child, Elebuibon. The circumstances of his birth can be seen in the names Elebuibon was given. His first name Ifayemi means Ifa befits me and his other name Osundagbonu refers to the goddess Osun, who they believed gave them Elebuibon. Career Elebuibon began training as an Ifa priest by his father in 1951 when he was 4 years old. He continued this rigorous training in the traditional arts until his father died when he was only 10 in 1957. He was then put under the guidance of Chief Faniyi Ajani (the Agbongbon-Awo of Osogbo), another well trained Ifa priest who most likely was a contemporary of Elebuibon's father and grandfather. After training for another 10 years, he became an official Babalawo in 1967. He did not attend formal schooling but self-educated himself. He then became an actor for Duro Ladipo's famous plays including Ọba kò so. He then became associated with the National Black Theatre, in which he currently serves a cultural advisor. He then began to publish several books and papers in both Yoruba and English. He also wrote many traditional Yoruba plays based on Yoruba figures (known as èwí in Yoruba). His traditions morality drama “IFA OLOKUN ASORODAYO” (a popular phrase praising Ifa and Orunmila culled from Odu-Ifa was presented as a series on Nigeria national television network. In an effort to conserve Yoruba history and culture that he felt was being lost to Western influences, he established several cultural institutions in Nigeria, including Ancient Philosophy International in Osogbo, a centre dedicated to teaching African Traditional Religion and Performing Arts. He was appointed the Vice Chairman of Board of Traditional Medicine, Osun State, and he is presently the President of International Congress of Orisa Tradition and culture, Nigeria Chapter. Through his efforts, the Osun-Osogbo Grove was named a UNESCO World heritage site and in 2005, UNESCO declared in its third proclamation of World Masterpieces that the Ifa Divination System in Nigeria was one of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity to be preserved and protected. He continues to go on lecture tours in addition to practicing his traditional religion. References 1947 births Living people Babalawos Yoruba-language writers Yoruba dramatists and playwrights Yoruba linguists Nigerian expatriate academics in the United States San Francisco State University faculty Academic staff of Obafemi Awolowo University Yoruba academics People from Osogbo Linguists of Yoruba English-language writers from Nigeria