WHAT IS IFA? BY BABALAWO OBANIFA-Obanifa Extreme Documentaries
In this current work Babalawo Obanifa will explain
and document in concise details, what is Ifa? Ifa as a divination system is
universal although it evolved from Yoruba land. Ifa goes by different
names. The Igbo people of Eastern Nigeria refer to Ifa as Afa (in which
case a dibia who is synonymous to Babalawo divines it). Moving outside Nigeria,
let’s consider different names given by people of various cultures to Ifa
from a global perspective. Semantic differences arise as a result of widespread
Ifa practice over the years to different cultures:
1) Hebrew people
call Ifa Epha;
2) Arabian people
regard Ifa as Ramah or Hati;
3) European call
Ifa Geomancy;
4) Malagasy people
regard Ifa as Geomancy;
5) Dahomey people
too refer to Ifa as Afa;
6) The Fon people
of Republic of Benin refer to Ifa as Fa;
7)The Nupe people
of Nigeria refer to Ifa as Eva;
8) The Jews refer
to Ifa as Ephod;
9) The Ewe people
of Togo refer to Ifa as Afa;
10) The Siwah
people of Sahara refer to Ifà as Derbelraml or Derbelraml fu.
But the fact
remains that the act of divination reading is derived from 16 Ifa corpus and
its original unadulterated name is Ifa, which is the Yoruba pronunciation of
it. Ifà is also known as Orunmila, Orunmila is also known as Ifa. The two
can be used interchangeably, although Orunmila is the first prophet
through which Ifa is delivered to the world. In ancient times Orunmila
was different from Ifa, but the interchangeable use of Orunmila as Ifa, or Ifa
as Orunmila arises as different holy Odu Ifa often refer to Orunmila as Ifa
and Ifa as Orunmila and the main reason for this is that only Orunmila
has been able attain the high level of sacred frequency of consciousness;
or embodiment of sacred Ifa knowledge as set by OlOdumare. No
Babalawo has ever achieved the same feat since then, hence Orunmila is regarded
as Ifa and Ifa is also regarded as Orunmila, the two can be used
interchangeably and it is sacredly acceptable, but in actual fact Ifa is
the sacred wisdom or the divine or sacred message from Olodumare. The
person through whom the message is interpreted is Orunmila.
So Orunmila is an
entity on its own, has a personal life of its own and Ifa is an entity on its own,
but the close association of the personality of Orunmila and entity of Ifa over
the centuries has made many sacred verses of Ifa refer to Orunmila as Ifa
and Ifa as Orunmila, so it is now acceptable but the two are different
entities. Ifa is also called some other names:
1) Eleri ipin (witness
of destiny at creation)
2) Opitan Ile Ife
(ancient historian of Ife city)
3) If Olokun
asorodayo (Ifa Olokun one that brings peace to trouble mind)
4) Akoniliran bi
iye kan Eni (one who teaches wisdom like one’s relation).
Now that we know
Ifa is universal but called by different name.
What then is Ifa?
Ifa is a holy
sacred message from Olodumare delivered to mankind through her ancient prophet,
Orunmila. Ifa is the embodiment of spiritual knowledge, medicine, culture,
social values, human history, law, customs and traditions encapsulated in
the corpus known as Odu Ifa, which can be used to meet both heavenly and
earthly needs. Ifa is the divine message of Olodumare, it is a sacred
message that covers the totality of all aspects of human existence.
Ifà scripture is
generally oral scripture and some of it comes to a gifted Babalawo through
dreams. From personal experience ,I have learned many Ifa verses in my dreams.
Although there are many books today explaining verses of Ifa, these books
can only depict one per cent of the volume of Ifa verses and scriptures available
at the disposal of a competent Babalawo and is different from one person to another. So
that is while it is only fake Babalawo
that will claim others practicing Awo like him does not know his trade because
they are not doing ritual in same manner.
Olodumare is the
word; Ifa exists as the word; Ifa is an inseparable part of Olodumare; Olodumare
is the beginning and end of all things, so because Ifa is part of Olodumare, Ifa
is believed to know the beginning and end of all things. For example a verse in
Odu Ifà Ejiogbe gives credence to this. It goes thus:
Orunmila ni hun un
un
Ifà moni ki lo de
ti o n kun barami elesin oyan?
Orunmila ki lo de
to n kun Adagba Ojomu
Ifà ni hun un unu
Ifà ki lo se o ti
on kun barami agboniregun?
Okinkin ti je ki
eyin erin o fon
Ifà loro lo po
ninu ohun
Ohun renikan a ba
so ni
Ogun ni emi n ko,
se bi ore niwa
Orunmila dahun pe
o just oro ore lo
Orunmila ni Eni to
mon iwaju oro to mon eyin oro ni ohun ko ri
Ogun ni o mon,
sugbon ko ri tu
Okanlelerinwo
irumonle ni won mon sugbon won o ri tu
won wa bere lowo
Orunmila pe se iwo na mo
Orunmila ni ohun
ko mon iwaju oro, ohun ko mon eyin oro
Oni Ifà nikan lo
mon iwaju oro , Ifà nikan lo mon eyin oro.
Ifa Olodumare
Atenilgelege
sapeji ara
Translation:
Orunmila is
murmuring and soliloquizing (talking at length to himself)
I said Ifa, why
are you murmuring, the title holder of Elesin Oyan of oyan Kingdom
Orunmila why are
you murmuring the Adagba of Ojomu land if continue to murmur
I said Ifa why are
you murmuring, the trumpet blower, who blew the elephant tusk.
Orunmila responded
I have a lot on my mind.
But I have no one
to share it with
Ogun demand am I
not worthy enough for you to discuss it with me, at least we are friend.
Orunmila retort it
goes beyond friendship
He said he had not
met anyone who knows the beginning and end of a matter
Ogun claim he
does, but he was unable to unravel any matter.
All the 401
deities attempted and failed.
Then they
unanimously inquired from Orunmila if know the beginning and end of all matters.
Orunmila say he didn't, that it is only Ifa that knows the beginning and end of
all matter.
From Odu Ifa
Ejiogbe it can be seen that in Yoruba cosmology it is believed that Ifa
knows the beginning and end of all things. They believe Ifa is Eleri Ipin
(the witness to creation; witness of destiny) hence Ifa consultation is
usually made before any important decision is taken like: the selection of
new King to ascend a throne; before
embarking on a business venture; when one want to choose a mate or friend; selection of partner for marriage; when one is
sick; when things are not going well in
a person’s life, etc. Ifà will reveal the solution to such problems.
Since Ifa is
believed to know the beginning and end of everything, Ifa has been used
since ancient periods up till today to regulate every sphere of human
life. So if you say Ifa is religion
you are right; if you say Ifà is a
science you are right; if you say Ifà is
a culture you are right;l if you say Ifà is divine, you are right; if you say Ifà is mere spirituality you are
right.Because Ifà is the embodiment of all aspects of humanity ranging from spirituality,
science, medicine, culture and history.
If you consider
Ifà from the cultural perspective, you will see that even today Ifa is used
to regulate the political and socio-economic; languages and culture;
types of marriage or sexual orientation acceptable and other social norms
and values acceptable according to the will of Olodumare.
And if you say Ifa
is medicine, yes; Ifa has medicinal relevance as it is a means of dealing with
the physical and magical aspect of using leaves and herbs hence we have Akose
Ifa for various purposes, ,e.g Akose Ifa for wealth, for protection and
infertility etc. Hence Ifa can be called a medicine. If you said Ifa is
religion, yes; many Ifa verses preach about ways to live to please Olodumare
and gods such as preaching again murder and other antisocial behaviors. Ifa
teaches us about morals.
If you said Ifa is
Divinity, yes Ifa is body of divination system, each Ifa verse contains sacred
messages that are usually interpreted by a competent Babalawo to solve
human problems. If you said Ifa is history, yes; Ifa deals with history
ranging from the creation story of the universe; the historic past of
great and ordinary people that have left are in Ifa scriptural verses.
Hence saying Ifa is historical is not wrong. If you say Ifa is science,
yes; Ifa sacred verses for those (the Babalawo) that know it contains much
sacred scientific knowledge like astronomy, cosmology, mathematics,
logic, astral science, philosophy, statistics, etc.
And if you said Ifa
is a system of worship you are right. All these characteristics are embedded
in Ifa, so Ifa can be said to be all encompassing. It embodies all aspects of human
life.
The sacred messages
or divine sacred knowledge and wisdom of Ifa is embedded in the Ifa corpus
known as Odu Ifa. The Odu Ifa contains 256 chapters in totality. There are 16 Major Odu known as Ojodu (Ekiti /Ife); Oju Odu (Oyo).
There are 240 minor Odu Ifa known as Omo Odu ,In Ekiti/Ife these Omo Odu is
known as Amulu. These Omo Odu are derived from the 16 major Odu. The 16
Major Odu are each sub-divided into 15 sub chapters, making the totality
of the Omo Odu in Odu Ifà 240. It is the combination of the 16 major Odu Ifa
known as Oju Odu and 240 minor Odu Ifa that make up of the totality of the
256 Odu Ifa. So all the spiritual and scientific knowledge of Ifa is
encoded in these 256 Odu Ifa. It is believed that each Odu Ifa contains
over 1,680 verses, and they are all in the form of myth, science parable,
anecdotes and wisdom saying. That 1,680 multiplied by 256 means that
there are over 430,080 sacred verses of Ifa. In reality, however, Ifa is far,
far more than that. Yoruba elders say:
A ko Ifa ko Ifa Ifa
o tan
A ko ogun ,Ogun ku
sona
Translation:
We learn Ifa
continuously but we cannot know its end
We learn medicine
.but there still more to learn
In one of the
praises of Ifa, Ifa is regarded as Oluwa mi amoimontan(My lord the great
mystery, my lord the unfathomable). Babalawos derive solutions and message from
each Odu that appears on the Ifa divination tray (Opon Ifa) to the client.
In order to be sufficiently competent to conduct a divination reading, a
Babalawo must memorize a minimum of two verses in each Odu of the 256 Odu Ifa.
So all verses of Odu Ifa are not contained in any books as many people think.
Most books that have been written on Ifa just document a bit of the
avalanche of the knowledge that is Odu Ifa. Most of it has been lost but
some are still orally available within the knowledge of practicing Babalawo.
So Ifa can simply
be defined as the sacred or esoteric word of Olodumare that is embedded in
Odu that can only be discovered and interpreted through the medium of
divination.
The 16 major Odu
as arranged in Ifa spirituality are of three traditions:
1) Ile Ife tradition;
2) Ekiti
tradition;
3) Oyo
tradition.
The arrangement of
Odu Ifa in these three traditions is different. But the Ekiti and Oyo traditions
derive their arrangements of Odu from Ile Ife tradition. The Babalawo in each tradition
only know what is peculiar to their tradition. Only few can have the knowledge
of the three tradition. Let say one in one thousand. We must set the record straight
for posterity, Babalawo Obanifa is one of the few, if not the first person to
break the record and research around the three traditions and known everything
about the theory and practical aspect of each tradition. No Awo have done that
before. I will first list the arrangement
of Odu as used in these three traditions and then explain what lead to
the difference in arrangements as explained by Odu Ifa Irete Ogunda.It is
instructive to note here that the entity know as Sixteen Odu Ifa were like
individual spirits when they were in Isalu Orun (heaven) before coming to
this earth. When they were still in heaven, Ejiogbe was the last of the
16 Odu and Ofun Meji was the most senior of them all. But when they set out
on their journey to Ikole aye (earth) Ofun Meji, the most senior said he
was not yet ready to go. So Ejiogbe, the youngest, took the lead and that
is how Ejiogbe become the first Odu Ifà, and the others followed:
1. Eji Ogbe
2. Oyeku Meji
3. Iwori Meji
4. Odi Meji
5. Irosn Meji
6. Owonrin Meji
7. Obara Meji
8. Okanran Meji
9. Ogunda Meji
10. Osa Meji
11. Irete Meji
12. Otura Meji
13. Oturupon Meji
14. Ika Meji
15. Ose Meji
16. Ofun Meji came
to earth lastly.
On getting to the
world Ofun Meji fought rigorously to regain his place as the elder and most
senior, but he failed in the attempt. History have it that he fought Ose Meji,
he won; he fought Odu Ifà Ika Meji, Oturupon Meji, Otura Meji, Irete Meji, Osa
Meji, Ogunda Meji, he won all of them. But when he get to Odu Ifa Owonrin
Meji, Owonrin Meji resisted; he fought back but no winner emerged between two
of them as neither of them lost their ground.
That is why up
till today no one knows the senior between Odu Ifà Owonrin Meji and Ofun Meji
that is how Ejiogbe become the most senior Odu in arrangement of 16 Odu.
Let’s now go first
into Ile Ife Tradition arrangement of Odu, because it is from it that the other
traditions derived their arrangements.
How Ekiti and Oyo
borrowed their Odu arrangement from the Ile Ife traditional is explained in Odu
Ifa Irete Aaya/Irete Ogunda. I will give details of this later. And will explain what is responsible
for the differences in arrangements of Odu Ifa in the three tradition mentioned.
Ile Ife
1. Ejiogbe
2. Oyeku Meji
3. Iwori Meji
4. Edi Meji
5. Obara Meji
6. Okanran Meji
7. Irosun Meji
8. Owonrin Meji
9. Ogunda Meji
10. Osa Meji
11. Irete Meji
12. Otura Meji
13. Oturupon Meji
14. Ika Meji
15. Ose Meji
16. Ofun Meji
Ekiti
1. Ejiogbe
2. Oyeku Meji
3. Iwori Meji
4. Edi Meji
5. Obara Meji
6. Okanran Meji
7. Irosun Meji
8. Owonrin Meji
9. Ogunda Meji
10. Osa Meji
11. Irete Meji
12. Otura Meji
13. Oturupon Meji
14. Ose Meji
15. Ofun Meji
16. Ika Meji
Oyo
1. Ejiogbe
2. Oyeku Meji
3. Iwori Meji
4. Odi Meji
5. Irosun Meji
6. Owonrin Meji
7. Obara Meji
8. Okanran Meji
9. Ogunda Meji
10. Osa Meji
11. Ika Meji
12. Oturupon Meji
13. Otura Meji
14. Irete Meji
15. Ose Meji
16. Ofun Meji
The arrangement of
Odu Ifa in Oyo tradition is the most common in books written on Ifa. But
it must be stated here that although the Oyo arrangements is common and most popular
it still derives its arrangements from the Ile Ife tradition. I will explain the
secret behind these differences as reveal by Odu Ifa Irete Ogunda. So
what is responsible for these differences in the arrangement? In ancient times,
the only arrangements of Odu Ifa available is the Ile Ife arrangements.
The Oyo domain and Ekiti Domain had to come to Ile Ife to take Odu Ifa
arrangements. So Orunmila imprinted the Odu Ifà arrangements with
divination powder (Iyerosun) on a wooden tray (opon Ifa) and gave it to
them to take to their domain for practicing. But before they could get outside
Ile Ife, when they got to a river called Afere, the breeze blew away the Iyerosun
and the Odu Ifa, as given by Orunmila became incomplete by the time they
got to their respective domains. They had to come back to Orunmila for another
copy. In the case of Ekiti tradition it was handed down to us that rain
drenched one of the Odu Ifa in Ekiti and Ife, that is why the Ekiti order has
only one difference from Ile Ife arrangement, Ekiti and Ife have same method of
conducting rituals. Unlike the Oyo arrangement although it is the most popular
in books of Ifa
The Odu Ifà Irete
Ogunda gives credence and reasons for this asymmetrical arrangement in other
tradition and how Orunmila himself give his blessings to it for purposes of propagation
of Ifa and convenience in practice.
Irete Ogunda say
thus :
Kan te gunda
Kan te gundaa
Kan te gunda gunda
dIfà fun baba
segedelumon
Lojo ti won you
gba Odu kuro Nile Ife
Ijo kan na ni
Ekiti ati Oyo gbOdu
Baba ni bi won
base ri si ki won o mase
Yi o di itewogba
Translation
Imprint the Odu
the way it please you
Imprint the Odu
the way it is comfortable to you
Infact imprint it
any how you feel
Cast Ifa
divination for segedelumon (name of ancient preist)
On the day they
will learn and take arrangement of Odu Ifà from Ile Ife
It is on that day
that Oyo and Ekiti take arrangement of Odu from Ile Ife
Orunmila said for
the sake of practicing conveniences Any how you imprint and use it, it will
always be accepted and work for you. This is the reason for the differences in
arrangement of Odu Ifà and it is very acceptable.
Important
notice: None of these three
traditions is superior to other. I have used the knowledge from the three tradition,
they all work for me. So, the game of spiritual supremacy between Ife, Ekiti
and Oyo is useless. It is Babalawo that have the knowledge that own the sword
.The fact that you come from any of the tradition does not confer spiritual
power or any legitimacy on you. If you know the trade .The discrepancy in
ritual is insignificant.
Now that we have
explained arrangement of Odu Ifa locally based on the origin, let’s examine
the arrangement internationally.
Let compare
arrangement of Odu Ifà in European where Ifà is regarded as Geomancy :
1.Ogbe/Via
2.Oyeku /populus
3. Iwori /cunjunctio
4. Odi /cancer
5 Irosun /Fortuna
/minor
6. Owonrin
/Fortuna major
7. Obara /latitude
8 .Okanran
/tristitia,
9. Ogunda /caudal
draconis
10. Osa /caput
draconis
11.Ika /rubeus
12. Oturupon
/Albus
13. Otura /paella
14. Irete /pue
15. Ose /amisso
16. Ofun /Acquisito.
If we consider the
arrangement of Odu Ifa from perspective of Arab people where If is known
as Ramal/Haiti. The arrangement goes thus :
1. Ogbe /target
2. Oyeku jamaa
3. Iwori/Akila
4. Odi/ijtimaa
5. Irosun /Nasra
dahila
6. Owonrin /Nasra
haraja
7. Obara /at
abata dahila
8. Okanran /atabat haraja
9. Ogunda /anakis
10. Osa /ahiyan
11.Ika /nakil 'wad
12. Oturupon
/judila
13. Otura /humra
14. Irete /biyad,
15. Ose /kabid
dahila,
16. Ofun
/kabid haraja.
Now if we look at
arrangement of Odu Ifa in Hebrew where Ifa is known as Epha. The arrangement
goes thus :
1. Ogbe /derech
2. Oyeku /kehila
3. Iwori /chibur
(kibbutz)
4. odi /beit
hasohar
5. Irosun /kavod
yotze,
6. Owonrin /kavod
nichnas
7. Obara /nisho
rosh
8. Okanran
/shefel rosh
9. Ogunda /shefel
10. Osa /software
yotze
11.Ika /Ha (adom)
12. Oturupon
/halaban
13. Otura /bar
halech
14. Irete niclcham
15. Ose/mamun
yotze
16 ofun /mamun
nichnas.
If we consider the
arrangement of Odu Ifa from perspective of Malagasy where Ifà is known as
Geomancy, the arrangement of Ifa there goes thus :
1.Ogbe /tarakia
2. Oyeku /Java
3. Iwori/
Aditsimag
4. Odi /alokola
5. Irosun
/asoralahy
6. Owonrin
/asorovanvy
7. Obara /alezany,
8. Okanran /adikizy
9. Ogunda
/vontisira
10. Osa /saka
11Ika /alemorkan
12 Oturupon
/abidi djady
13. Otura /kizo
14. Irete /adikia
sajy
15. Ose
/mikiarija,
16. Ofun,/molahidy.
This is
comparative analysis of arrangement of Odu Ifà from local and international
perspective.
Now that we know
the different arrangements of Odu Ifa from different tradition, and we know
that the Odu Ifa is where the message of Olodumare are embedded, let me explain what Odu Ifa
verses are made up of, that is, what are the characteristics of Odu Ifa verses
that distinguishes them from fables or other fictional works. From
time immemorial, a genuine Odu Ifa always has the following elements/characteristics:
1. Name of
Babalawo or Oluwo;
2. Name of the
clients that the divination was performed for;
3. The reason or
purpose of Ifa consultation;
4. The
prescription or recommendations of Ifa during the divination (it may be
warning, advice or injunction);
5. The client’s
response to the message (obedience or disobedience);
6. The aftermath
or results or simply put outcome;
7. Songs of Ifa
(it may be in form of Thanksgiving, advice, regret etc. depending on the outcome).
Let’s examine each
in detail.
1. Name of
Babalawo or Oluwo: The first thing in an Odu Ifa verse is the name of the
Babalawo or Oluwo. This is usually the name of the Babalawo or the
pseudonym of the diviner who carried out the reading for the client during
the consultation with Ifa. A significant
statement made by the Babalawo during that divination can also be regarded as
Oluwo of an Ifa verse. The Oluwo of an Ifa verse is usually located in the
introductory part of the verse. In discovery the Oluwo of Ifa in the Ifa
verse nature is usually stores of knowledge where the name is drawn.
Names of seasons, events, trees, animals, etc. are usually used as Oluwo
in Ifa verses. For example let’s examine the Odu Ifa Ogunda Meji here and pick
out the Babalawo or Oluwo of the verse:
Buurubu la a
yirika
Gboorogboro la n
dobale
Ka dodobale, Ka pa
igbonwo mon
A ma la duru ohun
TII fi se fuuni
A dIfà fun Eni ti
yo ma sin ope
Ti yi o je aye edu
pe
Translation
One kneel down
with due respect
One prostate
flatly
To prostate and
hide one elbow
Has a lot of
advantages
Cast Ifa
divination for someone
Who knows how to
worship Ifa (ope )
They will enjoy
the blessing of Edu (that is Ifa) for long.
The first four
lines or sentences in this Ifa verse is the Babalawo or Oluwo of the
verse. They are the presiding( priest) over the divination. As we can see
that they are not just events. These are the important words of warning or
advice many by the presiding priests during that divination as a result they
can be regarded as the Oluwo of the verse
Let’s examine
another Ifa verse to make it clearer, Irete Meji for example:
Ajiloso Awo eba
ona
Babalawo Agbe lo
dIfa fun Agbe
Babalawo aluko lo
dIfà fun aluko
Babalawo odidere
lo dIfa fun odidere
Okokondoro
Babalawo ogbigbigbo lo dIfà fun ogbigbigbo
Awon mererin n
roko iwaje
Riru ebo ni fin ti
gbeni
Airu ki gbeniyan
Ko pe ko jina
E wa bani ni
jebutu ire
Ori Nla ma gbeni
Okokondoro ori Nla
ma n gbeni
Translation
He who wake up and
squats, the Ifa priest of the roadside
He was the Ifa
priest that cast Ifa divination for Agbe
He was the Ifa priest
that cast Ifa divination for Aluko
He was also the Ifa
priest that cast Ifa divination for Odidere
Okokondoro the Ifà
priest of Ogbigbigbo cast Ifà divination for Ogbigbigbo
When the four of
them are searching for means for their livelihood.
They were
instructed to offer ebo
The offering of
required sacrifice is supportive and rewarding
Non-compliance
bring wrath
It is not too long
come celebrate with us in midst of blessings.
The first sentence
in this verse describes the lifestyle of the priest who presided over the
divination in that verses. So it can be regarded as the Oluwo or Babalawo of
the Odu- corpus.
2. Name(s) of the
Client(s) seeking Consultation: The next most important thing after
identifying the Babalawo or Oluwo who presided over the Ifa divination reading
in the Ifa verse, is to state or identify the name of client(s) who went
for the Ifa consultation at the particular period in history. Just as in
the case of Oluwo, the name of the client can also be drawn from nature.
The name of the historic clients in Ifa verses can be:
1) names of
spirits or deities;
2) natural events;
3)names of human
beings;
4) names of cities
or towns or even race or nationality, etc.
The only caveat
are in case where Ifa verse employ certain animal character as Onidafa
(the client who seek consultation with Ifa is known as Onidafa), so in
cases where Ifa verse employ certain animals as onidafa, such animals
character cannot be use as Propitiation of sacrificial or ritual items
for the propose clients getting the reading. Unless Ifa specifically required
such act. For example let examine the Odu Ifa oyeku irete
Opokurete
eran esin kun mi
lenu tetete
A dIfà fun Iyalode
opo
Ekun omo ni sun
Oun le bi omo laye
Oun lo da Ifà si
Ebo ni won ni
kose.
Translation:
Opokurete
The horses ' beef
fills my mouth to the brim
Would I be able to
have children on earth?, she asked Ifà
She was instructed
to offer sacrifice.
The client in this
verse is Iyalode opo.
THE AIM/OBJECTIVE
OR PURPOSE WHY THE CLIENT MAKE IFÀ DIVINATION READING OR CONSULTATION :The
third elements in Ifà verses to identify genuine Ifa verse. Is that it must
state or contains the purpose or the reason why the client identify in Ifa
verse or stanza consult Ifa. As I explained earlier Ifa can be consulted
by clients for variety of reasons: ranging from birth of a child Ikosejaye
(first divination reading done to determine life path of new born baby),
business success, to cure diseases, to know source of one problem, to
know wish lover or spouse to marry, to know either to embark on certain journey,
to know who to be enthroned as King etc. For example you can observe that some of
what is itemize here can be found in all previous Ifa verses I explained
before. But it is instructive to note that unreasonable consultation with
Ifa must not be make. As Ifa will not even give you answer on something that
you ought not to ask, such as a man without wife ask Ifa for a child. Ifa
make it clear that unreasonable or foolish questions will only beget
foolish answer. The leading authority on this statement in Ifa can be found
in Odu Ifa Irosun Owonrin.On this Ifa says:
Iwakuwa ni mu ni ri
irukuri
A dia fun apon iko
Ti Se ebo omo
lailobirin
A bu fun agbere of
Ti sunkun alailoko
Emi o ri Ifa ti on
se bi irosun elerin
Translation:
Foolish questions
beget foolish answer
Cast Ifa
divination for a chronic bachelor
Who was making
sacrifice to get a child without finding a woman for himself
Also divine a
public prostitute of Ofa city
Who is crying and
lamenting of not see who will marry her.
If you observe the
Ifa verses above, you will see the message in Ifa verses should that if you
want to consult Ifa for unreasonable purpose, you can beget unreasonable
answer.
THE PRESCRIPTION
/IFÀ RECOMENDATION :After the Ifa verse as explained purpose of the divination,
the genuine Ifa verse must go further to explain the advice and recommendations
made to the past clients that the verse is taking about. Such recommendations
are advice given to the client in the Ifa verse in question by presiding Babalawo
in question. The recommendation is usually in form of rituals of various kind
ranging from Ebo, etutu, ipese, ibori may just be a warning or moral sacrifice,
it may also be Avoiding Eeewo (taboo).
Let me explain it
in brief details.
Ebo:I suggest you
read my article on ebo Importance of ebo(sacrifice) by Babalawo Obanifa. Ifa
can instruct the client to offer some animals, material object, food
items, usually material use in ebo for Ifa is usually, goat, hen,
rooster, sheep, ram, Guinea fowl, pegion, kolanut, bitter kola, dry gin,
Palm oil,, clothes, jewelry, etc ebo rites is often carry out on wooden
Ifa divination tra by a competent Babalawo. Although in this modern day
we have woman (IyanIfa) who do carry out ebo like man, but that just
started of lately. And is not acceptable in some tradition like Ile Ife
tradition and Ekiti, in previous year ,Ekiti have allow woman to divine and
make ebo. Oyo have also alow woman to divine and make Ebo, it is only Ile Ife tradition
that have not allow women to divine and make ebo.. But Oyo tradition accept it
a
bit. That is the
truth though some don't like to hear it. Ipese/Ibo /Adimu :Ife tradition and
Ekiti do use Adimu, Oyo tradition do use Ibo. It simply mean propitiating
certain Orisaor Irunmonle (divinity) as may be chose during Ifa Divination. Warning
or social or Moral sacrifice : Ifa can instruct or advice that the client
should embark on attitudinal re orientation, as a sacrifice or it must be
embark upon to complement so the client can achieve the purpose of the divination.
Eeewo or taboo
:these are does and don't that Ifa may prescribed that the client should
not embark upon. Such avoid certain foods, certain behaviors, color of
clothes to avoid, it may bee temporary or permanent depending on the Ifa
instructions.
REACTION OF THE
CLIENTS TO THE IFa MESSAGE :the reaction of the client to the Ifa message must
also be depicted in the Ifà verse. If he or she follow and do everything Ifa instruct
or react otherwise.
THE RESULT OR
OUTCOME OF THE WHOLE PROCESS :After all has been said a good Ifa verse must be
able to state whether after the client complied with Ifa instructions he
get good results. Or if he fail what happened to him or her etc..
Then follow the Iyeere
the song of Ifa.
It is instructive
to note there are arrangements of some Ifa stanza that doesn't follow
this process, but they are very few any way. A good Ifa verse must have
those itemize elements. Although I just discuss this Question, what is Ifa?
succinctly. What is Ifa is far above what I just discussed.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.