Kola nutCoconutCornPalm oilRoosterTruth tellingThe study of the odu
Invocation Approach
Tone
Measured and exact
Address
OrunmilaEleri IpinAgboniregun
Relationship
The witness who reads what was chosen before birth
Warning
He does not predict in order to flatter
Resonance
Those at a decision those who keep a divination practice
Symbols
OponIkinIrokeOduOpele chain
Mythology Summary
Orunmila is the orisha of wisdom and the owner of the Ifa oracle, present at the allocation of destinies (ipin) and therefore called Eleri Ipin, the witness of destinies. He is not the giver of fate: he sees what was chosen and teaches what can be done about it, and the offering (ebo) that answers a reading is carried to Eshu. The Ifa divination system, with its 256 odu transmitted orally, was proclaimed a masterpiece of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity in 2005 and inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List in 2008. The babalawo is his priest, and the 'mano de Orula' is the Cuban initiation into his service.
Modern Practice
Orunmila is approached through a babalawo and the divination instruments: the opele chain or the ikin palm nuts, the opon board and the iroke tapper. A reading ends in ebo, an offering carried out as the odu directs, and the practice is the discipline of asking, listening and acting on what is seen. The Cuban 'mano de Orula' marks the orisha's claim on a person's destiny.