What is Ifa? (Kini Ifa?)

What is ifa?

 Ifa origin, ifa as act of divination, ifa as a religion, if as a cultural elements, all this we be discussed in detail. Ifa as a divination system is universal although it evolved from Yoruba land. Ifa goes by different names if we consider it from universal perspective. The igbo people of Eastern Nigeria  refer to ifa as Afa(in which case a dibia who is synonymous to babalawo divinity) if you move outside our country Nigeria, let us consider different names give by people of various culture to ifa from global perspective, this semantic differences arise as a result of wide spread of Ifa practice over the year to different cultures. :the Hebrew people call Ifa Epha, The Arabian people regards Ifa as Ramah or Hati, the European call ifa Geomancy, The Malagasy people  regards as Geomancy. The Dahomey people too refer to Ifa as Afa, the Fon people of Republic of Bennin refer to Ifa as Fa, The Nupe people of Nigeria refer to Ifa as  Eva, The Jews refer to Ifa as Ephod, the Ewe people of Togo refer to ifa as Afa, the Siwah people of Sahara refer to Ifa as Derbelraml or Derbelraml fu . But the fact remain that the act of divination reading derive from sixteen corpus is ifa and it original unadulterated name is  Ifa, which is the yoruba pronunciation of it. Ifa is also known as Orunmila, orunmila is also known as ifa. The two can be use interchangeably, although Orunmila is the first prophet through wish ifa is deliver to the world, but in ancient times orunmila is different from ifa, but the interchangeable use of orunmila as ifa, or ifa as orunmila arises as results of different holy odu ifa often refer to orunmila as ifa and ifa as orunmila and the main reason for this is that is only orunmila that have been able attain high level of sacred frequency of consciousness of embodiment of sacred ifa knowledge as set by OLODUMARE. And no babalawo has ever achieve same feet since then hence orunmila is regarded as ifa and ifa is also regarded as  orunmila, the two can be use 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 interpretated is Orunmila. So orunmila is an entity on it own or let me say orunmila is a personal life on it own and Ifa is an entity on it own, but the close association of the personality of orunmila and entity of Ifa over the centuries have make many scared verses of Ifa refer to Orunmila as ifa and Ifa as orunmila, it is now acceptable but the two are different entity. Ifa aslo is also called some other names as :Eleri ipin (withness of destiny at creation) ifa is also known as Opitan Ile Ife (ancient historian of Ife city) ifa olokun asorodayo (ifa olokun one that bring peace to broken peace to trouble mind) Akoniliran bi iye kan Eni (one who teach one 's wisdom like one relation) .
Now that we have known that Ifa is universal but under different names, now what is ifa?
Ifa is an holy sacred message from Olodumare (God) deliver to mankind through an ancient Olodumare prophet (Orunmila) .Ifa is an embodiment of
spiritual knowledge, medicine, culture, social values, human history, law, custom and traditions encapsulated in corpus know as odu ifa, through which it can be dig into and use  to meet both heavenly and earthly needs. Ifa is a divine message of Olodumare, it is a sacred message that covers the totality of all aspects of human existence. Ifa scripture is generally oral scripture and some of do come through dreams to a gifted babalawo. Although there are many books today explaining verses of Ifa, but this books can only depicted 1percent of volume of Ifa verses and scripture available at disposal of competent babalawo wish different from one person to another. Olodumare is a words, Ifa exist as a word, ifa is an inseparable part of olodumare, OLODUMARE is the beginning and end of all things, so because Ifa is part of OLODUMARE (God) ifa is believed to know the beginning and end of all things. For example
A verse in odu ifa ejiogbe give credence to this, it goes thus.

Orunmila ni hun un un
Ifa moni ki lo de ti o n kun barami elesin oyan?
Orunmila ki lo de to n kun  Adagba Ojomu
Ifa ni hun un unu
Ifa ki lo se o ti  on kun  barami  agboniregun?
Okinkin ti je ki eyin erin  o fon
Ifa 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 ifa nikan lo mon iwaju oro , ifa nikan lo mon eyin  oro.
Ifa olodumare
Atenilgelege sapeji ara

The Oro Deity Proverb and Pedigree (Oriki Orisha Oro ati Owe Oro)

Orò Proverbs

Òwe, Yoruba for proverbs, allow us to take a closer look on the Orò cult in Nigeria. One rule for proverbs is: translating does not mean understanding. Without knowing the cultural context often you can not interpret them correctly. It is a good way of getting familiar with another culture. Oyekan Owomoyela has published a great book I can recommend to everyone interested into Yorùbá culture (Oyekan Owomoyela: Yoruba Proverbs. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln and London, 2005). There I found some good examples that express how present-day people think about the Orò-cult.

A kì í dájọ́ Orò ká yẹ̀ ẹ́.One does not set the day for an orò rite and then ignore it. (One must not let important matters slide.)

Etí l’obìnrín fi ngbọ́ ohùn Orò.It is only with the ears that a woman hears the voice of Orò. (One must not intrude into affairs that do not concern one; undesirable people should be kept in the dark about important or delicate matters.)

“Mo mọ̀ ọ́ tán” l’Orò-ó fi ńgbé ọkùnrin.“I know it all” is the reason for Orò’s carrying a man away. (Knowing it all leads to disaster. “I know it all” is used like a name for a person here.)

A kì í rí àjẹkù Orò.No one ever sees the leavings of Orò. (What must be consumed must be completely consumed.)Bí eégún ó bàá wọlẹ̀, Orò ní n ṣe.A masquerader who wishes to disappear into the ground cries “Orò!” (A person intending to do something extraordinary should give prior warning.)

Ẹni tó ránṣẹ́ sí Orò-ó bẹ̀wẹ̀ fún àìsùn.Whoever sends for Orò is contracting for sleeplessness. (Whoever deliberately provokes trouble should be prepared for a difficult time. Orò is feared by all.)Bí ẹnìkán bá fojú di Orò, Orò a gbé e.If anyone defies the Orò mystery, it does away with him or her. (Whoever disdains potential dangers eventually pays for the disdain.)

Bí obìnrín bá wọgbó Orò, a ò lè rí àbọ̀-ọ ẹ̀ mọ́.If a woman enters the ritual grove of the Orò cult, no one will ever see her return. (Any person who engages in forbidden action courts destruction.)Ẹni tí Orò-ó máa mú mba wọn ṣe àìsùn Orò.The person who will be the sacrificial victim of Orò is joining in the revelry onthe eve of the sacrifice. (The intended victim innocently helps in making preparations for his or her own demise; if there is the slightest possibility of peril, one should not act carelessly.)

Obìnrin tó gégi nígbó Orò, ó gé àgémọ.A woman who cuts wood in the grove of Orò has cut her last. (Whoever tempts a fate that is known to strike unfailingly has tempted her last.)Òjò n rọ̀, Orò ń ké; atọ́kùn àlùgbè tí ò l’áṣọ méjì a ṣe ògèdèmgbé sùn.The rain is falling, and the call of the secret cult is sounding loudly outside; the shuttle that lacks a change of clothing will sleep naked. (If one has not made provisions for rainy days, when they come one must suffer the attendant hardship.)

What is Orisha Oro? (The dreadful Deity that Forsake Women)

This write up  was written by Nana DE Oxum from Havana Cuba , an ifa apprentice under tutelage of babalawo Obanifa Ile Ife osun state Nigeria.I remember vividly when I ask baba Obanifa 'baba what do you have to share with me on Orisa Oro'?  He just said, ' Oro is a male cult before people turn it to a diety. I think  what you just is need to know about Oro as a female  ifa apprentice is that Oro is a male diety that Ifa can in some cases during ifa divination reading choses as adimu for a client to Propitiate, Oro  be a male diety have power of punishing the wicked, criminals and witches,it also have power to exonerate the innocent. It has power to prevent the evil witch from carry out their evil intentions. It can provide children for barren women. And what you can ask ifa to feed orisa oro with ranging from akara(beans cake), Isu sise(boil yam) emu(palm wine) ewa (cooked beans) akukodiye (cock) elede (pig) ewe ekoya(it is
a  a variety of yoruba leaves, he didn't give me botanical name for this leaves as he normally do,I notice from his intonation he didn't want to divulge much that day on the topic under discussion)'.I  now said Baba Obanifa is this all you think I need to know about Orisa Oro? His further reply is  intimidating, he said 'bi obinrin ba for kan oro, oro agbe (that is if a woman witness Oro the woman will be killed'. I was discouraged. What is wrong in be a women and Oro. He just told me  he has given enough information on Oro to be useful for me in my field as ifa preistess. He is very nice man  open minded and intelligent and alway ready to share knowledge, I respect him a lot, but on this topic of Oro he was a bit different with me. He said it is not  a thing women need to know details about, like any other part of my training. On my own personal conversation with others and information I get on orisa image about Oro, I discover while baba Obanifa give little info he thinks will help in practice. But later  when I apologize to him for asking him to much questions on Oro,that I have known it is a male cult. After then he give me elaborate lecture on Orisa Oro. So in  this write up, I will like to share what I gain from him and on orisha image.
According to orisha image wish give comprehensive explanation on Oro.
Orisha Orò is a male entity whose cult is closely connected with the political council known as Ògbóni or Òṣùgbó. Orò acts under its command and carries out their sentences. The cult is very secretive and excludes women completely. The sound of the sacred bull-roarer, a sound-producing instrument, accompanies the public appearance of the Orò masqueraders in Yoruba towns. In these nights women must hide in the houses, because they – and even men not being members of the cult – run the risk of being killed if they happen to see the procession or the rites. Orò cult survived the middle-passage and the Orisha is still worshiped in Cuba, although not known to a broad audience.

Yoruba Religion and Myth (Continued)

Among these orisha, the Yoruba see the god Ogun as among the most important. The god of war, of the hunt, and of ironworking, Ogun serves as the patron deity of blacksmiths, warriors, and all who use metal in their occupations. He also presides over deals and contracts; in fact, in Yoruba courts, devotees of the faith swear to tell the truth by kissing a machete sacred to Ogun. The Yoruba consider Ogun fearsome and terrible in his revenge; they believe that if one breaks a pact made in his name, swift retribution will follow. A legend that illustrates Ogun's importance tells of the orisha trying to carve a road through dense jungle; Ogun was the only one with the proper implements for the task and so won the right to be king of the orisha. He did not, however, care for the position, and it went to Obatala.
Some regions combine Ogun with the trickster god, Esu. Eshu, or Elegbara as he is also known, has mistakenly been identified by Europeans with with the Devil in the past.

Yoruba Religion and Myth

The faiths of the Yoruba peoples of Western Nigeria vary significantly from one part of the region to another; the same deity may be male in one village and female in the next, or the characteristics of two gods may be embodied in a single deity in a neighboring region; in the city of Ile Ife alone the trickster god is worshipped under three different names. These variations inevitably arose as the myths were passed by word of mouth; add to them the incorporation into the Yoruba faith of facets of outside religions, particularly Christianity and Islam, and understanding the faith becomes difficult indeed. The religions, however, share a similar structure, described by E. Bolaji Idowu as "diffused monotheism"; a single omnipotent creator-god rules over the universe, along with several hundred lower gods, each with a specific domain of rule.