Sixteen Great Poems of Ifa

CONTENTS

Preface

PART I INTRODUCTION

THE IFA CULT AND ITS SYSTEM OF DIVINATION

1 Ifa as a Divinity

2 The Ifa Cult

3 The Training of Ifa Priests

4 The Instruments of Ifa Divination

5 The Process of Ifa Divination

6 Ifa Divination Sacrifice

7 Ifa as a Literary and Philosophical system

Notes

Drawings of Ifa Divination Implements

PART II. SIXTEEN GREAT POEMS OF IFA

I The birth of the Ifa Divination System

ii. The mythology of the vulture and how he became a king

iii Thoughts About Women

iv Ifa, Threatened By Death was saved by the giant rat and iyewa

v Ori as each individual personal orisa

vi Ajala and the choice of Ori

vii The consequences of marital neglect

viii Ifa punished his unfaithful diviners

ix The great conflict between aye (Earth) and Orun (Heaven) or why the vulture has a bald head and the child sucks its mothers breasts

x Ifa and the Aje in conflict

xi The Orisa and the Aje in conflict

xii A mysterious friend of Orunmila

xiii Olofin and his priceless kolanut tree

xiv The consequences of Overzealousness in prayer or how the eye got its pupil

xv Ifa told four puzzles to prove that he speaks in parables

xvi Dew drops became the saviour at a gathering of enemies where one thing devoured the other

APPENDIX I IFA PRIESTS TRADITIONAL INTERPRETATION OF THE POEMS 

APPENDIX II INFORMANTS AND FIELD METHODS 

BIBLIOGRAPHY