Ifá as a System of Knowledge and Social Cohesion in Yorùbá Society: Indigenous Governance, Relational Ethics, and Humanistic Management

While Ifá divination is traditionally categorised as a spiritual system, its function as a sophisticated secular mechanism for knowledge production and social stability remains structurally underexplored in Western-centric academia. Drawing upon Linda Tuhiwai Smith’s methodology (1999), this study re-centres Ifá as an epistemological framework within Yorùbá society. The research utilises a dual-methodological approach: a textual analysis of twelve primary Odù Ifá verses (including Èjì Ogbè, Ọsá Méj . ì, and Ìdínyẹ`kú) and ethnographic data derived from semi-structured interviews with six prominent Babaláwo across Ilé-Ifẹ`, Òṣogbo, Èjìgbò, and Òkìnni, in Osun State, Nigeria. Findings demonstrate that Ifá generates authoritative knowledge through pattern-based hermeneutics, which reinforces social cohesion by institutionalising shared ethical principles, restorative conflict-resolution templates, and commensal rituals. Utilising a textual hermeneutic analysis of twelve primary Odù Ifá verses and semi-structured interviews with six purposively sampled Babaláwo in Osun State, Nigeria, this study explores Ifá as an epistemological framework and a mechanism for local conflict resolution. The findings demonstrate that Ifá reinforces community stability through restorative conflict-resolution templates and shared ethical principles, while adapting parameters to contemporary digital spaces. The paper demonstrates that Ifá may be interpreted not only as. a spiritual or cultural system, but also as a practical framework for humanistic management grounded in dignity, relationality, and communal responsibility.