Video: The Ifá Divination System
The Ifá divination system of the Yoruba people offers spiritual guidance through a complex collection of divine sayings and wisdom.
The Yoruba people traditionally practice a complex school of divination known as Ifá. Part of the larger Yoruba religion, which often bears the same name, Ifá draws from a large body of texts to read the wisdom of Orunmila, an important deity of knowledge and foresight. The texts used in divination, called Odu, number 256 in total and are composed of sayings and wisdom gleaned from Orunmila. Each Odu is further broken down into hundreds of Ese, or verses of specific knowledge, history, and philosophy.
Priests interpret signs, rather than channeling spirits, using the Odu and Ese. Methods vary between communities, but readings are usually performed on a divination tray called an Opon Ifá. A special divination powder, combined with kola or palm nuts, is then interpreted using a divination chain or tapper. The resulting patterns and symbols can be read by their corresponding Odu and Ese, which offer either direct advice or a metaphor for study.
Ifá is still practiced among Yorube communities today, including in Latin America. But centuries of colonial suppression, combined with the rapid change of recent generations, have left the practice in danger of extinction. This video from UNESCO explores the basics of Ifá and how it is practiced in West Africa and abroad.
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