“A” is for African Theological Archministry, Inc.

In December 1973 a group of African Americans established an independent Yoruba kingdom at Sheldon. Oyotunji means “Oyo again awakes” or “Oyo rises again. Oyo was an ancient city-state kingdom in Yorubaland located in present-day Nigeria, Togo, Benin, and Ghana. The village is patterned after the ancient Yoruba kingdoms of Nigeria in governance and religious practices. Founding King Adefunmi I traveled to Nigeria in 1972 and was initiated into the Ifa priesthood. Ifa is the Yoruba god of fate, and his priests are diviners or oracles consulted on all matters spiritual and mundane. The mission of the African Theological Archministry is to remove negative stereotypes of African and African American culture by providing a living laboratory of African traditions and by disseminating historical and cultural information.