Osainbola (Ajarn Shaman Shu), a fully initiated High Priest of Osain, this volume is the essential companion to understanding one of the oldest living spiritual systems on earth—and the Ifa oracle at its heart.

Where other books reduce these traditions to superstition, Roots of Heaven restores them to their full dignity: a sophisticated theology, an encyclopedic body of sacred story, and the vast wisdom of Ifa—a civilization's accumulated knowledge, preserved by the Babalawos and honored by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

Inside you will discover:
The complete theology of the Orisa—Olodumare the Supreme Creator, Ashe the divine life force, Ori and personal destiny, and Iwa Pele, the pursuit of good character

All sixteen major Orisa—Elegua, Obatala, Yemoja, Oshun, Shango, Oya, Ogun, Oshosi, Babalu Aye, Orunmila, Olokun, Osanyin, Aganju, Ibeji, Oba, and Oduduwa—their personalities, domains, and sacred meanings

Orunmila and the Ifa oracle—the Orisa of wisdom who witnessed creation, and the divination system through which the destiny of every human being is read

The 256 Odu of Ifa—the sacred signs, their mathematical structure, and the ese (verses) that form a living encyclopedia of philosophy, medicine, and ethics

The Babalawo tradition—the "Father of Secrets," the years of study the priesthood demands, and Ifa's unbroken transmission from Ile-Ife to the diaspora

The patakís—the sacred stories of the gods, from Ogun's clearing of the forest to Oya's secrets of the dead

The mechanics of syncretism—how the enslaved masked the Orisa behind the Catholic saints to keep Ifa and the tradition alive

The full diaspora story—Lucumí and Santería in Cuba, Candomblé in Brazil, Orisha worship in Trinidad, and the tradition's growth in the United States

Comparative wisdom—the Orisa and the Ifa worldview reflected in Greek myth, Norse legend, and the archetypes of the modern imagination

Grounded in the scholarship of William Bascom, E. Bolaji Idowu, Robert Farris Thompson, and the teachings of Dr. Yosef Ben-Jochannan, Professor James Small, and Baba Jabade Powell, Roots of Heaven is both a rigorous reference and a devotional act of cultural reclamation.

Whether you are an initiate seeking deeper theological grounding, a student of Ifa and the Orisa, a scholar of African diaspora religion, or a seeker who has felt the presence of the divine without yet knowing its names, this is where the journey begins.



OrishaUniversity.com and these books represent the restoration of what was taken from our people. The 256 Odu of Ifa are the original operating system of human consciousness. Oluwo Jolaoso Osainbola has done what many generations prayed would one day be done. My full endorsement and blessing from Ile-Ife, the source of all.

— Araba Agbaye, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Àṣẹ.