Priest

===Africa===
The [[Yoruba people]] of western [[Nigeria]] practice an indigenous religion with a [[Tribal chief|chiefly]] hierarchy of priests and priestesses that dates to AD 800–1000.<ref>{{cite book |last=Akintoye |first=S. A. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/609888714 |title=A History of the Yoruba People |date=2010 |isbn=978-2-35926-005-2 |location=Dakar, Senegal |oclc=609888714}}</ref> Ifá priests and priestesses bear the titles [[Babalawo]] for men and [[Iyanifa]] for women.<ref name="google">{{cite book |title=Encyclopedia of African Religion |author1=Asante, M.K.|author2=Mazama, A.|date=2009 |volume=1 |publisher=SAGE Publications |isbn=9781412936361 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B667ATiedQkC&pg=PT365 |access-date=2015-07-25}}</ref> Priests and priestesses of the varied [[Orisa|Orisha]] are titled Babalorisa for men and Iyalorisa for women.<ref name="google2">{{cite book |title=Shamanism: An Encyclopedia of World Beliefs, Practices, and Culture |author1=Walter, M.N.|author2=Fridman, E.J.N.|date=2004 |volume=1 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=9781576076453 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X8waCmzjiD4C&pg=PA451 |page=451 |access-date=2015-07-25}}</ref> Initiates are also given an Orisa or Ifá name that signifies under which deity they are initiated. For example, a Priestess of [[Osun]] may be named Osunyemi, and a Priest of [[Ifá]] may be named Ifáyemi. This traditional culture continues to this day as initiates from all around the world return to Nigeria for initiation into the priesthood, and varied derivative sects in the New World (such as [[Cuba]]n [[Santería]] and Brazilian [[Umbanda]]) use the same titles to refer to their officers as well.