It is unfortunate that the tradition of memorizing and chanting hundreds of stories of Ifá is rapidly disappearing. Up until a generation ago, there were Babalawos and Iyanifas who could chant ten, twenty, or more verses of Ifá in each Odù. Unfortunately, nowadays it is becoming rare to find any person, young or old, who can chant even three or four verses from each of the 256 Odù. It has, therefore, become an urgent matter to document this vast body of oral literature before it disappears.

To this end, Ifá Heritage Institute is honored to collaborate with the American Embassy in Nigeria. Thanks to their Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation, we have visited ten towns where Ifá is still very strong. At each site, we met with knowledgeable Babalawos who chanted verses of Ifá for our research team to record. If funds continue to become available, we of the Ifá Heritage Institute, Oyo, are determined to continue this important work.

We are grateful for the collaboration of the Ifá community in the following towns:

• Oyo
  
• Isale Oyo
  
• Iseyin
  
• Okeho
  
• Kishi (Oke Mogi)
  
• Ola
  
• Sepeteri
  
• Lagos Island
  
• Abeokuta
  
• Ijebu
  

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