Spiritual exploits of Ifa in Yoruba Land – Part 2

There is numerous paraphernalia of Ifa divination. Abimbola identifies the following as Ifa Object of divination. IKIN (palm nuts) – Ifa has his own paraphernalia of divination. The first and the most ancient of these objects is Ikin, (the sixteen sacred palm nuts). Only palm nuts with four eyes can be used for divination.

OPELE (Divination chain)-Ifa priest often use Ikin for divination, instead they use Opele, this is because it gives the sign in one throwing whereas the palm nuts would have to be casted eight times to get the same results. It consists of four strands of beads about two feet six or three feet long, twisted together into a single cord that is poised through a large bead at each of the eight spot were a half pod of nuts from the schrebera golungensis tree will be tied. These seeds are oval in shape and hinged at the bottom so that when spit open, they lie very flat. At each end of the chain, the priest attached little bundles of odd items as bells, cowries, threads or shells. Each end is thus distinctive and he can at a glance, distinguish the right from the left. The usual material of which the Opele chain is made is tough leather but sometimes cotton string is used and likewise brass.

Odu Ifa- There are 16 major books in odu Ifa literacy corpus. When combined there are total of 256 odu (a collection of 16, each of which has alternatives 16/2, 4/2) believed to reference all situations, circumstances, actions and consequences in life based on the uncountable ‘ese’ (poetic tutorials, associated storyline) relative to the 256 Odu coding. These form the basis of traditional Yoruba spiritual knowledge and the foundation all Yoruba divination system.

Yellow Powder- the powder is known as Iyere osun. It is obtained from the Irosun tree (Baphia nitida). It is the dust left when termites have eaten away the outer layer of the wood. It is considered sacred and is carefully swept up and preserved for the divination practice.

Ibo- Another important object of IFA divination is the IBO, the sacred cowry and the sacred bone used in casting lots. The cowry shell stands for ‘Yes’ while, the bone stands for ‘no’ there is also a special type of ‘ibo’ which makes use of five objects, a stone, cowry, sea shell, a bone and a piece of chain. The five objects are believed to represents the five kinds of good, the five kind of evil and five spiritual forces. Iroke- is used in tapping the Ifa divination tray during the process of divination. The tapping is an invocation on IFA gods and all of whom presence are important during the divination process. The tapper is held in the stuck bottom part while the pointed head is used to strike the divination tray.

It can be carved in wood or ivory. It is carry by the Ifa priest as a symbol of the status he enjoys in the community.
Note the elongated and conical part which resembles the conical shape of the object. This emphasizes the importance of Ori (spiritual or inner head) in Ifa divination. Also to notice is the figure of a kneeling woman which is a symbol of a Yoruba ritual art. This familiar posture stands for “ikunle abiyamo” (the kneeling posture of a woman during labour). This position is a pleading on Ifa to give the correct answer to the supplicant’s request.
Divination tray- the trays are invariably made of wood. They are carved in rectangular, circular and semi- circular forms. At the two ends of the tray have the carved face of Esu. The face is believed to represent the watchful eyes and attention of Esu (trickster god) during the process of divination. Carved around the boarder of the tray are series of image; cowries shell, birds, reptiles, human figure and other cultural items. Things present in the world crowd the space and express a wide variety of themes; leadership, warfare, fertility, protection, and sacrifice among others.
Ifa cup- it is made of wood, some are made of brass. The cups do appear in various forms, with lids and carving. The cup housed the Ikin.

The Divination Process
The long and complicated process of Ifa divination begins when the client confides his problem in secret to Ifa. This is done in several ways. The most popular way is for the client to whisper his secret problem to a coin and then throw the coin inside the paraphernalia of the Ifa divination, another is for the client to take up the paraphernalia of Ifa in his hand and unfold his mind to it quietly as the priest is not allowed to hear the problem.

The priest takes up the Iroke Ifa by tapping the tray with certain recitation. The chant usually includes praise of Olodumare, Orunmila and other ancestors who have excel in the practice of Ifa. According to Kolawole Ositola, a renowned Ifa priest in Ijebu Ode recalls that there are nine segments on the tray in which he used to greet before the divination process commenced. He puts it at Oju opon (face of tray), Ese opon (foot of tray), Ona oganran (straight path), Ona munu, Alaba lotun (one who prosper with the right hand, Alaba losi (one who implement with left hand), Alilete powo (early riser who sit down and prosper), Afirukere sayo (one who owns diviner’s whisk and is happy) and Erilade Opon (center of the tray). After the diviner greets the ancient diviners, he then pays homage to his forefathers, the deities and the great birds. The birds symbolize the diviner’s ability to chant and also represent ancient diviners. Ositola explains that “all the birds and animals have the knowledge of Ifa in the ancient times”. In some cases, the birds represent our “mothers”.

Thereafter, the Ifa priest takes the divination chain firmly in the middle, cast it on the ground and reads the signature that appears. He then chants the ‘ese’ (associated story line or poem) which he considers to be the most representative of the character. It can only fall with four seeds on each side, some will turn upward exposing the concave side and some turn the convex side up. So in terms of the position of the nuts, a pattern will be formed. The chain can fall in 256 different ways and thus give 256 patterns, corresponding to the number of sixteen major odu and 240 minor odu. Four is a significant number in Ifa.

The amount of detailed explanation that the Ifa priest gives his client depend on the number of different kind of ‘ese’ that he knows from the particular Odu which has appeared. At this stage, the priest usually prefers to make a broad and general statement. He relies on the use of ‘ibo’ to speak out further details. The ‘ibo’ are mere lots based on the two opposite alternative of ‘yes’ or ‘no’. It is the belief of the priest and his client that the client ‘Ori’ (inner head) will make the right choice of alternative when lots are cast. The commonest and simple form of ‘ibo’ is a pair of cowry shells tied together and a piece of animal bone. The cowry shell stands for ‘Yes’, while the piece of the bone stands for ‘No’.
Spiritual Exploit Of Ifa In Yorubaland

Yoruba people live mostly in south west Nigeria. They have developed a variety of artistic forms including pottery, weaving, bead work, metalworking and carvings. Most of the artworks were made to honour the gods and ancestors. The Yoruba contribute about 35 per cent of Nigeria’s population and around 40 million individuals throughout West Africa region. The Yorubas are the main ethnic group in the states of Ekiti, Lagos, Ondo, Osun and Oyo, which are sub division of Nigeria; they also constitute a sizeable proportion of Kwara, Kogi and Edo states.

The Yoruba believes strongly in the wisdom of Ifa. The belief spells out in some of the praise names given to him. Two of such are ‘Akere finu sogbon’ (a deity with a mind full of wisdom) and ‘Akoni loro bi iyekan ni’ (he who gives advice like ones relative). It is this great wisdom of Ifa which gives him a high position among other Yoruba gods. Without Ifa, the relevance of other gods would not be meaningful. If a man is being punished by other gods, he can only know the causes and likely sacrifice by consulting Ifa. Likewise, if a community is to make a sacrifice to one of its gods, it can only through Ifa. At birth of a new child, Ifa is consulted to find out what would be the fortune and if possible the likely sacrifice for a prosperous life. Chief Elebuibon (a renown Ifa devotee) once narrates the account of his parents who were Ifa worshippers, consulted Ifa before he was born. Ifa predicted the kind of child he would be. In this way, Ifa is said to be the only active mouth piece of Yoruba traditional religion.
Oseni, in the work of Oluwatosin, posits that whatever prediction made by Ifa priest is believed to be accurate. He added that based on the faith of the people of Ijebu ode in Ifa oracle, hardly will any important event be carried out without consulting Ifa.

According to Fadeyi, Ifa is consulted virtually at every aspect of life such as before embarking on a journey, in time of crisis, leadership tussle and other social and cultural function. Ifa is said to be a social force that can impose rules and guidelines on its devotees and through it can influence general public where opinion will be formulated as code of conduct.

The Ifa devotees of Yoruba land hold the faith that practising Ifa is an exercise that has been from time immemorial. They believe that Ifa divination practice was brought from Ile Ife and it is practised the same way Orunmila taught his children. This claim agrees with the assertion of Ayodele Ogunnaike, Fadeyi and Onansaya in the work of Oluwatosin A.K 2021 that, Orunmila taught his children how to use sixteen palm nut to consult for people and this same means has been adopted by the Ifa priest in Yoruba land till date.

Awodele Ifayemi writes, Ifa divination is a critical aspect of the Yoruba people of West Africa and is used to seek guidance and wisdom from the deity. It is a complex practice that requires extensive training and knowledge, and it is highly respected and revered in Yoruba culture. Whether one is seeking guidance on a specific matter or connecting the spiritual world, Ifa divination offers a powerful and meaningful path to spiritual growth and enlightenment.

Out with this selection of culture and traditions; our ancestors would have had little chance of preserving what little information each was able to bring to the “new age”. It is therefore imperative to know that Ifa spiritual power plays a critical role in the life of Ifa priests and its devotees irrespective of colour and race. Yoruba believes in Olodumare, and Ifa as the means of knowing the will and advice of her creator.

In summation, in an age often consumed by lawlessness, confusion, instability and violence, Ifa is best known to many as the reveller of facts, supporter of the weak and confidant to its devotees. No wonder, Ifa diviner with his competence and experience teaches and guide his devotees the intuitive capacity needed for material success and longevity.
Oyebola is Chief Curator, Museums Department, National Commission For Museums And Monuments.