Translated from Spanish to English - www.onlinedoctranslator.

com

ÒWÓ ERÒ MÉRÌNDÍNLÓGÚN

THIS WORK BELONGS TO INVESTIGATIONS BY BABA TOBATALA OSVALDO.

Owo Ero

In these other photos, you can see the Owó Erò Mérìndínlógún of the cult of Irunmale by
the Yoruba in Porto Novo, Ouémé,People's Republic of Benin.
The map shows the Songhai Empire in West Africa at the height of its power, whose capital
was Gao. They are shown in red lines, the routes traveled by the caravans that brought and
carried things to trade from one side to another.
OWO EEJO (8 cowries)
In the photos you can see the divination through the OWO EEJO (8 cowries) using the circle
method made with efun (kaolin powder) and divided into four equal parts. Yoruba land in the
People's Republic of Benin.
Photos of the Owó Erò Mérìndínlógún

Photos of the Owó Erò Mérìndínlógún in the cult of Obàtálá/Orisanlá in Ilè-Ifè (Nigeria). The
photos show two paraphernalia belonging to two different priests of the Cult of Obàtálá. Note
that on the mat where the consecrated cowries are thrown, a white cloth is placed. You can
also see cypress-tiger type snails (a larger species of cowrie), which accompany the divination
instruments. These large snails are also used as part of the instruments in the divinatory
system, as well as it is customary to line the "mat" where the snails were thrown with a white
cloth, considering them to belong to Òòsanlá.
IS THERE ANOTHER TYPE OF ORACULAR SYSTEM THAT USES CAURIS (SNAILS)?

Yes. There are other divination systems that use cowries in Yoruba Lands, but their number
varies according to each divination system. According to Awoye Elubuibon (in Bade Ajayi's IFA
DIVINATION PROCESS) and also according to Tayewo Ogunade (THREE SYSTEMS OF
DIVINATION YORUBA AND EBO), Baba Oladele Fagbenro (oral information), Baba Osvaldo
Omotobatala (ODU-ORISA Volume 1 / 2010) Chief fame (MANUAL FOR THE PROFESSIONAL
WHO PRACTICES IFÁ), there are other oracular systems to communicate with certain Orisa:

1) OWO EERIN (four cowries) - Used in the cult of the Hunters (Ogun, Osoosi, Ode, Uja, etc). 5
falls or their combinations are read.

2) OWO EEJO (eight cowries) - In some Orisa lineages, only 9 simple falls and/or their double
combinations are read.

3) OWO EJILA (12 cowries) - In some lineages of Sango, Yemoja, Osanyin. The onisegun
(healers, yuyeros) usually use this type of oracular system. It contains 13 falls and can also be
interpreted by double combinations.

Awoye Elubuibon adds that in the past there was a system of only 3 cowries (OWO EETA).

IMPORTANT NOTES:

1) Both in the Owo Ero Merindinlogun and in the other systems based on cowries (snails) that
we mention here, they can be interpreted through simple falls or their combinations, and
there is also the method of using a circle and making a transverse line in the center to Count
how many are left on each side. Another variant is the use of the same circle, but dividing it
into four equal parts, then observing and interpreting how many cowries remain in each
portion of the circle. Some diviners divide the circle where they throw the cowries into four,
marking the cardinal points with four large cowries (ciprea tigre).

2) What we have presented here shows that there is not a single method of divination based
on the cowries and that, furthermore, the divinatory systems in the cults of Orisa in Yoruba
land are not uniform, their differences depending not only on the lineages or the cults of
Orisa, but also of each diviner, because each one makes the adaptations that they believe
convenient according to what seems easier to understand, interpret and memorize.
WHAT IS "OWO ERO MERINDINLOGUN"?

It is a divination system used in some Orisa cults, both in Yoruba lands (1) and in the diaspora
(2). This system consists of 16 cowries (snails).

1) "Yoruba Land" - It refers to the region in which the different Yoruba groups extend, which
includes part of the territory of Nigeria (southwest), a large part of the southeast of the
People's Republic of Benin, part of Togo and Ghana mainly.

2) "Diaspora" - This is the name given to the Yoruba groups that do not live in Yoruba land and
their descendants, both direct and those who adopted said culture through the cults of Orisa
in other parts of the world (Brazil, Cuba, Venezuela , USA, Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay,
Panama, Haiti, Spain, Italy, etc)

CAN A BABALAWO USE THE OWÓ ERÒ MÉRÌNDÍNLÓGÚN TO MAKE

INQUIRIES?

No. Because this type of oracular system belongs to the cult of the Orisa in any variant, lineage
or branch, both in Yoruba land and in the diaspora, whose priests are known as: Awolorisa
(abbreviated: Aworisa); Babalorisa (abbreviated: Babalosa); Iyalorisa (abbreviated: Iyalosa);
Aworo; among other titles belonging to each cult of Orisa separately and according to the
region. The babalawo is a priest of a cult different from that of Orisa, called Ifá, in which the
Opele and the Ikin are used as divinatory systems.

IN YORUBA LAND, DIFFERENT ORISA ARE ALSO WORSHIPED IN THE SAME

TEMPLE, AS HAPPENS IN THE DIASPORA? WHAT TYPE OF ORACULAR SYSTEM
IS USED IN THAT CASE?

Yes. In Yoruba land there are places where there are temples in which several different Orisa
are worshiped (1), this is called the Irunmole cult and it happens mainly in places of Yoruba
land where there were no temples with a cult to an Orisa as the main divinity, but divinities
were imported and added to the sanctuary, generally this was out of necessity and/or
convenience, for example, in the face of some calamity, drought, pestilence, famine, war, etc.
The type of oracular system that is used in the cult of various Orisa changes according to each
family or lineage, but the cowris(2) of the oldest deity or considered most important within
those found in said deity are generally used. Pantheon,
IF I AM INITIATED IN ORISA AND I GO TO HAVE A CONSULTATION THROUGH
THE 16 CAURIES, IS MY GUARDIAN ORISA SPEAKING? WHO SPEAKS?

In any query to the Owó Erò Mérìndínlógún (The Snails / Os Búzios), the one who expresses
herself is the divinity Ìyá Èèrìndínlógún who was seated on those divination instruments, She
is the one who transmits the odù because of having fallen on the mat. At the same time, the
odù of òrìsà are linked with one or more divinities (1), then the Orisa diviner will be able to say
that this or that Orisa "is saying" this or that thing, but in reality who is speaking it is the odù
that arose caused by the falls of Ìyá Èèrìndínlógún. When the status of the consultant is to be
consulted, that is, if he is in Ibi (Osobu) or in Ire, whoever is responding through the Ibo(2)
choosing one hand or another, is the Ori of the consultant himself. It is also through Ibo,

(1) This is in the cult of the Irunmale, because in independent Orisa cults, for example the
merindinlogun in the cult of Sango, Sango always speaks only to prescribe ebos, give advice or
solve problems within his cult. These snails / búzios are not useful to know anyone's tutelary
Orisa (Alagbatori) and anyone interested in knowing which is their head Orisa should go to a
babalawo.

(2) Ibo - It can be translated as "choice" or "alternative", it is thus called some elements that
are also part of the set of divination instruments and serve for the consultant to choose
between two situations, holding an element in each hand, which will initially guide the
fortuneteller if the person being consulted is Ire (with blessing) or Ibi (with harm or negativity)

1) This was documented by Pierre Fatumbi Verger in 1952 in the Yoruba region of the Republic
of Benin, where they even make circles in which elégùn (médiuns) of different divinities
participate, where later several different Orisa arrive, sharing the space, they dance and sing
together. Also see "WOMEN ORIENTED CULTS AND RITUAL PRACTICES IN IJEBU LAND, OGUN
STATE, NIGERIA" by Dr. (Mrs) Akintan, Oluwatosin Adeoti, Department of Religious Studies,
Olabisi Onabanjo Ago-Iwoye University, Nigeria, in this article it can be seen that there are
several cults with different ritual forms where the priestesses receive all the Orisa, in the same
way as in the diaspora.

2) Although we say that each divinity has its own divinatory cowries when their worship is
done separately, the mérindinlógun oracle is itself considered a divinity, whose name is Iya
Eerindinlogun, this divinity is the one who "speaks" in name of each Orisa.

3) Elegbara is present as a communicator and messenger in the cowries (snails / búzios) of all
the other Orisa, since each Orisa has its own Elegbara. Elegbara is the one who makes Iya
Eerindinlogun "speak" allowing the action to take place, we say that he "hits her".
WHERE SHOULD THE CAURIES BE THROWN TO MAKE THE
DIVINATION?

They should always be thrown on a mat on the ground (it is the best). You can also use a
circular mat for the cowries to fall into and thus also be able to interpret their location within
the circle that represents the "universe". In the diaspora, the circle is often marked with
necklaces (guides) of the Orisa or with an efun circle, but today many, like in my Ilere, use a
wicker tray called àte.

DOES THE SEER MUST BE POSITIONED IN SOME SPECIAL WAY WHEN MAKING INQUIRIES?

Yes, it should always be placed facing East, which is where the Sun rises, that is where we
believe that Elégbàrà is standing, observing the divination and acting as a messenger. Behind
the diviner will be the West, which is where we consider Òrìsànlá to be located. To the left of
the diviner is the North, which is related to the Orun or the spiritual world, while to his right is
the South, which is the Aiye or physical world.

IS IT CORRECT TO THROW THE CAURIES ON AN IFÁ DIVINATION

TRAY (OPON)?

No, it is not correct and it should not be done, since the opon-Ifá is part of the instruments
that are used in the cult of Ifá to mark odu-Ifá and has no relation to the cult of Òrìsà, since in
the Òrìsà's divination system is not "marked" odu for divination, the odu appear already
"marked" by the cowries themselves.
ORACULAR SYSTEM OF ELÉGBÀ.-

We have seen different systems that supposedly belong to Elégbàrà or Elégbà, which in some
places is called "Elégbà kíibà" or also "Owó Òkanlélógún". In Owo Okanlelogun, 21 cowries (3 x
7) are used of which 16 are consulted for divination, leaving 5 out. This method is surely based
on what some call the "Osetura" system, where the five "búzios" or cowries that remain
outside would represent the divinity Òsun. Elsewhere, the system is Owó Méjìdílógbón as it is
made up of 28 cowries (4 x 7), of which 21 are used for divination and 7 remain outside
representing Èsù. The use of 21 cowries can be found in Africa and we have also seen it in
Brazil, in certain Candomblé houses of Angola and/or Congo.

The names of the falls in the oracular system with 16 cowries in the cult of Elégbàrà in Meko/
Nigeria, are as follows in numerical order:

1.Okanran; 2. Eji Onko; 3. Eji Ogunda;4. Irosun; 5. Ogbese; 6. Obara; 7. Hate; 8. Ogbe-meji; 9. Bear;
10. Ofun; 11.Ownin; 12. Ejila Seborah; 13. Iwori; 14.Okansode; 15.ika; 16. Go away.

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This is the list of names given in the Rule of Òòsà (Ocha) to the odù of the Mérìndínlógún de
Elégbàrà ("dinloggun of Elegguá"):

1. Okana (phonetic script for "Okanran") 2. Eyioko (phonetic script for "Ejioko") 3. Oggunda
(phonetic script for "Ogunda") 4. Iroso. 5. Oshe. 6. Obara. 7. Oddi (Phonetic script for "Odi") 8.
Eyeunle (Phonetic script for "Ejionile") 9. Osa. 10. Ofun. 11. Ojuani (phonetic script for
"Owanrin") 12. Ellila (phonetic script for "Èjilá") 13. metanla (phonetic script for "Métàlá") 14.
Merinla. 15. Marunla (*) 16. Merindiloggun (phonetic spelling for "Mérìndínlógún")

(*) "Marunla" - The formula of pronouncing the number and adding "lá" at the end was
mistakenly followed, as in Yoruba: "Èjì-lá" (twelve); "métà-lá" (thirteen); "mérìn-lá" (fourteen);
but from number 15 to 19 inclusive, in Yoruba it is said that "there are so many numbers
missing to reach twenty", the correct spelling in Yoruba would then be: "Márùn-dín-
l'ógún" (five are missing to have twenty) , which is generally written abbreviated as:
"Medogun" It is also valid to use the word marun din logun.
Below a photo taken in Africa showing the use of 21 cowries, while another 7 are left outside
with the Ibo.

THE OWO MERINDINLOGUN (THE SNAILS / BÚZIOS) ARE BORN FROM IFÁ?

No. The Owó Erò Mérìndínlógún is a divinatory system to consult Òrìsà that evolved from the
cowries themselves until reaching the number 16. This method of divination with cowries
began with only 4 cowries and was born from the primitive Dídá Obì method . The Obi system
(the kola nut) used for divination in the Òrìsà cult, is known to us as the oldest method of
communication in Yorúbà land. The Òrìsà divination system was not born from Ifá, because
the Òrìsà cult and his divinatory system already existed before the Ifá cult was imported to Ilé-
Ifè. In the next post we will explain this matter better and offer sources about it.
 WHEN DID THE CAURIES ARRIVE IN THE YORUBA AREA?
THE SUPERIORITY OF THE CAURIES IN THE YORUBA CULTURE AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE

THE NAMES OF THE ODU IFÁ COME FROM THE ODU ORISA

According to J. Egharevba "A Short History of Benin" (Ibadan University Press, 1960), pp. 30-31,
cowries were used for commercial transactions in the Niger river bend, possibly before the
14th century, when Ibn Battuta saw them in Gao (capital of the Songhai Empire, see map in
the next post). Egharevba, who traced the arrival of the cowries to the "Empire of Benin" in
Nigerian territory (Bini, not to be confused with the current Republic of Benin), then says that
it is possible that the cowries reached Benin through Old Oyo (capital of the old Yoruba
Empire), because as we see in the map that shows the routes of the commercial caravans, the
Songhai Empire also traded with the Yoruba Kingdom. Egharevba has evidence that as early as
the 16th century, cowries were circulating in Benin (Benin City, Nigeria).

After this, we can deduce that the Yorubas already used the cowries at least from the second
half of the fourteenth century (1300). There is also evidence that cowries were already used in
Igbo lands (in Nigeria) before the arrival of the Portuguese. See - AE Afigbo, "The Economic
Foundation of Pre-colonial Igbo Society" in LA. Akinjogbin and SO Osoba (,eds) Topics ..p. 14;
See also: GT Basden "Among the Ibos of Nigeria" (London 1921), p. 188.

We will not deny William Bascom's version that the Portuguese imported cowries to the south of
Nigeria from other regions of Africa, but that was not the origin of the arrival of the cowries to
Yoruba lands, since we have seen that there is data that they actually arrived before.

Now we remember again that Oduduwa along with other characters, among whom was Setilu, who
was the one who brought Ifá as an oracular system that came from Nupe land, which we firmly
believe would have derived from Arab geomancy.

On the fact that the Ifá oracle derives from Arab geomancy, William Bascom in "Ifa Divination:
Communication Between Gods and Men in West Africa" / page 8, says: "Cutting or marking in
the sand (iyanrin tite) is practiced by Muslim diviners known as: "Alufa". They refer or speak by
name: "Hati rambli" or "Atimi" in Yoruba, distinguishing it from Ifá. The names of the 16 signs
or figures: Al Kanseji, Alaika, Utuba Dahila, etc. They clearly differ from those of Ifá but
correspond to those that were given in the Arabic book of "Mohammed Ez Zenati", and in the
order in which these figures were given by an Alufa in Meko (Yoruba land), although it was
born in Zaria, were identical to those given in Ez-Zenati's ist.There is no doubt about Atimi's
historical relationship with Islamic geomancy(...)

Sikidy divination as well as Ifá use the same system based on the 16 basic signs or figures. The
Sikidy system used in Mali, is obtained with seeds that "marking in the sand" "Cutting or
marking the sand" is a widespread form of geomancy practiced by many Islamic groups in
North and West Africa"
Later William Bascom writes:

"Burton, Maupoil and other great researchers have concluded that the Ifá and Sikidy systems
have derived from Islamic geomancy..."

William Bascom says that the Alufa (Muslim diviners) differentiate their oracular system from
that of Ifá, logically they orient it to their belief, while Ifá geomancy was oriented towards
Yoruba beliefs. It should be noted that the divination system of marking in the sand consisting
of 16 figures, which was used by Muslims, as we said, is older than what is today Ifá, since it
was brought from the Nupe land by Setilu (the first incarnation of Orunmila) and the Nupe are
mostly Muslim or Arab influenced. We see that the names of the figures (let's say "odu") are
different for the Alufa, just as the names of the figures in European geomancy are also
different. We are sure that the "primitive Ifá" brought by Setilu, evolved mixing with the Orisa
tradition of the Yoruba and later would have taken the names of the odu system from the
mérìndínlógún to associate them with geomantic figures, we base ourselves on the fact that
many of the names of the "odu" have a great meaning within of the mérìndínlógún, while in
Ifá the names lose their meaning. As for the word "Ifá" it does not identify a "divinity" even
though that name is associated with Orunmila, "Ifá" (body of Ifá) is said to the set of stories
grouped under the names of "odu" and In addition, "Ifá" is the name that the oracular system
itself received in Yoruba land, it is not a divinity, the orisa of the oracle is Orunmila, whose
primordial divinity in the Orun was called Ela. The word "Ifa",

We now return to the arrival of the cowries in the Yoruba area. According to the above, the Yorubas already had cowries in the

mid-1300s (14th century). If we take into account that the Oyo Empire was founded around 1400 (15th century), then it is to be

assumed that from the first Alaafin onwards, they used the cowries, both as a synonym of wealth to embellish their clothes and for

sacred uses in their worship of the Irunmale (orisa). The use of cowries as currency also brought the need to learn to count in order to

carry out transactions. The cowrie was the most important instrument for the Yoruba to progress in numerology and mathematics

(see: "Mathematics of the Yoruba People and of Their Neighbors in Southern Nigeria" by Claudia Zaslavsky). But it is important to say

that after about 300 years of founding the Kingdom of Oyo, during the reign of Alaafin Ofiran, it is only when the Ifá system is

introduced and despite the fact that in Ile-Ife, Ifá had been introduced approximately in the twelfth century (1100), the Alaafin Ofiran of

Oyo brings the Ifá system from Nupe land, where his mother was from. This would explain why the Ifá tradition of the Oyo is different

from that of Ifé, because in truth it does not come from there, but was imported directly from the Nupe land (whom the Yorubas call

"Tàpá"). Where was his mother from? This would explain why the Ifá tradition of the Oyo is different from that of Ifé, because in truth it

does not come from there, but was imported directly from the Nupe land (whom the Yorubas call "Tàpá"). Where was his mother from?

This would explain why the Ifá tradition of the Oyo is different from that of Ifé, because in truth it does not come from there, but was

imported directly from the Nupe land (whom the Yorubas call "Tàpá").

We estimate that the use of cowries as a divinatory method began to evolve rapidly in the late
1300s, with the starting point being the use of four cowries (owo erin) associated with the
figures or falls of the ancient divination method through the Obi Ababa.
The Yoruba have the belief that each element has an energy that can be considered as a
"divinity", for this reason, the Obi was considered a "divinity" that became known as "Orisa
Bi" (orisa-obi). "Orisa Bi" who is expressed by Obi was the one who later allowed the
appearance of the first associations between the falls of the Obi with the Owo Erin, which
would evolve to have 16 main falls (Owo Merindinlogun) that would later be associated by the
diviners who they used Ifá (the method of guessing with geomantic figures). So, we can say
that the oldest oracular divinity is "Orisa Bi". Perhaps as a sign of respect, later, when the
practice of Ifá geomancy changes the 16 pebbles for 16 Ikin seeds, they must have "four eyes"
or more. Could it be that those "four eyes" remind us of the four lobes of the Obi Abata or the
Owo Erin system? Well, formerly Setilu (Orunmila) used pebbles and we know that in other
geomantic systems used by other groups in Africa they use any other seed, including beans,
which would not be important to obtain the "marks", for that reason, it seems to us that the "
four eyes" at least, is due to the fact that "four" was "peace" or "tranquility" in the "alafia"
system of four cowries, while "three" is associated with "war", "trouble" . The Yorubas found a
symbolism in the cowries that they quickly associated with numbers, that is why a system of
symbolism or code even appeared that they could and can decipher. This served so that the
cowries were also used as a means to send symbolic messages (Aroko), which are not written,
but contain elements that must be deciphered by the recipient. Some examples of the use of
cowries as "Aroko" (symbolic message) during the pre-colonial period in Yoruba land, is
explained by James Odunbaku of the Department of History and Diplomatic Studies of the
Olabisi Onabanjo University of Ogun State, Nigeria:

"If two cowries were tied face to face with black thread it meant that the one who sent the message
wanted to see the person. If two cowries were tied back to back, it meant: "I don't want to see him".
If three cowries were sent, it meant : "I will beat you and throw you out". If a king sent 4 cowries
and a horse's tail to another king, it meant that he was seeking peaceful coexistence. If 8 cowries
were sent to someone, it meant that the one who sent the cowries was out of danger."

After this, we can see that the cowries alone began to have a meaning for the Yorubas related to
the number of cowries, this was surely applied to begin using them as a primitive divination system
allied to the method of the four primary cowries with messages. based on the Obi system. In the
same way that a symbolic message or "aroko" (in Yoruba) could be sent to another person, surely
the divinities could send messages to people by showing a certain number of open cowries, which
would be deciphered and interpreted by the diviner. This then shows that the oracular system with
cowries is not based on Ifá, which DOES NOT USE NUMBERS but USES MARKS that come from
GEOMANCY (Geomancy, from geo = earth / mancia = divination; " it is easier to associate the open
and closed cowries of the Owó Eejo method (8 cowries) with the Ifá geomantic system and there
could be the key to how the names of the Orisa odu (based on numerology) later became names
too of the geomantic figures of Ifá. The divinatory system with cowries was it is easier to associate
the open and closed cowries of the Owó Eejo method (8 cowries) with the Ifá geomantic system and
there could be the key to how the names of the Orisa odu (based on numerology) later became
names too of the geomantic figures of Ifá. The divinatory system with cowries was
evolving little by little and was implemented as part of Yoruba popular culture and the
symbolism that it gave to each number. Although the 16 cowrie divination is the most popular,
we have shown on this page that there are other cowrie divination systems that use a
different number of cowries: 4, 8, 12, 21, as the oldest meaning is based on the number ,
being that Okanran means that only one open (a cowrie) is seen, while other falls were later
related to some divinity, also from the numbers, then it was said: "the number of Sàngó is 6".
So the appearance of 6 cowries were associated with Sàngó, that is in the Owo Ero
Merindinlogun. The name "Obara" originated from Oba-àrá: "The King of Lightning". However,
according to the list presented by William Bascom, the Odu Obara Meji is NOT associated with
Sango in Ifá. Below is the list with the name of Beyioku and Herskovits authors who
investigated the Fa of Dahomey, plus names of cities where Ifa is worshiped.

Bayioku:Woro

Herskovits: Dangbe, Osumare

Ife: Egbe, Abiku.

Meko: Erinle, Are.

Hey: Hey

While Solagbade Poopola in "Ifá Dida - Volume one" relates the Odu Obara Meji with the
following divinities:

Ifá, Esu Odara, Ori, Òsun, Odu, Ògún.

This shows once again, this time with the name of another odu, that the name "Obara" DOES have
a basis in the cowries both for its relationship with Sango and for numerology, but the word
"obara" is meaningless in Ifá. Now if you are going to tell me that in Oyo, because it is related to
Oya, it would have to do with "lightning queen", I tell you that that would be Ayaba-ara, since
"queen" is said: "king's wife" (Aya -oba).
THE PRIMORDIAL DIDA OBI SYSTEM.

We say here "primordial" Dida Obi system, because today this system has evolved and has
other interpretations, "falls" combined and more sophisticated. At this time we are interested
in demonstrating that the oldest interpretation made with Obi abata (four-lobed) is the one
that gives rise to the idea of starting to use 4 cowries using the "Alaafia" method to supplant
the four pieces of Obi .
We consider that at first the lobes were not taken into account as masculine and feminine, but
how many remained face up and how many face down were read. From this reading then the
first names arise:

1) Òkàn-iran ("One is seen") - 1 facing up / 3 facing down

2) Èjì-ré ("Two friends together") / Eji-fè ("Two spread out") - 2 face up / 2 face down

3) Ètà-wá ("Three are coming") - 3 face up / 1 face down

4) Èrìn l'Àlàáfíà ("Four is Peace") - 4 face up

5) Oyè-kú (4 upside down) = "Sign of inactivity"

It is important now to realize that from the union between "Okan" and "iran" comes the word
"Okanran", which means that a single lobe appeared looking up. "Okanran" here has a great
meaning, just as it does later in the oracle of the mérìndínlógún, since "Okanran" says: "One is
seen". This proves that in truth what is later known as the "odu" Okanran, did not belong to
Ifá, but was taken from the mérìndínlógun oracle to associate it with one of the geomantic
figures used by the Ifá oracle, since in Ifá the phrase: "one is seen" does not make any sense
and even less if we take into account that "Okanran Meji" (double Okanran) occupies the
eighth position in most Ifa lineages. The bottom line here is that "Okanran"

Another interesting name that appears here is "Oyèkú" which means that there is no activity,
that everything fell backwards. This name would also later be taken to represent a figure of
the Ifá signs. In the oracle of mérìndínlógún, "Oyèkú" are all the cowries upside down (upside
down) which means the same as in the Obi, which is a sign or signal of inactivity. Oyèkú in the
mérìndínlógún is also known as "Opira", "Oosa pariwo" or "Yeku-yeku".

In the Alafia method using four cowries, the drops are given the following names;

1) Okanaran

2) Chief

3) Etawa

4) Alafia

5) Oyeku

This same method is used in the diaspora for divination using fresh coconut.

DIDA OBI SYSTEM BASED ON THE MALE AND FEMALE SEGMENTS

This method is more modern and evolved, for this reason we do not present it as part of the
study we are doing, but as a mere curiosity.

Divination with Obi 4 segments: 2 male / 2 female

Ilera - 1 male the rest backwards

Aje - 1 female the rest backwards

Ejire - 1 male / 1 female (two backwards)

Akoran - 2 male the rest backwards

Ero - 2 female the rest backwards

Akita - 2 male / 1 female

Obita - 2 female / 1 male

Ogbe / Alafia - All up

Idiwo - All face down

In the next post we will talk about the arrival of the cowries to the Yoruba area.
1) FIRST PART IFÁ WAS NOT A NATIVE "CULT" OF THE "YORUBA" GROUPS, IT
WAS IMPORTED TO ILÉ-IFÈ WITH THE ARRIVAL OF ODUDUWA.

To expand on this explanation and avoid misunderstandings, confusion and the attack of the
ignorant fanaticized by the ideas that were instilled in him through legends or itan Ifá often
invented or misrepresented, we must first instruct the reader (whoever he may be), for this it is
necessary before do a great analysis.

We will begin by arguing that according to Toyin Falola (Culture, Politics and Money Among
the Yoruba / page 7) "In the Ilè-Ifè region, before the arrival of Oduduwa, there were already
several settlements governed by different political-religious chiefs, in Idena with his people
was Oreluere (Ore), in Ideta-Oko the chief was Obatala, main priest of the Orisa cult; in Ita-
Yemoo, Yemoo, Obatala's wife, ruled." These are nothing more than historical facts, it is not a
matter of legend or myth here, but of characters who lived at a certain time in the Ile-Ife
region.

Continuing with the real data, Oduduwa would have arrived in Ile-Ife around the 12th century according to
David D. Laitin ("Hegemony and Culture: Politics and Change Among the Yoruba", page 111) and Old Oyo
would have been founded around the 15th century. And according to what is narrated by Toyin Falola /
Aribidesi Adisa Usman ("Movements, Borders, and Identities in Africa", page 105) there are archaeological data
that Ile-Ife was already an inhabited place between 800 AD (9th century) and 1000 AD (11th century).

In other words, Oduduwa only arrived in the Ile-Ife region approximately 300 years after the arrival
of the groups that were already installed there, with their own culture and religion, certain dialects
in common, although they had not yet been unified as a nation, that was what Oduduwa would
later do, who would unify these peoples under the idea of a nation known as "Yoruba" and whose
capital at that time was Ile-Ife.

At the time that the historical figure Oduduwa lived, two other historical figures also lived:
Obatala and Yemoo, his wife. This means that Oduduwa, as well as Yemoo and Obatala, were
deified much later, becoming "orisa". The cult of "Orisa" already existed before the arrival of
Oduduwa, it was always part of the tradition of the peoples who inhabited the Ile-Ife region,
which we can call "pre-Oduduwa". The character Obatala was a king and priest of a cult whose
divinity was called Orisa, later this ancient divinity would begin to be called "Orisa-nlá" (the
great Orisa) to differentiate it from the deified ancestors in the form of "orisa ". However, the
deified character "Obàtálá"

But to understand why we consider that "Ifa was imported" and what is the reality of this, we
must also explain that what is known today as "Ifa", without a doubt was formerly only a type
of oracular system derived from the Arab geomancy (see image with geomantic figures)
without a religious structure itself, which the Arabs brought from the
Middle East, area of Persia, whose oldest origin is the geomantic oracle used by the Chinese (5000
years BC). This oracular system was taken by the Arabs to the Songhai region (see map) and from
there it went to Nupe land (Tapá), located on the northern border of the ancient Kingdom of Oyo.

According to S. Johnson "The History of Yorubas", the first Yoruba place where the cult of Ifá was
installed was in Ile-Ife (we believe that during the Mohammedan invasion that spread to sub-
Saharan Africa from the 7th century) , Ifá was brought by an initiate in the knowledge of Arab
geomancy called "Setilu" or "Setinru" by the Yorubas, known as "Osamienmwinaisetinru" by the
Edo (Bini) and who also according to S. Johnson was blind, born in the Nupe region (Tapa). Setinru
made the divination with 16 pebbles, and then made the marks on the ground. It is said that he
was very good at predicting the future, this caused a contagion in the Nupe population, he was
gaining many followers who wanted to be initiated into his "mystery", the Muslims then decided to
run him out of their territory. Setinru crossed the Niger River and went to Bini (Benin City in
Nigeria), where he was surely the founder of the "Ihá" cult of the Bini. After a time, Setinru, from
Bini, went to Ile-Ife accompanying Oduduwa's entourage, and stayed there to live in Oke-Itase,
founding the cult of Ifá that would later spread throughout the Yoruba land, from there Ifá would
go to the Fon and Ewe land, where the cult is known as Fá and Afa.

According to the tradition of the Ikedu (Bini or Edo) Oduduwa would be an Edo prince called
"Ekaladerhan", who escaped from his land to avoid his death. This theory of the Edo, seems to be
the true one, because S. Johnson "The History of Yorubas" (1901) when he speaks of Setilu (or
Setinru), says that Setilu before traveling to Ile-Ife, was living in Benin (Bini) and further adds that
Setilu came with Oduduwa to Ile-Ife, Setilu being the founder of Ifa. These are not invented or
accommodated stories, they are historical facts.

The Yoruba, nowadays, recognize that Setinru or Setilu was the founder of Ifá and he is seen
as the first incarnation of "Orunmila", whom they also call "Agboniregun", who stayed to live in
Ile-Ife making his house in Oke Itase.

Now an extremely interesting fact is that according to S. Johnson in "History of Yorubas" pp.32-33,
when he speaks of the Oyo Empire, he says that "Ifá was brought by the Alaafin Onigbogi to the
Kingdom of Oyo from land Tapá (Nupe), but the cult was rejected by the people and he was
dethroned.The son of Alaafin Onigbogi, called Ofiran (Olufiran) would later install the cult of Ifá in
the Kingdom of Oyo, bringing it from the land of Tapá (Nupe). ), where his mother was from, Ofiran
would then be initiated into the secret of that oracle.

Here we see another proof that Ifá was not part of the Yoruba religious tradition in Oyo before the
reign of Alaafin Ofiran, it is estimated that he reigned between the mid-1500s (16th century) and
the early 1600s (17th century). In other words, if we take into account that the Ifá oracle arrived in
Ile-Ife approximately in the 12th century together with Oduduwa and Setinru, this means that other
Yoruba groups, such as the Oyo, offered resistance to Ifá for approximately 300 years or so. plus.
This also reveals to us that during Sango's reign, Aganju and
Ajaka among other Alaafin of Oyo prior to the reign of Ofiran, Ifá was not practiced in that
region.

If Ifá were a Yoruba or autochthonous cult of the region, why would the Alaafin Onigbogi have to
import it from Nupe territory?

Setinru was Nupe and he brought the oracle from his land when the Muslims drove him out of
their territory. Everything then tells us that the Ifá oracular system has its origin in Nupe land.
And the Nupe (or Tapa) were always influenced by Arab customs, they were even part of a
Muslim Empire.

Since the Yoruba groups before and after the founding of Ile-Ife already had their traditional
cult of ancestors and Orisa, it is also assumed that they would have a method to communicate
with the divinities, which logically was not Ifá (remember that it was imported to Ile-Ife from
Nupe land and that to Oyo, for example, Ifá did not arrive until almost 300 years later). We
also know that formerly there were no cowries in the Yoruba land area (in other posts we will
provide historical data on when the cowries arrived, then, there is no choice but to point out
that the oracle used by the Yorubas in the cult of Orisa before the cowries arrived, it was the
“Dida Obi.” The divination system with Obi is a type of oracle belonging to the divinity Orisanla.

Conclusions of this first part:

a) Ifá was an oracle imported from Nupe land, whose origin of the figures (signs or marks)
that are used is in the Arab geomancy "branch", whose diviners make the marks in the sand.

b) The cult of Orisa was not related to the cult of Ifá, in fact, in Oyo Ifá it was rejected, as we
saw.

c) In the cult of Orisa there should be a system to communicate with the divinities that
logically was not "Ifá" and at first it was not the cowries (they had not yet entered the Yoruba
region), therefore the oracle used to communicate with the divinities and ancestors, it was
surely the Dida Obi.

Below we see the 16 figures of geomancy and a map showing the Songhai Empire and the
Muslim expansion in Africa, as well as the trade routes (in red) of the caravans.
2) SECOND PART ODUDUWA STARTS IN THE CULT OF ORISA, BECAUSE IT
ALREADY EXISTED WHEN HE ARRIVED TOGETHER WITH SETILU (ORUNMILA)
AT ILE-IFE.
E. Bọlaji Idowu in "Olódùmarè: God in Yoruba belief" (1962) narrates that when Oduduwa
arrived at Ile-Ife, there was already an aboriginal community under the government of
Oreluere. Tradition persists that when Oduduwa arrived at the place with his people at first, he
did not pay him respect or acknowledge Oreluere's power. Oduduwa was proud and
disdainful. So Oreluere planned to teach the disrespectful stranger a lesson. Oreluere looked
for a way to poison one of Oduduwa's daughters, he looked for all the remedies and formulas
to cure his daughter of his illness, which was no use. This made him go to ask Oreluere for
help, since he was the main priest of the place, an occasion that Oreluere took advantage of to
reprimand him for his haughtiness and lack of respect. Oduduwa had to pay sheep and bird
fines, after which his daughter was cured.

This then proves what we were talking about in the "first part" (the previous post) when we
said that the cult of Orisa was already installed with its oral, medicinal tradition and its own
oracle when Oduduwa arrived at Ile-Ife together with Setilu and the system oracular "Ifá" at
that time was still in pre-history and had not yet absorbed or adapted the knowledge or
tradition belonging to the Orisa cult of the Yoruba tradition within its figures (geomantic
signs).

According to Edo tradition, when Oduduwa was initiated into the cult of Orisa he received the name
"Obalufon" (King of a Prosperous Empire) and obviously his head divinity was Orisanla.

Conclusions of this second part:

a) The cult of Orisa already existed before the arrival of Oduduwa.

b) It is reconfirmed that the "Ifá oracle" later arrived in Yoruba land and was not part of Orisa.
THE NAMES OF THE ODU-IFÁ WERE BORN IN THE OWÓ ERÒ
MÉRÌNDÍNLÓGÚN SYSTEM (first part)
We will now demonstrate that most of the names of the odu-Ifá were born in the Owó Erò
Mérìndínlógún system, where they are known as "odu orisa" and that they were later associated
with the geomantic figures of Ifá.
We had already discussed that approximately from the end of the 1300s, the cowries began
to have great importance among the Yorubas, as they were used as coins, as ornaments,
synonymous with wealth, but they were also the basis of Yoruba numerology (see :
"Mathematics of the Yoruba People and of Their Neighbors in Southern Nigeria" by Claudia
Zaslavsky). The cowries also began to have certain abstract meanings on their own among
the Yoruba people, which gave rise to the fact that they could be used to send symbolic
messages, known as "aroko" among the Yoruba. As we said in another post,

1 cowrie - "I am alone"; "I'm going on my own"

2 cowries tied face to face - "I want to see you"; "you have to come" 2
cowries tied back to back - "I don't want to see you"
3 cowries - "I'm going to hit you"; "we have problems"; "war" 4
cowries - "I want peace of mind",
8 cowries - "I'm out of danger"; "Its alive"; "we are saved"

So, it should not be surprising that, by extension, cowries began to be used to receive
symbolic messages (aroko) from the Orisa. Emerging thus the first names of the falls that
are related to numerology, the symbolism that people had given it and with the divinities
(this was already something that only the initiate knew).
You may say: But Ifá was not there since the twelfth century? Didn't the odu-Ifá appear first?
Yes, there was Ifá, but it still did not have a connection as an oracular system that would allow
it to access the divinities, since the Orisa oracle still did not have 16 falls that could be
compared with the 16 figures of the Ifá geomantic system. That at this time it was still in pre-
history, it did not contain stories of Orisa or medicines, nor the names of the geomantic
figures (odu) were called by the names we know today, because these names did not yet
appear, it had to be created first the oracle Owó Mérìndínlógún, which before reaching 16
would go through the phase of being first an oracle of 4 cowries (Owo Eerin) and then 8 (Owo
Eejo),

OKANRAN
We have already seen that the word "Okanran" means: "One is seen" and that it appears for the
first time as "odu" to designate the appearance of a single piece of Obi turned upside down. The
deduction that it appeared first in the Obi system is that the cowries arrive in the Yoruba area
around 1300 and Oduduwa arrived in Ile-Ife around 1100, when according to E. Bọlaji Idowu in
"Olódùmarè: God in Yoruba belief" (1962) there were already people living there under the rule of
Oreluere, who was a priest of the Orisa cult. And if the cult of Orisa already existed before the
arrival of the cowries and Ifá (it came together with Oduduwa), there is no other reflection than to
suppose that the divination system they used in
the Orisa cult was formerly that of Dida Obi. The word "okanran", is later used in the Owó Erò Mérìndínlógún system to say that only
one open cowrí (búzio / snail) appeared. This being the case, there should be no problem in understanding that "Okanran" has a real
and important meaning in both the Dida Obi and the Owó Erò Mérìndínlógún system, while within the Ifá system, the word "okanran"
remains entirely nonsense, because "you see one" has no relation to seeing "a single line", for example, because to mark "Okanran" in
Ifá you must make 14 lines. Nor does it make sense or meaning to see "a single" shell of the Opele, because they are all united and
always fall together, nor is it related to the fact of obtaining "a single" Ikin, because despite the fact that during the process of
obtaining "okanran" (one is seen) the diviner sees a single ikin six times in a row, the last two times that complete the "odu" the diviner
sees two ikin. So if we were to base ourselves on the fact that the meaning of "okanran" in Ifá is that the diviner sees an ikin every
time, the corresponding odu would be "Oyeku" and not "Okanran". Therefore, the word "okanran" that comes from "okan" and "iran"
has true meaning only in the oracles of Dida Obi and the Owó systems, which use numerology to count the open and closed cowries.
in Ifá is that the diviner sees an ikin every time, the corresponding odu would be "Oyeku" and not "Okanran". Therefore, the word
"okanran" that comes from "okan" and "iran" has true meaning only in the oracles of Dida Obi and the Owó systems, which use
numerology to count the open and closed cowries. in Ifá is that the diviner sees an ikin every time, the corresponding odu would be
"Oyeku" and not "Okanran". Therefore, the word "okanran" that comes from "okan" and "iran" has true meaning only in the oracles of
Dida Obi and the Owó systems, which use numerology to count the open and closed cowries.

OYÈKÚ
The word "oyeku" appears for the first time as "odu" to say that all the pieces of Obi fell backwards
and later it was used to say that all the cowries fell backwards. Oyeku means: "sign of inactivity".
So, for the two oracles, the Obi and the Owo Merindinlogun, it makes a lot of sense, because when
everything appears backwards, the oracle "does not speak", it is inactive. The way in which
"oyeku" was later associated with the geomantic figure of Ifá was getting used to the idea that
one line would represent the open cowrie, while two lines would represent the closed cowrie. This
gives us the reason again, that if "oyeku" is a sign of inactivity, it should not be expressed even by
Ifá, but there was no other way to associate the cowries with the geomantic marks, since the
"closed cowries" are the counterpart of the open ones. On the other hand, this type of association
created a void within Ifá with regard to "ejioko", this Odu being the one that remained until today
as the most genuine representation of Odu Orisa. It should be noted that the Opele is the most
modern method that Ifá uses and when the falls of the Owo Eejo were associated, it had not yet
arrived.

EJIOKO
This name comes from the union between Eji (two) and oko (farm), literally "two on the
farm" (Ejiloko) and means that 2 cowries appeared. As this name was not associated with odu-Ifá,
some to try to make people believe the misconception that everything that exists is in Ifá, wrote
that the name of the odu "ogunda" in the sky was "ejioko", then the babalawo many times take
stories or teachings from the odu of owo merindinlogun "ejioko" and use them as if they were from
"ogunda". About this statement that "ejioko" was the name of "ogunda" in heaven, it is not true as
we will see later and if it were, it would only confirm that the odu of the merindinlogun is older than
that of Ifá, since if when it was in Heaven it was "ejioko" and when it comes to the World it is
"ogunda", the antiquity of "ejioko" (an odu of the orisa system) is clear. On the other hand, if Orisa's
"ejioko" were "ogunda" in Ifá, this would imply that Ifá's "ogunda" is not the same "ogunda" as that
of the merindinlogun, because in the merindinlogun there is both ejioko and ogunda and they are
different signs.
ETA-OGUNDA
The word "eta-ogunda" used to say in the Owó Mérìndínlógún system that "three cowries" have
appeared, arises from the association between the number of cowries that appear and their
symbolic meaning, the one that we had said that the cowries had in themselves among the Yoruba and that for this reason they were used to send "aroko" (symbolic messages), then we have: Eta-ogun-dá (Three create war). Later, many

diviners just continued to name this fall as "ogunda". We saw that this name is fully linked to the concept of the number as the meaning of the cowries, in addition, due to the fact that the symbolism associates the number with war, the

divinity Ògún is linked with this fall in the merindinlogun. In Ifá, although the original name "eta-ogunda" is also associated with Ògún, it has no numerological relationship with the odu of Ifá that is called "ogunda", we will also explain

that in Ifá there is no odu that is simply called "ogunda" , because the odu of Ifá is really called "ogunda meji" that is, a combination of ogunda with ogunda, which gives us to understand from the first moment, with this name and with

all the others, that the name "ogunda" only, applied in the Owo system Merindinlogun is older than the combination of "ogunda" and "ogunda" (ogunda meji). The latter applied to all the names of the odu of Ifá that are always double,

should already be proof of the antiquity of the odu of the merindinlogun, because to obtain "two" ("one" plus "one"), logically first there must be "one" and this observation is valid for all the other names of the odu in Ifá, which we

repeat again were taken from the Orisa Merindinlogun system. which gives us to understand from the first moment, with this name and with all the others, that the name "ogunda" alone, applied in the Owo Merindinlogun system, is

older than the combination of "ogunda" and "ogunda" (ogunda meji). The latter applied to all the names of the odu of Ifá that are always double, should already be proof of the antiquity of the odu of the merindinlogun, because to

obtain "two" ("one" plus "one"), logically first there must be "one" and this observation is valid for all the other names of the odu in Ifá, which we repeat again were taken from the Orisa Merindinlogun system. which gives us to

understand from the first moment, with this name and with all the others, that the name "ogunda" alone, applied in the Owo Merindinlogun system, is older than the combination of "ogunda" and "ogunda" (ogunda meji). The latter

applied to all the names of the odu of Ifá that are always double, should already be proof of the antiquity of the odu of the merindinlogun, because to obtain "two" ("one" plus "one"), logically first there must be "one" and this

observation is valid for all the other names of the odu in Ifá, which we repeat again were taken from the Orisa Merindinlogun system. applied in the Owo Merindinlogun system is older than the combination of "ogunda" and

"ogunda" (ogunda meji). The latter applied to all the names of the odu of Ifá that are always double, should already be proof of the antiquity of the odu of the merindinlogun, because to obtain "two" ("one" plus "one"), logically first there

must be "one" and this observation is valid for all the other names of the odu in Ifá, which we repeat again were taken from the Orisa Merindinlogun system. applied in the Owo Merindinlogun system is older than the combination of

"ogunda" and "ogunda" (ogunda meji). The latter applied to all the names of the odu of Ifá that are always double, should already be proof of the antiquity of the odu of the merindinlogun, because to obtain "two" ("one" plus "one"),

logically first there must be "one" and this observation is valid for all the other names of the odu in Ifá, which we repeat again were taken from the Orisa Merindinlogun system.

NOTE: Before issuing any criticism, read everything that is published on this site in order to better
understand what is being talked about.

THE NAMES OF THE ODU IFÁ WERE BORN FROM THE NAMES THAT WERE AWARDED TO THE
ODU ORISA IN THE OWO MERINDINLOGUN (Second Part)
INTRODUCTION
Before issuing any criticism on the subject we are dealing with, please read everything
exposed on this site and mainly read the "first part" of this article.

IROSUN
This word as it is known today we have considered according to data offered us by some
Yoruba friends who practice traditional Orisa worship, which possibly comes from the
deformation of "Erin-sun" (four - sleep) and this is due to the association of the number four
with "tranquility", "peace", etc. And likewise, the word "Irosun" means: "ìro-sun" (sleeping
thought). This fall in the merindinlogun, by the name of the number, in addition to being
related to four, is associated with the elephant (erin), although "elephant" is pronounced
differently, but it is a symbolic association with the name of the number(1). Irosun is also
related to the Ancestors and Orisanla in the merindinlogun (2)

(1) It is common among the Yorubas to play on words that are written the same but have
different meanings, this is also used as "hints" or symbolic messages.
(2) Let us remember that formerly in the use of the Owo Erin, the four open cowries were
"alaafia" or "ogbe".
OSA
It is born from the idea that the Yoruba week, whose name is "ose" begins every five days, so
here the number five was related to the week. To avoid unnecessary criticism, on this
explanation, we clarify that we know that in truth the Yoruba week has only four days, but
let's see what the Araba Fayemi Elebuibon explains: "The Yoruba week comes every five days
and is made up of four days. There are four days in a week but it starts
every five days. This is how it is counted in the Yoruba land". The word "Ose" is also associated with the fact that every five (5) days the altars of the divinities are cleaned and tended. In the Owo Merindinlogun, Ose also represents

"damage" , which is another meaning that is given to the word "ose" pronounced in another way. It is also related to diseases, since the number "five" in Yoruba is said "arun", which as we have already explained, although it is

Pronounced differently from "arun" which is "disease", it serves as a hidden symbolism in the interpretation. The "ose" is also soap, which is used with water and is associated with rivers since ancient times, let's see the following

proverb Yoruba: "A kí i gbé odo jiyan-an ose ho tabi ko ho" (one does not sit on the banks of the RIVER to discuss whether the SOAP foams or not). Another proverb says: "Bi oju ba mo, olowo agbowo, oranwu a gbe keke; ajagun a gbe

apata; agbe a ji toun toruko, omo ode a ji tapo toran; ajiwese a ba odo omi lo" (When the day begins; the The merchant takes care of his trade; the cotton-spinner picks up his spindle; the warrior picks up his shield; the farmer gets up

with his hoe; the hunter's son picks up his quiver; "He who wakes up to wash with SOAP" goes on his way to RIVER). This association of "ose" with the river seems to us to have been a cause for linking the fall "ose" with the divinity Òsun

in the Owo Merindinlogun, in addition to the fact that 5 is a number used for said divinity. olowo agbowo, oranwu to gbe keke; ajagun to gbe apata; agbe to ji toun toruko, omo ode to ji tapo toran; ajiwese a ba odo omi lo" (When the

day begins; the merchant takes care of his trade; the cotton-spinner gathers his spindle; the warrior takes his shield; the farmer rises with his hoe; the hunter's son raises his quiver ; "He who wakes up to wash with SOAP" is on his way

to the RIVER) This association of "ose" with the river seems to us to have been a cause to unite the fall "ose" with the divinity Òsun in the Owo Merindinlogun , in addition to the fact that 5 is a number used for said divinity. olowo

agbowo, oranwu to gbe keke; ajagun to gbe apata; agbe to ji toun toruko, omo ode to ji tapo toran; ajiwese a ba odo omi lo" (When the day begins; the merchant takes care of his trade; the cotton-spinner gathers his spindle; the warrior

takes his shield; the farmer rises with his hoe; the hunter's son raises his quiver ; "He who wakes up to wash with SOAP" goes to the RIVER) This association of "ose" with the river seems to us to have been a cause to unite the fall "ose"

with the divinity Òsun in the Owo Merindinlogun , in addition to the fact that 5 is a number used for said divinity. he who spins cotton picks up his spindle; the warrior takes the shield from him; the farmer gets up with his hoe; the

hunter's son lifts his quiver; "He who wakes up to wash with SOAP" is on his way to the RIVER). This association of "ose" with the river seems to us to have been a cause for linking the fall "ose" with the divinity Òsun in the Owo

Merindinlogun, in addition to the fact that 5 is a number used for said divinity. he who spins cotton picks up his spindle; the warrior takes the shield from him; the farmer gets up with his hoe; the hunter's son lifts his quiver; "He who

wakes up to wash with SOAP" is on his way to the RIVER). This association of "ose" with the river seems to us to have been a cause for linking the fall "ose" with the divinity Òsun in the Owo Merindinlogun, in addition to the fact that 5 is

a number used for said divinity.

OBARA
We had already explained previously that "obara" comes from "King of Lightning", whose
association with the Sàngó divinity seems to have been made only in the oracle of the Owo
Merindinlogun, rendering the name "king of lightning" meaningless as Odu Ifá, since the odu-Ifá
obara meji, as we had seen, was not associated with Sàngó according to the sources that we had
presented, therefore it is a confirmation that this name was actually born in the Owo
Merindinlogun and was later associated with the geomantic figures of Ifá that today are known as
"Obara Meji". Numerologically, 6 is associated with Sàngó.
ODI, EDI, IDI
"Odi" has various real and symbolic meanings depending on how it is pronounced: "wall";
"blocking"; "malice"; "evil"; "wall"... As for "Edi", according to a history published by John
Wyndham "Myths of Ife" (1921) and according to his informant who was the Araba of Ile-Ife at
that time: "Edi" is presented as a divinity that provokes perversion or evil.

7 is a number that is associated with Esu, and is also associated with this sign in the Owo Merindinlogun.
The relationship between Odi de merindinlogun with Ifá comes from the deformation of the name in
"Idi" which means "buttocks", whose name was possibly given to the geomantic figure of Ifá because it
reminds of the buttocks. On this we think that "Idi" was never a name in the Merindinlogun nor is it (the
correct thing is Odi), but that it would be a name prior to the association of the Ifá figures with the
names of the Merindinlogun.
EJONILÈ, OGBE
This name comes from: "Ejo nilè" which means "eight on earth", it is a name that undoubtedly
comes from the Merindinlogun and means that 8 open cowries have fallen on the earth.
Formerly the cowries were thrown directly on the ground, although even today some fortune
tellers continue to do so but it is not so common, it is normal for them to be thrown on a mat.
The word "ejonile" has suffered deformations perhaps due to the way it is pronounced and
that it is written according to phonetics, so in Afro-Cuban culture it is: "Eyeunle"; while in Afro-
Brazilian culture for the majority it is: "Ejionilê". Although we must say that some Brazilian
babalorisa and iyalorisa write and pronounce "ejonile", just as it is in Yoruba. Another word
used to designate this Odu is "Onile" and also "ogbe". In relation to "Onile", this word comes
from the previous "ejonile" when instead of taking it as the original "ejo-nile" (8 cowries on
earth) it was deformed into "eji-onile" (double onile) then by logic applies "Onile" as the
original name of the simple drop. "Ogbe" has its origin in the number eight as well, let's
remember that when we talk about the "aroko",
eight cowries represented that the one who sent them "was free from danger"; "had been saved"; "was alive." "Ogbe" can be broken down as "O-gbe" (He who saves or defends). Osamaro

Ibie in "Ifism" translates Eji-ogbe or Ogbe meji as "double salvation", because according to a story belonging to that odu, Ejiogbe's mother and father would have been saved. Of course, this

only confirms our theory that the word Ogbe first arose as an odu name from the Owo Merindinlogun, since eight cowries was "salvation", while Eji-ogbe does not make much sense with

the Ifá geomantic figure that more than "someone who saves" it looks like a "path" since that was the original interpretation of said figure in geomancy. But the subsequent association

between the fall or odu "ogbe" that is born in the merindinlogun came to be used as the name of the geomantic figure of Ifá due to the fact that eight open cowries were considered as the

8 stripes that make up Ejiogbe in Ifá, counterpart as we will remember from Oyeku, which in the cowries were all backwards, represented by eight double stripes or even circles. The Owo

Eejo system (8 cowries) had a lot to do with this, prior to the merindinlogun (16 cowries), where all open were called "Ogbe", subsequently associating in Ifá with Ejiogbe since 8 cowries

were seen as the 8 simple stripes ; while the 8 closed cowries were called Oyeku, which in Ifá became Oyeku Meji because they were 8 closed cowries that represent the 8 double stripes.

that is born in the merindinlogun came to be used as the name of the geomantic figure of Ifá because eight open cowries were considered as the 8 stripes that make up Ejiogbe in Ifá,

counterpart as we will remember of Oyeku, that in the cowries they were all backwards, represented by eight double stripes or even with circles. The Owo Eejo system (8 cowries) had a lot

to do with this, prior to the merindinlogun (16 cowries), where all open were called "Ogbe", subsequently associating in Ifá with Ejiogbe since 8 cowries were seen as the 8 simple stripes ;

while the 8 closed cowries were called Oyeku, which in Ifá became Oyeku Meji because they were 8 closed cowries that represent the 8 double stripes. that is born in the merindinlogun

came to be used as the name of the geomantic figure of Ifá because eight open cowries were considered as the 8 stripes that make up Ejiogbe in Ifá, counterpart as we will remember of

Oyeku, that in the cowries they were all backwards, represented by eight double stripes or even with circles. The Owo Eejo system (8 cowries) had a lot to do with this, prior to the

merindinlogun (16 cowries), where all open were called "Ogbe", subsequently associating in Ifá with Ejiogbe since 8 cowries were seen as the 8 simple stripes ; while the 8 closed cowries

were called Oyeku, which in Ifá became Oyeku Meji because they were 8 closed cowries that represent the 8 double stripes.

MOST OF THE NAMES OF ODU-IFÁ DERIVE FROM THE ORIGINAL NAMES OF THE OWÓ
MERINDINLOGUN (Third part)
INTRODUCTION:
We have already written two previous parts, to better understand this part, we recommend
that you read the first two. We are demonstrating that the names of the odu used in
Merindinlogun belong to this type of oracle and were later adopted by Ifá practitioners to
identify the geomantic signs that were later also called "odu", the same name given to the
falls of the cowries in the Owo Merindinlogun system.

OSA / ESAN
It is a word that derives from "Esan" (nine), because nine open cowries have appeared on
the mat. "Osa" in the Owo Merindinlogun is mainly related to Yànsán (Iya-omo-esan =
Mother of nine children), also due to the relationship with the number nine. But already in
Ifá, the name has no meaning or relationship with "9", being associated with other divinities
as we see according to the list offered by William Bascom:
Beyioku-Ibeji
Herskovits - All Ife Divinities -
Orisanla
Meko - The Witches
Oyo - Sango
Another relationship of "Osa" with the cowries, is that nine cowries according to their symbolism
mean "flee", "run", "move" or "change places"... Where "Osa" is formed from "O - sá" (You run).
This logically has an important meaning before the appearance of the number nine (9), however
it loses all its meaning as the name of Odu Ifá.
OFUN / OFUN MEWA
Ten cowries were symbolically associated with "loss", "lost" and that is the meaning of
"ofun", which also due to the "play on words" that we had talked about earlier, is taken for a
sign of "whiteness", "purity". "(efun), associating for this with Obatala in the Owó
Merindinlogun.
The word "mewa" means ten, because 10 open cowries appeared, then
he said "ofun mewa" (ten is loss).
Because the habit of guessing according to numbers does not exist in Ifá, the symbolism provided
by the number 10 remains totally obsolete as the name of the odu-Ifá, despite the fact that it is
also related to Obatala or Orisanla, but the origin of the name "ofun" is in the number 10 and said
number is obtained in the oracle of Owo Merindinlogun.
OWONRIN
The word Owonrin does no more than verify that this name originally comes from the Owo
Merindinlogun system since "Owo-nrin" means that the "cowries are walking", that is, they
have returned to the road, to the path where Esu is, due to 11 open cowries have appeared
and "11" in Yoruba is said "Okanla" which means "a big one". Like the odu Okanran, which in
Merindinlogun is associated with Esu, the odu Owonrin, is also related to Esu, considered
number one in everything, that is, Esu must be honored, cared for and fed first. The
intermediary without whom no communication is possible.

Other meanings of "Owonrin" are "Money is walking", "Scarcity laughs" (Owon-rin)... These
meanings are always based on puns and their similar sounds, although not the same. When it
appears double, this odu is also called Eji-Owon (double scarcity or famine)

EJILA 'SEBORA
Ejila means 12, because twelve open cowries have appeared on the mat. While Asebora
means: "Àse-Ebora" the power of the Powerful Myth. "Ebora" is called a male character who
was deified due to his power. So this odu speaks of the spiritual power of the Twelve Ebora.

METAL / OLOGBON
Metala means 13, because thirteen open cowries have appeared on the mat. "Ologbon" means
"wise person" and when this fall arises twice we say "Eji-ologbon" (two wise persons). This fall in
the Owo Merindinlogun is associated with divinities considered old, wise and ancient, such as
Sonponno, Egungun or Nana Buruku. In Ifá it is said that Ejiologbon is a nickname for Oturupon
meji and they associate it with Sonponno, Egungun and Oya.
IKA
This name "Ika" means "evil", "cruelty"... Fourteen is a number of bad omen among the
Yorubas and due to this is the association with the name it receives. "Ika" also refers to
"fingers" and the act of "counting".
OBETEGUNDA / OFUN KANRAN / OGUNDA AGBA
This is another conflicting odu, linked with problems, "Obe-ate-ogun-da" (The knife in the
mat creates war). On the other hand, the name "Ofun kanran" does not represent a
compound odu(1) of Ifá, as many babalawo who do not understand the Owo Merindinlogun
system have believed, since in reality it is saying: "A lost cowrie is seen" (ofun okan iran),
that is, only one cowrie is seen upside down, since the remaining 15 are open. This also
confirms that the word "ofunkanran" as an Ifá compound odu is nothing more than an
allusion to the fact that a single cowrie appeared upside down. While "Ogunda Agba" is also
saying that this fall foretells fights, war, but instead of being just "ogunda", he is an "elder
ogunda"

IRETE / ALAAFIA
"Irete" comes from the phrase "blessing on the rounded mat on which the cowries are
thrown" (Ire-ate), since all the cowries, the 16 have appeared open and that is taken as a
great blessing, also for this it is said: "Alaafia" which means that everything is "calm", in
"peace" and that Orisa is giving blessings.
(1) None of the 16 basic falls of the Owo Merindinlogun is compound, all the falls are simple and
by making two throws you get ONE omodu, a combination of two others.

ODÙ ÒRÌSÀ (1). -

Yes, you read well: "Odù Òrìsà". It is the name given to the falls of Owó Erò Mérìndínlógún that will be
interpreted by the priest of Orisa.
If someone who claims to be a traditional babalawo, priest or priestess of traditional Orisa, is
told that "Odu-Orisa" does not exist, has never heard of it or is an invention, then that
supposed "traditional priest" is nothing more than an ignorant or in any case an impostor.
Since the only way that exists to name the falls in the Oracle of the Mérìndínlógún is under
that name, since this is how it differs from "odu-Ifa", which is another type of interpretation
that the initiate in Ifá makes when using Opele or Ikin.
Odu Orisa and Odu Ifá are different things and we will clarify these concepts in future posts. We
will also explain to those who are not initiated in the secret of Eerindinlogun, that there are two
types of Odu readings by this system, using the 16 cowries: the simple and the compound.

(1) ODU ORISA - In "Yoruba Theology and Tradition, The Worship", page 140, Ayo Salami,
explains:
"Like the signs of Ifá divination, there is a way by which the ODÙ ÒRÌSÀ is determined.
This is done by counting the number of snails (cowríes) that land face down on the mat
compared to the rest."
THE TWO TYPES OF INTERPRETATIONS OF ODU IN THE OWÓ ERÒ
MÉRÌNDÍNLÓGÚN SYSTEM: THE BASIC AND THE COMPOSITE
In Yoruba lands, those who initiate themselves in the cult of Orisa generally receive 16 cowries
to be able to communicate with the divinity. In Yoruba land they are called "olorisa" in the
Irunmale cults (when all the Orisa are worshiped together) to those who were initiated and
who possess Orisa, although they do not have the authority to initiate others. The Olorisa or
those initiates who have no way to become "masters" or "initiators" of others, only learn to
interpret 16 basic falls in the Owó mérìndínlógún, which consist of a single shot.

On the other hand, the older Orisa priests in the Irunmale cult, sometimes called
"babalorisa"(1) or "iyalorisa" in Yoruba land or simply Baba and Iya, learn the compound
interpretation system, where two falls make up an Odu . An example of the use of the
interpretation based on TWO FALLS to obtain ONE ODU in Yoruba land, is found in the book
"Orixás" pg. 41, by Pierre Verger, who records in the cult of Sàngó in Oyo, during the day of
Itá, the use of the mérìndínlógún to obtain the Name of the initiate and the Odu of his birth
in the cult:
"The cowries are thrown twice to determine the Odù, or the sign, which from now on will
govern the life of the initiate."
The interpretation of Odu for two falls is not based on a "mix" between two Odu as some
uninformed people who only know Afro-Cuban culture and the book "Sixteen Cowries" by
William Bascom think, but on a single Odu. So, twice Obara is known as the Odu Obara meji,
being in truth this system of union between two odu to obtain another, the one that was
inherited to the Ifá geomantic system, in which the odu are already combined and the odu
do not exist. simple.
The Odu system composed in Orisa through two falls, has always been used in Yoruba lands
such as Brazil, where the babalorisa and the iyalorisa read and interpret 256 odù. We do not
agree that the interpretation of the oracle of Mérìndínlógún is simpler than that of Ifá, since if
we compare it with the Òpèlè, while in the Owó Mérìndínlógún

Two shots are needed to obtain an Odù, in Òpèlè just one is enough. As for the recitation in
Yoruba, the odù òrìsà are also recited or sung and the Orisa priest must also consult Ibò to
obtain a detailed answer about the problem that afflicts the consultant, also having to
memorize in the system composed a minimum of 512 stories of odu-orisa.

Below the verses of an odu composed of the Orisa tradition:

EJIOKONILÉ (Ejioko-ogbe) (2)
"Ejò kò ní 'lé
Jókòó èbá t'onà
Èsù kò ní 'lé
Jókòó èbá t'onà
Dá 'Sà fun Ode
Nígbatí nlo ìgbó
Nwon ni ki o ru ebo fun Èsù
Ki l'on a ru?
Nwon ni o r' egbàá mejila
Nwon ni o ru akuko
Nwon ni o ru èkú
Nwon ni o ru àgbàdò súnsun òpò
Nwon ni o ru epo
Nwon ni o ru otì
Ode kò s'ebo
O ni ki ofà ààbò rè
Ode lo ìgbó
L'onà r'ejò,
O tá'fà npa 'jò
O padà wá 'lé were àpaje Èsù mo
kíni Ode kò s'ebo Èsù se 'jò padà wà
laàyé Nígbatí Ode délé, Ejò bá Ode
lójiji, Ejò pa Ode

Nígbatí yo 'dù 'yí

Òòsà ni ìkìlò"
Translation:
"The Serpent has no home, He
sits by the roadside Esu has no
home,
sits by the side of the road
They were the priests who consulted Òrìsà for
the Hunter when he went to the forest
They said that I should make an offering for Èsù.
What should I offer?
They said to offer 24,000 cowries They
said to offer a rooster
They said offer a rat
They said to offer plenty of roasted corn They said to
offer palm oil and aguardiente The Hunter did not
make the offering
He said that with his arrows he was protected
The Hunter went to the forest
On the way he saw a snake and shot his arrow killing it. She returned
to her house with the prey.
Èsù, knowing that the Hunter had not made his offering,
brought the Serpent back to life
When the Hunter arrived at his house and went to take the snake out of the bag, it surprised him,
killing him instantly.
When this odù appears, Òrìsà says that there is danger."
(1) Babalorisa / Iyalorisa - These are titles generally applied to senior priests in Orisanla /
Obatala (whose divinity is also known as "Orisa"). While in the diaspora it is applied to any
priest who has apprentices in charge, since the word "orisa" is synonymous in the diaspora
with "divinities".
(2) Source: baba Osvaldo Omotobatala "Odu Orisa - Volume 1"
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THE YORUBA MYTHS AND THEIR IMPORTANCE TO KNOW THE ORIGIN OF THE
MERINDINLOGUN
To continue examining sacred or ìtan myths that support the antiquity of the Owó Erò
Mérìndínlógún system and who was its creator, it is first necessary to instruct the reader a little
about a certain situation that is distorting the ancient tradition of Yoruba mythology.
The Myths in the Yoruba belief system are of fundamental importance because they are the
ones that determine and base values and customs within the tradition, as well as confirm or
reject stories, defects, virtues and qualities of the divinities.
Before the globalization that the internet means, where information travels and invades all
parts of the world and the massive diffusion of certain Ifá literature began, many years ago,
the concepts about the myth of Creation and certain stories related to the Orisa did not
contradict themselves, they were clearer than today. Making a study of Yoruba myths in the
timeline, it is possible to discover the manipulation of certain stories and even new stories can
be found that contradict the old ones or where the main characters of the story were
subjectively changed. We must publicly denounce, that since about the early 1900s, Hundreds
of stories or myths appeared on Yoruba land that began to overshadow the figure of certain
divinities of the Yoruba pantheon to give primacy to others such as Orunmila, Ifá or Osun. A
certain group of Yoruba writers have been working for more than half a century so that today
almost everyone accepts certain Ifa stories as the original ones. There are several examples of
manipulation in the myths, one of the most notable is the fact that "Jesus" (Jesus Christ)
appears in some Ifá stories, something that has no relation to Yoruba tradition or culture and
that only seeks to amalgamate religions to gain adherents. It is that there is a great tendency
to the globalization of Ifá, using as a method of proselytism the same one used by evangelical
churches, through mass media, also using words like "apostles" (to refer to the odu-Ifá),
"prophet" (when speaking of Orunmila), "salvation", "only Ifá saves", "Ifá is the way", "Ifá is the
truth ", all phrases to which only the word "Christ" or "Lord" was changed for the word "Ifá".
There is also the system of "spreading the word" (spreading Ifá) and this is done through
forums, blogs and websites. It also tries to give a wrong idea about the cult of Ifá, where it is
intended to be shown as a Universal or World Cult. Perhaps some of these changes and new
forms of advertising serve to attract new followers from Christianity or Islam, but they are
really harming the Yoruba root,

The oldest Divinity and the largest in the Yoruba pantheon is ORISA (Orisanla or Obatala), it
was the first and only divinity created by Olodumare, after Olodumare created Orisa, he
passed on the "Power of Creation" or the "Pumpkin of Existence" (Igba-Iwa). Then Olodumare
gave Orisa the task of creating the World and the Human Beings. According to ancient myths,
before Orisa made the World and the Human Beings, He created a Being to help him in his
tasks, which was called ATUNDÁ. In a first act of rebellion at the beginning of time, Atundá
planned to kill his Master and dropped a heavy rock on him, Orisa then broke into "Four
Hundred and One Pieces", each piece took on its own life and personality, which gave rise to
the rest of the divinities. Orisa transformed into the "

There are other variants on how ORISA (Orisanla or Obatala) created the World and the Beings
Humans, narrated by other authors such as Wande Abimbolá in "Ifá Divination Poetry"; Bolaji
Idowu "Olodumare, God in the Yoruba Beliefs"; Omosade Awolalu "Yoruba Beliefs and
Sacrificial Rites"; Joel Adedeji "Folklore and Yoruba drama: Obatala as case of study", among
many others and they all agree that ORISA is the CREATOR of the Earth and Human Beings.
However, later myths have appeared that place Oduduwa as the Creator of the Earth and in
others, the place of ORISA (Orisanla or Obatala) is occupied by ORUNMILA, who then takes
the glory of Creating the Earth. Why are we talking about this? What relationship does it have
with the divinatory system of Owo Merindinlogun? Well, because we will try later, that some
widespread myths about Owo Merindinlogun (os Búzios / Los Caracoles) are about other
stories that were changed or manipulated. In the case of the story that we examine below,
the fault is that only a summary or excerpt is told in which it seems that Orunmila is the
creator and owner of the Oracle of Merindinlogun, which then grants Osun, which is not
quite correct as we shall see.
HOW OSUN RECEIVED THE 16 SIXTEEN CAURIES OF DIVINATION.
Next we will examine, as we had promised, the myth that most practitioners and followers of
Ifá usually spread about the Merindinlogun, unfortunately we do not have the original story
written in Yoruba to analyze it. In case any reader has it, it would be good for this study and
to maintain objectivity for the benefit of all, if they send it to us by PM (private message).

But, more or less everyone agrees to say, briefly, that:

"Osun (Oshun / Oxum) was married to Orunmila, that Orunmila had to travel a lot and
therefore, when Osun was alone in the house, people came for consultations, remedies and
solutions to their problems, then Osun used the instruments of Orunmila's divination to
consult the people. When Orunmila returned he found many gifts and asked why that was,
she then told him that when he was absent, she attended to the people, Orunmila instead of
reprimanding her, gave him 16 cowries (snails / búzios) so that she could continue helping
people."
In this story, since we don't have the original, we don't know which DIVINATION INSTRUMENTS
Osun used to make the queries, because some say it was the Opele. However, one would have to
reason that if Osun used the Opele... For what reason would Orunmila give him snails? It would
be more reasonable if she had given him Opele. And if Orunmila used Opele and Ikin at that
time?... What was his authority to deliver divination shells if he didn't have them? And if he had
them? Who gave them to them?
After these questions, let's go to the answers based on Yoruba myths. Orunmila delivers
cowries to Osun, because the divinatory system that Orunmila used in that myth was the Owo
Ero Merindinlogun system. Orunmila was not yet an Ifá priest at that time, surely he was an
Orisa priest and these observations are not crazy, since according to Ifá, all the Orisa were
gradually initiated into the cult of Ifá according to the Odu-Ifá Okanran Meji :

"Agbele gbibo is the nickname for Egúngún Eji Ogbe

was the one who started Egúngún
He said that absolutely the whole world would venerate
Egungún All sons of man venerate Egungún
King Ominrinnipasa is the mystical name by which we call Orunmila Oyeku
meji is the one who INITIATED ORUNMILA in the CULT OF IFA
He predicted that all would venerate Orunmila All
sons of men venerate Orunmila Kings and chiefs
They bow to Ifá
They all venerate the sacred Ikin Baba
bori jagajigi is the epithet of Osanyin
Iwori meji was the one who initiated Osanyin in the cult of Ifá He
said that everyone would venerate Osanyin
The whole world worships Osanyin
Afunkeke fala jaye is the name by which we call the Orisa Obatalá Odi meji
was the one who initiated Obatalá in the cult of Ifá
He said that all men would venerate Obatalá All
people venerate Oosa Ilawe..."
---------------------------------------------------------

It is then logical to affirm that Orunmila was not initiated in the cult of Ifá when he was married
to Osun. The divinatory system used by Orunmila at that time was the 16 cowries, whose
authority (Ase) Orunmila would later deliver to Osun.
And who gave Orunmila the 16 cowries?
The answer is found in an Orisa odu, since the stories related to Orunmila in the cult of
Orisa are kept in the oral tradition of the odu of the Owo Ero Merindinlogun system, says
Ogbe meji or Ejonile meji:
"When Baba Apodihọrọ, Ọrișálá Ọșẹrẹgbo,
Gave birth to 401 sons,
Apodihọrọ, Father created 401 professions.
Apodihọrọ, Ọrișánlá Ọșẹrẹgbo, Father created 401 talents. He
said that each son would have to choose his own.
And there was Orunmila; He was not
strong. Just like a termite, Holding a
hoe gets her into trouble; Carrying it is
difficult
And even walk.
There is no job that is easy for Orunmila
Father said: "What are you going to do?"
He said he would be a fortune
teller. "What kind of fortune teller?"
He said for everything that people look for you. It was cola
nuts that they brought to the Father at that time (....)

Thus, he called Orunmila

And Orunmila received a bag of divination...
(...)
In this way, Orunmila became a fortune
teller. Everyone else wanted to be too.
Ogun wanted to be one of them;
The Father (Orisanla) said: "You who are strong?"
"You should be a blacksmith"
Oya wanted to be one of them;
The Father said: "You who are strong?"
"You should be a merchant"
Today all other Orisa initiates can divine. Sango's initiates, Oya's
initiates...
That thanks to Osun (Oshun)
It was Osun who did not let Orunmila rest He did
not let him out
He insisted so much that Orunmila taught him to guess Then Osun
taught the rest of the Orisa to
guess... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Orunmila became a fortune
teller He sang:
"Apodihoro, Orisanla Oseregbo" "The
Father had 401 children"
"Apodihoro, Orisanla Oseregbo" "The
Father created 401 professions"
"Apodihoro, Orisanla, Oseregbo" "The
Father created 401 talents"
"He gave them to those who learned a livelihood, Apodihoro"
"With the one I learned, I am now eating, Apodihoro"
"With the one I learned..."
Source for this story: Sixteen Cowries by William Bascom This
myth confirms several things:
1) That Orisanla is the father of all divinities and creator of the different professions that each
Orisa has.
2) That Orisanla was the one who gave the "divination bag" (the divinatory system of the 16
cowries) to Orunmila, in a time before the cult of Ifá, when he became the diviner of the
Orisa.
3) That in truth Orunmila when he was married to Osun, was not yet initiated in Ifá and
therefore used the cowries that Orisanla gave him to divine. Then Orunmila would give
Osun 16 cowries and teach him to divine.
The stories then do not contradict each other, the problem is, in what is spread, which is
something totally taken out of context. Because the story that says that Orunmila gave the cowries
to Osun DOES NOT SAY that the MERINDINLOGUN was born from IFÁ, it says that Orunmila gave
him 16 cowries, just that. And every practitioner of any variant of Orisa or Ifa knows that to give
something, you have to have it, because you can't give what you don't have. Then it goes without
saying that Orunmila gave 16 divinatory cowries to his wife (Osun) because he was a priest of Orisa
who made divination with the Oracle of the Merindinlogun. This is very far from the idea that "Ifá
gave the Merindinlogun to Orisa" or that "the Merindinlogun is born from Ifá".

Note: Before giving an opinion, commenting or criticizing this post, read carefully everything that is
written on this site, educate yourself, learn and then if you have something to say, speak with property
and sources, otherwise refrain from commenting. If you liked this article, give it a LIKE and SHARE it,
that the truth must be spread.
In the next post we will analyze another myth related to the Owo Ero Merindinlogun...
WHO DELIVERED THE OWÓ MÉṚÌNDÍNLÓGÚN TO ÒṢ̣UN?
In the previous article, it had become clear that the oracular system "Owó Erò Méṛìndínlógún"
was not invented or created by Orunmila, much less is it an oracle derived from the Ifá oracle
or that has been delivered by Ifá (ifá is not Orunmila, Ifá is the oracular system). Actually, what
is spread by some babalawo from the diaspora and some babalawo from Nigeria (who have
interests in the USA or Mexico) is not correct, since it is the other way around: From the
méṛìndínlógún system and its myths, what is known as "odu-Ifá" or the myths related to the
geomantic signs, we had also exposed and substantiated this, indicating sources and historical
data. This evolved to the point that today there are thousands of mythical stories that belong
exclusively to the "Ifá Body",

Contrary to what some followers of Ifá spread, Orunmila at the beginning of time, when
Orisanla was distributing the "powers" or "professions" among the Orisa (see: William Bascom
- Sixteen Cowries), Orisanla granted Orunmila the profession of diviner of the Orisa, passing
him the àṣẹ of the Owó Erò Méṛìndínlógún (snails or búzios), at that time there was still no cult
of Ifá based on the geomancy of stripes or marks that are made to represent the odu and
Orunmila began consulting with the cowries (snails or búzios), which later, according to the
same myth, Orunmila would have passed to who was then his wife: Osun (Òṣ̣un), who from
then on would have his own divinatory cowries. In certain regions of the Yoruba land where
the cult of Òṣ̣un is related to that of Ifá, Ifá priests state that it was Ọrúnmilà who gave him the
divinatory cowries. We are not going to contradict this, we will simply say that: "On the way in
which the divinity Òṣ̣un was the wife of Ọrúnmilà, he gave him the cowries so that he could
also do the divination."
But, the followers of the cult of Orisa Òṣ̣un in other regions of the Yoruba land do not agree
with this, since they say that it was not Òṛúnmilà who gave the cowries for divination to Òṣ̣un
and this is also mentioned by William Bascom (page 18 , Sixteen Cowries). A story that comes
from the Yoruba tradition says that the one who gave the cowries to Òṣ̣un was Òòṣànlá or
Ọbàtálá, another version of the same story was published by Awo Falokun Fatunmbi in "Ibase
Orisa".
"When Orisanla came into the world,
he brought the cult of Orisa and also the bag of knowledge, the Owo Merindinlogun. Only
Orisanla was the one who had the knowledge of the odu
And only He was the one who made ebo and could initiate others into the
mystery. The people of Earth always went to Orisanla
When they needed guidance through divination But
many times Orisanla was on a trip
People went to Orisanla's house and did not find him At that
time, Olomitutu (Osun) was Orisanla's wife But it was
customary for couples to live apart
Osun always asked her husband to teach her the secrets of divination, but
Orisanla refused.
One day Osun followed Orisanla to the river There
Orisanla took off her clothes and entered the water
while Orisanla bathed
Osun asked Elegba, Orisanla's servant To
convince Orisanla
For him to teach him to guess
Elegba then told him to go back to the house and
take a bath with honey
Then Elegba took Orisanla's clothes
Walking through the forest,
Elegba was leaving a visible trail When
Orisanla came out of the water She saw that
her clothes were missing
And began to follow the footsteps
That they took him to the house of Olomitutu Orisanla
when he arrived he asked for his clothes
Osun came out naked and dripping with honey from
her bath. On that day, Orisanla
He decided to teach her the mystery of divination."
The reader will then be able to appreciate that this story is very similar to the story that is spread
about Orunmila and Osun. Could there have been an alteration of history and the character
Orisanla who is the husband of Osun was changed by Orunmila?
Why does NO ONE spread this story?... Well, it is as valid as the other one about Orunmila and Osun.
Why is the story NOT spread in which Orisanla gives the Merindinlogun to Orunmila and gives him the
profession of diviner of the Orisa?
Why is it NOT said that Osun was also Orisanla's wife and there are other versions about who gave him
the merindinlogun? About the fact that Osun (Olomitutu) was the wife of Orisanla, there is another itan,
collected by William Bascom, who speaks of the marriage between the two.
These questions give one to think that there has been manipulation and it can harm the Orisa
tradition when things are changed and something wrong is spread, because in the future no one
will know that Orisanla was the true owner of the "bag of knowledge" (the mystery of divination).

The well-known Wande Abimbola talks about the Merindinlogun in "the bag of wisdom", where he
explains that the Merindinlogun divinatory system is surely older than Ifá's and that it is very likely
that Ifá comes from the Merindinlogun and not the other way around (this also he affirms it in "Ifá
will recompose our broken world". However, Wande Abimbola limits his vision from Ifá only to
Osun and Orunmila, in a mythological world where other divinities do not seem to exist; and of
course, his writing ends up being too weak to defend the position that the Merindinlogun was first.
The reality is that Orisanla is the greatest divinity of all, the first to be created, the one who created
the World and Human Beings, "King of the Orisa" (obarisa), "Father of the Orisa", therefore,It
seems absurd that being the oldest and greatest divinity, he did not have in his possession the
"bag of knowledge".
Note: Before issuing any criticism or comment, please read all the content of this site, to
avoid confusion or misinterpretation, educate yourself before speaking without knowing
and LIKE and SPREAD if you liked it.
DIVINATION WITH CAURIES AMONG THE MANDE
The Mande also called "mali" or "mandingo" are an ethnic group that is subdivided into
others all related by language, beliefs and origins, their central territory being the current
country of Mali, but they are also divided into part of Burkina Faso, Senegal, Mauritania,
Ivory Coast, Guinea and other surrounding regions.
Divination is an important part of the Mande belief system and those who specialize in the
art have different methods. One of the most common methods is through cowries, which are
thrown on a mat or tray. The usual number of cowries used for divination is 12, but there are
also those that use 16, 20 and 40. In many regions of Africa, divination with cowries is not
considered a method exclusive only to Orisha cults, but that its use extends to any person
with a vocation for divination through this method, just as decks or cards are used in the
West to make divination and its use is not necessarily linked to a specific religion or divinity.

The diviners among the Mande perform the function of healers and problem solvers,
functions similar to those performed by a babalawo, an onisegun or any Orisa priest in
Yoruba land.
A type of diviners among the Mande, known as "moriw" are Muslims, but maintain contact
with ancestral spirits prior to the Islamic religion. A "moriw" can be male or female and uses
cowries as a method of divination, relying on texts written in Arabic to see into the spiritual
world. Other fortune-tellers among the Mande, also of Arabic culture, continue to use pebbles
for divination, which they hold in one hand and try to get as many as possible with the other
hand, according to the number of pebbles left in the hand. the hand, they will make a line or
two on the ground, just as the Yoruba babalawo use the ikin between their hands to obtain
the geomantic signs of Ifá. We remember here, that in a previous article, we had already
commented that the cult of Ifá,

Mande Divination Source: David C. Conrad "Empires of Medieval West Africa: Ghana, Mali,
and Songhay" pp 108-109.
All Rights Reserved 2014©
In the photo below you can see a "moriw" fortune teller who uses cowries and reads
texts in Arabic to give directions.
"A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS"
The saying goes, and that's why today we upload this photo, which shows a priestess of Obaluaye
in Yoruba land posing with her divination instrument: The mérìndínlógún or Èérìndínlógún (the
búzios or snails).
Contrary to what some uninformed people spread, the mérindinlógun was and continues to
be a very important tool for the òrìsà cult in Yoruba land, both for the priests of the
independent òrìsà cults and for those who practice the cult of all the òrìsà in Yorubaland. set
in the same temple also in Yoruba land. Yes, because in Yoruba land there are also places
where the òrìsà is practiced just like in the diaspora, where there are different omo-orisa of
different divinities grouped in the same temple. In case of doubt, please see the article:
"FEMALE-ORIENTED CULTS AND RITUAL PRACTICES IN IJEBULAND, OGUN STATE, NIGERIA"
by Oluwatosin Adeoti Akintan. We consider that this writing carried out "in situ"
OWÓ ERÒ MÉRÌNDÍNLÓGÚN (BÚZIOS) IN YORUBA LAND.
The Mérìndínlógún (or also Èérìndínlógún) is the divination instrument of the òrìsà priests in
the Yoruba land, in the photo below a priest of the Òrìsà cult posing with his mérìndínlógún.
This instrument of divination in those places of Yoruba land where all the òrìsà are worshiped,
is used to determine the òrìsà head, to give the name to the new initiate in òrìsà, to know if
the new initiate should receive some other divinity, to obtain the odù of birth of a child and
even his name and for any type of consultation that a devotee, follower or initiate in the òrìsà
cult wishes to make. With this oracle, it is also determined whether or not someone should be
initiated into the òrìsà cult.
TODAY WE OFFER ANOTHER ÌTAN COLLECTED IN THE YORUBA LAND THAT TELLS A
DIFFERENT VERSION ABOUT OWÓ ÈÈRÌNDÍNLÓGÚN.-
A story from Òsé méjì (1) tells the following: "After
years of disagreement, Olojo's parents finally sent him
to the house of his uncle in Ilesa who was a famous
carver in the royal court and the only sculptor who had
permission to work for the oba (the king).

Olojo learned quickly and was promoted to

become a full-fledged carver with his own shop
and tools.
He became the first
carver, after his uncle, who had been allowed to work
for the oba in fifty years.
With this distinction many honors are received, there are protocols and
rituals are made to give the Àse (the authority) to the carver to create
from the wood the objects for the rituals of
the oba and their ceremonies.
On the eve of the initial ceremony that placed him in this illustrious position, Olojo had a
prophetic dream where his Ori Ipin (hereditary destiny) came to him and explained that he
was a reincarnated Òrìsà who had come to earth to help others to overcome their ills and
vicissitudes in life.
His Ori Ipin told him that he was a diviner by birth and
that the divinity Òrìsà Éèrìndínlógún, the patron of Òwó Mérìndínlógún, would teach him the
methods and protocols of Òwó the divination of Mérìndínlógún in his dreams. Olojo was
destined to become a great man, who would heal
to the sick and he would live forever.
The Oluwo in charge of divination for Olojo's graduation
ceremony, informed him that the job as
carver in the palace would bring him death and the oba would have bad luck and disease. The
Oluwo explained that Olojo was destined to become a
great botanist and diviner of the Òwó Mérìndínlógún, and
that anyone who helped him counteract this fate would
suffer dire consequences. Olojo returned to his uncle's house
and told her the story. His uncle went to the urn of his
ancestors and prayed for hours so that everything in Olojo
would go well and he would get the money to go to the
Oluwo to beg his help to seek initiation and apprenticeship in
the cult of the renowned Òrìsà (Obàtálá) in his temple of
Ogbomoso. His uncle told him that his failure could bring
calamity to his family, because his parents and relatives
allowed him to stray from what they should have known was
his destiny. When Olojo told the Oluwo about his problems,
he told him that this premonition had no going back. Olojo
then sent for Oluwo to accompany him to Ogbomoso,
sending him food, water, new clothes and several soldiers to
protect him during his journey. When they arrived at the
Ogbomoso temple, Olojo was well received and trained for 8
years before fully starting in the Òrìsà (Obàtálá) priesthood
tradition. At the end of his fifteenth year of studying at the
temple, he was deemed able to help others in all ways.
subjects: physical, mental and spiritual health. Now Olojo
was called Òrìsà Olojo. While in the outskirts of
Ogbomoso, Òrìsà Olojo was visited by the servants of
Irunmolè, normally called the 401 Irunmolè (401 Spirits of
the Earth) who told him that man did not respect the
Earth, man did not venerate the earth. "Do Ebo for us in
his name or the world will never prosper." Òrìsà Olojo
considered this message and taught the efficacy and
importance of the "divinities of the Earth" to man.

Òrìsà Olojo was the one who introduced the Irunmolè to the
world from the Ijesa region to Ogbomoso. He taught the cult
and cosmological importance of Irunmolè throughout Ijesá, in
the villages of Ede, Iles!Á, Okuku, Ilobu and Kuta. He introduced
the Irunmolè as androgynous, primordial Hereditary Spirits that
populate the center of the Earth and sustain the planet for the
prosperity and longevity of man.

The word Irunmolè has two basic connotations:

1) It is mainly used as the Primordial name of the
hereditary Spirit who is also called Iyanlá, Molè, Odù,
Onilè, Alè Apèpè Alè, Etigbire, Abeni Ade, Ogodomugbo,
Ogere, etc.
2) Identifies the primordial Yoruba race of Immortals that
"spread to the Yoruba people." The 401 Irunmole were
described as the Spirits of the Earth, followed by the
avatars, emissaries, aspects, incarnations, and "sons" of
the Earth deity. In Ifá literature, the term is normally
applied, much more to the Òrìsà who are considered
'Immortal Ancestors' and 'Deified Cultural Heroes.' These
Òrìsà include Ògún, Jàkutà, Oramfe, Ògiyán, Òrìsà Rowu,
Sàngó, Ibeji, Dàdá, Yemoja, the innumerable revered
ancestors and the oba.”(1)

This Ìtan, which is little known, explains, on the other hand, how the Irúnmalè cult (cult of all
the divinities in the same "temple") spread in ancient times throughout the Yoruba land. To
avoid confusion, it is good to explain at this point that the difference between this ìtan and
some ìtan who say that Òsun received the snails (búzios) from Orúnmìlà, is that when it is
said that Òsun received the mérìndínlógún from Orúnmìlà, he is referring to the cult of Òsun
independent of the rest of the òrìsà, while in this case he is talking about the cult of
Ìrúnmalè, the same one that worships all the divinities together and that was later taken to
the diaspora.
Something that has brought confusion and even criticism due to misinformation and ignorance, is
that currently, most of what is spread comes from the "Orisa-Ifá" cult or directly from Ifá, because
nothing is paid attention to or investigated about it. the cult of òrìsà independent from that of Ifá in
Yoruba land, then, the generalized belief and what is spread is that:
a) "The cult of òrìsà needs Ifá",
b) That "the òrìsà cult and the Ifá cult are the same"
c) That “all the “ese” and “odu” belong to Ifá”
d) That “mérìndínlógún was invented in America”
These statements are not correct and perhaps the fact that things are poorly disseminated can be
attributed to the fact that the broadcasters have interests at stake and it is not in their interest that the
people of the diaspora know that in Yoruba land in certain places there is a type of cult to
òrìsà similar to the one that is done in the diaspora, with titles like “babalórisà”; “iyalórisà”;
“olórisà”; “omo-òrìsà”... And where the only divinatory instrument used is the owó
mérìndínlógún. Our response to each of the above statements is as follows:
a) The òrìsà cult does NOT need Ifá, because it already has its own divination instruments to
communicate with òrìsà, this does not mean that in a religious community the babalawo and
the òrìsà priestesses cannot live and work together, as happens in some communities in
Nigeria, mainly in the state of Osun.
b) The worship of òrìsà is one thing and the worship of Ifá is another, most of the rituals are different
and in the worship of Ifá “adosu-òrìsà” is not performed.
c) There are "that" (verses) that belong only to Èérìndínlógún and are told in Yoruba land
"that èérìndínlógún" other verses and stories exist both in the òrìsà and Ifá divination
system, however they are not in a odù that has the same name in both systems. Odù òrìsà
and odù Ifá are different knowledge, odù òrìsà is what the òrìsà priest learns and odù Ifá is
what the Ifá priest learns.
d) In an older post on this same page, we have already commented and offered data
indicating that the snails or búzios as a divinatory method of the òrìsà cult came from
Yoruba land to Brazil, Cuba and Haiti (Nago vodun cult)
We end this post by adding that a babalawo is not God, he does not know everything and is not
obliged to know everything, much less is he obliged to know, understand and explain something
about the mérindinlógun, which is a divinatory method of another cult, since the is dedicated to
learning Ifá. The little that a traditional babalawo (who is only dedicated to Ifá) can know about the
òrìsà cult is found in the Ifá verses that he has learned, so he does not know the secrets (awo) of
the òrìsà cult nor do the priests in òrìsà will let you know, unless you start in òrìsà.

Source (1): “OWO MERINDILOGUN VOL. I: The Genetics Philosophy, Metaphysics, and
Traditional Medicine of Yoruba Cowrie Shell Divination” by Chief Priest Joseph Ifawumi
OWO ERO vs. OWO EYO, the sacred and the profane.
We are aware that some authors, to refer to the system of divination with cowries (snails /
búzios) write "Owo eyo", which is the popular and most common way among the Yorubas to
refer to the cowries, because since ancient times any Yoruba, regardless of the religion, called
the cowries that were used as "coin" or "money", today they are no longer used as currency,
but the name remained to generalize the word "cowri" (snail / buzio). That is why the most
popular is to say: "owó eyo". However, the correct way to refer to the cowries that are used as
sacred divination instruments is "OWÓ ERÒ", since it is a different species than the kind of
cowri that was used as currency. The Owó eyo is the shell of the species "

One of the best-known authors who investigated and wrote about the mérindinlógun in Yorubaland
in the mid-twentieth century, was William Bascom, in his book "Sixteen Cowries" (p. 5) describes the
following:
"The snail shells used in divination are not the 'owó eyo' that were used as currency, but a
smaller type of snail called 'owó erò'..."
Below a photo with both species to get to know them.
OWÓ MÉRÌNDÍNLÓGÚN is the divination method used to CONSULT ÒRÌSÀ before the ÒSUN
Festival begins in OSOGBO
On the day the Festival will start, more exactly in the morning, one of Òsun's priests will use
the èérìndínlógún to consult Òsun, the highest priestess of Òsun (Iya Osun) is present. In this
way you can know which are the offerings that òrìsà recommends to ensure peace and joy
during the annual Festival that is held in honor of Òsun. Aworo Kolade Olayiwola (see photo),
one of the priests of Òsun explains:
“When the Festival (of Òsun) is coming, divination is done. Divination is very important for the
field in general, divination is done to find out if everything will be happy before the Festival
begins and to make the offerings that are indicated to guarantee that this is the case...”

Immediately after the query is made to òrìsà through the mérìndínlógún, the offering is
made for Èsù and it is taken to where his altar is, the priest of Òsun who made the
divination, goes ahead ringing the bell and guiding the path of Ìyá Òsun (see photo), who
carries the vessels with offerings, which he will leave on top of the settlement of Èsù (see
photo).
When the devotees and practitioners of the cult want to communicate with òrìsà and know what
advice and offerings that òrìsà indicates, they always consult him through the owó erò
mérìndínlógún, even in situations as important as the preparation of the Òsun Festival to which
they attend. thousands of people from everywhere.
TRANSLATION FOR PORTUGUESE>
OWÓ MÉRÌNDÍNLÓGÚN (Búzios) is the divination method used to communicate with Òrìsà
before the start of the Osun Festival in Osogbo.
On the day that will be feito or Festival, more exactly for the manhã, two priests use or
èérìndínlógún to consult Osun, the highest priestess of Osun (Iyá Osun) is present. In this
way, we can know what will be the recommended offerings for the Orisa to guarantee peace
and joy during the annual Festival that honors Osun.
O Aworo Kolade Olayiwola (see photo), a two priests of Osun explains:
"When the Festival (da Osun) is burning, a guess is good. A guess is very important for the
environment, in general, a guess is good to see if everything is going to be happy before the
Festival begins and makes offerings to ensure that isto assim seja... "
One time he goes to consult for Orisa through two búzios, to offer to Esu and feita and levada
tied to his altar, or priest of Osun who fez divination, goes to the front playing campainha and
leading the way to Iya Osun (see photo) , as soon as she carries the plates with offerings, which
she will leave on top of Esu's seat (see photo).
When the devotees and practitioners of the cult want to communicate with Orisa and know what they
are saying and offerings that Òrìsà indicates, they will always be consulted through Owó erò
mérìndínlógún (búzios), even in important situations such as the preparation of the Osun Festival, that
attracted thousands of people from all over the world.
USE OF COWRIES AS A DIVINATORY METHOD IN INDIA.
Madurai city / India. In the photo, at the entrance to one of the several temples, two women
can be seen sitting on the left who are giving advice to another after throwing twelve (12)
snails (búzios) on the ground. They interpret the position of the snails, the distance between
them, as well as the drawing they form....
We know that cowries (snails or búzios) originate from the Maldives Islands and that they
arrived in Yorubaland around the year 1300, although they have always been known in the
area of the Maldives Islands and nearby places. The Maldives Islands are located south of
India, very close to that country. We can deduce then that surely the first place where cowries
were used as divination instruments was in India, a place in which they also began to be used
as currency long before the Yorubas knew about cowries. Apparently, the Arabs would have
been the first to bring cowries to West Africa, from the eastern shores to their empire in
Shonghai. The fame of the snails (cowries), as a method to guess, would also have reached
the empire of Shongai, neighbors of the Yoruba area, where today,

It would be through commercial exchange that the Yorubas and other groups in the area would
begin to give importance to the cowries, at first as currency and later as a useful instrument to
know good fortune. But, no one can deny that although the cowries are not Yoruba, the divinatory
method of èérìndínlógún is a Yoruba creation, based on their mythology and religious tradition.

Although, despite the existence of the èérìndínlógún, the method used by the Indian fortune-
tellers did not disappear, since curiously, we have found that some Yoruba onísègùn
(traditional doctors or healers) of the Republic of Benin also use 12 closed snails (" unopened"
or in its natural state) and a similar method of interpretation, not based on "odu" or any
divinity in particular for that.
By way of comparison, in most, although not all, the lineages of the òrìsà nation, "batuque" base their
interpretation on the orientation of the snails, drawings they form, distance between them, proximity to
a certain place of the "imperial guide " (necklace). Will there also be some relationship with the
interpretation that some Onísègùn make?.. Although it must be clarified that they do not wear
necklaces...
Photo © Elishams
THE COWRIES (snails or búzios) ARE USED FOR DIVINATION also in many other parts of Africa,
being considered a useful instrument to ascertain Good Fortune, as well as to prescribe
remedies, concoctions or give recommendations. In the following photo, we see how a
fortune teller from the city of Dakar, in Senegal (West Africa), uses snails to make divination.
THE METHODS OR DIVINATION SYSTEMS IN ÒRÌSÀ AND IN IFÁ ARE DIFFERENT.
Regardless of the instruments that are used for divination, there is what is called a "method"
to interpret.
In the òrìsà cult, the divination method is based on COUNTING how many objects fell up and
how many fell down. Each “figure” is called odù-òrìsà and receives a certain name, which is
generally based on the number that appeared or the symbolism that expresses that number.
No matter, the object that is used, whether 4 pieces of OBI or SNAILS, the important thing is
to know that this system was created by the Yoruba to communicate with òrìsà and that the
method is to "count" how many "pieces of obi" or " snails” (búzios) are open. It is considered
that the use of this method is the oldest and in the beginning, when búzios or cowries were
not yet known in Yorubaland, 4 pieces of Obi (kola nut) were used. The Obi is the oldest
divination instrument that is still used to this day.

In Ifá divination, the method evolves towards symbolic writing, which is the system of making
lines or marks, let's say MARK, for which the drawing created by the òpèlè is observed or the ikin
that remain in the hand are counted to make ONE or TWO STRIPES, successively until reaching a
total of 8 successful attempts, which will form the drawing of some odù-ifá.

Note: “Obi” is the Yoruba word to say: “cola nut”, the coconut (fruit of the coconut tree) IS NOT
“obi”, to say “Coco” you say “Agbon”. Coconut can be used fresh to supplant Obi in places
where kola nuts are not available.
256 ODU CAN BE READ IN THE EERINDINLOGUN.-
By the year 2008, when an interview with a priestess of Sango in Oyo (Nigeria) was filmed and
appeared on the web as a novelty, some important data about the Eerindinlogun or
Merindinlogun in that lineage of the cult of Sango in Oyo. One of these data was that the
Onisango said that in the Eerindinlogun they read all the combinations (256 odu) and
another, that they did not have any type of prohibition to read by the simple system and
interpret the 16 primary odu, this of course is obvious when he is saying that they can read
256. It then seemed important to us to review some of the information presented in said
interview, so that those who did not know it have it in mind. In the cult of Sango in the lineage
of the Onisango Oloye Bamidele Odeji of the city of Oyo in Nigeria (interview that can now be
found on Youtube), it explains that the Eerindinlogun is the oracle of orisa. For the day of Itá
in the initiation ceremony in Orisa, no babalawo has to participate and the odu of the initiate
is not obtained through Ifá, but with the Eerindinlogun. Also for the Onisango and the
initiates in that lineage of Sango, the OWNER OF THE EERINDINLOGUN IS SANGO, he brought
it the day he came from heaven to earth and it is the divinatory system they use to know past,
present and future. The orisa of someone's head can be determined by the eerindinlogun or
also through Ifá. When asked if the Olorisa in his cult can only read up to odu 12 by the simple
method,

Note: As you can see, if we were to rely on the information of this lineage of Orisa in Oyo, and if it
was the only information that reached America, everyone in the diaspora would be trumpeting
and saying: "the Eerindinlogun was created by Sango, who brought him from Heaven to earth so
that his children could communicate with him". And if someone said that it was Orunmila who
gave it to Osun and this one to the rest of the Orisa, the others would surely say that that was
wrong, that Sango was the owner. With this we want to make it clear that each lineage, each cult
has its own oral tradition and for each one, the patron Orisa is the most important. In this way, for
the people of Ifá, Orunmila is the best, for the Olobatalá Obatalá will be the best, for the Onisango
the best is Sango, and so on... Our intention is to show other opinions, other traditions within
Yoruba land and demonstrate that there is no single written uniform rule on the Eerindinlogun.
Opinions change according to cult and region.
BAMIDELE ODEJI SAID THAT THEY READ 256 ODU IN THE MERINDINLOGUN??

YES, at least that is what the person who speaks with her translates when asked if they can interpret 256
odu in the dinlogun as they do in Cuba. Then the person who consults her in Yoruba translates the
following: "She is saying, that for them too, the 16 meji make up the 256, there is no difference..." (See
the clip of the video that we have attached, where it is being said that)

WAS IT INVENTED IN BRAZIL TO INTERPRET 256 ODU THROUGH LOS BÚZIOS?

That was not invented in Brazil, it was implanted from the beginning in the majority of the Afro parent companies,
which came from Yoruba land and there are historical data in candomblé, where it can be traced that the jogo de
buzios was brought by Bambogse Obitiko who came from Oyo and gave it to the first "mae de santo" of Bahian
candomblé, in the Casa Branca Engenho Velho terreiro. Collective memory reveals that the African Iya Naso decided
to go to Africa together with another African Obatosi (Marcelina da Silva) around the year 1837. After 7 years of
permanence in Yoruba land, they return in the company of some Africans, among them Bamgbose de Sango and
Obasanya. From the Engenho Velho terreiro, derives the Ile Ax Opo Afonja terreiro, founded by Mae Aninha in 1910,
who would initiate Pai Agenor Miranda, which, already in the year 1928 he had written a compilation on the stories of
odu of the merindinlogun, this writing would be revised, expanded and published later in the year 1999 with the title
"Caminhos de Odu". Pai Agenor, whose school was the one brought from Yoruba land by the founders of Engenho
Velho, says in the book "As nações de Ketu: Origens, ritos e crenças"...:

"Both the jogo de búzios and the opele-ifá are based on a mathematical system where 16 combinations are
established, which are the result of multiplying the 16 odu used in the jogo de búzios by 16." Pai Agenor
Miranda, was called "babalawo", since it was common in the past in Brazil, to call "babalaô" (babalawo) the one
who read the búzios and interpreted 256 odu, which was sometimes also called "oluô" (oluwo), They were also
people who had gone through primary rituals of Ifá. There was then a close relationship between the jogo de
búzios and Ifá, which when read by odu was called "jogo de Ifá", this remained a custom until today and many
babalorisa and iyalorisa in Brazil continue to say that they read the " buzios of Ifá". There are also other
branches of worship to Orisa,

In 1987, the babalorisa, researcher and professor Fernandez Portugal, published "The 256 Odu" (of the
merindinlogun) edited and published by the Center for Studies and Research of Yoruba Culture of Rio
de Janeiro, based on research carried out in Yoruba land.
And going back to Pierre Verger, although he does not say that it is "Obara meji", he says "twice Obara", it is
obvious that the double fall of the same sign represents an "odu meji" since for that reason the neophyte received
in the name "Obadimeji" (the king became two). If the second shot was useless, why shoot each of the new
initiates twice?...

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=304511766409827
USE OF THE SAME INSTRUMENTS TO GUESS, DIFFERENT METHODS:
As we have already explained in other posts, there is no uniformity or basic rule in the Yoruba
land or in the diaspora about the form or method used by the fortuneteller to make an
interpretation, sometimes even fortunetellers from the same school may have small
differences when making divination. There are differences between different families, lineages
or places and even different adaptations and methods used by different diviners may appear.
The names of the odu and the order of seniority also vary according to the cult, the region or
the school. In some places the fortune teller using the merindinlogun can interpret the 16
odu, in other places, despite using 16 shells, they can only read up to 12 and in other places
up to 13,

NAMES OF THE ODU IN THE MÉRINDINLOGUN WHOSE INTERPRETATION IS UP TO ODU 13

Name of the Odu ------------------------------------ Associated Divinity 1-

Okanran Sode ----- -------------------------- Ogboni
2- Ejire -------------------------------------------- Ibeji 3-
Ogunda Gbodogoro ------------------------ Ogun 4-
Irosun -------------------- ---------------------- Sango
5- Ose --------------------------------------------- Osun ( Oshun) 6-
Obara ----------------------------------------- Osun (Oshun) 7- Odi
-------------------------------------------- Abiku
8- Ejiogbe --------------------------------------- All the orisa 9-
Osa -- ------------------------------------------ Iyami Aje 10- Ofun
--- --------------------------------------- Obatala 11- Owonrin -------
------------------------------ Sango
12 - Ejila ------------------------------------------ Obatala / Esu-Elegbara 13
- Odise --------------------------------------- Esu-Elegbara
Using a single shot, an odu is determined, which is interpreted by the diviner. "Ibo" is not
used to determine orientation, some of these odu are considered beneficial whenever they
appear, while others are negative.
If we think that the only way to interpret merindinlogun is the one presented by this lineage
of the cult of Oshun, then we should believe that those diviners who interpret
merindinlogun using "Ibo" or interpreting more than 13 odu, are wrong? Of course not, we
respect all systems, and we try to expose all criteria here.

The idea is to show different points of view and all the possible information on a little known
and little spread topic such as the Merindinlogun.
SIMPLE ODUS IN THE EERINDINLOGUN
Today we are going to clarify again that there are the simple odu of the Eerindinlogun, which
are the oldest, the ones that when combined formed or gave birth to the oju-odu and omo-
odu, forming a total of 256 odu initially in the Eerindinlogun system itself, which would be
codified by Orunmila. This learning would later be used through the geomancy of Ifá by all
the babalawo, in a more evolved divinatory system where simple odu do not exist.

WANDE ABIMBOLA says about it:

"I would like to mention here, the simple fact that when one takes a look at the Odu of
Eerindinlogun and the Odu of Ifá, one comes to the conclusion that the Odu of Ifá are based on
those of the Eerindinlogun, and not the other way around. The Eerindinlogun is based on sixteen
individual signs of Ifa such as Odi, Irosun, Owonrin, etc, except Ejiogbe which is already coupled as
in the case of Ifa (1) Ifa, however, does not make use of the individual signs (despite that Ifá
literature refers to them). All signs are coupled as "Oju Odu" (major odu) or as "Omo Odu" (minor
odu). It is logical to say then, that a simple sign like Odi:
I
II
II
I
must exist in reality, or at least in the mind before being combined and becoming "Odi
Meji" (two Odi)
II
II II
II II
II
We can go further than speculating that the apparent simplicity of the signs of the
Eerindinlogun and even the short nature of some verses of its literature are indications of its
antiquity in which the Ifá signs were based, being more elaborate and broader. Whatever the
case may be, there is no doubt that the Eerindinlogun has not been given its rightful place as
an integral part of the Ifá literary and divinatory system."

(1) In some places of the Yoruba land it is used to say "Ejiogbe" to designate the odu whose
oldest name is "Ejonilé" (Eight on earth) in the Eerindinlogun or simply "Onile", which is
actually also an simple odu, which when it appears double is called "Eji Onile".

It is clear then with what Wande Abimbola expressed that each odu of the Eerindinlogun
when falling on the mat represented a "simple odu", this system is still used as the simplest
form of interpretation. But later in the evolution process of the Eerindinlogun system at some
point the interpretation method using two shots to get a combined odu appeared. If we take
into account that in Ifá geomancy, the signs that represent an odu are originally simple, it is
noteworthy that the signs of the Ifá system came to it or were inherited from the
Eerindinlogun already combined, which forced them to be represented and They will mark the
signs in a double way, leaving the simple odu completely non-existent in Ifá, which to this day
are used in the Eerindinlogun.
In the photo you can see Professor Wande Abimbola, Awise Agbaye (world spokesperson) of Ifá,
on whose text we have based ourselves to present this article that clarifies that in the
Eerindinlogun the odu are simple, despite the fact that some refer to the fall Odi (for example) as
Odi meji, which is not correct, because to be "meji" odi would have to appear twice.
A BRIEF REVIEW OF THE GEOMANTIC SIGNS
Research on the origin of geomancy leads us to believe that it took root in the Middle East
and when Arab merchants returned, they brought esoteric knowledge from East Asia through
the Silk Road. The original names of the signs are traditionally given in Arabic, excluding a
Persian origin. The reference in the Hermetic texts to the mythical Eh-Um al-Hindi potentially
points to an Indian origin, although Skinner thinks this unlikely. Having an Islamic or Arab
origin is more likely, as the expansive trade routes of Arab merchants would facilitate the
exchange of culture and knowledge. There is a theory that systems related to divination in
sub-Saharan Africa such as Ifá, Afá, Iha and Fá, as well as Si and sikidy, They are either based
on Arabic geomancy or were divinatory methods that were mixed with Arabic divination
systems. Samuel Jhonson in "History of Yorubas" recounts that the oracular system would
have come to Ile-Ife from the Empire of Benin (Bini), a place where it originally came from the
Nupe land ruled by the Arabs, neighbors of the Yoruba in the north. The fortune teller who
brought the "Setinru" or "Setilu" geomantic system that came with Oduduwa's retinue used
16 small boulders to divine and made marks on the ground. An interesting fact is that the
system of divination by geomancy (let's say mark Ifá) only entered Oyo about 300 years after
it was introduced to Ilé-Ifè. The Alaafin Onigbogi of Oyo, brought "Ifá" (the divinatory system
with geomancy) directly from the Nupe land, this also explains some small existing
differences that the Ifá school of Oyo and that of Ile-Ife have to this day, because despite the
fact that the origin is the same , we must remember that before reaching Ile-Ife, "Ifa" (or the
geomantic divination system) first passed through the Bini, where the oracular system is
known as Iha Ominigbon and surely underwent adaptations in Ile-Ife throughout the 300
years that passed before the geomantic system was introduced in Oyo. Before the people
accepted "Ifa" as a divination system in Oyo, the Obi and cowries were used by diviners for
divination. It is a fairly credible hypothesis that the traditional stories used in the
Eerindinlogun were later transferred to the geomantic system of signs marked in the sand or
on the ground and that later new more elaborate stories were added and inherited within
what is now known as Ifá. . Arab diviners continue to mark the sand to this day whose
geomantic divinatory system is called "Al-ilm raml".

Geomantic signs are not originally combined and are interpreted equally, possessing various
symbolisms and meanings individually. The image shows the names and basic meanings of
the signs of Geomancy.
From these signs, there was then an evolution and adaptation made in different parts,
which resulted in different methods based on the same principle.
DIFFERENT WAYS OF APPROACHING INTERPRETATION, BEYOND WHAT IS CONSIDERED AN
"ODU"
In other posts we said that although in some places they use ONE shot of the Eerindinlogun and it
is considered a "simple" odu (or already combined), there were also those who used TWO shots to
obtain a "combined" odu. These two methods are repeated with another instrument such as the
divination chain, and are used by the Yorubas and other peoples as different forms of divination
for the interpretation of the 16 basic geomantic figures. With the use of the opele in a single throw,
a combined odu can be obtained and interpreted, which is the most common among Yoruba
diviners, but there is the Agbigba system, in which an equivalent to "two opele" is used, it is that is,
four chains of four segments (see photo) whose name is "Efa" or "Ebu". The result of using the four
strings, offers something similar to the sum of two of the odu already "combined" popularly known
in Ifá. Ogunbiyi -1952 was an illustrated in Agbigba using two opele, one next to the other, where
the diviner uses shorter verses similar to those of Ifá to make the interpretation (William Bascom).

No one can say that the use of "two opele" is wrong because it is assumed that using a single
opele an "odu" is already obtained, it is simply another method where quadruple figures are
interpreted instead of doubles, something similar to what that we explained when we talked
about the different methods of interpretation in the Merindinlogun with a shot or with two.
The same method of interpreting quadruple figures is used in Madagascar to mark the land in
divination which is known as Sikidy. A figure to be interpreted in the Agbigba method, using
two opele or four chains of four caps, is something like this:
II II I
I II I II
I II II I
II II II
On the other hand, in Geomancy itself, it is not necessary to interpret double or quadruple
figures, a single simple figure is enough to make an interpretation or have an answer about
something you want to know.
THE DIFFERENT METHODS OR SYSTEMS USED IN BRAZIL TO DIVINE WITH COWRIES
(BÚZIOS) IN THE DIFFERENT RELIGIOUS VARIANTS.
In the same way as in Africa, in Brazil there are various methods to guess with the cowries (búzios), with the use of a greater or lesser
number of cowries used to be thrown on the ground, on a mat or on a circular tray of straw. In Brazil, not only were the various
systems brought from Africa inherited, but even some methods and adaptations were innovated in Brazil itself, giving rise to other
types of “jogo”. Below is a list of the different types of “jogo de búzios” that can be found in Brazil, some used in Candomblé Ketu,
others in Candomblé de Caboclo, Omolokó, Angola, Xambá, Catimbó, Batuque, Xangó do Recife, Tambor de Minas, Kimbanda,
Umbanda Esoterica, etc. The jogo de búzios in Brazil was used by women or men, but with some differences, that today have brought
confusion. The woman was taught to interpret the natural open side of the búzio as "closed búzio" (see photo), while for the man it
was the "open" side. Another difference was that generally the woman only learned to interpret up to odu 12, except in some
candomblés where the 16 falls were taught, while the man could go much deeper in the interpretation. The men who had a lot of
study in the jogo de búzios and a broader interpretation were called "babalaô" in Brazil, despite not really being so. Another
difference was that generally the woman only learned to interpret up to odu 12, except in some candomblés where the 16 falls were
taught, while the man could go much deeper in the interpretation. The men who had a lot of study in the jogo de búzios and a
broader interpretation were called "babalaô" in Brazil, despite not really being so. Another difference was that generally the woman
only learned to interpret up to odu 12, except in some candomblés where the 16 falls were taught, while the man could go much
deeper in the interpretation. The men who had a lot of study in the jogo de búzios and a broader interpretation were called "babalaô"
in Brazil, despite not really being so.

OR JOGO DE ALAFIA = 4 Búzios. Simple system, where answers such as "Yes", "No", "may
be" are obtained, for which a single shot is used, but there are those who use two shots to
deepen the answers and obtain a more detailed communication from divinity.

O JOGO DE ODU = 16 Búzios. This is the traditional system, where 17 falls are possible, of
which the diviner can only interpret up to odu 12. His uses "Ibo" to determine the Ire or
Osobo.
O JOGO DE BÚZIOS (Obaniká method) = 16 búzios. Method documented in 1973 by Byron
Torres de Freitas and taught at the Institute of Afro-Brazilian Studies in Rio de Janeiro. A small
rounded stone and a bean (oju-malu) were used as guides for the odu that appeared. 16 falls
are interpreted. The names are quite different from the usual ones, we transcribe them below:

1- Onikanran
2- Shaft
3- Second mass
4- Ase metalase
5- Osture
6- Obara Ke
7- Odi Kanran
8 - Ogunile
9 - That Obara
10- Osatura kisses
11- Orisa Ke
12 - Olansan Lase
13 - Metala
14- Odu Mirale
15 - Ore Baba Baja
16- Ogbe Kutan
O JOGO NO KETU (Obitiko method, 1837) = 16 Búzios. 16 basic falls were performed, which
the diviner could then deepen if it was "babalaô" or "Oluô" by making another shot to "give
way to the odu". However, the women could only learn the 16 basic falls. "Ibo" is used to
determine the orientation of the fall.
OR JOGO DO BATUQUE or JOGO DE OXALÁ = 16 búzios. In some batuque lineages they use 8
búzios. There are babalorixa and iyalorixa from batuque who perform the interpretation by
Odu, but the majority, although they take into account the open and closed ones, pay close
attention to the position of the búzios within the "peneira" (divination tray) and the proximity
of some búzios that are used as "orientators" towards certain elements such as images, otás,
dice, coins, segments of the imperial guide or metal armitas. Many batuque families have
always used a "fava" (bean "oju-malu") and a small "ota" (rounded stone) to determine the
orientation of the odu, it was also customary to call it "babalaô" to the pai-de-santo who after
many years had acquired great knowledge and skill in the "jogo de búzios", being able to
deepen an analysis where two shots were evaluated instead of one. In this cult, women were
taught to read the closed side as "open búzio".
OR JOGO DE ANGOLA = 21 Búzios. The falls are named after Nkisis or Inquices (Bantu deities). In
some lineages of candomblé in Angola they use the set of 21 búzios for divination, in others they
separate 16. They use two shots to determine the type of Nkissi that speaks and make an
interpretation, for example: 2-9 = Dandalunda; 9-9 = Nzazi; 13-4 = Kaviungo; 14-14 = Zumbaranda;
9-2 = Matamba Gunga Kalolo... (Source: Robson do Tempo, Tata Inquice and professor of jogo de
búzios at the Simonsen faculty in Rio de Janeiro, founder of the Angola and Nagó Cult Culture and
Research Institute.)
O JOGO DE BARRACÃO = 16 búzios. Groups of four búzios are thrown and the position in
which they fall between small boulders or other objects that are thrown into the straw tray
is observed, if they appear open, closed, mounted, pointing to one side or another, all is
used to make an interpretation.
OR JOGO DE RÚA (Jogo de Exu) = 21 búzios. 5 búzios are set aside and 16 are used for
interpretation, which is based on the number of open búzios and also on the position of the
búzios. 16 falls and their corresponding combinations are interpreted.
O JOGO DAS FOUR JOGADAS = 16 búzios. Four shots are made to delve into the different
aspects of the querent's life.
OR JOGO DE CABOCLO = 12 búzios or 12 shells. This system was documented by the
babalorixá José Paiva de Oliveira in 1980, in Bahia, where the babalorixá Silvio Cachoeira
used this method to obtain advice from the Caboclos. The falls are named after the Entity
that speaks.
1- Horse Giramundo
2- Caboclo Pena Branca 3-
Caboclo Sultao das Matas 4-
Cabocla Jupira
5 - Caboclo Ubiratan
6- Caboclo Arariboia
7- Cabocla Jurema
8- Caboclo Jaceguai
9- Cabocla Uitacira
10- Cabocla Tupiara
11- Caboclo Uitatiara
12- Caboclo Grande Pajé
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We cannot say that one "jogo" or method is right and another is wrong, there are simply
different ways of approaching divination and we believe that the most important thing is to
have communication with the divinity, to receive advice or warning, let there be a moral and
an offering to be made if necessary. If these ways of "playing" or interpreting the búzios
(cowries) have served and continue to serve those who practice them for so many years, we
are not the ones to determine that one method is better than another. The methods that we
have presented are all ancient and have always been known in Brazil, for
more than now some people want to say that only today there is a Brazil-Africa contact,
which is not true, because Brazil-Africa relations had already begun in the mid-1800s, when
the first houses of religion of African matrix were founded (see Orishas - Pierre Verger).

In the photo, you can see how women were taught the "open" or "aberto" búzio (actually the
closed side) and "closed" or "dated" (the open side). As most of the lineages were later led by
maes-de-santo, most of the "filhos de santo" men and women, learned that way, which is the
opposite of what is really used in Yoruba land or in some candomblé lineages, where the
"open" is the natural opening of the búzio. Hence the great confusion until today in this
regard.