Eniyan

Maulana Karenga

In the Ifa spiritual and ethical tradition, eniyan is a fundamental concept that speaks to the moral status and moral considerability of the human person. In fact, it is the hub and hinge on which Ifa moral anthropology turns. The word eniyan in the Yoruba language, the parent language of Ifa, literally means “chosen one(s)” and at the same time is the word for human being . At the heart of Ifa moral anthropology is the ethical teaching that humans are chosen by the Creator to bring good into the world and that this special status and task are the fundamental mission and meaning of human life. This concept is advanced in the Odu Ifa (78:1), the sacred text of Ifa, which reads, “Surely humans have been (divinely) chosen to bring good in the world.” This entry examines the meaning of this concept. This concept of “chosen” has profound significance ...

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