Trinidad and Tobago Ifa author challenges colonial injustice: Coming through the fire

Yoruba culture, while recognisable to most in Trinidad and Tobago, is still mystifying as much of it is only practised by a select few who work hard to maintain its traditions.

Ifa is the spiritual belief system of the Yoruba people of Nigeria in West Africa. In TT, this spirituality has been passed down for generations and new recruits, looking to find a deeper connection to their ancestral past, are initiated and taught by practising members.

“I grew up in a very Christian home,” said author Ifarounke Deidre Prescod, who was initiated into the Ifa tradition in 2009.

“As an unwed mother I was outside of what my sisters did, who were both married. I was on the cusp of finding things out for myself. I had this energy, going through all the things women go through.

"I suppose I was always meant to be a loner. The things I have done I would not have been able to do if I was hitched to another.”

Prescod was born in Trinidad but has lived in Tobago for the past 30 years. She said she began writing in 2013, leaving behind her children and her life in TT, to the astonishment of her family, to journey to Nigeria in West Africa.

Her first book, Letters from Nigeria – Reflections of an Ifa Initiate (2017) reflects on her journey after joining the Ifa spiritual path.

“I had a store doing my craft and a guy came in one day and told me about Ifa initiation. I was going through a lot and shared that with him and he asked me if I had ever heard of it.”

Prescod said, being curious about how it could help her alleviate her life’s burdens at the time, met with a Babalawo (spiritual leader or high priest) and decided to do her first reading.

A divination reading in the Yoruba tradition is done by visiting a Babalawo who connects the client to their ancestral and spiritual guides.

“Because Ifa is such a hands-on tradition, you’re not practising Ifa if you’re not practising divination. I decided I wanted to be in charge of my own spirituality. If I am to follow this tradition, I am to find out more about it. And so, I went to Nigeria.”

In 2020 Deidre launched her podcast called Embracing Wisdom and in 2021 she released her second book, Coming Through with a Boule De Feu, a collection of essays which she said encourages people to reflect on their present circumstances as a result of years of misguided indoctrination and injustice.

Boule de Feu, a French term for ball of fire or fireball – also known in TT as a flambeau, or a flame torch usually made with glass bottles – was used before the advent of torchlights. Prescod uses the term to represent shining a light on the deliberate manipulations of past colonial influences.

Prescod said, “Knowingly or not, we have been seduced by beliefs that are not only untrue but also do not serve us.”

She identifies some of the ghosts that lurk in the shadows and haunt our reality and does this with the intention of encouraging others to examine the things they believe.

Boule de Feu was born during the pandemic as, she said, she had time in government-mandated quarantine to reflect on her experiences.

“I was visiting (someone) in Alaska. When I came back, I stayed in Trinidad before going back to Tobago, visiting a grandson, and lockdown caught me in Trinidad.

“I started scribble art meditation (a form of meditative, therapeutic drawing that allows a person to express their feelings) using my grandson’s coloured pencils. I started to write different things. I had to do something. The spirit moved me. I see things from a different perspective, and I started to write. When I’m writing (messages) pass through me.”

Prescod said she wants her readers to be able to look at and accept themselves as they are. “If I reach a stage in my life that I realise I made questionable judgments in the past, I do not beat up myself because you have to creep before you walk.

“When we realise we are fallible, we realise other people too have shortcomings and we have to give them some slack because we have shortcomings too.”

She said her podcast is meant to be a non-judgmental space but also aims to urge others to look at their instinctive beliefs, inclinations, and choices.

“We’re always talking about being enslaved but that was so long ago. I ask myself, do I want to continue to carry the energetic weight of my ancestors? Is this what they would want us to go through?

“Ifa is less judgmental, and accepts what is. The way some people use the tradition may be problematic but there is nothing wrong with the tradition itself.”

She said in Christianity, people are taught that divination is bad, “but there are many examples in (the bible) where people communicate with spirit directly.”

She said people who are able to do this do not have a space in society to practise freely because of the societal perceptions of divination practice.

“There are people who have insight (but) there is nowhere in the society where these people are allowed to thrive. They always operate under a cloud.”

Prescod describes herself as someone searching for spiritual answers. “I believe I am both physical and spiritual.” She said while she follows the path of Ifa, she chooses not to label herself with any one religion. “I am not branding myself because those things divide.

“I continue to use different (spiritual) channels because it is the development of self that is important and not the continuous reach for what is inside.”

In her book, Prescod says, “I continue to be thankful for all the boules de feu that help me see past my limitations as I assess my personal style without judgment, blame or shame, willing to be flexible in my approach as I create the best version of me.

“Where there is a will, there’s got to be a boule de feu to light the way.”

Both of Prescod’s books are available on Amazon. Those interested in purchasing the books can also contact Prescod at 276-8533.