Ifa: the religion of the Yoruba peoples

Overview:

Yoruba refers to a group of cultures linked by a common language. They occupied an area bounded by the Niger River, and including what is now known as the Benin Republic, southwestern Nigeria, and part of Togo. They held a belief system in common: the Ifa religion.
Starting in the 16th century, large numbers of Yoruba natives were transported as slaves to the Caribbean and the Americas. They combined beliefs and practices from their Ifa religion with elements of Roman Catholicism to produce the syncretistic religions of Candomblê, Palo Mayombe, Santeria, Vodun, etc. These are now flourishing in the Caribbean, South America and North America, notably in Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Grenada, the Guyanas, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, St. Kitts, St. Vincent, Tobago, and Trinidad.
Information on the Internet can be found using such search phrases as: Yoruba faith, Orisha worship, and Ifa religion. Searching for "Ifa" will not be productive because so many organizations have IFA as their acronym.
The original religions of Africa have been declining over the past century due to the influences of colonialism, Western acculturation and proselytizing by Christianity and Islam. However, in the Americas and Caribbean, syncretistic religions involving African religions are growing rapidly.