Ifa Mode of Divination

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The materials used for divination are a whitened circular board known as “Opon Ifa” and sixteen palm nuts. Sometimes a rectangular board is used.

At other times the number of palm nuts is increased by one .When the diviner has secured all the necessary materials he proceeds in either of the following ways:

1) He puts all the palm nuts on his left palm and attempts to take them up with one grasp of the palm of his right hand

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2) He holds the 16 palm nuts loosely in the right hand and throws them through the half closed fingers into the left hand. When either of these processes is adopted if one palm nut remains, two marks II or OO are made with the finger on the divining board; of two nuts remain, in a single mark 1 or O is made. The process is repeated eight times and the figure formed by recording the results is called an “Odu”, a “chief”, a “head”, a “deity” represented by a palm nut. Behind each of the 16 Odu’s are 16 subordinate Odu’s and this bringing the numbers to 256. Behind each of these 256 Odu’s are other subordinate Odu’s, bringing the total to 4,096 for each of which there is an appropriate story when it appears on the divining board and this an ifa Priest must know.



The following is a list of the 16 principal Odu’s of the Ifa corpus

(1) Eji Ogbe (2) Oyekun meji (3) Iwori meji
(4) Odi meji (51 Iroshu meji (6) Owara meji
7) Bara meji (8) Okara(n) meji (9( Ogunda meji
(10) Osa meji (11) Ika meji (12) Oturupon meji
(13) Oture meji (14) Irete meji (15)Ose meji (16)Ofu meji

When a particular Odu turns up on the divining board, the diviner recites the appropriate story or couplet and interprets to the enquirer as best as he can. Of all these Odu’s, Eji Ogbe is the Prince of the Odu’s.

Cited from “The Religion of the Yoruba’s” by Olumide Lucus, Canon J

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