Ifa Orisa

Two Studies of Ifa Divination. Introduction: The Mode of Divination Author(s): Peter Morton-Williams, William Bascom, E. M.
McClelland Source: Africa: Journal of the International African Institute, Vol. 36, No. 4 (Oct., 1966), pp. 406-431 Published by: Edinburgh University Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1158049 Accessed: 09/03/2009 19:50
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[406]
TWO STUDIES OF IFA DIVINATION

INTRODUCTION: THE MODE OF DIVINATION
PETER MORTON-WILLIAMS
cover and hope to influence the changes in their relationships with the gods and ancestors and other spirits in their complex cosmos, and so to gain their aid in their pursuit of health and good fortune. They employ a number of divinatory techniques.
T O the Yoruba, divination is of great concern, as the means by which they dis-
for which there are three procedures of varying complexity, the two most complex being used by professional diviners (babalawo).The Ifa oracle is animated by a deity named Orunmila, but also often called Ifa. The diviner consults the oracle to find out the oduwhich governs his client's predicament. An oduis a sign that he draws in powder sprinkled over the divining board (opon-there is a tradition that the earliest diviners traced their signs in the earth); it is governed by a spirit of the same name as the odu; and it has a set of incantations and myths explaining the client's own situation by reference to an archetypal situation, and prescribing certain offerings to be made to the odu spirit and perhaps to other deities as well, if the client is to gain his ends. An odu sign is made up of eight elements of short single lines arranged in two columns of four. The diviner may throw down a rope or chain on which are strung eight similar objects-half shells of palm nuts, domed brass disks, etc.-that can give a 'heads or tails' arrangement. He takes the divining chain (oppl) by the middle, letting the ends hang so that the four objects hang on either side, and throws it in a manner that preserves the two lines of four heads and tails. Or he may hold sixteen palm nuts in one hand and pick as many as he can from the handful with one movement of the other hand, noting whether one or two are left. Two or a 'head' is denoted by a single line on the divining board, and one or a ' tail' by a double line. For this, he must perform the operation with the nuts eight times to get a complete odu, while a complete one is obtained from a single throw of the divining chain. The oduis built up on the divining board by marking the bottom right-hand element first, then the bottom left, next the second right, and so on, going from left to right and from bottom to top. (Odu are sometimes painted on walls as charms, and then the elements are drawn as dots or round blobs.) It will be evident that there are sixteen possible signs in which the right and left columns are identical. These are the principal oduand it is the order in which they are arrayed and memorized by diviners that is discussed in the following two papers. A further 240 oduhave dissimilar columns; these are properly called pmpodu, ' children of the (principal) odu'. Each of the sixteen possible combinations of four elements in a column-a pattern of single and double strokes-is named, and the name of the oduis simply the name of the right-hand column followed by that of the left. If, for instance, the pattern pse appears on the right and otura on the left, the odu is Osetura;but if both columns are psf, the oduis Qsf Meji, ' two Qs ' or ' double Qse '.
The one that yields the fullest informationis the system of geomancy known as Ifa,
407
The diviner memorizes a vast number of odu myth formulae; he is expected to be able to recite many for each of the 256 odu signs. He may recite to his client the formula he judges most suitable; another procedure is for him to recite one after the other the formulae for whatever oduappears, continuing until one seems to the client to refer to his predicament, the nature of which he is not expected to tell the diviner. The diviner then tells him what rituals to perform and what offerings to make. If the client wants further enlightenment the diviner may make more casts, and add more odu to the one on the board. The question of the order in which the sixteen principal oduare arranged is discussed from two different points of view in the papers that follow. Professor Bascom continues his empirical survey of the order actually recorded from a very large number of informants, not only among the Yoruba but also among neighbouring peoples who practise the system, and among the descendants of the Yoruba in Cuba. Besides discovering the limited range of variation in the order of listing the odu, he is able to assess the originality and reliability of the many ethnographic descriptions of Ifa divination. Dr. McClelland analyses the principle on which is structured the order accepted by members of her sample of diviners in the central Yoruba area; her study also presents valuable new information on the insight of diviners into their procedures. These two specialized studies of one part of the system of Ifa divination relate to problems of much wider interest, concerning the ethnography and history of West Africa. The sixteen columns in the set of odu signs are identical with the signs used in a system of geomancy originating in antiquity in the Near East. The procedure survived to be acquired as a form of astronomical geomancy in Medieval Europe and continued later (see, for instance, Franz Hartmann's The Principlesof Astrological The Art of Divining by Punctuation Geomancy; Accordingto Cornelius Agrippa and Others, London, I889 and I 9I3). It was also accepted by the Arabs, and several authors have surmised that not only Ifa and related forms in West Africa but also Sikidi divination in Madagascar were developed locally as variations on the system as diffused by the Arabs into Muslim Africa. Useful material is to be found in C. H. Becker's Islamstudien,ii (Leipzig, 1932), ch. 22, and especially J. C. Hebert's notable paper ' Analyse structurale des geomancies Comoriennes, Malgaches et Africaines' in the Journal de la Societedes Africanistes (Paris), xxxi (I961), 2. Indications of an Arabic origin for the basic procedure of Ifa divination are given in the names Ifa, which may derive from Arabic al-fa'l, pl. fu'l7 and af'ul (auspice) and Orunmila, possibly the Yoruba vocalization of Arabic ar-raml (sand-a colloquialism for darb ar-raml, 'divination by sand'; Hebert, p. I 17, notes that ramouliis the Sudanese Muslim term for geomancy). The borrowing would have been made some centuries ago, when If? and not QyQ was the cultural centre of the Yoruba, if any reliance is to be placed on Yoruba traditions. What is especially interesting is the way the system has been thoroughly incorporated in Yoruba cosmological conceptions, from the myths of the first descent of Ifa-Orunmila from Heaven at If?, to the details of the odu; so that the Yoruba Muslim diviners who today practise darb ar-raml (called abigbaby the Yoruba) are thought of, as Professor Bascom observes, as consulting a different oracle. The careful analyses by Professor Bascom and Dr. McClelland show that the Yoruba have
Ee
TWO STUDIES OF IFA DIVINATION 408 evolved a logical structure for the relations between the oduthat is expressed through the mythology of the system.
I. ODU IFA: THE NAMES OF THE SIGNS

WILLIAM BASCOM
IN a previous articleI the order in which the sixteen basic figures of Ifa (odu Ifa) are ranked was examined. This was based on seventy-two lists from fifty-three sources for the Yoruba, the FQn, and the Ewe of West Africa, and the Lucumi (Yoruba) of Cuba. Thirty-six of these lists from twenty-five sources followed the same order (A) which was clearly predominant; but a different order (E) was found in the northeastern part of Yoruba territory and the possibility of other regional variations was suggested. Fourteen additional lists have subsequently been examined. Their orders should be discussed before proceeding to the consideration of the names of the figures. The named orders which will be referred to here are shown below in Table I.
TABLE I
A
E
i i I
2
2
3
3
4
4
5
7
6
8
7
5
8
6
9
9
Io
Io
II 14 I4
I2
13 I3
13
12 II
14
II
I5
15
i6
i6
i6
Io
I2
L I
M I 0 I S I
T i
2
2
2
3
3
3
4
4
4
5
5
5 5 4 Io
6 6
6
7
7
7
8 8
8
9
9
Io
I5
Io
Io 9 9
IO
12 I3
I2
13
I2 I3 I3 13
14
I4 I4 I4 5
II
I5 II II
I5
1I
15
i6 i6
i6
3
2
2
7
4
8
6
3 13
8
I2 II
7 14
Io
12
I4 II
I5
9
5
6 9
15
I2
I6 i6
I5
I6
Six of these additional lists are identical with the dominant order (A), including one which I recorded at QyQ in I965, one given by Parrinder in I961 for the Yoruba at Ibadan,2 two by $owande for the Yoruba3 and, disregarding one obvious error, one given by Bastide for the Nago (Yoruba) of Brazil.4 The sixth is that recorded in pyrography on the wooden ' royal calendar of Gcdcgbe ', the famed diviner of King Glele of Dahomey. This list must be read from left to right, as Maupoils notes, rather than from right to left as in reading the derivative figures such as Ogbe-Qy(ku. In reading the excellent photograph of the copy of this calendar in the Musee de l'Homme (no. 36-2I-IO8) recently published by Palau Marti,6 one must be aware that it is upside down. Two of the additional lists, recorded at Ife in I965, confirm order (E) as a legitimate
I William Bascom, ' Odu Ifa: The Order of the Figures of Ifa ', Bulletinde 'InstitutFranfaisd'Afrique Noire, xxiii. 3/4 (I96I), 676-82. See this paper for bibliography of sources not cited in the footnotes here; the present paper was delivered at the annual meetings of the American Anthropological Association at Detroit in November I964. 2 Geoffrey Parrinder, West African Religion,London: The Epworth Press, 2nd ed., 196I, p. I41. 3 Fela $owande, Ifa, Yaba: Forward Press, n.d.
(c. I964), pp. 38, 38B. 4 Roger Bastide, 'Le Candomble de Bahia (Rite Nag6)', Le Monde d'Outre-Mer Passe et Prdsent, Premiere Serie: Etude v, 1958, p. I05. The question of errors is discussed later. 5 Bernard Maupoil, 'La Geomancie a l'ancienne C6te des Esclaves ', Travauxet Admoiresde l'Institiu vol. xlii, 1943, p. 217. d'Ethnologie, 6 Montserrat Palau Marti, 'Les calendriers dahomeens ', Objetset Mondes,iv. I (I964), fig. 3, p. 34.
409 variation; it has been reported in ten lists from seven sources for If?, Ilepa, regional and Omu. For order (F) a third instance of Clarke's' corrected ' list was inadvertently overlooked in the earlier article, giving a total of four lists from two sources. Two lists by Alapini for Dahomey in the same publication2 have the same order (M) as that given by Trautman; but the evidence is still insufficient to consider either (F) or (M) as legitimate variants. The three remaining orders differ from all eighteen orders previously published and can safely be disregarded. Fiawoo3 gives (S) for the Ewe of Ghana and there are two earlier lists published by Parrinder4for the Yoruba in 949 (T) and in I953 (U). Of the twenty-one listings that have been reported, it is only in these two by Parrinder and the one by Fiawoo that there is any discrepancy in the order of the first four figures. With these additions, 42 out of 86 or still almost half the lists follow the dominant order (A), based on 3 out of 61 sources. This order is found in 3 out of the 6o Yoruba lists, 4 of the i6 Dahomean lists, i of the 3 Ewe lists, 5 of the 6 Cuban lists, and in the single list available for Brazil. In the present article the variations in the i6 names and their association with the 16 figures, regardless of order, are examined. Of the 86 lists, 6 must be omitted because they give only the figures without the names. Armstrong5 has recently reported that his list of sixteen figures from the Idoma turned out to be 'strictly cognate, position for position, with the Yoruba list' and that Bradbury has collected strictly cognate lists from Benin, the Western Ibo, and the Igala. He lists the names and figures according to order (A), but it is not clear whether ' position' refers to the rank order or to the figure itself. It is possible that the names have been rearranged to conform to this order, as apparently was done with the FQn names; their source is not indicated, but they seem to come from Herskovits who listed them in a different order (L). The Idoma system of divination, known as Iba, employs four strings of four pods each,6 rather than a single string with eight pods as in Ifa. This corresponds to a related system of divination widely practised in Nigeria and known as Agbigba or Agbagba among the Yoruba, who distinguish it from Ifa even though the names of many of the figures in the two systems are cognate. The apparatus associated with Bradbury's three lists is not indicated, but the Agbigba form of divination is known as Egbigba among the Igala,7 as Ogwqga at Benin,8 and as Afa or Aha among the Ibo.9 The rank order of the
I J. D. Clarke, 'Ifa Divination ', Journal of the Royal AnthropologicalInstitute, lxix, part 2 (I939), p. 256. 2 Julien Alapini, Les Noix Sacrees,Monte-Carlo: Regain, I950, pp. 68-69, 8 -82. 3 Dzigbodi Kodzo Fiawoo, The Influence Conof ConSocial Changeson the Magico-Religious temporary cepts and Organizationof the SouthernEwe-Speaking People of Ghana. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Edinburgh, 1958, p. 69. 4 Parrinder, West African Religion,London: The Epworth Press, Ist ed., I949, p. 55; Religionin an African City, London: Oxford University Press, 195 3, PP. 34-3 5* s Robert G. Armstrong, 'The Use of Linguistic
and Ethnographic Data in the Study of Idoma and Yoruba History' in The Historianin TropicalAfrica (J. Vansina, R. Mauny, L. V. Thomas, eds.), London: Oxford University Press, I964, pp. I37, I39. 6 Robert G. Armstrong, personal communication. 7 A. F. Mockler-Ferryman, Up the Niger, London: George Philip & Son, I892, p. 45; R. Sidney Seton, 'Notes on the Igala Tribe, Northern Nigeria', Journalof the African Society,xxix (I929-30), 43. 8 R. E. Bradbury, The BeninKingdom and the EdoNigeria, EthnograSpeakingPeoplesof South-Western phic Survey of Africa, Western Africa, part 13, 956, p. 59. 9 P. Amaury Talbot, ThePeoples Southern Nigeria, of London: Oxford University Press, 1926, vol. ii,
410
wickedness (ika), soap (p,r), and loss (ofun).
figures in Agbigba divination as recordedfrom an Igbira diviner at Ife by myself, at Isapaby Clarke,and among the Igala by Boston' differ markedlyfrom those for Ifa and from each other. As Ifa divination has been reportedfor Benin and the Ibo, it is not certain that these names are Agbigba names except in the case of Armstrong's Idoma list and Boston'sIgalalist, but they are consideredbelow along with Agbigba namesreported and by Beyioku,2Clarke,3 Ogunbiyi,4and those which I recordedfrom two Agbigba diviners, one a Yagba Yoruba from Figbepractisingin Ab?okutaand the other an Igbira man practisingin If?. Errorsin the associationsof names and figures, such as the one by Bastide mentioned above and two in Parrinder's 953 list, arerecognizable beyond any reasonable doubt. As such, they are interesting for the light they throw on the question of ethnographicreliability,as will be shown later. Obvious errorsin the transcription or the printingof the namesof the figuresare also recognizable.In broaderperspective this may be the majorcontributionof this paper,although it was undertakenas a simple but extensive survey to determinebasic ethnographicfacts. The meaningsof the names of the sixteenprimaryfiguresof Ifa divination have never been determined.What interpretations have been suggested are on the level of folk etymologies,such as the interpretation Qyckuas meaningQy9 dies (Qye of ku), which appearsin one of the verses for the figure Qycku-Edi; or they are based on similaritiesof the names to common words, such as camwood or barwood (irosun), In order to render comparisonsless difficultand to simplify printing, tones and
equivalent (v) and, where appropriate,ch for c which in some spellings replaces a or its equivalents (f or sh). Nasalizationof vowels, which is indicated by various conventions in the sources consulted, has been renderedaccording to customary Yorubausageby an n afterthe vowel. Otherdifferences spellinghave been retained. in of the variationsin the names are more apparentthan real, for one thing Many becauseall diacritical marksare omitted by some writersor their publishers,making it impossibleto distinguishbetween? and e, 9 and o, and s and s. Moreover,English, French, Spanish,and Germanwritershave followed differentorthographicconventions. Some English writers, including Wyndham,have indicated the ? and the 9 as e and o followed by a double consonant. The Yoruba p, which is actuallypronounced kp, is sometimes written as such; in Cuba it sometimes becomes k or c, while k is often writtenas c. The Yorubaj is variouslywritten as j, dj, dz, dy, and y; and in Cuba it often becomes 11,while y is written as j or 11.Some French writers use ou for w; and in Cubaw is usuallygiven as gu, but sometimesas gb or b, and gb becomes b or gu, or even nd or nl. The names of the figures,and other Yorubawords as well, have been modifiedin both Cubaand Dahomey accordingto the phonetic patternsof Spanishand of FQn,
pp. 187-8; C. K. Meek, Law and Authority in a Nigerian Tribe, London: Oxford University Press, I937, p. 82. J. S. Boston, personal communication. 2 Fagbenro Beyioku, Ifa, Lagos: The Hope Rising Press, I940, pp. 34-35. 3 Clarke, op. cit. (Isapa column), p. 252. 4 Thos. A. J. Ogunbiyi, Iwe Itan Ifa, Agbigba, 'Yanrin Tite ati Owo 1rindilogun, Lagos: Ife-Olu Printing Works, 1952, pp. 49, 50, 55.
diacritical marks have been omitted except for the Yoruba e, 9, and $ and differences in orthographyhave been reducedby substituting? for its equivalent(E),9 for its
TWO STUDIES OF IFA DIVINATION 4II but differentpronunciationsare also apparentin these areasand in differentparts of Yoruba territory.In Dahomey, 1 is commonly substitutedfor r, and initial vowels are often dropped. The l-r substitutionalso occurs occasionallyamong the Yoruba in Mqk9,Ilara,and other Nigeriantowns along the Dahomeanborder,and it appears in some of the Igala, Idoma, and Ibo names.The dropping of initial vowels is fairly widespreadamong the Yoruba. Thus we have (I)mek9 and (I)saki as town names and (I)jqa and (I)jibu as names of Yoruba subgroups; and the initial vowels are commonly elided in the second half of the names of Ifa figures which are combinations. In Lijadu'we can find this for all sixteennamesof the primary figuresas they occur in the second half of the following combinations:Idi-Gbe (p. 5z), Ika-Yeku (p. 72), Qsa-Wori(p. 33), Ogbe-Di (p. 12), Q?-Rosu (p. 2I), Ogbe-W9nrin(p. 30), Ogbe-Bara (p. 52), Ogbe-Kanran (p. 6i), Ogbe-Guda (p. 24), Ogbe-Sa (p. 33), Ogbe-Ka (p. 5), Ogbe-Turuppn(p. 6I), Ogbe-Tura (p. 45), Qbara-Rqte(p. 56), Idi-$? (p. 55), and Ogbe-Fu (p. 46). In contrast to these combinations,the sixteen principalodu are pairedor double figures which might be written Ogbe-Ogbe, Qy(ku-Qyqku,Iwori-Iwori,and so on. Insteadthey are usuallydesignatedby the nameof the primaryfigurefollowed by the word meji(two), as in Ogbe Meji, Qyeku Meji, and Iwori Meji. The double Ogbe figure is also commonly known as Eji Ogbe (two Ogbe), and this patternmay be applied to other figures as well; a diviner in MkQ9referredto all sixteen double figures in this fashion. We are not especiallyconcernedhere with the variationson the spelling of meji,but it is given as magi by Skertchly,megiby Burton, mejiby by by Maupoilwithjimr as an inversion,medji Herskovits,and medji Alapini,Bertho, Frobenius,Quenum,Trautman,and Garnierand Fralon. In Cubait is given as meji, melli,andmelle. is given as EdjuandEdschu Frobenius,andit often becomes by meje, Eji oji orji in Dahomey and elli in Cuba. Eji Ogbe or Ogbe Meji,as the highest rankingof all 56 figures,was spoken of as the 'head' (olori) by diviners at Modakekq and Ilesa, while the second figure, although these are not Qyeku Meji, was referredto as the 'junior sibling' (aburo), alternativenames such as are found for some figures. Neither apparently actually are Aluku Gbayi, Awulela, or Alafiawhich Maupoil gives for Ogbe Meji, although he does give Alafyaas an alternativename for OturaMeji. Skertchlyrefersto Ogbe Meji as the head mother, and Burton says it is called 'Mother of all'; but in If? it is regardedas the ' Father' (baba). Maupoilspeaksof Ogbe Meji as the fatherand Ofun Meji as the mother, giving Qbafa or 'King of Ifa ' [Qba-(I)fa]as one of the former's honorific names. In Cuba its name is often prefacedby 'Father' (baba), as in Baba Eji Ogbe. Some of the alternativenames for the sixteen double figures are included in the following discussion,but it is not possible to considerhere the manywhich are used for the combinations,such as ' Ogbe look back ', Ogbe-w(o)-ehin,for Ogbe-Iwori. These are cited only when substitutesin the combinationsseem to confirmalternative names mentionedfor the sixteen primaryfigures. By startingwith the Yoruba names as the basis for comparison,I do not wish to imply that I uncriticallyaccept the legends of the Yoruba, F9n, and Ewe that Ifa
' E. M. Lijadu, Ifa: Im9l1Rp ti Ise Ipile Isin ni II Yoruba, Exeter: James Townsend & Sons, 1923, pages cited in parentheses above.
TWO STUDIES OF IFA DIVINATION divination originated in the Yoruba city of If9 and spread outwards from it. I do so, and I speak of phonetic changes in ' Yoruba words ' in Dahomey, simply as a matter of convenience. But I do believe that the evidence presented in these two articles demonstrates that the Cuban and Brazilian lists are derived from those of the Yoruba because they are closer to them, both in their names and their rank order, than to those of the F9n, Ewe, or other African lists. This is further evidence, of a very specific kind, of the importance of the Yoruba influence in Havana and Bahia. The listing below follows the dominant Ifa order (A) mentioned earlier.
412
I. Ogbe(ir i). This figure is given as Ogbe, Ogbe Meji, or Eji Ogbe for the Yoruba in all but four cases. It is written as Ogge by F. S., and as Qgbe by Clarke (p. 245) but in only one of five lists. Maupoil notes that it is also called Ogbe-Oji, Oji, and Oji-nimon-Gbe by Nago (Yoruba) diviners in Dahomey. For the FQn, Maupoil gives Gbe, Jiogbe, and Gbe-Jim?, explaining the latter as the reversal of the syllables of Mqji. Gbe is also given by Herskovits, Monteil, Trautman, Quenum, and Le Herisse. Ogbe is given by Alapini, Eyogbe by Grandin, Gbe and DyQgbe by Bertho, Bwe by Burton and Skertchly, and Buru by Ellis. For the Ewe, Gbe is given by Spieth, Kpolidzogbe by Fiawoo, and Eghe, Gbe, and Bge by Garnier and Fralon. Cuban sources give Baba Eji Ogbe, Baba Ellionde, Baba Ellionle, Baba Llogbe, Baba Yogbe, Egbwe Ogue, and Obe. Bastide gives Ogbe for Brazil. Except for Ellis's Buru all these variants on Ogbe can be explained by differences in pronunciation and orthography, or by apparent typographical errors as in Bge. For Agbigba there is an alternative name, given as Osika by Clarke and Ogunbiyi, Osika by Beyioku, and Osinka by the Igbira informant at Ife. A Yagba Yoruba diviner practising at Abqokuta, who named thirteen of the sixteen figures, gave this one as Ogbe. Ogbi is given by Bradbury for Benin and the Western Ibo, Ebi by Bradbury and Boston for the Igala and by Armstrong for the Idoma.
This figure is given as Qyqku or Qyeku Meji or, without diacritical 2. QyrkU (2222). marks, as Oyeku or Oyeku Meji in most cases for the Yoruba. Eji Qy? is an alternative name, given by an Ife diviner and by Maupoil. It is given as Qyeku by Clarke for Ilgfa and by Bakare, as Oyeku by Ataiyero and Ogunbiyi, Qyqkun by Johnson, Oyekun by Monteil, Ojako (p. I9I) and Ojaku by Frobenius, and Oyeku and Byeku by Parrinder. For Dahomey, Y9ku and Ji Qy9 are given by Maupoil, Yeku (p. 214) and Yqku by Herskovits, and Yeku by Bertho, Burton, Monteil, and Skertchly. It is written Yekuro by Ellis, Oyekou by Alapini, and Yekou by Le Herisse, Quenum, and Trautman. Grandin gives it as Oyetin. For the Ewe, Yeku is given by Garnier and Fralon, Yeku by Spieth, and Yeka by Fiawoo. Cuban sources give Ojqkuje, Ejeku, Elleco, and Ollegun; and Bastide gives Oye Ku for Brazil. Eji Qye is an alternative form and all others, with the exception of Grandin's Oyetin, are recognizable as variants of Qy9ku. For Agbigba, Qyeku is given by Beyioku, Clarke, and the Yagba Yoruba informant, and Oy9ku by Ogunbiyi and the Igbira informant. Qyqkwu is given by Boston for the Igala, and Bradbury gives Aku for the Igala, Ako for Benin, and Akwu for the Western Ibo. Akwu is also given by Armstrong for the Idoma.
413
3. Iwori(2112). This figureis given as Iwori for the Yoruba with few variations. Maupoil gives Iwori and Iwoli as Yoruba forms, with the common r-l shift. It is given as IwQriin one instanceby Johnson, as Evori (p. 191) and Ewori by Frobenius, A and as Iwori and Ewere by Parrinder. Mk9qinformantcalledit Iwoye, and Q)iga Awoye as a substitutefor Iwori in two combinations,Irosu-Awoye and Qsagives
Awoye.'
For Dahomey it is written Avri by Grandin,Owori by Alapini, Iwori or Holi by Bertho, Holi by Trautman,and Oli by Herskovits and Quenum. Ouoli is given by Le Herisse,and Woli by Maupoiland Monteil. Ode is given by Ellis, Ode or Wudde by Burton, and Ooe Magi Wudde by Skertchly, these being the only forms not readilyrecognizableas variantsof Iwori. For the Ewe, Woli is given by Spieth and by Garnier and Fralon, and Oli by Fiawoo. In Cuba it is given as Iguori, Ibori, Igbori, and Iworo, and in Brazilas Iwori. For Agbigba, Iwori was given by the Yagba Yoruba, and Ogori by Beyioku, Clarke,Ogunbiyi, and the Igbirainformant.Ogoli is given by Boston and Bradbury for the Igala, by Bradburyfor the Western Ibo, and by Armstrong for the Idoma. Oghoi is given by Bradburyfor Benin. These forms are closer to the Agbigba alternativename, Ogori, than to the Ifa name. 4. Edi (1221). Edi, Odi, and Idi are all acceptablevariantsfor the Yoruba. Edi is given by Ataiyero, Clarke,Johnson, Wyndham,and was recordedfrom informants at Ara and Ife. Odi is given by Beyioku in one list and by Abraham,Bakare,Frobenius, Lucas, Monteil, Ogunbiyi, Ogunlqyq,F. S., Sowande, and by informants at QyQ,Ibadan,Mck9, and Modakqk?.Idi is given by Beyioku in three other lists, by Epega, and by a second informantat Ilara.Edi and Idi are given by Maupoilfor the Yoruba, Edi and Odi by Parrinder, or Odi by QSiga,and Edi, Odi, and Odin Idi by Dennett. For Dahomey, Edi and Odi aregiven by Bertho,Adi by Grandin,Odin by Alapini, and Odi or Di by Maupoil. Di is given by Burton, Ellis, Herskovits, Le Herisse, Monteil, Quenum, Skertchly,and Trautman.Di is also given for the Ewe by Spieth and Fiawoo, and Edi by Garnierand Fralon. In Cuba Edi, Odi, and Idi are each given in two or more sources,and in Brazilit is given as Ode. All of these are readily recognizablevariants. For Agbigba, Ogi is given by Clarke,and Oji by Beyioku, Ogunbiyi, and my two informants.Oji is given by Armstrong for the Idoma and by Boston for the Igala; Bradburygives Odi for the Igala, the WesternIbo, and Benin. 5. Irosun (1122). This figureis given as Irosun for the Yorubain most cases.In one instanceBeyioku gives Iroun, a misprintcorrectedfour pages laterand in three other publications.Irosu is given by Epega in six lists (with Irosun in a seventh) and by Ogunbiyi, Ogunlqy?, Qsiga, and F. S.; and Iroshu is given by Lucas, Iroshun by Dennett, and Irochum by Monteil. Parrindergives Irosun, Iroshun, Iroshu, and Orosu. Irosun and Urosu are given by Ataiyero, and Urosi by Johnson. One Ilara informant gave Orosun, which Beyioku lists as the Agbigba name for this figure. An Qyo informantgave Ilosun Meji and a Mqko informantEji Olosun. Frobenius writes it Hosso.
A. O. QOiga,Iwe Adura Mime ti Ijp QrunmilaAdulaw9 li Ede Ilf Yoruba,n.d., 3rd ed., pp. i, ii, (at end).
414
For Dahomey, Maupoil gives Loso, with Losun, Olosun, and Oji Olosun as variants. Loso is given by Herskovits, Le Herisse, and Quenum; Losso by Monteil and Trautman, Losho by Ellis, Orossou by Alapini, and Strossin by Grandin. For the Ewe Loso is given by Spieth, Luso by Fiawoo, and Logo by Garnier and Fralon. In Cuba, Irosun, Irosu, and Iroso are used, and Bastide gives Irosun for Brazil. Typographical errors probably account for Hosso, Logo, Luso, and Urosi, all other forms being recognizable variants of Irosun with the possible exception of Grandin's Strossin. For Agbigba, Irosun is given by Clarke and Ogunbiyi, Irosu by the Igbira informant, and Orosun by Beyioku. Oloru is given by Boston and Bradbury for the Igala, Olo by Armstrong for the Idoma, Oruhu by Bradbury for Benin, and Ulushu by Bradbury for the Western Ibo. 6. QwQnrin This figure is given as Qw9nrin or, without diacritical marks, (2211). as Owonrin by most Yoruba sources. Eji tlerin is given as an alternative name by QOiga, with tFrin as a substitute for QwQnrin in the combination Ogunda-1rin;' and Elerin was recorded in If9 as a substitute in the combination Ofun-Elerin. Qw9nrin, OwQnrin, and QwQrin were given by If9 informants; Qwonrin and Qw9nri by Ataiyero and Epega, Qwaran and Owaran by Johnson, Qworin or Qwara by Abraham, OwQri and Qwara by Parrinder, Qwara by Lucas, and Qwqnran by OdumQlayQ. QwQnrin and IwQrin are given by QSiga, IwQnrin by Ogunbiyi, Owurin by Monteil, Owourin and Owonrin by Dennett, Oworin and Aworin by Wyndham, and Jwuoli (Iwuoli) by Frobenius. Maupoil gives Qwonlin, Iwonlin, Owonrin, Iwonrin, and Oji Wenle as Yoruba forms, but the last is clearly Dahomean. For Dahomey, Maupoil gives Wenl?, Wenle, and Wonlin. Nwenle is given by Herskovits, Wenlen by Monteil, Ouenlen by Le Herisse, and Henli by Quenum. Owarin is given by Alapini, Uram by Skertchly, Uran by Burton, Oron by Ellis, Houlin by Trautman, and O Koni by Grandin. For the Ewe Spieth and Fiawoo give Noli and Garnier and Fralon give Enloe. In Cuba it is given as Oguani, Aguani, and Agbani, and in Brazil as Dwonrin, probably a misprint. There is wide variation here, but phonetically QwQnrin is one of the most difficult names, and except for Grandin's O Koni all of these forms may be related. For Agbigba, the Yagba Yoruba gave both QwQnrin and Qga, and Qga was given by the Igbira informant and by Beyioku, Clarke, and Ogunbiyi. tgali is given by Boston and Bradbury for the Igala and by Armstrong for the Idoma, Qgai and Qgali by Bradbury for the Western Ibo, and Oghae by Bradbury for Benin. These forms are closer to the alternative Agbigba name, Qga, than to Qwynrin and its variants. 7. Qbara (1222). This figure is given as Obara or Obara for the Yoruba in most cases. Opo Meji (two posts) was given as an alternative name by an informant at Modakeke. Obara, ]3bara, and Bara are given by Parrinder, Bara by Lucas and Johnson, Qbara and Qbala by Maupoil, Oballa by Frobenius, and Ibara by an informant at Ileqa. For Dahomey, Abla is given by Burton, Le Herisse, Maupoil, Monteil, Quenum,
siga, loc. cit.
415
and Skertchly,and Skertchlygives Unun as an alternativename. Abala is given by Herskovits, Abila by Ellis, Obara by Alapini, and O Bara by Grandin. Spieth, Fiawoo, and Garnierand Fralon give Abla for the Ewe. In Cubait is usually given as Obara, with Ogbara and Obari as variants; and in Brazil it is given as Obara. Except for the two alternativenames,Unun and Opo Meji, all these forms are clearly related. For Agbigba, Qbaraand Obarawere given by the Yagba Yoruba, Obaraby the Igbira informant, and Qbara by Beyioku, Clarke,and Maupoil. Qbala is given by for for Boxton and Qbataby Bradbury the Igala, Qbai by Bradbury the WesternIbo, for the Idoma, and Qvba by Bradburyfor Benin. Qbla by Armstrong Qkanran,Qkaran,and :lkran are given by Parrinder,Qkaranor Qkara by Lucas, Qkaranby Ataiyero and one informantat Ilara, Qkanranand Okaranby Johnson, Okannaby Frobenius, and Qkanran,Qkanlan,and Qtunwa by Maupoil. QkQnrQn is given by Abrahamand Bakare,and QkQnrQn, Qkanran,and Qkanrgnby Epega. Okonron and Okouron are given by Dennett and Okuron by Monteil. For Dahomey, Aklan and Qkanlan are given by Maupoil, Qkanranby Alapini, Akananby Herskovits, and Aklan by Le Herisse, Monteil, Quenum,and Trautman. Akala is given by Ellis, Akli by Skertchly, and Akla by Burton. Grandin gives O Kouro. Spieth, Fiawoo, and Garnierand Fralon give Akla for the Ewe. In Cuba it is given as Okanlan, Okana, and more commonly as Ocana; and in Brazil it is given as Okaran.Except for Qtunwa (cf. Otura) and Skertchly'sAkli, all of these are recognizablevariants. For Agbigba, Qkanranis given by Clarke and Ogunbiyi, Qkn9Q by Beyioku, Qk9na by the Yagba Yoruba, and Okananby the Igbira informant.Qkgna is given by Boston and Qkaraby Bradburyfor the Igala, Qka by Bradburyfor Benin, Qkla by Armstrongfor the Idoma, and Qkai by Bradburyfor the WesternIbo. 9. Ogunda (IIr2). This figureis most often given as Ogundafor the Yoruba.Oguda is given by Dennett, Frobenius,F. S., and Monteil. Ogunda and Qgunda are given Oguda and Eguda by Ataiyero, Eguda by Clarke,Ogunda and Oguda by Parrinder, by one Ife informant, and Ogunda or Egitan by Ogunlqye. by Beyioku, Egunda Egutanis given by Wyndhamand an informantat Ilepa,and Eguntanby Odum9layQ. As substitutes for Ogunda in combinations, Eguntan and Egutan are given by OdumQlay9,Eguntan by Q?iga, Egutan by Lijadu, and Eguntan and Egunda by Epega. Eguntan or Egutan is an accepted alternativename, and there are similar variationsin the spelling of the Yoruba word for ewe (aguntan,agutan). For Dahomey, Guda and Gudgji are given by Maupoil, Ogouda by Alapini, and Gouda by Le Herisse,Quenum,and Trautman.Gudais given by Burton,Herskovits, Monteil, and Skertchly;Kuda by Ellis, and Ogude by Grandin.For the Ewe, Guda is given by Spieth and Fiawoo, and Gouda by Garnierand Fralon. In Cuba it is called Ogunda, Orgunda,and Oguda; and Bastidegives Oguda for Brazil.With the exception of the alternativename, all of these are clearlyvariantson Ogunda. For Agbigba, Ogunta is given by Clarkeand my two informants,and Oguda is given by Beyioku and Ogunbiyi. Ogwutp is given by Boston and Ejita by Bradbury for the Igala, and Ejita by Armstrong for the Idoma; Bradburygives Eghita for
8. Qkanran(2221). This is given as Qkanran or Okanran by most Yoruba sources.
416
Benin and both Ejite and Ogbute for the Western Ibo. Ejite or Ejita appears to be an alternative name.
o1. Qsa (2111). This figure is given as Qsa or Osa by most Yoruba sources. Qsa and Osa are given by Clarke, Ossa by Wyndham, and informants gave Osa in Modakckq and Q(a in Ara. For Dahomey, Osa is given by Alapini, Osu by Grandin, and Sa by Burton, Ellis, Herskovits, Le Herisse, Maupoil, Monteil, and Trautman. Ba is given by Skertchly and Ta by Quenum, both probably due to typographical errors. For the Ewe, Sa is given by Spieth, and Esa by Fiawoo and Garnier and Fralon. In Cuba and in Brazil, Osa is given by all available sources. All of these are clearly variants on a single form. For Agbigba, Osa and Oha were given by the Igbira informant, Osa by the Yagba Yoruba, and Qsa by Beyioku, Clarke, and Ogunbiyi. Bradbury gives Qha for Benin and Qsha for the Western Ibo, Armstrong Qla for the Idoma, and Boston and Bradbury give Qra for the Igala. i i. Ika (2122). Ika is given by most Yoruba sources, with Ika as an accepted variant.
tIka is given by Ataiyero, Johnson, Odum9layQ, and informants at Ara and Ilara. Ekka is given by Wyndham, Eka by Frobenius, Eka and Ika by Clarke, and Ika by Parrinder and by informants at Ife and Ilesa. 1]ka is substituted for Ika in combinations such as Iwori-]ka by Epega, and Lijadu substitutes Qka in the same combination, Iwori-Qka. Maupoil gives Ika, Qka, Iji Qka, and Faa as Yoruba forms. For Dahomey, Ka is given by Burton, Ellis, Herskovits, Le Herisse, Maupoil, Monteil, Quenum, Skertchly, and Trautman. Oka is given by Alapini, and I Ku by Grandin. Spieth, Fiawoo, and Garnier and Fralon give Ka for the Ewe. In Cuba it is given as Ika, Ica, and Ca, and in Brazil as Ika. Except for Faa and I Ku, these are all variants on a single form. For Agbigba, Oyinkan is given by Beyioku, Clarke, Ogunbiyi, and my two informants. 1ka is given by Boston and Bradbury for the Igala, by Armstrong for the Idoma, and by Bradbury for Benin. Bradbury gives Aka for the Western Ibo. These forms are closer to the Ifa name, Ika or Itka, than to the Agbigba alternative, Oyinkan.
12. OturupPn (2122). This figure is usually given as OturupQn or Oturupon for the Yoruba, but Eturup9n is an accepted variant and Qlgbgn is an alternative name. QlQgbQn is given by OdumQlayQ and by informants at QyQ, If?, and Modakeke, and it is identified as an alternative name by Ogunlcy9 and by informants at Ibadan, If?, Ilesa, and Ara. Ologbon is given by Wyndham, and Ql1gbQn Meji and GbQmQpQn are given by Q(iga as an alternative name for OturupQnMeji. Oturupgn and EturupQn are given by Ataiyero, EturupQn by an informant at Ileqa, EturapQn by Clarke, Oturapyn and Oturupgn by Epega, Oturup9n and IturupQn by informants at Ilara, and IturupQn by an informant at Ibadan. Oturupgn and Otrukpan are given by Parrinder, Qtulukpon by Maupoil, and Oturuqua by Frobenius. For Dahomey, Maupoil gives Turupen or Turukpon, with L?lo, Lelo Jime (another inversion of meji), Awonon L?lo, and BokQnon L?lo (Diviner Lqlo) as alternatives. Trukpcn and Trukpen, with Lelo as an alternative name, are given by Herskovits, Otouroukpon by Alapini, Troukpen by Le Herisse, Troukpin by Quenum, Toulouk-
417
pin by Trautman, Trupen by Monteil, Turupwen by Burton, Durapin by Ellis, Tumpwu by Skertchly,and Obul by Grandin.For the Ewe it is given as Trukpe by Spieth, Tukpe by Fiawoo, and Lelu by Garnierand Fralon. In Cuba it is given as Oturupon, Otrupon, Otrupan, Eturuco, and Etrukg, and for Brazil Bastide gives Oturuson. OturupQnis also phonetically difficult and there are some apparent misprints, but all forms are clearly cognates except for Grandin's Obul, Q(iga's GbQgmgpn,and the two alternativenames, Ql1gbQnand L?lo. For Agbigba, Qtaru is given by Beyioku, Otaru by Clarke,Qtaru and Otaru by the YagbaYoruba,Otarunby the Igbirainformant,and Qta by Ogunbiyi.Atunukpa is given by Boston and Bradbury the Igala,Itrukpa by Armstrongfor the Idoma, for and Bradburygives Atokpa for the Western Ibo and 1rhoxwa for Benin. Again these forms are closer to the Ifa name than to the Agbigba alternative,Qtaru. Otuwa or Qtunwa and Qturaappearto be acceptedvariants.Both Oturaand Etura were given by informantsat Ife, and Etura by informantsat Ibadan,Ilepa,and Ilara. Etura is also given by Ataiyero and Clarke, Eturah by Wyndham,and Eture by Johnson. Qturaand Oturaaregiven by Qsiga, Qturaby Beyioku, Qturaand Qtunwa by Maupoil, Otura and Oture by Parrinder,Oture by Lucas, Otua by Frobenius and an QyQinformant,Otuwa by Abraham,Oturawunby Odum9lay9, and Qt1le by informantsat MekQand Ilara. For Dahomey, Maupoil gives Tula with Qtula, Qtura, and Qtunwa as variants and Alafya or KalafyaAlafyaas alternativenames.Tula is given by Burton, Herskovits, Monteil, and Skertchly;and Toula is given by Le Herisse,Quenum,and Trautman. Otura is given by Grandin, Otoura by Alapini, and Ture by Ellis. Spieth, Fiawoo, and Garnierand Fralon give Tula for the Ewe. In Cubait is Otura, Otua, and most commonly Etura; and in Brazilit is Otura. Except for Maupoil'salternative names, all these are readilyrecognizableas variants. For Agbigba, Oturais given by Beyioku, Ogunbiyi, and the Igbirainformant,and Turu is given by Clarke.Otula is given by Boston and Bradburyfor the Igala, Otre and Otle by Armstrong for the Idoma; and Bradburygives Etule for the Western Ibo and Etur9 for Benin. Maupoil also gives Oji-lct? (i.e. Eji Irt?e) and Qli Ate; Ate is given by Epega and Lijadu as a substitute for Irete in such combinations as Ogbe-Ate, Iwori-At?, Irosu-At?, and Qkanran-At?.Q?iga gives Eji Fllmere as an alternative name;1 Trautmannames Elemere as one of the parentsof this figure, which was given by informants as Iler? Meji at Ilara and Eji 1l1re at MqkQ.It is given as Irete and 1rett by Parrinder,Ifrt? by Johnson, Erette by Wyndham,Jlette (Ilette) by Frobenius, and Ireke by Monteil. For Dahomey, Iseba is given by Grandin,Irete by Alapini, Lcte by Maupoil, and Lcte by Herskovits.Leteis given by Burton,Le Herisse,Monteil,Quenum,Skertchly, and Trautman.Lete is also give for the Ewe by Spieth, Fiawoo, and Garnierand Fralon. In Cubait is Irete, Irete, Ret?, and Rete; and in Brazilit is Irete. ]lflmqre or
I Qsiga, op. cit., p. i.
13. Otura (1211). Otura is given by most Yoruba sources, but Etura and perhaps
I4. lret? (1121). This figure is given as Irct? and Irete for the Yoruba in most cases.
4I8
13lre and Ate are probablyalternativenames, and all others except Grandin'sIseba are derivativesof a single form. For Agbigba, Irate is given by Beyioku, Clarke,Ogunbiyi, and the Igbirainformant.Qleteis given by Bostonfor the Igalaand Ete for the Igala,Idoma,WesternIbo, and Benin by Bradburyand Armstrong.
15. Qf (1212). This figure is given as Q)q or without diacritical marks as Ose or Oshe in most Yoruba sources. Agba Meji is given as an alternativename for the primaryfigure by Epega, as is Oni Badanby Q)iga. Both Q)e and Qse are given by Johnson and QOiga,Qse by Abrahamand Lucas, Qse and Oshe by Parrinder,O? by Clarke,Qche and Oji Qche by Maupoil, and Oche by Monteil. For Dahomey, Ose is given by Grandin, Ch? by Herskovits and Maupoil, and Che by Burton, Quenum, and Skertchly.Shi is given by Ellis, Otche by Alapini, For and Tche by Le Herisse,Monteil,and Trautman. the Ewe, Tse is given by Spieth, Tsie by Fiawoo, and Tche by Garnierand Fralon. All Cuban sources give Oche, and Bastidegives Ose for Brazil.Except for the two alternativenames, all these are clearlyvariants. For Agbigba, both Oche and Qkin were given by the Igbira informant,Okin by Clarke,and Qkin by Beyioku, Ogunbiyi, and the Yagba Yoruba. Och? is given by Boston for the Igala, Oche by Bradburyfor the Igala and by Armstrong for the Idoma, and Ose by Bradburyfor the WesternIbo and Benin. Again these forms are closer to the Ifa name than to the Agbigba alternative,Qkin. 16. Ofun (2121). Ofun is given for the Yoruba in nearly all cases, with Qrangun as an alternativename. Offunis given by Wyndham,Ofun and Ofu by Ataiyeroand Johnson, and Ofu by Dennett, Frobenius, Lucas, and Monteil. Qrangun Meji and Afin Meji are given as alternativenames for Ofun Meji by Q)iga, who uses Afin as a substitutefor Ofun in the combinationIrosu-Afin.IQrangun or Orangunis also given as an alternativename by Ataiyero, Bakere,Epega, Sowande,Wyndham,and by informantsat Ara and If?. Otherinformantsgave QrangunI3kunat Ileqa,QrQgun at Ilara,and Qry-(o)gun d(i)-ehin lkun at Ibadan. For Dahomey,Maupoilgives Oji Ofun, Fun,Fu, and Ofu, with Qlongun, Langun, and QlQgbonas alternatives.Ofoun is given by Alapini, Ofon by Grandin,and Fou by Le Herisse, Quenum, and Trautman.Fu is given by Burton, Ellis, Herskovits, Monteil, and Skertchly for Dahomey, and by Spieth, Fiawoo, and Garnier and Fralonfor the Ewe. In Cubait is known as Ofun, Aragun,and BabaAragun (Father Aragun), and in Brazil as Ofu. Qrangun is an alternativename with the Yoruba Qr9gun, the CubanAragun, and Maupoil's Qlongun and Langun as variants,and Afin appearsto be another alternativename. Except for Maupoil's QlQgbon (cf. all OturupQn), other forms are readilyrecognizableas modificationsof Ofun. For Agbigba,Ofun is given by Beyioku, Clarke, Ogunbiyi,andmy two informants. Ofu is given by Boston and Bradburyfor the Igala, by Armstrong for the Idoma, and by Bradburyfor the WesternIbo. Bradburygives Ohu for Benin. Despite these variations in the spelling of names and in the differentorders in which they are listed, thereis a remarkable consistencyin the associationbetween the
I QOiga,op. cit., p. i.
TWO STUDIES OF IFA DIVINATION 4I9 figures and the names. The exceptions can be taken with complete assuranceto be errors. Some of the lists give only the names and some record only the diagramsof the figures, but the Ifa names and figures are both given in fifty-threeof the lists available.Each separatelisting is a possible source of errors. For the Yoruba we have thirty-threelists with seven by Epega, three by Beyioku, three by Parrinder,two by Frobenius(the names in a third being illegible), two by Bakare, one each by Abraham, Ataiyero, Clarke, Lucas, Odumglay9, Ogunbiyi, Ogunley?, Q(iga, F. S., $owande, Wyndham,and one informant each from Ara, Ibadan,Ife, Ilara,and Ilepa.For Dahomey we have thirteenlists with two by Alapini and one each from Burton,Ellis, Grandin,Herskovits,Le Herisse,Maupoil,Monteil, Quenum, Skertchly, and Trautman,including an incomplete list by Bertho from which all but four nameswere omitted. For the Ewe we have two lists by Spiethand by Garnierand Fralon, for Cuba the list of one informantand three manuscripts, and for Brazil one list by Bastide. In these fifty-threeIfa lists, in which there are 836 associations of names with figures, only forty-eight errors have been found, or about 6 per cent. Of these, forty errors are found in the Dahomean listings, with two sources accounting for more than half. Monteil and Le Herisse each have twelve errors out of the sixteen
figures, or only 25 per cent. correct. Both reverse Ogbe (IIII) and Qyeku (2222), Qbara (1222) and Ogunda (1112), Qkanran (222i) and Qsa (2III), Ika (2122) and Iretq(II2I), Oturuppn (2212) and Otura (I2II), and give Iwori (2II2) as Edi. In addition, Monteil gives Edi (I22I) as Iwori, and Le Herisse omits figure I221 but
gives 1212 twice, once correctly for Q?e but incorrectlya second time for Iwori. Eleven of these twelve errorsare identical, and as they are not confirmedby other Dahomeansources, this suggests that Monteil followed Le Herisse'slist, ratherthan that a variantpatternexists in Dahomey. in four errors;he also reverses The only confirmation, fact, is in two of Skertchly's
the figures for Ogbe and Qyeku, and he reverses Qbara
(I222)
Quenumalso has four errors,but he reversesthe figuresfor Ika (2122) and Oturupgn and for Q(? (I212) and Ofun (2121). Grandinhas six errors,listing the figure (2212) for Iwori and Oturuppn,listing 2121 three times, correctlyfor Ofun but incorrectly the figure 1122 (Irosun)incorrectlytwice for Edi and Irqt?,giving the name of Edi as Irosun and of OturupQn(2212) as Ika, and omitting three figures (2II2, (122I) and 1121). Both Burton and Ellis make the same error, which may be typo2122, graphical,giving the figure i i i for both Ogbe and Qyeku while omitting the figure 2222 (Qyqku).There are no errorsin the two lists of Alapini,the lists of Herskovits, Maupoil, and Trautman,or in Bertho's very incomplete list. For the Yoruba, Bakare makes four errors, listing the figure 2122 three times, and Qbara,while omitting I222 and correctlyfor Ika but incorrectlyfor OturupQn and these two errorsare repeatedin another edition of the same publication 2212; Parrinder(I953) repeatstwo common Dahomeanerrors,again reversing Ogbe and Qycku. Lucas repeatsthe error of Burton and Ellis, giving i i I for both Ogbe and Qycku, making a total of seven errorsin thirty-threeYorubalists with 528 associations, or about i - per cent. There are no errorsin the two lists for the Ewe of Togo and Ghana,and none in the four Cubansources.For Brazil,Bastide makes one error, giving the figure I122
and Q)? (I212).
420
twice, once correctly for Irosun but incorrectly the second time for Qq?, while omitting the figure 1212. There are no errors in the two lists of Agbigba names with thirty-two associations given by Beyioku and Ogunbiyi (Clarke gives only the names), in the two lists with twenty-nine associations by my two Agbigba informants, or in the five lists with eighty associations recorded by Armstrong, Boston, and Bradbury. However, unless one reads all the figures from the bottom up, there are twelve errors in an article, which has just reached my desk, on Afa (i.e. Agbigba) divination among the Northern Nsukka Ibo by Shelton.' He uses C to indicate the ' closed' and O to indicate the ' open' position of seeds in the divining chains, equivalent to the numbers 2 and i respectively in the notation used above and to X and O in Armstrong's article reporting Bradbury's findings among the western Ibo. It is not clear what Shelton means by restricting his 'meanings' (i.e. names of the figures) to line ' a ' in each cast, but if this is disregarded the names of the figures represented in the columns can be identified; for example, in Cast no. i the four columns are equivalent to Ogbe, Iwori, Ofun, and Ogunda. On this basis the names of fifteen of the sixteen figures can be identified and compared with Bradbury's names for the Western Ibo; only three or 20 per cent. are correct. The figure I i i (0000) is given in Cast no. i, column i, and again in 5:3 as Obi and Ebi, which corresponds to Bradbury's Ogbi and the Ifa name Ogbe. 2222 (CCCC) is given in 6: I and 26: i as Akwo and Akwu, corresponding to Bradbury's Akwu. 2112 is given in : 2 and 6: 3 as Ogoli and 'Goli, corresponding to Bradbury's Ogoli. 1221 is not represented and hence not named. The names for I22 and 2211 are reversed, as Uhu (2:3) corresponds to Bradbury's Ulushu, and Egale (4:4, 26:4) corresponds to Bradbury's Qgali or Qgai. 1222 and 2221 are also reversed as Qbara (3: I, 3:3, 4:3, 5:4, 15:4) corresponds to Bradbury's Qbai and the Ifa name Qbara, whereas Qkara (I5:I) corresponds to Bradbury's Qkai and the Ifa name Qkanran. 1112 and 2111 are reversed, with Ogute, 'Gwute, and Ijite (3:4, 4:2, 6:2) corresponding to Bradbury's Ogbut? and Ejite, and with Qha (i :4) corresponding to Qsha. 2122 and 2212 are reversed, with Eka (5:I, 15: 3) corresponding to Bradbury's Aka and to Ika in Ifa, and Eturukpa (I 5: 2) to Bradbury's Atokpa and to OturupQn in Ifa. Again 1211 and 121 are reversed with Oture (2: , 5:2) corresponding to Bradbury's Etule and Otura in Ifa, and with Ete (2: 2, 2:4, 6:4) corresponding to Bradbury's Ete and Irct? in Ifa. Finally 1212 and 2121 are reversed with Ose (I:3, 4: I) corresponding to Bradbury's Ose, and Uhu (3:2, 26:2, 26:3) to Ofu. In all there are twelve errors, all attributed to one source, for I 56 associations in the ten Agbigba lists, or about 7-7 per cent. The relatively small proportion of errors for most observers supports the suggesAustin J. Shelton, 'The Meaning and Method of Afa Divination among the Northern Nsukka Ibo', American Anthropologist, lxvii. 6 (I965), 1441-55. Despite the author's statement that he is an initiated afa-caster, I seriously question his description of the method. He regards the names of the figures as a secret language giving the meaning of the divination, and he reads the strings from left to right, and only from left to right. According to my informants on Agbigba, the columns are read from right to left and then read upside down from left to right; then the rows are read from top to bottom starting at the left side and then from bottom to top starting at the right. Thus the figures for Shelton's Cast no. I would read: I. OOOX, 2. XOXO, 3. XOOX, 4. 0000, 5. 0000, 6. XOOX, 7. OXOX, 8. XOOO, 9. OXXO, xI. OOXO, 12. OXOX, 13. XOXO, o1. 0000, x6. OXXO. 14. OXOO, 15. 0000,
TWO STUDIES OF IFA DIVINATION 421 tion that variationsin the rank order of the sixteen figures are not due to errors or ignorance on the part of the diviners, or to their deliberateattemptsto conceal the truth.Regionalvariationsin the orderof the sixteenfigureshas been suggestedas one possible alternative,but errorson the part of the investigatoris another. Since we can be positive in our identificationof the errorscited above, this study provides an unusual test of ethnographicreliability.Many of the mistakes appear to be due to carelessness investigationand note taking,to uncorrectedtypographiin cal errors,and to repeatingthe mistakesof earlierinvestigators.Grandin'srenderings of the names are especiallyinaccurate.But whether the errorsare due to the variety of observerswho have written on Ifa, includingexplorers,colonial officials,missionaries, anthropologists,and Africans,or to their informants,it is not difficultto distinguishreliablefrom unreliable reporting.Eliminatingonly those authorswho made four or more errors,including Bakare(4 in two lists) for the Yoruba, Quenum (4), for Ibo Agbigba, we still have 46 Ifa lists with 734 associations,and only six errors in all (0o8per cent.). This leaves one error for Brazil out of 16 associations(6 per cent.), and none for Cubaout of 64 associations(o per cent.). Nor arethereany errors in nine additionalAgbigba and/orIfa lists with I4I associationsrecordedby Beyioku, Ogunbiyi, and myself, and by Armstrong, Boston, and Bradbury(o per cent.). It canbe takenas establishedthat the sameIfa figuresare known by the samenames throughout Yoruba country, and with some modificationsin pronunciationand spelling among the FQnin Dahomey, the Ewe in Togo and Ghana,and among the Afro-Americansin Cuba and Brazil.Armstrong considers the names of the figures recordedat Benin and among the Igala, Idoma, and WesternIbo to be cognatealso. In contrast, although sixteen similar figures are used in the Sikidy divination of Malagasy and in the Islamic sand divination of West and North Africa, these are completely differentboth in their names and in their order, indicating a separate historicaldevelopmentif not separateorigins. II. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF NUMBER IN THE ODU OF IFA E. M. McCLELLAND THEcollection of materialfrom each of the QmQ-Odu,the recitalsoutside those of the sixteen Principal Odu, has yielded interesting informationabout the complex arrangementof the whole system not discerniblefrom a study of the single Odu. This material has been gathered over a period of years in a strip of country in Western Nigeria about twenty-five miles wide, stretching northwardsfrom a few miles south of Iwo, along a line to the east of QyQ and Oshogbo to Ikirun and Okuku. The area was chosen purposely to exclude, as far as possible, sophisticated districts where, it was felt, the growing adulterationof the cult would tend to be would be likely to have debauched greatestand where corruptionand commercialism the system to the greatest extent.
cent.), two for Dahomey out of 116 associations (I 7 per cent.), three for the Yoruba out of 496 associations(o.6 per cent.), none for the Ewe out of 32 associations(o per Skertchly (4), Grandin (6), Le Herisse ( 2), and Monteil (I2) for the FQn, and Shelton
422
In order that the material should be as trustworthy as possible, certain limiting factors were imposed on the collection. The informants used, twenty-two in all, were all Babalawo well advanced in years who, in their youth, would have had a long and careful training when the status of the cult was very high indeed; they were men and women who had had no education in the European sense of the word; they had no connexion, however tenuous, with Christianity. Difficulties springing from normal failures of memory were largely overcome by the careful collating of several accounts on the same theme. Wherever any conscious manipulation of facts or methods was even suspected, the material so gained was not accepted. With these precautions, enough data have been collected to show a calculated mathematical framework. Since the whole arrangement of the 2 56 Odu and QmQ-Odu is seen to depend on the order in which the names of the Odu appear, a list was first compiled of the order given as correct throughout the area selected. There proved to be no variation in this, either as regards the place of each Odu in the list or the figure, that is the characteristic pattern, associated with him. The place order is given below. His figureas the Opelf showsit I. Ejiogbe All nuts concave' 2. Qyeku Meji No nuts concave Middle two nuts concave 3. Iwori Meji Odi Meji Outer two nuts concave 4. 5. Irosun Meji Top two nuts concave 6. Qw9nrin Meji Bottom two nuts concave 7- QbaraMeji Top nut concave 8. QkanranMeji Bottom nut concave 9. Ogunda Meji Top three nuts concave IO. Qsa Meji Bottom three nuts concave II. Ika Meji Upper middle nut concave 12. Oturupon Meji Lower middle nut concave 13. Otua Meji Top nut and bottom two nuts concave 14. Irete Meji Top two nuts and bottom nut concave I5. Qse Meji Top nut and lower middle nut concave I6. Ofun Meji Upper middle nut and bottom nut concave Name of Odu This list agrees with that of Dennett, who collected his information in Western Nigeria.2 J. D. Clarke, however, after a careful comparison between his own and other lists, gave what he calls a' corrected ' list, on the strength of what he considered to be ' a logical arrangement of symbols ' in the figures themselves. It differs in two respects from the one above. In it Qbara and Qkanran are placed fifth and sixth, respectively, instead of seventh and eighth; and he makes Ircte immediately precede Otua in the eleventh place instead of following him at fourteenth. He maintains that there is an appropriate order in the way in which the patterns fall with regard to the number of concave nuts, that in his corrected list he has restored the right order; that ' 5, 7, 9, (top I, top 2, top 3) is a proper sequence. . . . The Qm9-Iloffu lists recognise this sequence whereas Dennett's list upsets it by placing 7 before 5.'3 The
I A nut concave side up is equivalent to i mark on the Ifa board, that is, the result of the retention of 2 palm nuts in the left hand.
3 See'Ifa Divination', Journalofthe RoyalAnthropologicalInst. lxix (I939), 235-56.
2 See Nigerian Studies, 19Io.
TWO STUDIES OF IFA DIVINATION 423 is temptingenough but it does not agree with the facts as they are revealedby theory a study of the recitalsattributedto the Odu involved. Moreover,it is more important to regard the Odu as arrangedin pairs; the figure three has no significancein Ifa. on that all things were Babalawo,consultedspecifically this point, statedcategorically in pairsin forwardand reverseorder.It will be noted that the lists examined arranged by Clarkewere compiledeitherin the IlQrinareaor in Dahomey. It is not impossible that the recitalsthere may also differin number;if so the over-allarrangement could be adjustedto be acceptable.In the areaunderdiscussionhere,it was assertedthat the order depends on the time factor of the arrivalof each Odu in Ile Ifs. The list given hereis convincinglysupportedby two things: firstby the underlying myth which accountsfor the existenceand the dual natureof the Odu, and secondly of by the numberand arrangement the 240 QmQ-Odu,as will be shown. There is great diversityin the accounts of the origin, nature,and function of the Odu. It is by no means easy to arrive at a clear conception from the complex and mystifyingstoriesthat overwhelmthe inquirer.Any discussionof the variousversions is beyond the scope of this article. There are many good accounts.' There is, howcommon to them that concerns us here, a feature on which ever, one characteristic the whole system is based; the concept of duality. It is such an integral part of the that it gives a consistentinternallogic. system mathematically The fact that the Odu are regardedas both personagesof importanceand also as groups of verses, 'heads', or chaptershas its importancein this dual conception runningthrough the whole. In the areachosen as a randomsamplefor investigation, the first is said to have arrivedmysteriouslyat Ile-Ifq, having travelledthere from 'the cradle of man' stated to be 'near the River Siminin'. Pieced together, the story runs like this. Olodumare,the supremebeing, is said to have been the son of a Boa called Ere who hatchedhim, in the beginning of the world, from an enormous egg, sturdy as a great water pot (odu).This explainswhy he bears his name; it is a contractionof olodo (owner of the pot) pmp-ere (son of Ere).2 In due course others came into being in the same way, among them Aranisan,the chief of all wisdom, and sixteen helpers, all divine and all representingparts of the heavens, connected with certain constellationsand also endowed with the wisdom of the gods. When Qrunmilawas sent by Olodumareto make a new world and set newly createdman the on it, he was assistedby Ajagunmanle, trustedcourierof Aranisan,and, together, they evolved a way by which wisdom could be spreadthroughoutthis new environmust inherit wisdom and teach it. ment. If this were to be possible, a representative It is roundthis mysteriousfigurethatall the varyingaccretionsof storyhaveclustered. But and His characteristics his origin vary considerably. whoever he was, he lived and taught in Ile-If? having brought the system with him-some said from Abyssinia, others from the Sudan,others from an unspecifiedsea-shorewhere he learntit from ESu,and so on. In the districtvisited he is believed to have been the son of Qrunmin and the one-breasted1Flaand to have been of divine origin. His name is given as
For instance: Yoruba SpeakingPeoplesof the Slave Coast of W. Africa, A. D. Ellis, I894; Nigerian Studies, R. F. Dennett, S.P.C.K., I9Io; The History of the Yorubas,S. Johnson, Routledge, 1921; Faith, Fancies and Fetish, S. Farrow, S.P.C.K., 1926; 'Ifa Divination', W. Bascom, Man, 1942; The Religion of the Yorubas,J. Olumide Lucas, C.M.S., I948; West African Religion,G. Parrinder,I96x. 2 For the consideration of the derivations of Olodumare, see Olodumari: God in Yoruba Belief, B. Idowu, 1962.
424
Agbaniregun. He is thought to have learnt the system from Ifa himself who taught him how to finger-print by sending down from heaven a copy of all the Odu figures printed on a huge eggshell with a mixture of pounded camwood and wet chalk. This paste is still used in the initiation of a Babalawo, though a white cloth has been substituted for a giant egg. Before he died, or was mysteriously translated to heaven-both stories are current -he had taught and initiated sixteen beings who had presented themselves at Ile-Ifq to learn the system. They were all of noble family and curious circumstances attended their birth. Each was a twin, an essential qualification. The vital importance of a dual birth is to be seen in the position of Qs(tua, a seventeenth claimant who was not acceptable as he was not a twin, even though he was the son of E?u himself by QSun, herself a powerful witch and mother of Ejiogbe. The son of such parents inspired dread and could not be wholly disregarded. He was attached to Agbaniregun and acted as a special courier from earth to Ifa in heaven. He has a recital though it is not formally acknowledged and never chanted out loud. It was given to the writer with much misgiving and only after the eating of salt and copious libations of oil poured on the earth with prayer. The association of the Odu with their towns of origin is very strong.' An appendix has been provided giving some facts about their parentage and some alleged characteristics. The twins, then, came to Ile-Ifq in a definite order. Ejiogbe, son of Qrunmila and Q?un, became the first in rank and importance. While they lived in Ile-If9 they taught and initiated thousands of pupils but these were never called Odu-always Babalawo. The original sixteen are stated to be of divine origin and to be the earthly counterparts of heavenly beings. Each stands for four entities, a pair on earth and a pair in heaven. The paraphernalia of their art reflects the duality inherent in the system. The Qp1le has eight half-nuts; it is thrown so that it must fall in two parallel groups of four. Of these four there are two possible interpretations-they may fall either with the outer, or convex, side uppermost or with the inner, or concave, side turned up. Similarly, the sixteen palm nuts used in finger-printing will be manipulated eight times, and marks or finger-prints will be made on the board arranged in two parallel lines; a double mark, equivalent to a convex nut, if there is one palm nut retained in the left hand and a single mark equivalent to a concave nut if two are left, after each 'racking'. The procedure is too well known to need elaboration here.2 It is necessary to point out this recurrence of 2 and its degrees. The objects used as ' messengers ' by the clients to convey their questions are used two at a time and hidden in two hands. They bear two possible interpretations, negative or affirmative. The number of possible arrangements of Odu is 256. The number 4096, constantly mentioned but not, as yet, convincingly explained, is also significant. All these
I Surprisingly, Old Qy9 is not included. According to Johnson (I921), Ifa had been brought to the town by Arugba Ifa, a Nupe woman, when she married Onigbogi's father. She was forbidden to practise it. On the death of her husband she went to Qta and became the head of a powerful witches' cult. Ifa was accepted in the town during the reign of Alafin Ofinran, who, troubled by disasters including
a great fire and an epidemic of smallpox, consulted Ifa through the Alado of Ado, a famous Babalawo. He was told that misfortune would continue till he accepted Ifa. He and his Chiefs were initiated. 2 Good accounts are given by W. R. Bascom, Journalof the Royal Anthropological Inst., 1941, ' The Sanctions of Ifa Divination' and T. A. J. Ogunbiyi, YorubaOraclesand their Modesof Divination.

numbers represent the scale of two and may be written z2-Z3-24-28-2z2.
425
This
cannot be due to chance. It is a geometric progression. Quite apartfrom the symbolism involved, it gives a certainamount of intellectualsatisfaction. of Even more strikingis the arrangement the 240 QmQ-Odu.They are set under the names of two Odu in each case, for instance,Odi-Qse or Iret?Ofun. Conceiving them first as personages and referringto the supporting myth, one can fill in the detailsof anothermathematical concept. Workingbackfrom the namesand numbers of the actualrecitals,it is possible to detect a kind of measure,a statelychoreographic movement of which the basic featuresare a constantpairingoff, a regularchange in partners,and a fixedpath to treaduntil the measure,having worked itself out, comes to a naturalend. It is true that, in some cases, the Babalawocould give no idea of the underlyingpattern;in others, the motif was perceivedbut there was confusion as to why the QmQ-Oduwere arrangedin this way. But there was no doubt or variation on the form of the arrangement.The movement was understood. The motif is always seen in personal terms. Odu are thought of as actual kings with distinguishing attributes, e.g. Iwori, the Conqueror; Irete, the Death-Postponer, etc. They makeroyal progresses.Informantsused the words for paths, roads, and kingdoms (Amunlumala-Odu, Apela-Odu,and Ij9ba). One referredto the visits as times when one Odu 'escorted' another (ti sin), through the kingdoms. One this explainedthat Orunmilaarranged schemeso that 'all the world ' could come into contact with the Odu before they went back to Heaven. Another referredto the thatwere obligatorywhen the king' steppingout 'returnedto his kingdom. sacrifices The return visits are seen as necessary.N.B. The proverb 'A priest who fails to return a visit from another nullifies the effect of it ' (Awo ti a nrelerf, ti ko releawo Pgb?r?, Agba Adanuni). Each Odu, in his capacityas a monarch,goes to visit the Odu next below him in rank-that is the next below him on the list. He passes through his own realm, divining on the way. His journeytakes sixteen days. He joins his host in servicesand consultationsand feastingsfor a short time. Topical referencesto events recordedon the way are includedin the recitalattributedto this visit. Then the host Odu pays a returnvisit and the same procedureis followed. Thus, Ejiogbe visits Qyeku and the recital is under their combined names-Ogbe 'Ycku. The return visit would be under the names Qyeku-Ogbe. When this pair of visits has been concluded, Ogbe will visit the thirdOdu on the list, Iwori, and anotherpairof visits and anotherpairof recitalswill result, underthe names Ogbe-Iwori and Iwori-Ogbe. Ejiogbe works his way like this through the whole list and so makes I 5 visits, is visited in return 5 times and there will be 30 recitals.This is in fact so. Whenthis partof the cycleis completed,the secondOdu will begin the sameprocess with the next Odu, Iwori. Following the sameroutinehe will make 14 visits, receive 14 return visits, and there will be 28 recitals. Odu 3 will follow suit and make I3 visits, be visited 13 times, and there will be 26 recitals.This movement is repeated, of one Odu being eliminatedeach time, until Ofun is reached.The arrangement Odu, in descendingorder,from 30 to o, therefore,is seen to be an arithmetical progression, since the last Odu cannotvisit himself. The sum of the whole is 240, which, addedto the I6 single Odu, gives 28. The table illustratesthe progression. The numberof recitalsis, thus, a sure guide to the orderin the list of the two Odu
TWO STUDIES OF IFA DIVINATION mentioned above.' It must be rememberedthat in reading either the 9p?l1 or the the finger-prints, right hand of the patterntakes precedencewhen the figure is to be identified.This readingfrom right to left has been put forwardas an indication of Arabic origin. In no circumstancescan an Odu make a forward journey with one above him on the list. He must only proceedin reverseorderin responseto an initial visit. Complicatedconjectureshave been made by workersin this field2that if, in an Qm9-Odu, the senior name comes first, the answeris favourableand if the converse but is true,unfavourable; they do not go farenough, sincethey have had to be formed on observationsmade during unrelatedsessions, without the benefit of information about the whole arrangement. Nevertheless,they fit in with the idea suggestedby the figuresthat in the originalform of the systemthe rule was, precisely,that the reverse journeysdid give a negativereply.But it is necessaryto point out that negativeis not the same as unfavourableand that thereforeno adverse significanceattachesto the Odu concerned.A negative answer may be the one desiredif the questionerframes his requestaccordingly.Some blurringof this patternmay be due to the attemptsof clients to ensure the objectivity of the answers elicited by various tricks such as reversingthe normalquestioningprocedureor using a ' messenger' againstits own fixed symbolism. The form is, clearly,a genuine and significantceremonialin the system contrived to spreadwisdom through the world. The fact that skilled Babalawounderstandthe movement was illustratedduring a session in Okuku arrangedby the kind officesof the Qba. Twelve Babalawo were present. They were asked to go through the Qm(-Odu from the beginning, picking it up from one another.They set one of their numberto call out the namesof the pairsand anotherto give a sign for each new set to begin. They warmed to the work and chantedin correct sequence the first two groups of recitals, thirty followed by twenty-eight. If our time and stamina had permittedthey would doubtlesshave gone on to the end. It was clearthat, whether they fully understoodwhat was behind it or not, they saw it as a whole. It may well be that the definiteframeworkhad helped them to memorizethe enormousamount of lore involved. Not every recruitmanagedit. Even aftera trialperiod of two years, and, in the case of the very dullest, a dose of medicine guaranteedto stimulatethe sluggish mind, some fell out even before the first stage of competencewas reached.3 Two questions arise: whether a diviner selects from the recitalsarrangedwithin this frameworkonly those that seem likely to suit the needs of his client; and whether he interpretsthe odurecital variously according to the status of the client or the natureof his problem. According to the normal procedure, the Babalawo, after identifying the Odu turnedup, selects from it what he considersan appropriate recital,having regardto the situation and the problem of his client. It will contain (a) instructions for a sacrificeto avert a particular or obtaina particular evil blessing; (b)a piece of poetry, mostly in incantationlanguage; (c) a story (myth) in illustration.The whole recital will have strong internalrelevance.He can choose from anythingup to seventeenor
426
See p. 422, above. J. D. Clarke and others; see note i on p. 424, above. 3 There were three ranks: i. Olori-who could
2
worship but not divine; 2. Osria-who could worship and divine but not eat the sacrifices; 3. AwQn-atq ni fa-a fully trained Babalawo.
427 can sets of verses. The idea that variation in interpretation occur is strongly eighteen repudiated though it is admitted that the Babalawo could selectwith intent. Two differences are acknowledged: (i) The sacrifice demanded is often increased or reduced, according to the status of the client. In some of the Odu alternate sacrifices are given and, in some, the statement is made 'Let him sacrifice according to his means '. (ii) For an important or rich client the Babalawo often recites more than one set. He continues until the suppliant admits that he has heard something significant. I have asked many people how the Babalawo, if the suppliant takes pains to hide his question or his purpose from him, can select appropriately. The reply has always been the same, viz. the medicines given to him on his initiation, and consumed regularly, enable him to know without being told. I deal with this medicine in a further article. The emotional response of the client is strong. Fear of illness and death seems to be always present. But, on the whole, the oracle is reassuring since no suppliant is deprived of hope. The analogous story shows how some other person escaped from the particular evil by careful obedience to the instructions for sacrifice. Very rarely indeed do such sentences as 'This client should begin to put his house in order' or ' This suppliant must sacrifice often lest a sorrowful cry may reach his ears ', or the even more suggestive words-' There is no sacrifice' occur. Again, since Orunmila is said to be present at the dispatch of every person into the world and to be aware of the destiny of all, he is thought to be able to affect it, if he wishes. So there is always the hope that prayer may induce him to avert an evil fate. There is no finality, therefore, in the consultation itself and any fear is cushioned by the belief in the efficacy of sacrifice and prayer. Although the spread of education has increased the ranks of the sceptic and the scoffer, and although the obvious greed of unscrupulous charlatans has brought the system into disrepute, it still survives and confidence in it is surprisingly resilient. Perhaps faith in it dies hard because it is founded on a theory of numbers and, because of this fact, is automatic in its responses. It calls for no emotional reactions, no acts of faith. The number and kind of sacrifices are prescribed and any consultation can be unrevealing to the intermediary if a client so desires it. Group consultations and omnibus questionings still occur and the patience with which all possible alternatives to the solution of the problem are eliminated is still remarkable. A greater threat to the continued existence of Ifa as a trustworthy cult lies in the attempts of well-meaning but misguided devotees to find some way of correlating it with the Christian faith. They try to equate the sanctions behind Ifa with the teaching of Christ and the Revd. B. Idowu gives examples of spurious recitals that have
' The case of the moving of the town of Iwo is legendary. The first site was at the confluence of the rivers Qba and Qshun. The town used to be flooded badly in the rainy season. A prolonged consultation with Babalawo is said to have taken place and the Chiefs were advised to move it. They did so and settled about two miles to the south of the present town. During the tribal wars of the nineteenth century, their army was in the field and did not return. Unprotected and in an exposed position, they consuited Ifa again about moving to a place more easily defensible. After twenty castings, on the advice of the Ifa priests, they moved to the site of the present town which is on a low plateau of rock surrounded by thick bush.
428
appeared which follow some of the stories to be found in the Bible. The Church of Qrunmila is an interesting example of an attempt to raise the status of what is felt to be historically interesting but lamentably pagan. It is difficult to see how any of these attempts can find a parallel with the valid and self-supporting theory of numbers on which the Ifa divination system is based.
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OSA-OFUN OFUN 05A
2 14
3SA
2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 IKA 2 2 2 2 2 2
GTURUPON
?A-OTuRUPO.
SA
A IETE- OTU
IKAIRETE
REFERE NCE
1. The figure 1 represents either a half-nut which falls with its concave side uppermost or One mark mode on the finger -printing board The figure 2 represents either a convex nut or o double mark on the board N.B. In a principal Odu the two sides are identical 2. The patterns attributed to the Omo-Odu will consist of those of the two principal Odu whose names are combined 1--0ODI eg Odi-irosun will be-1 Irosun 1 2 2 2 2 1 N.B. The reading is from right to left
-OTUAI IQETE-IKA
IK' - 9 SE
OSE-IKA OTURUPqN-
IKA-
OFUN
OFUN- IOK OTURUPONOFVN
12
- Sru,uPp4 OTURU Os
PON
2
OTUA-PON
T -
qsS QSE o2uP

OTUA- 0S5
10
2
1 2
2
1 2
2 1 1 .2.
OTUA I 1
2 1 1
9SE - OTUA IRETE- OSE 9SE -!ER TE
IRETE
1 2 1 1 2 1
OSE
2 1
2 2
OFUN
2
1 1
2
2
1 1
Appendix
Odu Ejiogbe Birthplace OtunEkiti Area and Parentage Characteristics Son of Qrunmilaby Qsun, daughterof the King of Qtun. First in importance and rank. His twin, Orisunsolais often referredto in the verses. Son of the King of Apa by Qyekun. His name means
'walking crookedly'. He is described as clumsy in build with a slight curvature of the spine. Very lucky for hunters. His figure appearing during a consultation is said to ensure the killing of any quarry.
Qyeku
A4pa (Ogun's town). Shifted away from original site to Ogbom9sho area
Odu Iwori
TWO STUDIES OF IFA DIVINATION 429 and Characteristics Parentage Birthplace Igodo. In Senegal. The King of Ogodo discovered a naked woman on Modern name is the bank of a streamwhere she had bathed.He had relationswith her by force and Iwori was born as Godogodo a result. The name means nakedness.Many of the moral aphorisms in the verses are attributed to him. liu-Iper in Il9rin Son of the 1leju and Ibilola. He is sometimesreferred to as Apereodagba (short stool) as he was very Province near Ipo short in the legs. Iderein Ibarapaarea Born to the king and his highly strung wife as the result of a stratagem.Finding that his wife did not conceive he drugged her before having intercourse with her. She bore Irosun with no difficulty. His name means ' conceived in sleep '. in Ketu Son of the king and born during a time of drought Gbegbekunegb1 and famine. Persistentstory that he was a changearea ling but he brought good fortune. His name is variously translated: the two most common versions are that it is a corruptionof the word meaning scarcity and that it means 'from the East'. In the beautiful prayerused in the initiation ceremony of a Babalawo, Qrunmilais said to be with Qwonrin, i.e. the East. Q9g. Destroyed and The Paramount Chief of Q19 worked a very large farm. His son Qbarawas born on the day when a resettled in OgboDistrict splendidcrop of melon seeds was being winnowed mgsho so he was called Olubarawaiye,'he-who-comes'. to-life-when-melon-seeds-are-hammered Later contractedto Qbara. Itile Born of a woman who, because she was suspectedof being concernedin the killing of two people, was punishedby being madea slave. She bore Qkanran to the king. The name means 'son of a woman criminal'. Noted for his wisdom.
Odi
Irosun
Qw9nrin
Qbara
Qkanran
Ogunda
Oko near Old Qy9. Son of Ogun, the God of Iron. Born at Oko during a visit paid by Ogun to Oko. Terrifying person. Now in the OgboHe is said to have rapeda woman so violently that District m9sh9 her whole body broke up. She was restored again by Esu, friend of Ogun, called in for the purpose. Ogunda = 'the God of Iron broke it '. This Odu inspires fear. Ota. Near Lagos His mother, pursued and caught by the king of Otta. ' Son of a fleeing woman.'
Qsa
430
Odu Ika
TWO STUDIES OF IFA DIVINATION Bfirthplace and Parentage Characteristics Ika. IDestroyed in Son of King Onikanmogun by a delicate rather crooked woman thought incapable of having very early times. Its people came children. Grew up mischievous-plucked other soutii and settled people's kola-hence name 'plucker'. near Iwo Iwgya Oniw9ya, King of Iw9ya. Had boils on his testicles when he procreated his son. Name means 'child of damaged organ'.
Oturupon
Otua
to Godogoa or Hausa- Born at a time when many strangerswere staying in land Sudan. Came his father's town-' strangersin the town '. Sent to Ipapo near Qy9 knowledge of Ifa back to his own people. Two goats untied and left to roam on his birth-day. Tim9rrr His parents were King ]llemere and Ireile. Name from ]re-ni-e-te-man ' Son of woman trodden into the bog '. This is a referenceto her fate; she was punished for wantonness. Obscure references occur connecting him with the male cricket, said to have been the first finger-printeron earth.
Irete
se
Ikolo.Ikole area near Son of the King of Ikolo. Said to have had extreme :-Ekiti dignity of demeanour because he was tall and Ik9le strong. Ila Orangun. Origin- Or Orangun.Origin not known. Very prudent, gave ally called Ila Odo good advice to his fellow Odu who deferred to him. One story relates that he should have been the first Odu but that he drank too much palmwine, and went to sleep on the way to Ile-Ife and so arrivedlast. But his prestige was always great.
Qfun
Resume DEUX ETUDES DE LA DIVINATION PAR IFA LESYoruba pratiquentun certain nombre de techniques divinatoires. Celle qui fournit les renseignementsles plus complets est le systeme de geomancie connu sous le nom d'Ifa; elle s'effectueselon trois processus de complexite variable,les deux cas les plus compliques etant pratiques par des devins professionnels (les babalawo). L'oracle d'Ifa est anime par une divinite nommee Orunmila, encore qu'on l'appelle souvent Ifa. Le devin consulte l'oracle pour decouvrirl'Oduqui regit la destinee de son client: c'est un signe qu'il dessine dans la poussiere repanduesur la table de divination. II est regi par un esprit du meme nom que l'Odu;il implique toute une serie d'incantationset de mythes qui expliquentla situation
TWO STUDIES OF IFA DIVINATION 431 du client en se referant a une situation archetypaleet en prescrivant certaines presente offrandes a pratiquer a l'esprit Odu et, eventuellement, a d'autres divinites, si le client arrive a ses fins. Un signe d'Oducomprend huit elements, simplementdelimites, qui se disposent en deux colonnes de quatre. Le devin peut jeter une corde ou une chaine a laquelle sont accroches huit objets semblables qui donnent des arrangementstete-queue. Ou bien, il peut tenir seize noix de kola dans une main et en prendredans la main pleine autantque possible avec l'autre main, en observant s'il en tombe une ou deux. L'on dispose l'Odu sur la table de divination en marquantle fond avec un element d'abord de la main droite puis de la main gauche, ensuite de nouveau avec la main droite etc ... en allant de gauche a droite et de bas en haut. I1est bien evident qu'il y a seize signes possibles danslesquels les colonnes de droite et de gauche sont identiques. Ce sont la les Oduprincipaux et l'ordre selon lequel ils sont disposes de memoire par les devins est expose dans les deux articles precedents. Le professeur Bascom poursuit une enquete empirique sur l'ordre actuellement suivi, d'apres un tres grand nombre d'informateurs,non seulement chez les Yoruba, mais aussi chez des peuplesvoisins qui pratiquentle meme systeme,et chez les descendantsdes Yoruba a Cuba. II ne se contente pas de degager l'etroite echelle de variations dans l'ordre des dispositions de l'Odu mais il apprecie aussi a leur juste valeur l'originalite et la veracite d'un grand nombre de descriptions ethnographiques de la divination par Ifa. Le Dr. McClellandanalyse le principe suivant lequel est structurel'ordre adopte par les membres de son echantillonnage de devins dans l'aire centrale des Yoruba. Son etude presente en outre une nouvelle information appreciableen tant qu'apercudes processus des devins. Ces deux etudes specialiseesde l'une des partiesdu systeme de divination par Ifa ont trait a des problemes d'un interet beaucoup plus etendu, concernantl'ethnographieet l'histoire de l'Afrique occidentale.Les seize colonnes dans le tableaudes signes d'Odusont identiques aux signes utilises dans un systeme de geomancieoriginairede l'Antiquiteau Proche Orient. Ce qui est particulierementinteressant,c'est la manieredont le systeme a ete incorpore aux conceptions cosmologiques des Yoruba. Les analysesminutieusesdu ProfesseurBascom et du Dr. McClellandmontrent donc que les Yoruba ont elabore une structurelogique dans leurs relations avec l'Oduqui se trouve exprimee a travers la mythologie du systeme.

Ifa Orisa

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Ifa Orisa

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Two Studies of Ifa Divination. Introduction: The Mode of Divination Author(s): Peter Morton-Williams, William Bascom, E. M.

TWO STUDIES OF IFA DIVINATION

TWO STUDIES OF IFA DIVINATION

I. ODU IFA: THE NAMES OF THE SIGNS

TWO STUDIES OF IFA DIVINATION

TWO STUDIES OF IFA DIVINATION

wickedness (ika), soap (p,r), and loss (ofun).

TWO STUDIES OF IFA DIVINATION

TWO STUDIES OF IFA DIVINATION

TWO STUDIES OF IFA DIVINATION

TWO STUDIES OF IFA DIVINATION

TWO STUDIES OF IFA DIVINATION

TWO STUDIES OF IFA DIVINATION

and Q)? (I212).

TWO STUDIES OF IFA DIVINATION

TWO STUDIES OF IFA DIVINATION

2 See Nigerian Studies, 19Io.

TWO STUDIES OF IFA DIVINATION

TWO STUDIES OF IFA DIVINATION

TWO STUDIES OF IFA DIVINATION

TWO STUDIES OF IFA DIVINATION

OVEUGE OSBE IWORI-OGBE U OYE K 2 2 2 2 2 2

Q9?KU OGBE- IWORC

OCBE- OONRIN OGD[-

OW?NRIN-OGBE OBARA-OCFOE oYtKU-CWONR NwOYEku-OARA eaRA OWONRIN-CYEKU .-OYEDO oYEKU- OS;

D00- OFUN OrUN- D01

OA eAIROSUN OWN",D' o A;R.. oWCN?;,,-

OT'-. mIOSUUN ,R:tE-I"OSUN

CWqNRIN' F.A cwlnlN

.oflPao NA.AOKANRA-N 01 NOA-

OSE OB90AOSE - OBAR&

-- N,RAN PSK -..7

OSA-OFUN OFUN 05A

OFUN- IOK OTURUPONOFVN

qsS QSE o2uP

9SE - OTUA IRETE- OSE 9SE -!ER TE

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