Odù Ifá
From Association of Independent Readers and Rootworkers
Ifá is a African religious tradition that originated among the Yoruba peoples in West Africa, specifically Ile-Ife, and is associated with the Oyo region of Yorubaland, in what is present-day Nigeria. It was brought to the Caribbean through the trans-Atlantic slave trade, and subsequently spread to the continental Americas as an African Diasporic spiritual path, particularly in the aftermath of the Cuban revolution in the mid-20th century.
Within African religions, multiple forms of divination, including Ifá, Obi, Chamalongos, and Diloggun, play a central role in determining how to maintain balance between the material and spiritual realms. Adherents of Ifá consult priests for concrete guidance in both religious observance and personal conduct for best outcomes. Divination will be expected and necessary to mark an adherent's religious path within Ifá.
Ifá diviners are often considered to be the most authoritative among many who practice within Yoruba-derived African Diasporic religious traditions in the Americas, such as Lucumi or Santeria, although some lineages within these traditions may not use Ifá or priests of Ifá at all. Becoming a priest of Ifá requires extensive initiation and subsequent training in order to be recognized as a practicing diviner within the larger community.
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A Sacred Oral Tradition in Verse
The word Odù has many meanings, but in this context it is linked to Olódùmarè, the Supreme Being of the Yoruba religion, and to the geomantic figures also known as Odù. The word Ifá refers to the orisha named Orunmila or Ifá, the Yoruba deity of wisdom. The Odù Ifá are both 16 emanations of the Divine, as well as the collection of oral verses that together comprise a divinatory system and a corpus of sacred text.
To perform Ifá divination, practitioners use a hand of palm nuts (ikin) or a divining chain (opele or okuelé) to generate pairs of geomantic signs on a divinatory tablet (opon). The resulting patterns are read from right to left to form a composite Odù or wisdom teaching.
There are 16 "legs" or figures of Ifá, which in turn are combined to form 256 composites incorporating 2 legs. Each of the Odù composites is associated with one or more proverbs and verses which illustrate the themes, appropriate conduct, and prohibitions of the respective Odù. Because of the emphasis on oral transmission in the learning of Ifá divination, there is no single, complete compendium of Ifá, although there are published collections of Ifá proverbs and verses.
The Meanings of the Sixteen Legs
The sixteen individual Odù are, in order of seniority, from oldest to youngest:
- Ogbe: ("Light, Clarity"): Auspicious, new beginnings, movement without opposition, open roads.
- Oyeku or O yeye iku: ("Spirit of the Mother of Death"): Darkness, the end of a cycle.
- Iwori or Iwa Ori: ("Essence of consciousness"): Duality, reflection, transformation.
- Odi ("Giving birth"): Foundation, roots of the present in the past, now forms from old structures.
- Irosun ("Lineage" or "menstrual blood"): Realization of potential, family guidance.
- Owonrin ("Chaos"): Unexpected change, unexpected disruptions, entropy.
- Obara ("Spirit of strength"): Energy and positive action, inner transformation.
- Okanran ("Coming from the heart"): New directions and possibilities, balancing heart and mind.
- Ogunda or Ogun da ("Spirit of iron creates"): Struggle, overcoming obstacles, resolution of conflicts.
- Osa or O Sa ("Spirit of Oya"): External change, unpredictability, challenges.
- Ika ("Pulling together"): Power of the word to heal or harm, personal power through invocation.
- Oturopon ("Infectious disease"): Maintaining health, cleansing, recovery, strong immune system.
- Otura ("The Comforter"): Mystic vision, sense of destiny or purpose, spirituality, wisdom.
- Irete or Ire te ("Create good luck"): Determination to gain abundance, transmute understanding to action.
- Ose (The Conquerer): Fresh water, abundance, fertility, procreation, evolution.
- Ofun ("Spirit of white"): Light as the source of manifestation, answer to prayers, completion, wholeness.
Credits
This page is brought to you by the AIRR Tech Team:
- Author: Lukianos
- Contributors: catherine yronwode
- Image: Lukianos, WorldmartByBelkys, Unknown Artist; photo-sourced and edited by catherine yronwode and nagasiva yronwode
