Ilé Module — Houses, Lineage & Religious Office
Religious institutions, initiation genealogy, and office transmission
Domain module. Vocabulary for documenting Afro-Atlantic religious houses, lineage structures, initiation genealogy, authority transmission, and schism events. Extends schema:Organization and FOAF with tradition-specific governance and lineage modeling. Covers ilé, terreiro, hounfò, cabildo, and analogous institutions. Use with iroko-authority to model the authority titles and governance structures held by specific individuals; iroko-epistemic to constrain disclosure of initiation details and membership records.
A Cuban colonial-era mutual aid and religious society organized by African ethnic identity. Cabildos were the institutional vessels for Lucumí, Arará, Kongo, and other traditions in Cuba. Distinct from contemporary houses in legal form and historical structure. May have successor houses linked via iroko:successorHouse.
A religious house, temple, or community organized around a lineage and founding elder. Encompasses ilé (Lucumí/Candomblé), terreiro (Candomblé/Umbanda), hounfò (Vodou), ile orisha, and analogous institutions. Subclass of schema:Organization for interoperability with external directories.
A specific ceremony creating a formal genealogical link between initiator and initiate. The primary mechanism by which lineage is transmitted and authority is conferred. Access to records is typically initiated-only; existence of the event may be public.
A rama, branch, or transmission line descending from a founding house or practitioner. Represents what makes a specific lineage distinct from others within the same tradition: liturgical variations, oriki, priestly protocols, or founding relationships.
A religious title or position held by a practitioner, authorizing specific ritual functions within a tradition. Linked to the person (foaf:Person), the house, and the authority figure who conferred it. Distinct from iroko:ContestedAuthority in core, which models disputed titles at the category level — iroko:ReligiousOffice models specific individual instances.
A documented lineage split creating a new house from an existing one. Records the parent house, child house, date, cause, and parties involved. Often sensitive; access level is typically community-restricted or initiated-only.
| Property | Type | Domain → Range | Access | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| affiliatedHouse affiliated house |
Object | House → House | Public | A house with recognized but non-hierarchical affiliation: alliance, shared lineage recognition, or ongoing ceremonial cooperation. |
| authorityHolder authority holder |
Object | Religious Office → Person | Community Only | The person holding this title. Range: foaf:Person. |
| authorityHouse authority house |
Object | Religious Office → House | Public | The house within which this authority is recognized. |
| authorityScope authority scope |
Datatype | Religious Office → langString | Community Only | What ritual functions this title authorizes. |
| authorityTitle authority title |
Object | Religious Office → Concept | Public | The formal title held. Range: iroko:AuthorityTitleScheme. |
| authorityTradition authority tradition |
Object | Religious Office → Concept | Public | authorityTradition |
| conferralDate conferral date |
Datatype | Religious Office → date | Community Only | conferralDate |
| entityCrowned entity crowned |
Object | Initiation Event → SacredEntity | Initiated Only | For head initiations: the orisha/entity seated on the initiate's head. Range: nkisi:SpiritualEntity. |
| eventHouse event house |
Object | Initiation Event → House | Initiated Only | The house in which the initiation took place. |
| founder founder |
Object | House → Person | Public | The founding practitioner of the house. Range: foaf:Person. |
| foundingHouse founding house |
Object | Lineage → House | Public | The house from which this lineage (rama/branch) originates. |
| grantedBy granted by |
Object | Religious Office → Religious Office | Community Only | The authority figure who conferred this title. Range: iroko:ReligiousOffice. |
| hasLineage has lineage |
Object | House → Lineage | Public | Links a house to a formal Lineage record documenting its rama characteristics. |
| houseGovernanceModel house governance model |
Object | House → Concept | Public | How authority and decision-making are structured within the house. Range: iroko:GovernanceModelScheme. |
| houseType house type |
Object | House → Concept | Public | Institutional form of the house. Range: iroko:HouseTypeScheme. |
| initiatedPerson initiated person |
Object | Initiation Event → Person | No Access | The person who received initiation. Range: foaf:Person. Highly sensitive — access no-access by default except to the individual and their house. |
| initiationType initiation type |
Object | Initiation Event → Concept | Public | Type of initiation ceremony. Range: iroko:InitiationTypeScheme. |
| initiationWitness initiation witness |
Object | Initiation Event → Person | No Access | Witnesses present at the initiation. Range: foaf:Person. Sensitive; access no-access by default. |
| initiator initiator |
Object | Initiation Event → Religious Office | Initiated Only | The authority figure who performed the initiation. Range: iroko:ReligiousOffice. |
| itaPerformed itá performed |
Datatype | Initiation Event → boolean | Initiated Only | True if a life reading (itá) was conducted as part of this initiation. |
| lineageCharacteristics lineage characteristics |
Datatype | Lineage → langString | Initiated Only | Description of what distinguishes this rama: liturgical variations, oriki, priestly protocols, founding relationships, regional practices. |
| lineageChild lineage child |
Object | House → House | Public | A house that descends from this house through initiation. Inverse of iroko:lineageParent. |
| lineageParent lineage parent |
Object | House → House | Public | The house from which this house descends through initiation. Equivalent to godparent-house in common practice. |
| lineageTradition lineage tradition |
Object | Lineage → Concept | Public | lineageTradition |
| location location |
Object | House → — | Community Only | Geographic location of the house. May be city/country only for active houses; full address behind access control. |
| membershipEstimate membership estimate |
Datatype | House → string | Community Only | Approximate number of initiated members. Text to allow ranges or qualitative descriptions. |
| multiTradition multi-tradition |
Datatype | House → boolean | Public | True if the house actively practices more than one distinct tradition. |
| publicPresence public presence |
Datatype | House → boolean | Public | True if the house maintains a publicly known identity (website, social media, public events). False does not imply the house is secret — many houses simply operate privately. |
| schismCause schism cause |
Datatype | Schism Event → langString | Community Only | Documented reason for the lineage split. Often contested; use iroko:contestedNotes alongside. |
| schismChildHouse schism child house |
Object | Schism Event → House | Community Only | schismChildHouse |
| schismDate schism date |
Datatype | Schism Event → date | Community Only | schismDate |
| schismParentHouse schism parent house |
Object | Schism Event → House | Community Only | schismParentHouse |
| schismParty schism party |
Object | Schism Event → Person | Initiated Only | Persons involved in the schism. Range: foaf:Person. Sensitive. |
| successorHouse successor house |
Object | Cabildo → House | Public | For historical cabildos: the contemporary house that descends from or claims continuity with this institution. |
| traditionPracticed tradition practiced |
Object | House → Concept | Public | Tradition(s) practiced in this house. Range: iroko:TraditionScheme in core. |
| transmissionMethod transmission method |
Object | Initiation Event → Concept | Community Only | How the authority or knowledge was transmitted. Range: iroko:TransmissionTypeScheme. |
GovernanceModelScheme
Authority structured by seniority within initiation grade rather than individual title.
Decisions made by member consensus or elected leadership.
Collective of recognized elders sharing governance authority.
Male and female authorities govern separate domains within the same institution.
Leadership passes through biological or ritual family succession.
Federated structure of affiliated houses under loose shared authority.
governance-other
One recognized head (Iyalosha, Babalosha, Mambo, etc.) with primary authority.
HouseTypeScheme
An Abakuá lodge (potencia). Abakuá is a Cuban secret society of Calabari/Cross River origin.
Cuban colonial mutual aid and religious society organized by African ethnic identity. Use iroko:Cabildo subclass for records of this type.
Association or society organized around a specific orisha or shared ritual purpose.
Centre for Kardecist or Afro-influenced Espiritismo practice.
Haitian Vodou temple and its associated community.
House organized primarily around Ifá divination practice and Babaláwo lineage.
Lucumí/Candomblé Ketu house organized around Orisha worship.
houseType-other
House organized around Palo Monte/Mayombe practice and nganga custody.
Haitian Vodou society, often with named lineage and territorial identity.
An informal group organized for learning, not yet constituted as a full house.
Brazilian ritual space for Candomblé, Umbanda, or Quimbanda practice.
InitiationTypeScheme
Initiation into an Abakuá potencia.
The lying-in period component of Vodou kanzo initiation.
Initiation into an Egbé society or association.
Full initiation into the Ifá corpus, conferring the title of Babaláwo.
Also known as: Itefa
Haitian Vodou initiation ceremony. Levels include Sur Pwen, Hounsi Kanzo, Si Pwen, and Asogwe.
Full head initiation in Lucumí/Candomblé Ketu. An orisha is seated on the initiate's head.
Also known as: Making Ocha
Reception of Orula's hand. First level of Ifá initiation, open to non-Babaláwo.
Also known as: Awofakan / Ikofa
Reception of the five sacred beaded necklaces. Often the first formal initiation in Lucumí.
Also known as: Elekes
Reception of the Olofin mysteries. Among the highest grades in Lucumí practice.
initiation-other
Palo Monte/Mayombe initiation ceremony marking entry into a munanso.
Also known as: Palo Initiation
Haitian Vodou ceremony of recognition and elevation within a sosyete.
Reception of the warrior orishas: Elegua, Ogun, Ochosi, and Osun.
TransmissionTypeScheme
Transmission involves both embodied/oral and written components.
The specific form of transmission was determined by divination rather than fixed protocol.
Knowledge transmitted through physical ceremony, practice, and direct experiential transmission. Cannot be fully conveyed through text.
Transmitted through speech, song, proverb, and oral recitation.
Transmitted through notebooks, libreta, manuscripts, or printed texts.
AuthorityTitleScheme
Initiated member of an Abakuá potencia.
Senior elder in a Yoruba-derived tradition, often with lineage-wide ceremonial authority.
Chief Babaláwo in a Yoruba community or lineage. Highest recognized Ifá authority.
Senior male Orisha priest with the authority to initiate others.
Also known as: Babalorishaisha
Initiated Ifá priest. Authorized to perform Ifá divination and related ceremonies.
Initiated member of the Ekpe leopard society (Cross River / Calabari tradition).
Male Haitian Vodou priest.
Senior female Orisha priest with the authority to initiate others.
Also known as: Iyalorisha
Female Ifá priest. Recognition is contested across lineages; use iroko:contestedStatus when applicable.
The recognition of Iyanifa is a live dispute in Lucumí communities. iroko:ReligiousOffice records for this title should carry iroko:contestedStatus and iroko:contestedNotes.
Female Haitian Vodou priest.
Female head of a Brazilian terreiro.
Priest initiated into the Olofin mysteries. Among the highest initiatory grades in Lucumí.
Initiated Orisha priest of any gender. General term covering Iyalosha and Babalosha.
Consecration to the Iroko tree spirit. Rare; received through specific lineage authorization.
Initiated child of an orisha. General term for those who have completed kariosha/asiento.
Member of the Osugbo/Ogboni earth society, holding judicial and spiritual authority.
title-other
Male head of a Brazilian terreiro.
Male initiated priest in Palo Monte with authority over an nganga.
Female initiated priest in Palo Monte with authority over an nganga.