About the Organization
Origin & Purpose
Ilé Aña Olofí was founded on the recognition that the Lucumí religion's survival across the Middle Passage and through centuries of suppression was not accidental. It was the result of deliberate institutional choices made by communities who understood that sacred knowledge, when entrusted only to memory and informal transmission, is fragile. The house exists to honor that inheritance by building the kind of durable, accountable structures the tradition now requires.
The choice of Aña and Olofí as the house's namesakes is not incidental. These are the two Orisha whose presence marks the most consequential thresholds in Lucumí religious life. Aña ratifies every initiation into the priesthood. Olofí marks the path of the Babalawo. To name a house for both is to commit to holding those thresholds with care, not merely celebrating them.
I choose these two Orisha for the name of my Ilé as I have been very blessed to have received both Aña and Olofí. They are the foundation of my life as much as the foundation for the Lucumí religion. — Délé Fágbèmí O., Founder
The Founder
Initiatory Credentials
Babalawo · Olofista · Olu-Iroko · Alaaña/Olubata. Over 20 years of fully initiated practice in the Lucumí tradition, with fieldwork in Cuba since 2002 including ongoing collaboration in Havana, Matanzas, and Pinar del Río.
Scholarly Formation
JD · MA in Anthropology, Tulane University · MBA in Corporate Finance · MLIS Candidate in Data Science & Analytics, University of Alabama (expected 2028). Recipient of the UA Outstanding Graduate Paper Award.
Public Scholarship
Society of American Archivists · KOSANBA · IV International Conference on Preservation of Documentary Heritage, Biblioteca Nacional de Cuba (2025). Manuscript "Havana to the Sabine" in revision for The American Archivist.
Structure
Ilé Aña Olofí, Inc. is incorporated as a 501(c)(3) religious and cultural nonprofit. Its governance is designed to prevent the institutional drift that has compromised other organizations of this kind — ensuring that administrative structures serve the tradition rather than displacing it.
The organization serves as the fiscal and organizational sponsor of the Iroko Historical Society, providing IHS with the nonprofit standing required for grant applications, institutional partnerships, and long-term archival operations. The StrongWall/Odiduro Family Trust provides additional governance infrastructure for the stewardship of sacred materials and lineage continuity across generations.
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