Persons involved in the schism. Range: foaf:Person. Sensitive.
Initiated member of the Ekpe leopard society (Cross River / Calabari tradition).
holds office
Padrino
Tradition(s) practiced in this house. Range: iroko:TraditionScheme in core.
Iroko Framework: Ilé Module (Lineage, Houses, and Religious Office)
Pai de Santo
Olu-Iròkò
Other
Transmission involves both embodied/oral and written components.
Centre for Kardecist or Afro-influenced Espiritismo practice.
entity crowned
The specific form of transmission was determined by divination rather than fixed protocol.
Initiation Event
An informal group organized for learning, not yet constituted as a full house.
A house with recognized but non-hierarchical affiliation: alliance, shared lineage recognition, or ongoing ceremonial cooperation.
Religious Office
Gender-Divided Authority
A house that descends from this house through initiation. Inverse of iroko:lineageParent.
Chief Babaláwo in a Yoruba community or lineage. Highest recognized Ifá authority.
Palo House
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.
House organized around Palo Monte/Mayombe practice and nganga custody.
Cabildo
recognized office
Initiated child of an orisha. General term for those who have completed kariosha/asiento.
affiliated house
Terreiro
How the authority or knowledge was transmitted. Range: iroko:TransmissionTypeScheme.
authority scope
Awofakan / Ikofa
Mano de Orula
Study / Learning Group
Federated structure of affiliated houses under loose shared authority.
authority tradition
Babalorishaisha
Schism Event
Egbé
conferral date
Description of what distinguishes this rama: liturgical variations, oriki, priestly protocols, founding relationships, regional practices.
Mãe de Santo
Casa de Palo
Female initiated priest in Palo Monte with authority over an nganga.
Sosyete
Knowledge transmitted through physical ceremony, practice, and direct experiential transmission. Cannot be fully conveyed through text.
Single Elder Authority
schism cause
Asiento
Ilé Orisha
Olu-Iroko
House Types
granted by
founding house
Ekpe Member
Documented reason for the lineage split. Often contested; use iroko:contestedNotes alongside.
Witnesses present at the initiation. Range: foaf:Person. Sensitive; access no-access by default.
Male Haitian Vodou priest.
The house within which this authority is recognized.
Authority structured by seniority within initiation grade rather than individual title.
house governance model
Palo Monte/Mayombe initiation ceremony marking entry into a munanso.
Reception of the five sacred beaded necklaces. Often the first formal initiation in Lucumí.
Tipos de casa religiosa
Senior male Orisha priest with the authority to initiate others.
The recognition of Iyanifa is a live dispute in Lucumí communities. iroko:ReligiousOffice records for this title should carry iroko:contestedStatus and iroko:contestedNotes.
authority house
The house from which this lineage (rama/branch) originates.
Títulos de autoridad religiosa
Age-Grade
Araba
Abakuá Initiation
Brazilian ritual space for Candomblé, Umbanda, or Quimbanda practice.
Full initiation into the Ifá corpus, conferring the title of Babaláwo.
Ogboni
Olorisha
Haitian Vodou ceremony of recognition and elevation within a sosyete.
Mambo
schism child house
What ritual functions this title authorizes.
Tata Nkisi
The house in which the initiation took place.
Haitian Vodou temple and its associated community.
Governance Models
Written
Palo Initiation
Àwọn iru ilé ẹ̀sìn
Olofista
Transmitted through speech, song, proverb, and oral recitation.
Ilé Ifá
Cuban colonial mutual aid and religious society organized by African ethnic identity. Use iroko:Cabildo subclass for records of this type.
has lineage
authority holder
Religious Office Titles
The authority figure who performed the initiation. Range: iroko:ReligiousOffice.
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.
Male head of a Brazilian terreiro.
Iyanifa
Rayisman
For head initiations: the orisha/entity seated on the initiate's head. Range: nkisi:SpiritualEntity.
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.
For historical cabildos: the contemporary house that descends from or claims continuity with this institution.
Iyalorisha
Links a house to a formal Lineage record documenting its rama characteristics.
initiator
Initiated member of an Abakuá potencia.
Rayamiento
Senior elder in a Yoruba-derived tradition, often with lineage-wide ceremonial authority.
Senior female Orisha priest with the authority to initiate others.
Elder Council
Abakuá Potencia
Combined
authority title
Yaya Nkisi
Female Haitian Vodou priest.
lineage parent
Collares
Consecration to the Iroko tree spirit. Rare; received through specific lineage authorization.
successor house
Initiated Orisha priest of any gender. General term covering Iyalosha and Babalosha.
Los Guerreros
Transmitted through notebooks, libreta, manuscripts, or printed texts.
Babaláwo
Democratic / Consensus
Reception of the warrior orishas: Elegua, Ogun, Ochosi, and Osun.
Ifá Initiation
Warriors
Omo Orisha
Type of initiation ceremony. Range: iroko:InitiationTypeScheme.
initiation type
Manbo
The formal title held. Range: iroko:AuthorityTitleScheme.
founder
lineage child
Espiritismo Centre
schism date
Necklaces
Types de maison religieuse
Hounfò
Kariosha
Divination-Prescribed
Hereditary
True if a life reading (itá) was conducted as part of this initiation.
Iniciación Abakuá
lineage characteristics
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.
Haitian Vodou initiation ceremony. Levels include Sur Pwen, Hounsi Kanzo, Si Pwen, and Asogwe.
schism parent house
Geographic location of the house. May be city/country only for active houses; full address behind access control.
tradition practiced
Oungan
Embodied
Decisions made by member consensus or elected leadership.
Male and female authorities govern separate domains within the same institution.
Houngan
Abakuá Member
Male initiated priest in Palo Monte with authority over an nganga.
initiated person
Leadership passes through biological or ritual family succession.
The person holding this title. Range: foaf:Person.
itá performed
Centro de Espiritismo
Full head initiation in Lucumí/Candomblé Ketu. An orisha is seated on the initiate's head.
One recognized head (Iyalosha, Babalosha, Mambo, etc.) with primary authority.
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.
Lucumí/Candomblé Ketu house organized around Orisha worship.
The founding practitioner of the house. Range: foaf:Person.
An Abakuá lodge (potencia). Abakuá is a Cuban secret society of Calabari/Cross River origin.
Initiation into an Egbé society or association.
Collective of recognized elders sharing governance authority.
event house
Reception of Orula's hand. First level of Ifá initiation, open to non-Babaláwo.
House
Knowledge Transmission Types
Kouche
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.
Alagba
schism party
multi-tradition
Association or society organized around a specific orisha or shared ritual purpose.
Haitian Vodou society, often with named lineage and territorial identity.
Egbé Initiation
Abakuá
Babalosha
Priest initiated into the Olofin mysteries. Among the highest initiatory grades in Lucumí.
The authority figure who conferred this title. Range: iroko:ReligiousOffice.
initiation witness
lineage tradition
Osugbo Member
Inisiación de Egbé
Lineage Federation
Kanzo
Making Ocha
Potencia Abakuá
A religious office currently or historically held by this person. Inverse of iroko:authorityHolder. Multiple offices may be held simultaneously or sequentially; each is a separate ReligiousOffice instance with its own iroko:conferralDate. This property does not distinguish current from historical — that distinction is carried by the office record. Access: community-only — office holding within a house is internal governance information not appropriate for public disclosure.
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.
Madrina
True if the house actively practices more than one distinct tradition.
public presence
Member of the Osugbo/Ogboni earth society, holding judicial and spiritual authority.
Couche
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.
transmission method
The lying-in period component of Vodou kanzo initiation.
Initiated Ifá priest. Authorized to perform Ifá divination and related ceremonies.
house type
location
Itefa
Institutional form of the house. Range: iroko:HouseTypeScheme.
Elekes
Female head of a Brazilian terreiro.
The house from which this house descends through initiation. Equivalent to godparent-house in common practice.
Lineage
Reception of the Olofin mysteries. Among the highest grades in Lucumí practice.
Iyalosha
Initiation into an Abakuá potencia.
Approximate number of initiated members. Text to allow ranges or qualitative descriptions.
Initiation Types
A religious office recognized and active within this house. Inverse of iroko:authorityHouse. A house may recognize multiple offices; each office is a separate ReligiousOffice instance. Active vs. historical status determined by iroko:conferralDate on the office record. Access: community-only — office structure of a house is internal governance information.
How authority and decision-making are structured within the house. Range: iroko:GovernanceModelScheme.
Oral
membership estimate
Female Ifá priest. Recognition is contested across lineages; use iroko:contestedStatus when applicable.
The person who received initiation. Range: foaf:Person. Highly sensitive — access no-access by default except to the individual and their house.
House organized primarily around Ifá divination practice and Babaláwo lineage.
Olofin Initiation