Òfún Meji (Ofun)

Ifá odu

Òfún is the last of the sixteen and the principle of whiteness, which the tradition reads as pure consciousness in its first form: the àṣẹ that generates consciousness in the Irúnmọlẹ̀, and the point at which prayer becomes manifestation.

Tradition · Yoruba Ifa
A note on this entry

Òfún and Ọ̀gbẹ̀ are deliberately paired as last and first, and the pairing is a structural claim of the tradition rather than a coincidence of numbering — which is why the two entries in this file share a concern with ìwà and with the balance of opposites. Attribution of the odù's whiteness diverges: Ọ̀bàtálá is the constant, but Òdùduwà is named in the Diaspora reading and not in most Nigerian ones, and Yoruba tradition itself carries both a male and a female account of Òdùduwà. The orisha field carries Ọbàtálá and Olódùmarè; Òdùduwà has no catalogue entry and is not invented as an id here. The tradition value is written yoruba_ifa in ASCII to match the corpus convention; the tradition itself is Ifá.

Offerings

Offerings

The commentary prescribes ẹbọ to the Ìyàmi against unexpected misfortune, ẹbọ to Àjẹ́ and to Olókun for financial prosperity, and says the person should receive Ifá for protection from enemies. Its ẹ̀wọ̀ are cleanliness and generosity — the odù says a child of Òfún must be hygienic, and must be generous and kind especially within the family — and those are treated as part of the prescription rather than as advice.

Symbols and forms

Alternate Names
OfunÒfúnOfun MejiOfúnOfun FunfunÒfún Meji

Nature and meaning

Kind
Odu
Meaning

Òfún is the last of the sixteen and the principle of whiteness, which the tradition reads as pure consciousness in its first form: the àṣẹ that generates consciousness in the Irúnmọlẹ̀, and the point at which prayer becomes manifestation. It is sacred to Ọ̀bàtálá and to Òdùduwà, and the tradition places the birth of the fundamental principles of earth in it, where Ọ̀gbẹ̀ holds the birth of humankind — so the first and last odù stand in a special relation, the cycle closing on itself. Its main ìre is leadership and honour. Its people are generous and rich in wisdom, they carry Ọ̀bàtálá's traits, and they are often physically frail; the odù asks patience, compromise and an understanding of give and take.

Details

Order
16
Odu Number
256
Binary
21212121
Notation

1 = single line (I); 2 = double line (II). Eight marks: the first four are the right-hand leg, the last four the left-hand leg, each read top to bottom. In the 0/1 notation used in the scholarly literature, 1 here = 0 there and 2 here = 1 there.

Seniority
16
Themes
WhitenessPure consciousnessManifestationLeadershipGenerosityCompletion
Counsel
Ire oyeIre aikuIre ajeOsogbo ikuOsogbo arunOsogbo aje
Proverbs
Yoruba
Ìwà rere ni ẹ̀ṣọ́ ènìyàn.
English
Proverb — good character is a person's adornment.

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