Ifáyẹmi Ọ̀ṣúndàgbonù Elebuibon (born 1947) is a Yoruba and Nigerian writer, poet, author, linguist, and a world-famous Ifa priest.
[1] His plays and films have received worldwide acclamation for his pursuit of the preservation of Yoruba culture and heritage.
He also serves as a traveling lecturer in several institutions including at the department of African language and literature at the Obafemi Awolowo University and Black Studies at the San Francisco State University and at the Wajumbe Cultural Institution in California.
[2] Elebuibon was born in 1947 in Osogbo[3] to Akínrìndé Àkàndé Ẹlẹ́búìbọn (c. 1885 – 1957) an Ifa priest and hunter, and Ṣíjuwọya Abeje Ẹlẹ́búìbọn (née Awóníyì).
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.
[2] 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.
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.