The ìkìn are the sixteen palm nuts of the species the Yoruba call ọ̀pẹ̀ ifá, kept in a carved container and consecrated to Ọ̀rúnmìlà; the nuts are held to be Ọ̀rúnmìlà's own presence in the diviner's hands. They are cast by taking up the whole set, attempting to retain all sixteen in one hand, and reading how many remain behind, which yields a single mark or a double mark; the operation is repeated four times to build one leg of the odù and again for the second leg. Because each mark is a separate act of the hand, an ìkìn cast is slow, formal and weighty, and it is the instrument of the occasions that matter most.