The Founder

"We are practitioners and scholars of various African-rooted traditions who have a passion for creating a space for the study and the continuation of ancient ways and means of achieving knowledge, wisdom, and understanding of our proper place in the world. Building a better civilization, one book at a time."

Délé Fágbèmí Ọ̀.

Founder & Executive Director, Iroko Historical Society

Délé Fágbèmí Ọ̀. is the Founder and Executive Director of the Iroko Historical Society. He holds a JD in International Law and an MBA in Corporate Finance both from Case Western Reserve University, an MA in Anthropology from Tulane University, and a BS in Psychology from Tennessee State University. He is currently an MLIS candidate in Data Science and Analytics at the University of Alabama.

A fully initiated practitioner in the Lucumí tradition for over 30 years, Délé holds rare initiatory credentials spanning multiple Afro-Atlantic sacred systems, including roles as Babaláwo, Olofista, Olu-Iroko, and Alaaña/Olubata. His scholarly and institutional work centers on the intersection of Afro-Atlantic sacred knowledge, postcustodial archival theory, and digital preservation ethics.

Fieldwork

Délé has conducted fieldwork in Cuba since 2002, collaborating with religious communities in Havana, Matanzas, and Pinar del Río. His ongoing collaboration with Babaláwo Irete Obara on the digitization of sacred materials forms one of the Society's foundational archival collections.

The Iroko Framework

He is the architect of the Iroko Framework, a modular semantic vocabulary system for documenting sacred knowledge across Afro-Atlantic traditions. The framework comprises 16 modules, 94 classes, 389 properties, and 589 concepts across seven language families, with a central innovation separating vocabulary publication (CC0) from data publication (API-governed, community-authorized).

He maintains a visual ethnography portfolio documenting sacred spaces, ritual practice, and community life across the Afro-Atlantic world.