what is ifa

Ifa is a divination system and Yoruba religion that represents the teachings of the Orisha Ọrunmila. It is practiced among Yoruba communities and African diaspora in South America, the Caribbean, and the United States. The Ifa divination system makes use of an extensive corpus of texts and mathematical formulas. The Ifa literary corpus, called odu, consists of 256 parts subdivided into verses called ese, whose exact meaning is subject to interpretation by Ifa priests or babalawo. Ifa divination does not rely on a person having oracular powers but rather on a system of signs that are interpreted by a diviner. The Ifa divination system is applied whenever an important individual or collective decision has to be made. Ifa is also a Yoruba religion that is an integral component of Yoruba culture. It is based on the teachings of a Yoruba sage named Ọrunmila, also known as Ifá.