It is a system of knowledge
Afa holds 256 figures, each with its own proverbs, stories, sacrifices and taboos. Priests train for years to master them, much as a scholar studies a library.
Afa · Ifa · Fa: one tradition
The ancestors still speak. We help you hear them.
Afa is the Ewe name for Ifa, the sacred wisdom of West Africa honoured by millions around the world. Quaternary Afa is a not-for-profit house that keeps it alive, true to tradition and open to all.
AfaEwe · Ghana & Togo
IfáYoruba · Nigeria
FáFon · Benin
IfáCuba · Brazil · the Americas
Who we are
Back to the root, with open eyes
“A river that forgets its source will dry up.”Our work starts here: knowing where we come from, so we know where we are going.
Quaternary Afa is a not-for-profit organisation based in Dawhenya, between Accra and Tema. We practise Afa, teach it, record it and make it reachable for anyone who seeks it, here in Ghana and wherever Africans and friends of Africa live.
For generations, African traditional spirituality was pushed into the shadows. It was called superstition or something to fear, and many of our own people were taught to be ashamed of it. Meanwhile the same wisdom, known as Ifa, is studied in universities and practised openly from Lagos to Havana to São Paulo.
We want to bring it back into the light. Afa is a living library of our ancestors' knowledge: proverbs, stories, medicine, ethics and counsel, gathered over centuries and passed down by trained priests, the Bokɔnɔwo. Whatever we earn goes back into this work: the shrine, the teaching, the archive and the platform.
What Afa is, and what it is not
It is about guidance and balance
A reading asks what is out of balance in your life and how to restore it: with your family, your work, your health, your ancestors and yourself.
It speaks to life today
Questions about work, money, marriage, travel and health are what people bring to Afa now. We bring it to them in person, by video and on their phones.
How we help you return to the root
From a first reading to full initiation, every service follows what Afa directs.
Afa and Ifa
Afa is Ifa. One tradition, many tongues.
The world knows it best by its Yoruba name, Ifá. Among the Ewe it is Afa, among the Fon it is Fá. The figures, the order of seniority, the chain and the tray are shared. If you know Ifa, you already know Afa.
AfaEwe people of Ghana and Togo
IfáYoruba people of Nigeria
FáFon people of Benin
IfáCuba, Brazil, Trinidad, the USA and beyond
The priest
Bokɔnɔ in Ewe, Babaláwo in Yoruba
The figures
Eduwo in Ewe, Odù in Yoruba
The count
16 principal figures, 256 in all
The tools
The divining chain and the tray
UNESCO has recognised the Ifa divination system as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Afa belongs to that same heritage.
The sixteen principal figures
Ewe name · Yoruba name · | single · || double
Our services
What we offer, in person and online
Each service is carried out by trained practitioners and follows what Afa itself directs. Not sure where to begin? Talk to us first.
Readings
Afa divination
Consult Afa about health, work, family, travel or any question that weighs on you. Meet a Bokɔnɔ in person or by video call, or receive a full reading on our platform, the first of its kind.
Afa/Ifa initiation
For those Afa calls. We guide you through preparation, the initiation rites and the years of learning that follow, under recognised Bokɔnɔwo.
Enquire →Afa/Ifa teachings
Classes and apprenticeship in the figures, their proverbs, stories, sacrifices and taboos. Open to apprentices, practitioners and anyone who wants to understand.
Join a class →Cleansing and reconciliation rituals
Rites that clear what weighs on a person, a home or a family, and restore peace between people, with the ancestors or with a deity.
Enquire →Spiritual protection
Protection for a person, a household or a business, prepared as Afa directs, with the taboos that keep it strong.
Enquire →Spiritual counselling and mental wellness
Confidential conversations that bring Afa's counsel to grief, stress, conflict and big decisions. We work alongside medical and psychological care, never in place of it.
Book a conversation →Ancestral veneration and guidance
Learn to honour your ancestors properly, through libation and Aƒedohehe, the feeding of the ancestors, and seek their guidance for your path.
Enquire →Digital archive and library
A growing record of African traditional spirituality: proverbs, stories, songs and teachings, kept with the original Ewe and open for study.
Open the library →Diaspora reconnection
Virtual tours, ancestral tracing support and welcoming rites for Africans in the diaspora.
Learn more →Fees for rites depend on what Afa prescribes. As a not-for-profit, we keep them as low as the work allows.
Woezɔ
Diaspora reconnection
For those whose roots were carried across the sea
Woezɔ means welcome in Ewe. Whether you grew up with Ifá in Cuba, Brazil or the United States, or are only now looking for your roots, we help you find your way back to the land and the spiritual practice of your ancestors.
Virtual tours
Live guided visits to shrines, sacred groves, markets and historic sites, from wherever you are.
Ancestral tracing support
Help following family names, places and oral history, and asking Afa for guidance on where your line began.
Welcoming rites
Rites that receive Africans in the diaspora home, held in person here in Ghana.
First of its kind
The Quaternary Afa divination platform
The first online platform built for traditional Afa. Ask your question, receive a full reading from a Bokɔnɔ or an instant cast, and understand it in plain words on your phone, wherever you are in the world.
256traditional figures (Odù), kept exactly as handed down
16principal figures, in their true order of seniority
3figures in every reading: the main figure and two witnesses
24/7cast any time, or wait for a Bokɔnɔ at the shrine
See a reading
Screens from the platform. Every reading arrives on a private page you can return to at any time.
Every word comes from the tradition
Readings are built only from the recorded teachings of the figures cast: their proverbs, stories, questions, sacrifices and taboos. Nothing is invented, and a Bokɔnɔ confirms what is said.
A Bokɔnɔ, or an instant cast
Request a reading performed by a Bokɔnɔ at a shrine, or cast at once on the platform. Both give you the full three-figure reading.
Short, plain and complete
Your message comes in simple language and bullet points: the questions, what the figures say, health and work, lessons, what to do and the key messages.
Always informed
Know where your request stands
Follow your request from the moment you send it to the moment it is delivered, with an expected time based on how quickly the shrine usually answers. Search all your past readings by name, figure or date.
Request your vorsa in one tap
Ask for the prescribed sacrifice straight from your reading. The Bokɔnɔ sends the cost, you pay securely online, and you can see photos or video once it is performed.
Kponli of the Day
A figure each morning on your dashboard or in your inbox, with a proverb in Ewe, its meaning and a short commentary to share.
All 256 figures
The whole house of Afa, mapped
Every one of the 256 traditional figures is kept exactly as inherited, with its seniority unchanged and its teachings growing week by week. Explore them on the living constellation chart and open any figure to read what it holds.
Your reading is yours
Each reading lives on a private link. Questions go straight to our team through the help chat inside the platform, and only our administrators can read them.
Search the teachings
Look up any figure, proverb, story or taboo in the growing library. Ewe words are kept exactly as spoken, with every mark in place.
Made for your phone
Install it on your phone like an app. Readings can also reach you by email, SMS or WhatsApp, with a spoken summary to listen to.
How a reading works
From your question to Afa's answer
The same order the Bokɔnɔ follows at the tray, carried onto the platform.
- Register and askCreate your account and send your request, with your intention if you wish to share it.
- The castA Bokɔnɔ casts for you at the shrine, or the platform casts at once. Three figures appear: the main figure and two witnesses.
- The readingThe witnesses show whether the reading points to the future or the past. The teachings of all three figures are gathered into one clear message.
- Act on itAnswer the questions, keep the taboos and request the vorsa from the same page. Come back to your reading whenever you need it.
Ask Afa. Join today.
Create your free account on the Quaternary Afa platform and request your first reading. You can begin in a few minutes.
quaternaryafa.com/appEvents & gatherings
Come and gather with us
Teaching circles, rites, festivals and community projects. Join us in Dawhenya or online, and lend a hand to the work.
LearningTeaching circles
Open sessions on the figures, their proverbs and stories, for beginners and apprentices alike.
CeremonyRites and festivals
Community rites, ancestral remembrance and the celebrations of the Afa calendar.
CommunityProjects to support
Work on the shrine, the archive and outreach that you can follow and contribute to.