"An ancient inheritance deserving of the most profound reflection! A classic of African and world literature! One of the great holy texts of the world!"
This is how one leading African-American scholar describes the Odu Ifa, the holy, texts of the Yoruba people of Southwest Africa, that traditionally, were broadcast orally from generation to the next.
In his book, Odu Ifa: The Honorable Teachings, Maulana Karenga, best called the creator of Kwanzaa, says: "The Odu Ifa is a corpus of holy texts engineered to answer questions of human life through the process of divination. But they also contain a lot of information and teachings in diverse fields including, art, ethics, literature, medicine, history and religion."
"We are told throughout the texts that we have got to be good folks, sons and girls, chums and fellow human beings and we should respect our elders and ancestors, with the understanding that our togetherness in balance reinforces our capability to bring, give and receive good in the world," says Karenga.
"The Odu Ifa also reminds us of our requirement to the earth. It urges us to avoid plundering, polluting and depleting the earth in our pursuit of wealth and comfort," adds Karenga.
There are a grand total of 256 sacred odus in Ifa, and it is thought that Orunmila, the orisa of knowledge, brought these cryptic symbols from heaven to earth to lead humanity and to help people shape their lives. The first 2 followers of Orunmila were Akoda and Aseda. It is said that Akoda taught Ifa divination to the world and Aseda gave the elders sound advice.
Orunmila knows the past, the present and the future, and is often called a scholar who speaks all languages or as "the tiny black man whose head is chock-full of wisdom." It is believed that Orunmila experienced the creating of the universe and can unlock the secrets of your destiny because of his intimate knowledge of all things.
In one of the sacred texts of Ifa, Orunmila says: "Great wisdom is the key to getting great wisdom. If we do not learn great knowledge, we can't learn robust medication. If we do not learn robust medicine, we can't cure major sickness. If we are unable to cure serious illness, we don't earn great wealth. If we do not earn great wealth, we cannot do great things."
Other verses stress the significance truth, humility and character: "He ran briskly, he walked smartly. Pointed, brisk marching is Tiger's kind of movement. Orunmila was descending from heaven to be honorable on earth. They announced that when Orunmila gets to the planet , he must not show any audacity or pride. That he must comport himself in lowliness and humility. Orunmila got to the world; he acted modestly. He wasn't proud. He housed everybody. He won respect and dignity."
The Odu Ifa also represent energy patterns. "The odus are divine forces which are relevant to every event during the past as well as in future times. Each odu indicates that there is an order and pattern in the occurrences of human life," claims the late Afolabi Epega, in the book, Obi Divination.
"For every major event in your life, you need an odu to steer you," Epega adds. "The odus represent all the activities in the universe. There are 16 major odus. The 1st 2 major odus, Eji Ogbe and Oyeku Meji are the 2 cosmic forces that represent masculine and feminine energy."
"Ejiogbe represents the manly force and Oyeku meji represents the female force. Ejiogbe and Oyeku Meji gave birth to the remaining 14 major odus. Like the universe, each odu consists of 2 opposites: limited and infinite, wierd and even, cold and warm, positive and negative, good and malignant, masculine and feminine. The odus are considered to be the expanding and contracting elements of human experiences," says Epega.
This idea of duality, known as yin and yang in Asian philosophy, reaches to every part of life and creation. The concept of conclusive good or absolute evil does not exist in Ifa. Good and malicious are merely two sides of the same coin. Being sick, as an example, isn't good, nonetheless it can be good if it pushes you to examine your way of life, think on your values and move your priorities. Getting a promotion at work is good - but it is also bad if it causes jealousy or gives you undue stress.
The key to understanding Ifa? It is all about balance, personality, reverence for the spirit world, the orisas and the ancestors.
It is also about patience. Tons of patience. The Yorubas say "one who cannot follow ants - can't follow Ifa. ".
This is how one leading African-American scholar describes the Odu Ifa, the holy, texts of the Yoruba people of Southwest Africa, that traditionally, were broadcast orally from generation to the next.
In his book, Odu Ifa: The Honorable Teachings, Maulana Karenga, best called the creator of Kwanzaa, says: "The Odu Ifa is a corpus of holy texts engineered to answer questions of human life through the process of divination. But they also contain a lot of information and teachings in diverse fields including, art, ethics, literature, medicine, history and religion."
"We are told throughout the texts that we have got to be good folks, sons and girls, chums and fellow human beings and we should respect our elders and ancestors, with the understanding that our togetherness in balance reinforces our capability to bring, give and receive good in the world," says Karenga.
"The Odu Ifa also reminds us of our requirement to the earth. It urges us to avoid plundering, polluting and depleting the earth in our pursuit of wealth and comfort," adds Karenga.
There are a grand total of 256 sacred odus in Ifa, and it is thought that Orunmila, the orisa of knowledge, brought these cryptic symbols from heaven to earth to lead humanity and to help people shape their lives. The first 2 followers of Orunmila were Akoda and Aseda. It is said that Akoda taught Ifa divination to the world and Aseda gave the elders sound advice.
Orunmila knows the past, the present and the future, and is often called a scholar who speaks all languages or as "the tiny black man whose head is chock-full of wisdom." It is believed that Orunmila experienced the creating of the universe and can unlock the secrets of your destiny because of his intimate knowledge of all things.
In one of the sacred texts of Ifa, Orunmila says: "Great wisdom is the key to getting great wisdom. If we do not learn great knowledge, we can't learn robust medication. If we do not learn robust medicine, we can't cure major sickness. If we are unable to cure serious illness, we don't earn great wealth. If we do not earn great wealth, we cannot do great things."
Other verses stress the significance truth, humility and character: "He ran briskly, he walked smartly. Pointed, brisk marching is Tiger's kind of movement. Orunmila was descending from heaven to be honorable on earth. They announced that when Orunmila gets to the planet , he must not show any audacity or pride. That he must comport himself in lowliness and humility. Orunmila got to the world; he acted modestly. He wasn't proud. He housed everybody. He won respect and dignity."
The Odu Ifa also represent energy patterns. "The odus are divine forces which are relevant to every event during the past as well as in future times. Each odu indicates that there is an order and pattern in the occurrences of human life," claims the late Afolabi Epega, in the book, Obi Divination.
"For every major event in your life, you need an odu to steer you," Epega adds. "The odus represent all the activities in the universe. There are 16 major odus. The 1st 2 major odus, Eji Ogbe and Oyeku Meji are the 2 cosmic forces that represent masculine and feminine energy."
"Ejiogbe represents the manly force and Oyeku meji represents the female force. Ejiogbe and Oyeku Meji gave birth to the remaining 14 major odus. Like the universe, each odu consists of 2 opposites: limited and infinite, wierd and even, cold and warm, positive and negative, good and malignant, masculine and feminine. The odus are considered to be the expanding and contracting elements of human experiences," says Epega.
This idea of duality, known as yin and yang in Asian philosophy, reaches to every part of life and creation. The concept of conclusive good or absolute evil does not exist in Ifa. Good and malicious are merely two sides of the same coin. Being sick, as an example, isn't good, nonetheless it can be good if it pushes you to examine your way of life, think on your values and move your priorities. Getting a promotion at work is good - but it is also bad if it causes jealousy or gives you undue stress.
The key to understanding Ifa? It is all about balance, personality, reverence for the spirit world, the orisas and the ancestors.
It is also about patience. Tons of patience. The Yorubas say "one who cannot follow ants - can't follow Ifa. ".
About the Author:
For full information about Ifa, be absolutely sure to see the imminent documentary feature film by James Weeks - Across The King's River.