This is a study of Iyanifa’s roles in Ifa divinatory practices in Yoruba land, with data collected across some selected Yoruba towns; Ibadan, Akure, Oshogbo, Oyo, Badagry, Abeokuta, Epe and Ife. This research investigated into the corpus of Ifa, with emphasis on the roles women diviners (Iyanifa) play in rituals and worship. In this study, we consider Ifa corpus as an important aspect of Yoruba traditional religion and philosophy. The objective of the study is to understand the roles of women in Ifa divination over the time. This is a study relevant to Yoruba cultural values and identities in view of Western influences and domination. The study relied on ethnography package that have started since 2001 and continued till January, 2018. The study uncovered the important roles women play in Ifa from the distant past to the contemporary time. Such roles that are both minor and major in theories and practices, if analized symbolically. The overlapping roles of the Yoruba women both in the domestic and public domains became the basis for appreciating the multitasking roles women play in the Yoruba society. And concluded that their indispensable roles give equal appreciation the society accords them as mothers, wives, business partners, care givers and diviners.
Keywords: roles; Iyanifa, women; Ifa; divination, Yoruba