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16 Principle ODU

issue No. 2

These verses are only a fraction of the entirety of

The 16 Principle ODUs

Orunmila Link:http://www.cultural-expressions.com/ifa/orisha/orunmila.htm

http://www.cultural-expressions.com/ifa/orisha/orunmila.htmhttp://www.cultural-expressions.com/ifa/orisha/orunmila.htm

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Divination

Except for the day you are born and the day

you are supposed to die there is not a single

event in one's life that cannot be forecast an

if necessary changed. You are born with a

specific path, divination serves as a road map

to your path.

Divination is defined as the faculty of foreseeing.

Divination (Ifa) is an art and it involves having insight

into one's fortunes and misfortunes from birth to death

and beyond. Each person has a certain God given lifepotential. As a person grows, the world challenges him/

her with obstacles that tend to throw him/her out of

alignment with whom he/she has the potential to be.

Divination serves as a means to realign a person to

their rightful path that was decided upon in heavenbefore one's arrival to earth. If one aligns himself with

the forces of nature, which are within us all, one will

have a more fortunate outcome with one's endeavors .

Divination is a means for achieving one's endeavors

(spiritual aspirations) and teaches us to balanceourselves with our environment. This crucial element

(divination) is missing in the masses of the African

descendants in the New World and even in Africa itself.

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Western science is biased against the validity of

divination as the source of inspiration. Divination deals

with the invisible/spiritual forces that exist in our

reality. Western science deals with these unseen

influences, but calls them "laws of physics". Themethodology used by Western science, in its futile

attempt to understand unseen influences, is to conjure

up theories and create experiments that test their

theory. If the experiment produces the expected result,

given static circumstances, the theory is considered

valid. This process is based on the belief that the

universe functions in a mechanistic and ordered

manner and that the spiritual (unseen) influences are

non-existent. However, the spiritual realm does exist

and has an influence in our lives that parallels the

obvious (physical). Divination deals with these unseeninfluences that play a life and death role throughout the

duration of our lives on earth.

Africa is the cradle of civilization. This cradle nurtured

many different means for man to communicate with

God. Throughout the African Diaspora only one formof communication, via divination and spiritual virtues,

has reigned supreme. Ifa. Through the Ifa apparatus,

divination is performed and fate is revealed. Ifa is

expressed in all African countries in one form or

another by one name or another. The slave master had

to eliminate this ancient power that the African used inorder to enslave the African in the New World.

However, through it all, Ifa survives. Ifa is still intact

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and is as accurate and as relevant today, as it was

10,000 years ago.

There are many forms of divination. You have the

physic network, palm reading, crystal balls, the I Chin

and so on. And of course we have Cleo! All these

methods are supposed to give the client insight into

their unknown future. The Ifa system of divination, du

to the amount of information and the number of

possibilities is the most robust, ancient and the longeststanding of all forms of divination. In the African

tradition it is unthinkable to embark upon any major

task without first consulting the oracle (Ifa) to ascertai

whether or not the proposed action is favorable or not

and to probe the probable outcome. To embark uponserious actions like marriage, child conception, new

business ventures or the treatment of dis-ease without

first seeking the guidance of Ifa is careless and

foolhardy. This is a major mistake for the masses of

African descendants in America that desperately need

such guidance.

Ifa works with the unseen forces of the universe

through the inter-play of the forces of expansion and

the forces of contraction. The forces of expansion are

symbolized by a single vertical line (I). The forces ofcontraction are symbolized by a double set of vertical

lines (II). These forces are seen as existing in eight

dimensions which form two spheres, one inside the

other. This sphere is symbolized through the use of two

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vertical columns. Each column is made up of four sets

of either single or double vertical lines. This system

generates two hundred and fifty-six different sets of

quadragrams. Each quadragram is a representation of

several fundamental energy patterns that entail all ofCreation. Each of these 256 energy patterns is born

from sixteen major forces called Olodus. The remaining

240 are combinations of the first sixteen and are called

Odu. Each Olodus/Odu is bought to life during a

divination session and the message contained is revealed

via the intuitive association of the Babalawo.

The Babalawo's are priests of Orunmila that are

specially trained, via years of instruction from elders on

the secrets of divination. Babalawo literally means,

Father of Secrets. Within the same verses that detailyour fate you have the appropriate sacrifice prescribedby the Babalawo to assure a favorable outcome. This is

similar to visiting a MD in the western world. You visit

the doctor; he reads you with his instruments and

prescribes some medicine. Your body will sacrifice

something for the betterment of the targeted problem ifthe prescription is followed. Babalawo's are spiritual

doctors that use the instruments of Ifa through

divination to heal and guide our spiritual being

(prescription). Divination can also be referred to as

Managed Care.

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SacrificeSacrifice/Ebo guarantees success!

We all should know what sacrifice is. "The giving up

or foregoing of some valued thing for the sake of

something of greater value or having a more

pressing claim". Whatever one desires in this life

requires the giving up of something. Life does not

strive on taking alone. Life also requires giving;

hence life is a process of give and take. The simplest

form of sacrifice one can give is time. The most

complex form of sacrifice one can give is change.

This subject of sacrifice takes on many facets. This

page will only touch on the fundamentals of sacrifice

from an African/Ifa worldview.

The sacrifice of time is the most fundamental form

of sacrifice. In America we sacrifice most of ouryouth towards school. We then sacrifice our time

towards daily labor to acquire finances for daily

living. On a deeper level the sacrifice of time

involves patience.

Time sacrificed does not always bring about the

desired result in our lives. Nor does time spent on

something guarantee you peace of mind. When these

disharmonies are prevalent we are taught to seek

the spiritual realm and pray to beg God for favors

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Many of us are unaware and do not realize that the

spiritual realm like the physical one requires some

sort of giving in order to receive. Imagine walking

into Human Resources at IBM and demanding apaycheck knowing that you never (sacrificed)

worked a day at IBM. The Spiritual realm works

the same way.

The Yoruba believe in one supreme God called

Olodumare. Olodumare is very remote to the

Yoruba by virtue of the duality that exists with

Olodumare. In other words God created both the

"good" and "evil" forces at play in the universe and

he gave Ase (power) to both sides. "When you speak

about 'good', you have already presupposed 'evil'."One cannot exist without the other. There are two

sides to every story or problem. Within Olodumare

lay both sides to one story, so directing energy to

Olodumare directly can be vain. Within Ifa the

cosmos is divided into two halves. The right side is

inhabited by the benevolent supernatural powers

and the left side is inhabited by the malevolent

supernatural powers. The benevolent powers are the

Orisa and their helpful associations with humans.

The malevolent powers are evil and destructive

energies like Iku (death), Arun (sickness), Ofo (loss),Epe (curse) and so on. There is no peaceful

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coexistence between these two powers, they are

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p , y

always in conflict.

The Africans believe that verbalization is not

enough in one's relationship with the supernatural.Ifa divination serves as a preamble to prayer. Via Ifa

divination we can ascertain how to pray, to whom to

pray and for what. For the Yoruba, divining (Ifa)

serves as an approach to prayer and shows one why

they need to pray and shows one the best procedurefor elevating one's prayer via some form of sacrifice.

In this world of many choices, this complex and

varied approach is still miraculously accurate and

effective. In this world of choices, this complex and

varied approach is necessary. The variety ofsacrifice includes time, song, dance, money, change

and life force offerings.

Communication with the sprit realm is what Ifa is

all about. Sacrifice is an attempt to rearrange theforces of the universe so that they can work for us,

resulting in peace and harmony for us in our

environment. Within Ifa, sacrifice (in Yoruba it is

called ebo) is an attempt by human beings to send a

message to all these supernatural powers of theuniverse regarding our own human affairs. When

all the supernatural powers accept our sacrifice/ebo,

everybody is happy and are committed to work for

us and we can achieve peace.

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All of God's creations have some relationship with

G d d i i h G d l l

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God and communicate with God at some level

beyond our comprehension. Within Ifa, animals are

sometimes used to communicate our message to the

spiritual realm. Each animal species have distinctproperties that are beyond our comprehension. For

instance, most humans cannot smell sugar, however

if we put sugar or honey on the table, ants will flock

there by morning because they have smelt it. Their

sense of smell is much higher than our own. The Ifa

sacrificial rituals use the unique communication

abilities of animals to relay our messages to the

supernatural forces at play. The chicken is the first

animal inhabitant of the earth and she accompanied

the divinities/Deities from heaven to earth. The

chicken is a favorite communicator of messages tothe spirit realm because of its close association to the

Deities from the very start. Life force offerings

direct prayer via the animals' force to a specific

force in nature to elevate our prayers for our benefit

and to rearrange the universe to work in our favor.

For example, if someone is sick and a sacrifice is

prescribed by a diviner, that sacrifice is meant too

appease the left and right side divinities. Humans do

not give sacrifice directly to the supernatural powers

on the left, they give it to their own guardian

divinity who is on the right. The closest of these

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i ht h d di i iti i O i (h d) d i l d

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right hand divinities is Ori (head) and can include a

host of other Orisa and Eguns (ancestors). Esu, the

divine messenger, who is almost always supposed to

get part of any blood sacrifice and who shareselements of both the left and right side, will assure

that the left hand divinities get their due. Esu plays

a very important part in reordering universal events

for the good of anyone that sacrifices in this manner.

Sacrifice is essential to human well being. Some

people live happy lives sacrificing their pride to beg

from strangers. Some people sacrifice half of their

adult life in school earning PHD's. Meat eaters in

our society directly benefit from blood sacrifice toaccommodate their daily meal. Most meat eaters are

disconnected from the total disregard of the poor

animal's life during its slaughter/sacrifice for their

benefit. The Jews have their kosher food, which is

prayed over animals, sacrificed for consumption.Within Ifa most sacrificed animals are consumed as

to further their power (Ase) for our cause and the

animals are treated with respect. The European

sacrificed the lives of an estimated 100 million

African men women and children for their Gods ofmaterialism, greed, lust and conquest. The

Christians celebrate the human sacrifice of Jesus

Christ and to this day still symbolize this via

cannibalism with their communion ritual. Within

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Ifa the holy Odu Irete-Meji and OturuponTura

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Ifa the holy Odu Irete Meji and OturuponTura

forbids human sacrifice! Within the traditional

African worldview you are for the most part

responsible for your own self-improvement. If youwant to change your condition you must make

sacrifice. Sacrifice often times does not require

blood. Sacrifice sometimes requires one to look in a

mirror and see beyond what is reflected and to make

some psychological change. This can be the most

difficult of sacrifices. However, we here at Cultural

Expressions are well aware of why the chicken

crossed the road, and now you know.

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Orunmila the Deity

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Orunmila the Deity

Orunmila is the God of Wisdom and Destiny

Like the other Deities, Orunmila existed beforeman and is the only Orisa to witness creation.

Orunmila therefore has the knowledge

concerning the fate of every man, woman and

child. Orunmila is the youngest Deity out of allthe Deities created by God before the creation of

the earth. This circumvents the position forOrunmila to be the final manifestation of virtue

for man to follow.

Orunmila sojourned to earth on variousoccasions to assist man at the crossroads. The

crossroads I speak of are the moments we come

to in life that require major decisions or points

we get to in life that will affect the rest of our

lives. Esu, the Deity that sits at the crossroad, isforever indebted to Orunmila and has vowed toserve and assist Orunmila like non other (Ogbe-

Di).

Orunmila, through the sheer power of wisdom,

sacrifice and patience became the commanderand prosper of all Orisa (Irete-Wori).

The expansion of man all over the earth and the

frequent needs for Orunmila to sojourn to earth

for the benefit of mankind became cumbersome

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and frustrating for even Orunmila, this great

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God of Wisdom. So Olodumare (God) endowedupon Orunmila a means for mankind to

communicate with Orunmila to reveal onesindividual fate. This means is called Ifa. Ifa is

the embodiment of Orunmila and is also another

name for Orunmila. Ifa is a literary corpus thatentails the fate of man and all of his

accomplishments and transgressions. Onlypriests of Orunmila have the authority to sound

the voice of Ifa. These priests are calledBabalawo. Orunmila vowed to serve man in

spirit with his infinite wisdom and the Babalawo

hold the same secrets to creation and the fate ofman that Orunmila held through the medium of

Ifa.

Orunmila the Deity represents the power of

wisdom to overcome misfortune.

Orunmila the Deity represents the power ofDivination to analyze our past, reveal our present

and forecast our future.

Orunmila the Deity represents the power of

sacrifice to achieve what would other wise be

impossible.Ase O!

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Notes

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Ogbe-Meji / Eji-Ogbe

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Serving Sizes

I II II II I

In the fixed order of Orunmila, EjiOgbe occupies the

first position.

EjiOgbe symbolizes all that is known and unknown

in the universe. It is an image of all those forces thatcreate the day.

The White Hole -- The Light

EjiOgbe is the sign of life --- A vigorous awakening

EjiOgbe rules the head --- Facing East

Physical element = Water...Water takes theprecedence of all the other elements. It is recognized

as "The Father of the Elements."

Physical body element = Brains and Nerves

Children would be disposed to be Travelers,

Pioneers sailors or heads of organizations

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This Odu denotes plenty of good and plenty of evil.

Artistic creations

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EjiOgbe expresses a need to acquire wisdom and

humility.Represents perfect alignment between the Ori and

Ipori.

Maintain high ethical standards which will be

rewarded with enlightenment and abundance.

Time heals the pain of any matter.

We have cut off our own head to make us grow, like

the banana tree.

The hands belong to the body, the feet belong to the

body.

Victory over enemies, spiritual awakenings, long life,

and peace of mind.In EjiOgbe barren women are blessed with children

after sacrifice!

Two words have spoken

Two tasks have given themselves to me

The road is open

Good medicine stays,

Told a certain person way back when tears ofcompassion refused the curse of barrenness

that she should take a long-necked jar, and when

her sacrifice was done go to the place where water

seeps slowly, slowly until the womb is full.

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She sipped the dreaming water and they called her

child Osun, generous river.

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Ifa says to sacrifice is beneficial,

nothing waits for nothing good.Come and see my bouncing newborn baby at the

foot of Lord Orisa!

Story... of how Ori (head) was the only divinity that

broke the kola nuts that Orunmila kept at hisshrine. Ori's wish was for a permanent abode

(home) and plenty of followers. Upon hearing the

news of the finally broken Kolanuts, all the other

divinities agreed, (since they all tried to break the

nuts) that the "Head" was the right divinity to theKolanuts. Almost immediately the hand, feet, body,

stomach, chest, neck etc, each of which bfore then

had distinct identities, all assembled and decided to

go and live with the Head. Together, they all carried

the Head high above as the king of the body. It is onaccount of the role played by Orunmila in his

fortune that the head touches the ground to defer

and revere to Orunmila to this day.

The benevolence of the young EjiOgbe made him sopopular that his house was streaming with callers

night and day. He healed the sick, made sacrifice for

paupers to become rich, helped the barren to have

children and safely delivered all pregnant women

who demanded his assistance These activities

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earned him admiration from the beneficiaries of his

magnanimity. He also developed enemies that were

envious and plotted against him EjiOgbe went for

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Local Catering

envious and plotted against him. EjiOgbe went for

divination and was told to make sacrifice to his Ifawith a basket of snails. EjiOgbe's Awos collected Ero

leaves and mashed them in the snails' liquid for

EjiOgbe to bath with. After the sacrifice he began to

live a peaceful life.

Death held me and left me.Sickness tried me and left me

No one eats tortoise along with its shell.

No one eats a Ram together with its horns.

The shell of the snail is kept after eating its meat.

I have survived the evil plans of my enemies.

Serious minded people do not listen to the bird

singing the songs of woe;

Difficulties and problems bring out the best in man;

Patience and sacrifice make the impossible to

become possible;Give me a difficult problem to solve that doubters

may believe;

Give me a war to wage that mortals may appreciate

the strength of divinities;

To learn from past misfortunes is to be wise;Not to learn from previous mistakes is folly;

The person who fails to make sacrifice vindicates the

diviner;

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Just as the one who ignores advice turns the advise

to a seer.

The man who learns from quarrels and the man wh

does not learn from quarrels were the

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q

two surrogates of EjiOgbe who made divination fothe land of Quarrels.

Orunmila enquires on how the situation is I respon

that it is fine. Early in the morningI met all Irunmole followers

where they wereoffering snails for ritual. They asked me to state

what I was lacking. I said that it is wealth, Iresponded that it is a spouse, I said I neededchildren, I also needed all the well-beings of life.They told me that when I return home I should wasmy master's hands cleanly I should also clean my

master's divination bag thoroughly I should offer

sacrifice to Ifa with a big, matured kolanut I should

offer sacrifice to my ancestors with bean- cake Whe

I looked at my back, what did I see? I saw allprosperity coming towards me, They were coming

abundantly. And when I turned to look back, what

did I see? I saw good wives coming towards me,

They all looked beautiful and elegant. When I also

looked back, what did I see? I saw many childrencoming towards me, They all looked healthy and

strong. When I looked back, what did I see? I saw a

well-beings of life coming towards me, They are all

abundant and satisfying. And I declared: Horses

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shall be mounted in the practice of our profession

With EJi-Ogbe as the owner of the world Horses

shall be mounted in the practice of our profession.

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If one is rich without good character The wealth

belongs to someone else That which we are after is

character Good character If one is blessed with

children without good character The children belong

to someone else That which we are after is character

Good character If one is blessed with houses withoutgood character The houses belong to someone else

That which we are after is character Good

character.

Let us not run the world hastily;

Let us not rasp at the rope of wealth impatiently;

What should be treated with mature judgment,

Let us not treat in a fit of temper;

Whenever we arrive at a cool place,

Let us rest sufficiently well;

Let us give prolonged attention to the future,And then let us give due regard to the consequence

of things,

And that is on account of our sleeping (end/death).

Ase O!

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Oyeku Meji

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II IIII IIII IIII II

In the fixed order of Orunmila, Oyeku-Meji

occupies the second position.

Oyeku-Meji is the Black Disk or Hole.

Odu signifies darkness and unhappiness and

warns of death, sickness, worries and a badomen,yet also carries with it the solution to all

these problems.

It symbolizes all those forces which can never

be known.It is an image of those forces that create the

night

Speaks of the comings and goings between

heaven and earth

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The messenger of death

Physical element = Fire

Physical body element = Hairs of body and

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Neck.Children would be disposed to be

agriculturalised, masons, or market masters.

Wisdom of the departed Ancestors.

Symbol of the fish, for it was this Odu thatbrought food/nourishment into the world.

Organization of wisdom

This Odu denotes that death and all other evil

will appear or disappear

From a child to adulthood hence death of child

This Odu represent the power of spiritual

transformation as well as physical

reincarnation

We are composed of flesh and death;Turn and return, father of transformations.

An honest sage is no longer in existenceA truthful person is very rare indeed

When I no longer have any reliable person to

confide in

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I choose to keep my thoughts within

Those are the declarations of the oracle for

Ajao who is being befriended by earthly

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beingsand heavenly beings

He was asked to offer sacrifice, He complied

Alas, all the human beings seeking my

friendship I harken notMy thoughts had been kept within me

All heavenly beings seeking my friendship

I am not interested in your friendship

I have kept my thoughts within me.

This Odu is the incarnation of Jesus. The son

of God was called Jewesun in heaven and was

told to make sacrifice in order to survive theplot that was going to be hatched by human

beings against him on earth. He was told to

give to Esu, which he bluntly refused to do. he

however agreed to make a small ebo. The

Awos told him that if he did not make the

sacrifice to Esu, it was the agents of the earth

that would kill him and shorten his life and

missionary works. But since he had made the

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small ebo, he would awaken after three days

and his fame would outlive him, after his

return to heaven.

Wh J t t th ld h

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When Jewesun got to the world, as he wasabout to begin his work of preaching the

objectivity of truth, the way people lived in

heaven and the love of God for his creations.

Esu appeared to him in dreams and warned

him that God had given him, Esu, Alewelishe,

Onisegun, the influence of all that existed in

the planetary system. Esu told Jewesun that if

he did not give him what he asked, Jewesun

would have himself to blame because he wouldcause his followers to destroy him. Jewesun

once again refused to recognize Esu. Jewesun

was actually killed or went home 33 years

after he began his works on earth.

Let us behave gently,

That we may die peacefully;

That our children may stretch out their hands

Upon us in burial.

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Death rejoiced at man's creation,

He plundered humans at will to eat,

Two Rats were playing on land,

T fi h l i i t

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Two fishes were playing in water,

The hen had laid its eggs and gone to roost,

The goat had delivered many kids,

The strong three year old Ram,

The fat male Cow endowed with beefy flesh,

were all created to appease Death,

This assemblage of live stock

Gave Death neither appeasement no

satisfaction,Death continued to focus,

His gaze on the human flesh.

Ase O!

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Iwori-Meji

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II III II I

II IIIn the fixed order of Orunmila, Iwori-Meji

occupies the third position.

The esorteric representation of Iwori is the Hyena.

Night mover, or preaditor, or scavendor.

Iwori is an image of those forces that create

ecological interaction in the forest.

Iwori is the simultaneous beginning of cognition andpurposeful activity.

Natures Gangsters

Fountain of Youth --- Impetus

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Physical element = Air

Physical body element = Eyes & Kidneys

Mental power. Has the power of pulling good to you.

Enemies are aroundAnybody born by this paticular Odu will not be

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Anybody born by this paticular Odu will not be

barren: they always produce children but their

children do not stay with them.

This Ifa denotes temporary success and your riches

do not remain with you long.Speaks of people gifted with the ability to see things

in their true perspective

Cut, bind, halve the whole,

Prowl on the outskirts,

Claws, dig in.

Hyena made sacrifice to become chief but failed to

make ebo for protection against slander. Hyena's

duty as chief was to protect farm. Esu removed all

sheeps and goats and hiena was removed from office.

Hyena went to divinver and was told to make ebo

after which Hyena once again became chief. Guard

agianst underserved punishment and judgement.

Sacrifice for well-being

Sacrifice for continuity

This is what, O Orunmila,

The diviner is doing

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If a child respects his father, everything he embarks

upon will always be well. He will be a perfect

gentleman.

A thick rod it is that troubles the brass gong;A h i it i th t d th thill t d

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A heavy rain it is that reduces the anthill to mud;

Osun of Ewuji it is who finished eating , finished

drinking,

And crawled deliberately away into the river.

Thus declares the oracle to hin-Iwa (After-Being)Who is the senior of Oni (Today)

Oye people of Isinpe, it is on account of hin-Iwa

That we are hospitable to Oni.

(You must always be hospitable so you may have a

good After-Life.)

"Not round, not round; the back of Vulture's head

resembles an axe handle, but it cannot split wood"

was the one who cast Ifa for "Two-Knots, Eji Iwori"

when he was coming to earth as the third figure of

Ifa.Ifa says this is someone whose relatives are causing

him trouble; they do not allow him to find a house

or a farm, but if he sacrifices, he will find peace of

heart and will overcome all his enemies.

When the sixteen Figures of Ifa were coming to theearth, "Two-Knots, Eji Iwori" wanted to be third

among them on earth; but the other Figures

conspired against him. They told him that there was

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no room for him to live on earth. Then"Two-Knots,

Eji Iwori" got ready and went to the diviners, that

they might examine his case and tell him how he

might be able to find a place to live on earth. Theysaid that one she-goat, a mortar, the tete leaf, the

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gbegbe leaf, and eleven shillings were required as

sacrifice.

"Two-Knots, Eji Iwori" heard and he offered the

sacrifice. They said he should return to earth again.When he reached the earth he told the other fifteen

Figures that he had come. They said, hadn't they

told him that there wasn't room on earth for him to

live? Then "Two-Knots, Eji Iwori" replied as his

diviners had taught him:"The mortar will testify that I see room in which to

settle,

"The tete leaf will testify that I see room in which to

stretch out,

"The gbegbe leaf will testify that I see room in whichto dwell."

When the other Figures heard this kind of a reply,

they said, "Ah! ah! this is a very powerful thing

indeed, oh!" They said he should take his seat; then

"TwoKnots, Eji Iwori" found his place to sit downin the third position among the other Figures.

Ase O!

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Idi Meji

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I III IIII III I

In the fixed order of Orunmila, Idi-Meji occupies the

forth position.

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Divided circle-symbolizes the reproductive organs of

women

Indiscreet curiosity

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Physical element = Earth

Physical body element = Buttocks and Hips

Someone sitting and they have to mark off their own

area.Too much talk! "Ass backwards"

Children would be disposed to be rulers.

Idi is very aggressive and pugnacious

Conceited --- Containment

Prominent FighterHow Orunmila calmed the Iyamis

Market woman and their use of honey to sweeten

the good things in life.

A restraining influence

This is the rest and completion that follows

anticipation. Known as the "Seal".

Babalawo said: A single chain-link does not break.

So ended the raging plague and death.

Awo's were decapitated for malpractice!

One divides, two perform, three sustains wants

accord hole up releases four.

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Yimiyimi, a beyin paale (alias of a Babalawo)

Cast divination oracle for Ori (head)When suffering from unreasonable loneliness

Head was advised to offer sacrifices

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Head complied

The ears came to keep head company

The nose came to keep head companyThe eyes came to keep head company

The mouth came to keep head company

May my head not be without companion

What this stanza is stressing is that with appropriate

sacrifice, one will be able to enjoy the company ofothers. It is also saying that loneliness is not good in

any way. Just looking at the head without nose,

mouth, ears, eyes etc, is not pretty to percieve.

It will be recalled that at the beginning of time,

plants and animals did not procreate as we know it

today. Following the creation of men and women,they merely lived together without knowing how to

procreate. The woman did not know what to dowith her pelvis and the man did not know what his

penis was meant for.

The sperm and menstruation who had separate

identities then went for divination in the home of

Idi-Meji. Both Spermatozoa and Menstruation wereboth anxious to know how to procreate. God had

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created them leaving them to use their own

intelligence to contrive how to procreate. They wereboth advised to make sacrifice in which they both

complied. Thereafter, the sperm was told to go andlive with man while menstruation was advised to

periodically live with the woman. That is how webecame the children of the sperm and menstruation

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became the children of the sperm and menstruation

through the instruments of man and woman.

"Hollowing is the foundation of the aran drum; if itgoes up, it becomes huge; if it goes up, it becomes

immense" was the one who cast Ifa for Ipesan, Chief

of the Market. Ipesan arrives, oh, Chief of the

Market; he is going to take new land on which to

settle. Ipesan is what we call the Odan tree. A lucky

person arrives at the market, Oh!

Ifa says this is someone who will have a settlement of

his own and lots of room, but he should sacrifice lest

he encounter an enemy and a thing which will

decrease the size of his settlement. They said thatOdan tree should sacrifice one he-goat, one cock, onecutlass, and one shilling seven pence eight onions, so

that he would not encounter a slanderer at his

settlement. They said he would find a large enoughplace in which to settle, and that he would stretchout his arms and stretch out his legs. Odan treeheard the sacrifice, and he offered one he-goat and

one shilling seven pence eight onions for a place in

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which to settle, but he did not offer the cock and the

cutlass that he might be able to stay there for a long

time. When Odan tree reached his settlement, he

stretched out his arms and he stretched out his legs;but when he had finished stretching them out,

people came and took a cutlass and began to cut off

hi d l

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his arms and legs.

Therefore this person should sacrifice in order that

what he has achieved in the morning of his life shallnot be destroyed by others in the evening of his life.

Don't you see, Ifa has promised to receive what we

relinquish.

Listen, listen to what I'm saying now:Though our heads are carrying heavy loads,

If we haven't arrived, we've got to keep going...

Ase O!

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Irosun-Meji

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I II III IIII II

In the fixed order of Orunmila, Irosun-Mejioccupies the fifth position.

The esoteric representation Irosun Meji is a

hole which symbolizes the possibility of

accidents and misfortune. It is an image ofthe need to embrace caution.

In Irosun-Meji you are inclined to do things

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the hard way.

In heaven Irosun-Meji was called "the man

who can alter the course of death"

Physical body element = Blood, liver andarteries

Children would be disposed to be

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secretaries or journalists.

Conquers the pitfalls of others.A lot of disappointments are caused by bad

organization of the life.

Cautious behavior would take person through

difficult times with abundance.Pay iba (homage) to ancestors to preserve

their wisdom.

Irosun is things that have not surfaced yet.

Death before Dishoner

Mirror, no matter how big cannot be used to

perceive one's image for the future. This isthe proclamation of the Babalawo to the

mirror addict When longing for all the good

things of life She was asked to offer

sacrifice. She complied. There is no other

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true mirror than one's child. One's child isthe truest mirror one can get.

Ifa says the lady is too fashion-conscious. It

is not advisable to marry her unless she isprepared to change her attitude to life. She

must start to think of settling down and

getting married in order for her to have her

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getting married in order for her to have her

own children insted of concentrating on how

to look good and smell nice alone.

Tribulations befalling a sage is not forlife

Poverty of a sage will give way for prosperity

Before long the experience will be relayed

with happiness and laughter

Before Irosun-Meji came to the world he

was advised to make sacrifice with a cock

and a tortoise to the misfortune divinity anda he-goat to Esu. He was also told to give a

guinea fowl to his guardian angle. Herefused to do any of the sacrifices. He thencame to the world where he was practicing

Ifa art. When he grew up, he was so poor

that he could not afford to marry, let alone

have a child. The hardship became so

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severe on him that out of frustration hedecided to throw his Ifa seeds away.Meanwhile, he had a dream in which his

guardian angel appeared to him telling him

that he was the one responsible for his

problems because he had stubbornly

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p y

refused to make the sacrifice prescribed for

him. When he woke up in the morning, hedecided to sound his Ifa and it was only then

he realized that it was his guardian angel

that appeared to him in the night.

He quickly arranged to do the sacrifice tohis Ifa and gave a he-goat to Esu. His Ifa

advised him to return to heaven to report

back to God from whom he failed to obtain

clearance in the first place. For his trip toheaven, he was told to go with a cock, a

tortoise, a pack of yams, a gourd of water, a

gourd of oil, pepper, okro and snuff. Hecollected all the things and packed them upin his divination bag.

After travelling as far as the boundary of

heaven and earth he went straight to the

divine palace where he met the keeper of the

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Divine chamber, the Misfortune divinity or

Yeye Muwo, the mother of obstacles. Heknelt down at the Divine chamber and

proclaimed that he came in all humility torenew his earthly wishes. Yeye Muwointervened that it was too early in the

morning to make any wishes because there

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morning to make any wishes because there

was no food in the house.

From hisdivination bag. He immediately brought out

his fire wood, water, oil, pepper, salt, okro,

snuff and finally, the cock all of which the

mother of obstacles demanded in turn. YeyeMuwo was up to her usual delaying tactics,

but Irosun-Meji was fully prepared.

Thereafter, Yeye Muwo cleared him to make

his wishes. Since it was forbidden to kneeldown on the bare floor, he knelt on thetortoise which he brought from earth.

After making all his wishes, God blessed

them with his Divine Mace. When YeyeMuwo heard the sound of the Mace she

quickly finished her cooking, but before she

could come out, Esu motioned Irosun-Meji

to leave quickly for earth.

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When the mother of obstacles finally

emerged from the kitchen, she asked God

for the man who had been making his

wishes and the Almighty Father replied that

he had gone. When she queried why He

did not ask the man to make bad and good

i h G d li d th t it t Hi

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wishes, God replied that it was not His

tradition to interfere when His children

were making their wishes.

In spite of all the gifts he had given to Yeye

Muwo, she nonetheless left quickly in hot

pursuit of Irosun-Meji. As she waspursuing him, she sang...He replied with a refrain of the same song

saying that he had already made sacrifice

and his wishes, leaving nothing out. As hewas singing he was racing along in fright!

When Yeye Muwo saw that she could not

reach him, she stood still and stretched out

her thumb and tore through his back withit. That is the hollow line running throughthe human back-bone, to this day, which isto constantly remind us that the only way

we can escape the long hand of misfortune is

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by making sacrifice. With that mark, YeyeMuwo proclaimed to Irosun-Meji and to the

rest of humanity, (a curse) never to

remember his/her heavenly wishes ongetting to earth since the eyes cannot see the

back of the body and that before realizing

his wishes, he would have to grope in

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darkness for a long time and experience alot of hardship in the process.

The pain of the injury made Irosun-Meji

unconscious and he lapsed into a trance of

utter-darkness. When he woke up, he foundhimself on his bed on earth. He hadforgotten everything that happened before

then. He however went about his businessand prospered long afterwards.

The state of darkness symbolizes thegestation period we spend in the womb,

during which we lose all recollections of

what we plan to do on earth.

Ase O!

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Owonrin Meji

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II IIII III II I

In the fixed order of Orunmila, Owonrin-Meji

occupies the sixth position.

Esoteric representation of Owonirn Meji is

two triangles surrounding three points whichsymbolizes the invisible forces that create

mixture in the universe. It is an image to use

as the bases of Ifa numerology.

Dangerous sign it is an indication of persistent

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drought, famine, and lingering disease.

In Owonrin-Meji people are laughing at you.

Children would be disposed to be physicians

or electricians.Strainer --- Aliases

"Lest we forget the primacy of earth"

A need to be balanced --- A need to be humble

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Talks about a person that cursed someone andthat curse came back to them.

Victory over one's many enemies

Tendency to make impossible and

unreasonable demands

Child killing his own mother

Friends in heaven want to take you away from

earth

Material possessions overrule honor

"Reverse Head"This Odu incarnates great profits.

Image of seeing your destiny and moving straight

towards it without faltering.

The most esoteric of all rituals/sacrifices is

feasting the multitude and looking for positive

public opinion.

Realize that even though it is not easy to

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change one's destiny, all the same, it is not

impossible to do so

"It is not as the size of a tree that the spirit

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inside is like"

Hand presses down heavily upon me

The invisible worm walks crookedly within me

Broom song: Sweep out, out upon the road,

cleanse me.

You slapped my ears, I never slapped you

back; You butted me with your head, I uttered

not a word or reacted. Edumare (Olodumare/

The Almighty) will query you as to what I took

of you! Was Oracle's divination for

Awonrinwon (Iguana) Who would order his

affairs peacefully. Awonrinwon is the sage of

peace Who would conduct; his cult in

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submission. Thus I bow myself in

submissiveness.

"Where is money to be found, oh?""Money is to be found among one's own

followers, oh"

"Money is to be found among one's own

followers, oh."

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The elders of Oyo were told to make sacrifice,

But they ignored it.

I was told to make similar sacrifice,

I listened and did the sacrifice.I missed my steps and survived.

Because I made sacrifice.

Others missed their steps and died,

Because they failed to make sacrifice.

Those who make sacrifice,

Unfailingly receive salvation.

Gooro-maafiyun, Gooro-maafibo divined for

animals, when they were going on a journey.

They were all advised to sacrifice: Black cloth,

they refused to make sacrifice. It was only the

cat that heeded this advice : on reaching their

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destination, they encountered the witches who

devoured all who refused to sacrifice their

black cloth. They saw the Cat afar off with

black cloth on. His eyes were four- like theirs,

as such, the witches decided not to kill him for

food because he was one of them. When the cat

was returning home he sang thus:-

G fi G fib

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Gooromaafiyun, Gooromaafibo........

It is important for people to resist the urge to

ventilate their domestic grievances in public,

for fear that some evil minded listener mayamplify it in the witch-world.

Ase O!

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Obara Meji

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I III IIII IIII II

In the fixed order of Orunmila, Obara-Meji

occupies the seventh position.

The esoteric representation of Obara Meji is

theRope which symbolizes the force of

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attachment. It is an image of duration of

human accomplishment.Physical body element = abdomen and intestines

Children would be disposed to be traders or Mystics.This Odu denotes poverty and want but at last

prosperity and happiness.

Removes backbiting and injurious slander, restores

power.

Odu of the underdog

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Odu of the underdogThe Odu of Commerce

Encourage the marriage -- Make preparation for

abundance

Suggest time for contemplation, warns against

complacency.Think clearly before taking action so as to avoid

serious mistakes.

Obara-Meji became more prosperous than all the

other Odu put together.

Things that people give to you no matter how smallcan be used to your advantage.

Good Odu with relationships. Story of Sango when

he got cast out of the kingdom of Oyo and Oya was

the only one on his side.

"I awoke to the sound of winnowing rain"It was Obara-Meji that introduced dreams to the

world because while in the womb, he was always

revealing impending dangers to his parents.

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Frailty of my right handGains confidence in my left

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Gains confidence in my left

Obara-Meji was famous for his concern about the

poverty of god's creatures. People had deludedthemselves with the feeble and defeatist philosophy

that there was virtue in material poverty. Hedemonstrated that a creature's destiny was his own

choice and that whether or not a person stayed poor

was the measure of his personal effort. Afterhelping several others in heaven, he saw a lot of

poverty on earth and he decided to come to theworld to bring wealth and prosperity to it.

Obara-Meji became famous. His fame andpopularity soon began to evoke envy and enmity.He was soon to realize that success breeds envy, and

envy evokes animosity which begets enmity.Generally people do not fall in love with those who

excel them.

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The fly which does not get greedy, never dies inside a

wine container.

The fly which flies high up in the air, and who is not

tempted by the baits on the low ground, does not getcaught in a gum trap.

Having obtained all he wished for and more, one

day, Obara-Meji received a visitor called Efun yemi

abori bebele, who advised him to make sacrifice sothat his new found prosperity might endure to the

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p p y g

end of his life. He was told to make sacrifice... Hedid the sacrifices. That is why Obara-Meji lived forso long in affluence until all his children also became

very old.The gray hair on his head and bodyturned to be as white as cotton and his wealth

sustained to the end of his life!

Ase 0!

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Okanran Meji

II IIII IIII III I

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In the fixed order of Orunmila, Okanran-Meji

occupies the eighth position.

The esoteric representation of Okanran

Meji is twin faces which symbolizes power

of dual forces. It is an image of BI-polar

strength.

Okanran is the seat of the emotion and

psychic energy.

Sango enters the world

Physical body element = Heart, veins and

nails"The first word"

Children would be disposed to be smiths,

mechanics or hangmen.