Iyami , Aje, &African Female Mysteries -West
Sacred Wisdom from the West African Primordial mothers
Course Summary
West African Women’s Mysteries Ìyáàmi Àjẹ́, Odù and the Power of the Primordial Mothers
First taught ten years ago in 2016, West African Women’s Mysteries remains one of Ori Institute’s most extensive courses on Ìyáàmi Àjẹ́, female Àṣẹ, Odù, the primordial Mothers, and women’s spiritual authority. Public interest in Ìyáàmi has grown considerably, yet much of the information now circulating is incomplete, sensationalized, separated from Yorùbá culture, or presented without the guidance of initiated women. This course restores the Mothers to their larger cosmological, cultural, and spiritual position.
The course is taught primarily through Yorùbá and Ìṣẹ̀ṣe understandings, with related West African traditions included where they help explain the wider movement of female spiritual power across the region. Students examine the Mothers as creators, protectors, organizers of society, keepers of natural law, controllers of vital power, and guardians of the gateways through which life enters and leaves the world.
The African Mothers are often discussed through fear, secrecy, or the limited label of witchcraft. Their authority reaches far beyond those descriptions. Ìyáàmi Àjẹ́ are connected with fertility, birth, blood, death, destiny, spiritual justice, collective female power, the night, birds, trees, the marketplace, the womb, and the ability to make things come into being. Understanding them changes how we interpret women’s roles within Ifá, Òrìṣà traditions, ancestral systems, healing, community leadership, and African cosmology.
First taught ten years ago in 2016, West African Women’s Mysteries remains one of Ori Institute’s most extensive courses on Ìyáàmi Àjẹ́, female Àṣẹ, Odù, the primordial Mothers, and women’s spiritual authority. Public interest in Ìyáàmi has grown considerably, yet much of the information now circulating is incomplete, sensationalized, separated from Yorùbá culture, or presented without the guidance of initiated women. This course restores the Mothers to their larger cosmological, cultural, and spiritual position.
The course is taught primarily through Yorùbá and Ìṣẹ̀ṣe understandings, with related West African traditions included where they help explain the wider movement of female spiritual power across the region. Students examine the Mothers as creators, protectors, organizers of society, keepers of natural law, controllers of vital power, and guardians of the gateways through which life enters and leaves the world.
The African Mothers are often discussed through fear, secrecy, or the limited label of witchcraft. Their authority reaches far beyond those descriptions. Ìyáàmi Àjẹ́ are connected with fertility, birth, blood, death, destiny, spiritual justice, collective female power, the night, birds, trees, the marketplace, the womb, and the ability to make things come into being. Understanding them changes how we interpret women’s roles within Ifá, Òrìṣà traditions, ancestral systems, healing, community leadership, and African cosmology.
West African Women’s Mysteries examines the primordial Mothers of Africa and the place of Ìyáàmi Àjẹ́ within Yorùbá thought. You will study the relationship between the ancient Mothers and the Òrìṣà, the meaning of Àjẹ́ as a form of power, the Cosmic Calabash, the seven African Mothers, and the expressions of female Àṣẹ. The course also examines Mami Wata, water mysteries, the womb of Odù, women’s gateways within the body, the four blood mysteries, and the guiding principles and laws associated with the Great Mothers.
Special attention is given to Odù as the cosmic womb and to the female foundation underlying creation, divination, birth, continuity, and spiritual manifestation. These teachings provide a wider framework for understanding why women’s bodies, blood cycles, reproductive gateways, intuitive faculties, and collective spiritual authority have held such importance in African societies.
The course also explores the responsibilities that accompany female spiritual power. Àṣẹ is governed by law, character, discipline, timing, restraint, reciprocity, and accountability. These lessons help students understand why the Mothers may bless, protect, correct, withdraw support, or require restitution when natural and communal laws have been violated.
This is Feminine Mysteries II in the African Women’s Mysteries series. It follows East African Women’s Mysteries, which establishes earlier African foundations through Auset, Ma’at, Seshat, Sekhmet, Sirius, the Tree of Life, and the Great Mothers of the East. The West African course may be taken independently by women whose primary interest is Ìyáàmi, Odù, female Àṣẹ, and West African cosmology. Students seeking the broadest historical foundation are encouraged to take the complete East and West African Women’s Mysteries Bundle.
The course contains over 20 hours of original lecture instruction, including PowerPoint presentations and additional supplemental videos. Many of the lectures run between two and three hours, allowing time for historical background, cultural explanation, spiritual interpretation, and direct teaching from priestly experience. Students also receive selected ebooks, articles, links, and supporting materials for continued study.
The lessons are recordings from the original live course and are released over nine weeks. This schedule gives students time to process each subject and make connections between the Mothers, the body, Odù, Àṣẹ, blood, water, creation, and female spiritual responsibility. The program is taught by Oloye Ayele Kumari, PhD, an initiated Ìyánífá, Ìyálórìṣà, Oníṣègùn, author, professor, historian, and traditional healer with decades of training and experience.
The instruction draws from direct initiation, priestly practice, cultural study, historical research, and years of teaching women throughout the African Diaspora. This course is designed for women studying Ìyáàmi Àjẹ́, Ifá, Òrìṣà, Odù, African healing, ancestral traditions, Mami Wata, women’s priesthood, female spiritual leadership, or African women’s history. It is also suited for women who feel that the usual explanations of African spirituality have left out the authority, knowledge, and central position of the Mothers.
Each course is 9 weeks long and is offered through a video recording of a previously taught live class.
The West course has over 20 HOURS of Personal Lecture videos with power points and even more supplemental videos. Each video lecture is 2-3 hours long. It has a number of extra ebooks, supplements, articles, and links. To be honest, this course has more content than any college level course priced at 10x its value. This is not taught by a novice nor someone who got their information from Youtube. Its very detailed and comes from direct experience, not just research. Primordial Mothers of Africa, Iyami Aje
Ancient Mothers and Orisa
Mami Wata
Cosmic Calabash and 7 African Mothers
The 7 Ase's
Aje Cosmology
Women's gateways in the Body
Great Mother guiding principles and laws
Cosmic Womb of Odu
4 Blood Mysteries
and much more!
Some Reviews:
“Iya Ayele is the most generous and thoughtful teacher I have ever met on my spiritual path. This course is enlightening and empowering, its structure and its contents highly respond to both spiritual and academic research. I have learned so much!!! Thank you so much Ayele!
Asé!!!!!!!”
“Wonderful class! It’s been the glue for me that’s given my spiritual journey in the Diaspora
more meaning. I now have a clearer vision of my purpose in the world.“ D. Carter
”This course is simply wonderful, empowering and enlightening! Ayele is both an accurate and generous teacher , and I thank her deeply and respectfully for all the knowledge and wisdom she has transmitted us.” K. Garcia
Other articles written by the facilitator of the course
https://ayelekumari.com/ifayele-blog/iyami-human-ancestral-primordial-and-cosmic43795553264544/
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Vestibulum sit amet gravida dolor, at efficitur nulla. Nam et tellus nisl. Nunc semper malesuada sem, a porta quam elementum ut. Orci varius natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes,nascetur ridiculus mus. Pellentesque a vestibulum ipsum, id eleifend neque.
Course Curriculum
Chief Abiye Ayele Kumari
Professional Bio
Website: Personal Website
Chief Dr. Ayele Kumari
A Spiritual Revolutionary and Cultural Trailblazer in the Ifa Orisa tradition
Oloye Dr. Ayele Kumari, also known as Chief Yele, is a pioneering force in African spiritual traditions, breaking barriers for women and advancing Isese Ifa Orisa devotion worldwide. A fully initiated and licensed Iyanifa, professor, Onisegun (traditional healer), and artist, she has dedicated over 30 years to mastering her craft and reclaiming ancestral wisdom for future generations.
Dr Kumari began as naturopath, lay healer. and bone diviner studying with numerous teachers and healers beginning with her grandmother. She expanded those natural skills in western education to become a professor and college director. Her world was shattered after a mysterious illness left her unable to walk. This disability moved her to become initiated to Ifa which led to her healing and walking again. She began to study under elder priests to become a priestess herself. Her rise to prominence came with her groundbreaking book, Iyanifa: Women of Wisdom, which shattered stereotypes that only recognized men Babalawo as Ifa priests. While she did not create the term “Iyanifa,” her book made it more widely known and respected, empowering women to embrace their spiritual inheritance. In her plight for African Womens Mysteries, she discovered that many women actually feared honoring their mothers’ traditions, even hesitating to say “Iyami” aloud due to deep-rooted stigmas. Recognizing the lack of accessible African spiritual teachings, she founded Ori Institute, an online school dedicated to preserving and teaching ancestral wisdom. Through her transformative 40-hour course on African Women’s Mysteries, she demystified the divine feminine in African spirituality, offering clarity and empowerment to countless seekers.
In 2018, after the passing of her mother, Chief Yele stepped into a new role as a spiritual matriarch, co founding Ashe Soul Global Village, a full-service Ifa Orisa temple and spiritual community.
Understanding the challenges faced by those new to African spirituality, she authored Isese Spirituality Workbook for beginners. She followed by Hand of Ifa for dedicated Ifa practitioners. To further support the community, she published Book of Odu, providing an affordable compilation of sacred verses for deeper study.
The widespread popularity of her book, her dedication to the teaching of Isese along with her support of schools in Nigeria earned her recognition and she was conferred chieftaincy titles in Ibadan as Iya Mode United States, Otun Amunifawuni, Iya Abiye Ogboni, and Oba Olokun Omilere.
A proud African American woman, Dr. Kumari grew up immersed in the soul-stirring sounds of gospel, R&B, and classic soul. Struggling to connect with practitioners Ayele Ifa music, she sought to bridge the gap by blending African spiritual chants with the music of her roots. This creative fusion led to the birth of Ashe Soul Music, a genre of Afrospiritual music that blends ancestral wisdom with contemporary soul, offering a transformative sound that heals the heart and soothes the ancestral soul.
Through her scholarship, spiritual leadership, and musical innovation, Dr. Ayele Kumari continues to inspire, educate, and uplift those on the path of ancestral reclamation and spiritual enlightenment.
