Pilot entry: source checked; awaiting review by readers from this tradition.
Original source · Historical tradition
Ifá literary corpus (Odu Ifá), oral tradition. UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage record, not a scripture passage: UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity: 'Ifa divination system' (Nigeria), element 00146, inscribed 2008 (3.COM), originally proclaimed 2005
“The Ifa divination system is applied whenever an important individual or collective decision has to be made.”Translation: UNESCO, Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity
UNESCO describes Ifá as a Yoruba divination system built on a large corpus of texts and mathematical formulas. A trained priest, the babalawo, interprets signs rather than relying on spirit mediumship, and it is consulted when important personal or communal decisions must be made.
Read the full passage at the source.
Edition: Description from UNESCO’s record of the Ifá divination system. No Ifá verse is quoted.
Historical context
Historical context
Ifá is an ancient and continuing tradition of the Yoruba people of present-day Nigeria (and neighbouring regions), carried to the Americas and Caribbean through the transatlantic slave trade, where it continues in traditions such as Lucumí/Santería and Candomblé-related practices. Its age cannot be dated precisely. UNESCO proclaimed it a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2005 and incorporated it into the Representative List in 2008.
Interpretations differ
Within the tradition
For practitioners Ifá is a sacred system of knowledge associated with Orunmila, whose verses (ese Ifá within the 256 Odu) carry history, ethics, medicine and cosmology. Practice and lineage differ among Nigerian, Beninese, Cuban, Brazilian and other diaspora communities.
Respect and care
Cultural protocol
Ifá divination is a priestly, initiatory practice carried out by trained babaláwo (and, in some lineages, ìyánífá) after years of training. It is not a self-guided practice. To learn more, we point readers to the UNESCO record and to recognised practitioners and scholars of the tradition.
Ifá divination is a priestly, initiatory practice. This entry is for understanding only. 21 EFFECTS does not imitate readings, reproduce Odu verses, or offer ceremonial instructions.
21 EFFECTS contemporary reflection · Enlightenment
A practice inspired by this text
This practice is a 21 EFFECTS reflection. It is not the tradition’s own teaching or its only meaning, and you do not need to share its beliefs to use it.
- Read the UNESCO record to understand Ifá as a living Yoruba tradition.
- Reflect on how you make important decisions: on impulse, or with counsel and care?
- Before your next important decision, seek wise counsel and write down your reasons.
Do I make important decisions with care and counsel, or alone and in haste?
Does this speak to you?
Saved sources accompany your journey days as an extra reflection. Private, on this device only.
Further research
Go to the source
Ifá literary corpus (Odu Ifá), oral tradition. UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage record, not a scripture passage: UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity: 'Ifa divination system' (Nigeria), element 00146, inscribed 2008 (3.COM), originally proclaimed 2005. Read the passage in full, in context, and with teachers from the tradition where possible. Spotted an error? Send a correction.