Ifá

This article is about a system of divination from West Africa. For other uses, see IFA.

Sixteen Principal Odu
Name	1	2	3	4
Ogbe	I	I	I	I
Oyẹku	II	II	II	II
Iwori	II	I	I	II
Odi	I	II	II	I
Ọbara	I	II	II	II
Ọkanran	II	II	II	I
Irosun	I	I	II	II
Iwọnrin	II	II	I	I
Ogunda	I	I	I	II
Ọsa	II	I	I	I
Irẹtẹ	I	I	II	I
Otura	I	II	I	I
Oturupọn	II	II	I	II
Ika	II	I	II	II
Ọsẹ	I	II	I	II
Ofun	II	I	II	I

Sixteen Principal Afa-du (Yeveh Vodoun)
Name	1	2	3	4
Gbe-Meji	I	I	I	I
Yeku-Meji	II	II	II	II
Woli-Meji	II	I	I	II
Di-Meji	I	II	II	I
Abla-Meji	I	II	II	II
Akla-Meji	II	II	II	I
Loso-Meji	I	I	II	II
Wele-Meji	II	II	I	I
Guda-Meji	I	I	I	II
Sa-Meji	II	I	I	I
Lete-Meji	I	I	II	I
Tula-Meji	I	II	I	I
Turukpe-Meji	II	II	I	II
ka-Maji	II	I	II	II
Ce-Meji	I	II	I	II
Fu-Meji	II	I	II	I

Ifá is a system of divination that originated in West Africa among the Yoruba ethnic groups. It is also practiced among believers in Lucumi, (sometimes referred to as Santería), Candomblé, West African & Diaspora Vodoun, and similarly transplanted Orisa'Ifa lineages in the New World. In Togo, it is known as Afa, where the Vodou deities come through and speak. In many of their Egbes, it is Alaundje who is honored as the first Bokono to have been taught how to divine the destiny of humans using the holy system of Afa. Interestingly enough, the Ewe spelling “Afa ” is also a sacred Dravidian (Tamul, Afro-Elamite) word meaning “breath, or spirit of life” (Massey, 1994 p. 245). The Ifa Divination system was added in 2005 by UNESCO to its list of "Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity".

Overview of divination system

The Yoruba divination system enabled diviners to invoke Orunmila, the Yoruba deity of wisdom, prophecy and ethics, and Esu (Eshu), who as messenger of the gods lends his authority or ase to the oracle for the purpose of clarifying the future and providing direction to those seeking guidance. Ifa divination rites provide an avenue of communication between the spirit world and that of the living.

Performing Ifa divination is called Dida Owo. Dida Owo is performed only by an initiated priest called a Babalawo (male Ifa priest), sometimes called Awo. Babalawo is directly translated as "father of the secrets".

Divination process

Special instruments are used to assist in the divination to transcribe Orunmila's wisdom through the diviner. The items used for divination include:

• a group of sixteen Ikin, commonly known as palm nuts, which are used to create binary data
• a vessel for the seeds
• a divination tray (opon Ifa).
• a tapper instrument (iroke Ifa)
• beaded belts for the babalawo to wear.

The tray and tapper are used in Ifa divination, a central ritual within Yoruba religion. This tray, adorned with carved images and dusted with powder, serves as the template on which sacred signs (odu) related to the personal concerns of a diviner's client are traced as the point of departure for analysis. In contrast to those transitory signs, the more permanent backdrop of the carved motifs on the tapper and tray constitutes an artistic exegesis of the forces that shape human experience and the universal needs fulfilled by such quests for enlightenment.

To initiate the ritual, the babalawo places the tray in front of him and taps rhythmically on it with the pointed end of the tapper, invoking the presence of past diviners and of Ifa (also called Orun-mila) the god of divination.

There are a variety of palm nuts that are available, but only specific kinds may be used for Ifa divination. The palm nuts are grouped in one hand, then the diviner attempts to shift them all to his/her other hand at once, and counts the remaining Ikin left, hopefully to discover that either one or two remain. (Odu, which are the foundation of the binary data, can only be marked with either one or two palm nuts, remaining in the diviner's original hand. As this process goes on, the diviner marks single or double marks in wood powder spread on his divination tray until he or she has created one of the 256 odus that are available.

Each of these odus is associated with a traditional set of Ese (verses), often relating to Yoruba mythology, which explain their divinatory meaning. These verses represent thousands of years of observation and are filled with predictions, and both mundane and spiritual prescriptions that resolve issues found in that Odu.

After obtaining the Odu that governs a situation or event, the diviner then determines whether the Odu comes with Ire (which is poorly translated to mean good luck) or Ibi (which could be viewed as obstacles or impediments to success). After this process the diviner now determined appropriate offerings, spiritual disclipines and/or behavioral changes necessary to bring, keep or compel success for the person receiving divinatory counsel.

Odu Ifa

There are sixteen major Odu, when combined there are total of 256 Odu that govern all situations, all circumstances and all actions and consequences in life. These form the basic of Yoruba spiritual knowledge and the foundation of all Yoruba divination systems.

Interpreting Odu is fairly easy. Where I is an odd count or a "heads" result, and II is an even count or a "tails" result, the sixteen basic patterns and their Yoruba names are set forth in the sidebar.

The babalawo recites a series of proverbs and stories from the Ifa poetry that go with that choice. The final interpretation is made by the person seeking guidance, who decides how the verses that the babalawo has recited should be applied to the problem at hand. Though the number of symbols is different, the Chinese I Ching divination system also bears some resemblance to Ifa divination. Like the Chinese I Ching, Ifa combines a large body of wisdom literature with a system for selecting the appropriate passages from it. Unlike the I Ching, however, Ifa poetry is not written down but passed down orally from one babalawo to another.

Vocabulary

• Awo. Ifa Priest, male or female.

Akapo. Student or apprentice under a Babalawo

• Babalawo. Male Ifa Priest
• Bokono. Male Priest of Afa/Vodoun
• Amengansie. Female priestess of Afa/Vodoun
• Iyanifa. Female Ifa Priestess
• Dida Owo. casting Ikin Ifa.
• Ohunte Ale. Inscribing or marking Odu on the Opon Ifa
• Opon Ifa. Divining tray
• Orunmila. Prophet that developed and spread Ifa divination system. Now considered a deified Ancestor that embodies principles of Ifa.
• Orisa. Primordial energies from which all living things emanate from; The Deities that represent various manifestations of the ONE God, Olodumare.
• Iya Nla. Ìyá àgbà, The bearded woman, the Womb of Creation, Womb of existence, the fearful power, the Mother of the closed calabash, the Mother of the gourd, who teach humankind through Awon Iya Wa how to acquire the cosmic knowledge to understand life, balance and the harmony on their life.
• Irunmole. The Primordial deities, first sent to earth to make the world habitable for humankind, also the full spectrum of deities (Orisa) created by Olodumare (the Creator) for worship and veneration numbering 400+1 as an infinite number of natures manifestation and recreation.
• Dafa. means to cast Ikin Ifa (sacared holy palm kernel) for divination purpose and divine direction in life
• Apetebi. is the wife of a Babalawo AND / OR the wife of a Babalawo Ikin Ifa, she is one of the few titled positions within the Yoruba tradition and holds an important position within the tradition and culture, she will assist her husband in the worship and appeasement of his Ifa, and help to teach children the fundaments of worshipping Ifa as a philosophy
• Ayafa. very similar to the Apetebi and can also be Apetebi, but this wife is often "married" to the Ifa of a Babalawo and can also be married to another man, or even a female child before marriage age or the girl child of a Babalawo who by "marrying" to Ifa, this is a symbolic ceremony and will convey certain blessing and protection to the female.

Names

Ifa priests and worshippers among the Yoruba people or those who believe in Ifa bear names related with Ifa, typically, but not necessarily, begin with the word, ‘Ifa’, like Ifadairo, Ifabiyi, Ifadare, Ifabunmi, etc. The first "I" in these names may be omitted to form Fadairo, Fabiyi, Fadare, Fabunmi, Falola, etc. The prefix "Awo" is also used in names ascribing Ifa or its priesthood - Awolalu, Awodele, Awolowo, Awosika, etc.

Resources

• Awo Fasina Falade Ifa: The Key to Its Understanding ISBN 0966313232
• Chief Fama Fundamentals of the Yoruba Religion (Orisa Worship) ISBN 0971494908
• C. Osamaro Ibie Ifism the Complete Works of Orunmila ISBN 1890157058
• William R. Bascom: Ifa Divination: Communication Between Gods and Men in West Africa ISBN 0253206383
• William R. Bascom: Sixteen Cowries: Yoruba Divination from Africa to the New World ISBN 0253208475
• Awo Fa'Lokun Fatunmbi Awo: Ifa & the Theology of Orisha Divination ISBN 0942272242
• Iyanifa Ileana S. Alcamo "The Challenge growing within the Orisa Community" ISBN 1890157317
• Hunter-Hindrew, Mamaissii V. Mami Wata: Africa's Ancient God/dess Unveiled. 2nd Edition." ISBN 0-9716245-4-2
• Rosenthal, J. ‘Possession Ecstasy & Law in Ewe Voodoo" ISBN 0-8139-1805-7
• Maupoil, Bernard. "La Geomancie L'ancienne Côte des Esclaves
• Alapini, Julien. Les noix sacrées. Etude complète de Fa-Ahidégoun génie de la sagesse et de la divination au Dahomey
• Iyalaja Ileana Alcamo (2007). The Source Iya Nla Primordial Yoruba Mother,Athelia Henrietta Press, Inc.

ISBN 1-890157-41-4

• Dr. Ron Eglash (1997) American Anthropologist Recursion in ethnomathematics, Chaos Theory in West African divination.
• Dr. Reginald O. Crosley (2000) The Voudou Quantum Leap ISBN 1567181732

External links

• OrishaNet: First and largest Orisha website written by a Lucumi Babalawo
• The Palo and Lukumi Organization - Website written by Lukumi Orisha-Ifa High Priest, aka: Babalawo
• UNESCO Heritage Masterpieces
• Online simulation of Ifá divination, with the names of the odus
• Ile Orunmila Temple
• Ile Ifa Jalumi
• Ara Ifa: Ijo Orunmila
• Ifá divination tools in African art
• Afa in Mami Wata Yeveh Vodoun
• Iya Nla
• International Council for Ifa Religion The International Council for Ifa Religion