Yoruba 1, (1) 68-73 Bade Ajayi

THE SECRET OF IFA DIVINA- (Ofun on the right and Ogbe on
ihc left).
TION and the teachings of Orunmila As shown in the above examples,
are embodied in the Odu, a collection of each Omo Odu is named and interpreted
stories having a .similar theme. The in terms of the two halves
Odu of Ifa are of two categories the Oju configuration. However, the sign on the
Odu (The principal Odu} which are right arm of each Omo Odu said to be
sixteen in number and the Omo Odu more powerful for it determines (the
(the minor Odu) which arc two hundred real message of Orunmila.
and forty. (See appendix for details). We are aware that, Abimbola
Both the principal Odu and the Omo (1970, -1977), Bascom (l969) and
Odu are arranged in a specific order of MicClelland (1982) have worked on Ifa
seniority and the hierarchical ordering is literary corpus generally, our main
of great significance in the focus in this paper is the examination of
interpretation of Orunrnila's message. the process by which Omo Odu are
There are two identical arms lo the derive (from the principal Odu) The
sign of every principal Odu. But to form thirty. Omo Odu of Eji Oghe which
an Omo Odu, the sign on one arm of a Abimbola (1970) calls Apola Ogbe are
principal Odu combines with the sign being used as a case study.
from one arm of another principal Odu. Like the Apola of each of
(see chart The other principal Odu, the derivation
of Apola Ogbe takes
1 -4)

!69
Yoruba 1, (1) 68-73 Bade Ajayi

For example, can combine with to form an Omo Odu (Ogbe on the right and
one arm of one arm of Ofun called Ogbefun ofun on the left).The
Eji -Ogbe sign meji combination can be
O O O OO O reversed to produce
O O O O Ofunmagbe
O O O OO O O OO
O O O O O O
O OO
1 2 3 4 O O

Bi omo odu se n hu ninu ifa dida

Bi awon babalawo se n seda amulu odu tabi omo odu lo je Bade Ajayi logun. Bi omo
odu won yi se hu 1o tan yebeyebe pelu iwadii to jinle. 0 fi han pe ogbon omo odu ni a le ri
fayo lati orison Apola Ogbe. O salaye pe ilana fonoloji tabi osuwon itumo ko le kogo
alaye nipa iecda omo odu ja ninu imoIfa, idi si niyi ti o ft tun foju asa daso ro won.

La derivation d'Omo Odu du corpus "ttcraire d'lfa

L'eeri vain propose L. examiner la derivation de lOmo Odu (Odu subardiniuc) de I'Oju
Odu (I'Odu principal). Ce faisant,les odus mincurs qui en resultent, montrent quelque
evidence des processus phonologiques tels I 'elision des voyelles et ton, of /yf' contraction
de voyelles. A partir dune etude soignees de la structure d 'Aploa Ogbe (des phrases
nomnales) on s point de contact entre la langue et Ie symbole. Lessignes Odu refletent
dans la langue.IIs .s 'eei ivent et se lisent du droite comme des mots arabes, tandis que le
yorouba, comme 1 'anglais et Ie francaissecrit du gauche a droit La derivation de
quelques Omo Odu est difficite a expliqucr linguistiquement, Mais ou ni Ies regles
phonologiques, ni les proprietes semantiques ne peuvent expliquer la derivation de
certains Omo Odu, Ieerivnin a pu, dans 1artiiclc, utiliser de I'evidence culturelle pou.
expliquer leur origine.

!70
Yoruba 1, (1) 68-73 Bade Ajayi

!
9. Ogbe+Oworin (Ogbehunle)
10. Oworin+Ogbe (Oworinsogbe)
11. Ogbe+Obara (Ogbebara)
12. Obara+Ogbe (Obarabogbe)
forms which are difficult to account for. 13. Ogbe+Okanran (Ogbekanran)
The something that happens when 14. Okanran+Ogbe (Okanransode)
forming Apola of any what two principal 15. Ogbe+Ogunda (Ogbeyonu)
Odu combine to form a minor thing in 16. Ogunda+Ogbe (Ogundabede)
the process of formation, many changes 17. Ogbe+Osa (Ogberikusa)
in the case of Apola Ogbe for instance, 18. Osa+Ogbe (Osalufogbejo)
when combined with any of the other 19. Ogbe + Ika (Ogbeka)
fifteen principal vice versa, the resultant 20. Ika + Ogbe (Ikagbemi)
minor Odu shows some of phonological 21. O g b e + O t u u r u p o n
processes. (Ogbetomopon)
The purpose of analysis, let us list the 22. O t u u r u p o n + O g b e
thirty Omo Apola Ogbe contains: (Otuurupongbe)
1. Ogbe+Oyeku (Ogbeyeku) 23. Ogbe+Otua (Ogbealara)
2. Oyeku+Ogbe (Oyekulogbe) 24. Otua+Ogbe (Otuaoriko)
3. Ogbe+Iwori (Ogbeweyin 25. Ogbe+Irete (Ogbeate)
4. Iwori+Ogbe (Iworibogbe) 26. Irete+Ogbe (Irentegbe)
5. Ogbe+Odi (Ogbedi) 27. Ogbe+Ose (Ogbese)
6. Odi+Ogbe (Idingbe) 28. Ose+Ogbe (Oseogbe)
7. Ogbe+Irosun (Ogberosun) 29. Ogbe+Ofun (Ogbefun)
8. Irosun+Ogbe (Irosungbemi) 30. Ofun+Ogbe (Ofunnagbe)

!71
Yoruba 1, (1) 68-73 Bade Ajayi

In Apola Ogbe (1, 5, 7, 11, 13, (b) Oyeku + Ogbe = Oyekulogbe

19, and 27 above), there is elision of Oyeku lu Ogbe (Labara)
vowel I, o, orm let us consider what (Oyeku-beats-Ogbe-wiih-its-palm)
happens in the following derivation: Oyeku ni Ogbe {Oyeku-has-Ogbe}

(a.) Ogbe + Oyeku = Ogbeyeku Iwori + Ogbe = Iworibogbe

Ogbe + Odi = Ogbesi Iwori bo Ogbe (Mole)
Ogbe + Irosun = Ogberosun (Iwori-covers-Ogbe-up)
Ogbe + Obara = Ogbebara Owonrin + Ogbe = Owonrinsogbe
Owonrin so Ogbe (mole)
Ogbe + Okanran = Ogbekanran (Owonrin-ties-Ogbe-down)
Ogbe + Ika = Ogbeka We m a y g i v e a t e n t a t i v e
In the above example, the statement or speculate what happens in
phonological process of vowel elision the process of this derivation. It may be
deletes the second of two vowels in these possible that after inserting a verb such
derivations. In other words, the deletion as lu (to beat), bo (do cover) between the
is constant. But it must be stressed that underlying form, the vowel of the
other derivations such as those found in inserted item is deleted leaving only the
b- d below are more complicated. consonant remnant which of course,
In Yoruba phonology, contraction helps to suggest the inserted verb. On
of vowels is a common process in the purely phonological evidence, what we
language. Here are some sample words. have are intrusive consonants which do
Omo+Eniyan= Omoniyan (human being) not seem to be predictable. However, a
Eti+okun = etikun (bank of the semantic consideration will make us
ocean) consider that a syllable has been inserted.
Eran=oko = eranko (animal) A phonological process of vowel
deletion follows, in cacti of the above
In each of these sample words examples, it is another Odu that
both the second vowel and its tone are collocated with Ogbe. Can we therefore,
elided. The nominalisation pattern in (a) conclude that when any of the other
is identical with this - i.e. Noun + Noun fifteen Odu combines with Ogbe a
showing an identical V2 (vowel two or monosyllabic word (preferably a verb) be
vowel number two.) elision process. As inserted?
closely observed, this phonological rule Definitely, such a rule or
applies when Ogbe is in initial position generalisation would not be workable
of the compounded words. With the because it does not cut across all Apola
exception of Otuurupon different forms Ogbe of similar combination. Examples
are obtained when Ogbe falls to the final are 6, 8, 14 24 and 26. The, operation in
position of the derived forms (see b, c 17 and 20 is even more complicated for,
and d below.) in the former, the initial vowel of the
Considering Apola Ogbe (2, 4, 10 second Odu is elided and two other
and 12) a monosyllabic word, usually a syllables arc added. In the latter, a single
verb, is inserted in the two combining syllable is inserted.
Odu. (c) Ogbc + Osa = Ogberikusa
!72
Yoruba 1, (1) 68-73 Bade Ajayi

several stories or Ese Ifa associated with

it.
Our finding reveals that the
babalawo attributes the most popular and
Ika + Ogbe = Ikagbemi favourite oriki (praise names) arising
What all these irregular systems from one or more ese Ifa to a particular
of combination amount to is that we Odu. Such Odu are named after the
cannot use phonological rules to ezplain praise names picked from the stories
the derivation of every minor Odu in associated to the Odu of Ifa in question.
Apola Ogbe. Semantically, the second Such names may be sentential or phrasal
Odu of some Omo Odu not have bearing in structure as characteristic of other
with the original odu. Consider the Yoruba names or nicknames. Hence we
following: have such Omo Odu as Ogbeweyin,
(d) Ogbe + Iwori = Ogbeweyin Ogbehunle, Oworin-Elejigbo,
Ogbe + Owonrin =Ogbehunle Ogbeejengbere, Ogbe-afibisoloore, and
Irosun + Ogbe =Irosunokanjua Ose-alaroye or Ose-awoko derived from
Ogbe + Otua = Ogbealara different ese Ifa. For example, the origin
In the above example, the underlined Ogbeweyin can be traced to either of
wards under the deriving forms do not these two ese Ifa:
mean the same thing as their counterparts (1) Ogbe weyin baja re o baa pa kun
underlined in the derivation. The A dia fun arugbofulani toun
information collected from our togo
informants confirms dial neither is Iwori Ogbe, look backwards should
related to weyin nor Oworin to hunle.. your dog kill a kind of
Iwori and Oworin are names of two squirrel
principal Odu while the terms weyin Ifa divination was performed for
(look back) and hunle (look after your a Fulani with a club for self
household) in isolation are verb phrases. defence.
What all the irregularities thus pointed (2) Ogbe weyin baja re o pakun
out amount to is that semantic property i gboro
cannot be the basis for the formation of Kannyanrin ma de o, obinrin
Omo Odu. Igboro

As shown in the preceding analysis,

ii is evident that .either phonological
rules nor semantic properties can be used
to explain the derivations of some Omo
Odu in Ifa corpus. However, such Omo
Odu whose derivation cannot be
explained linguistically must have their
origin somewhere and thus cultural
evidence is put into consideration. Each
Odu in Ifa literary corpus normally, has

!73
Yoruba 1, (1) 68-73 Bade Ajayi

. !

!74
Yoruba 1, (1) 68-73 Bade Ajayi

Popular Names Nickname/Appellation English equivalent

Ogbesa Ogberikusa Ogbe-runs-away-from-
death
Ogbefun Ogbefohunfolohun Ogbe-gives-something-to-
the-right-owner
Ofunnara Ofunnagbe Ofun-beats-Ogbe
Ogundabede Ogundamorogbe Ogunda-I-have-seen-Ogbe
Ogbeyonu Ogbeegun, Ogbegunda Ogbe-is-long, Ogbe-joins-
Ogunda
Ikagbemi I k a a l a k e n g b e , Ika-has-big-gourd, Father-
Babaalakengbe has-a-gourd
Ogarabogbe Obaraonigba, Obara- Obara-the-owner-of-
Olowuu Obara-the-owner- calabash, people/Obara-the-
of-Owu owner-of-thread.
Otuaoriko Otuaorikoku, Otuaoriire, Otua-head-rejects-death,
Otua-ogood-destiny, Otua
generousity-pays-me.
Osealaroye Oseawoko Oseafibisoloore Ose-the-talking-bird, Ose-
who-repaygoowith-evil
Owonrinsogbe Owonrin-onigbagbo, Owonrin-of-the-Owonrin-
Elejigbo, believers or
Christian faithfuls,
Owonrin-of-the-King-of-
Ejigbo

!75
Yoruba 1, (1) 68-73 Bade Ajayi

Emi n lo ile oko aaro One verse from the Owonrin-Elejigbo

Ogbe, look backwards should your dog the nickname for Owonrinogbe reads:
kill a kind of squirrel, (4) Aragbandu oko ni yi gbirigbiri,
Ifa divination was performed for A dia fun Ogboja
Kannyanrin the wife of over-grown farm. Ti i somo oba lEyo-Ajori.
Kannyanrin has come, the wife of an Aragbandu oko ni yi gbirigbiri
overgrown farm. A dia fun Elejigbo
I am proceeding to my first husbands Ti n lo fomo oba Eleyo-Ajori
house A boulder that rolls over and
(1) and (2) the words Ogbe (a noun) and over,
weyin (a phrase) are nominalised to form Ifa divination was performed for
Ogbeweyin thatfor the name of the omo Ogboja
Odu from which the two ese Ifa are The princess of Eyo-Ajori
picked. Kannyanrin is a type of ese that A very big stone that rolls over
grows well in a fertile land. and over
Other example is that of the omo Odu Ifa divination was performed for
Ikagbemi coming from the following the king of Ejigbo.
favourite ese Ifa.
Ika gbe mi n o joba Ila
Ika o gbe mi n o joba Ila. Bascom Abimbola Mcclelland
Ifa n lo taye Olufe so bi e ni
sogbe. O g b e Ogbeyeku O g b e -
If Ika blesses me I will be Oyeku Oyeku
crowned the king of Ila
O y e k u Oyekulogbe O y e k u -
And if Ika does not bless me I
Ogbe Ogbe
will be crowned the king of Ila.
The three underlinedwords are Ogbe Iwori Ogbeweyin Ogbe-Iwori
compounded to bear the name of
Iwori Ogbe Iworibogbe Iwori-Ogbe
the Omo Odu, Ikagbemi.
There are some Odu that tell the O g b e Ogbehunle O g b e -
histories and myths about the foundation Owonrin Owonrin
of particular Yoruba towns and villages.
O w o n r i n Owonrinsog O w o n r i n -
These are described as Odu to te ilu do
Ogbe be Ogbe
(the Odu that founded a town), that is,
the Odu revealed when a babalawo was O g b e Ogbeyonu O g b e -
invited to divine before the particular Ogunda Ogunda
town or village was founded. The
common practice was to have the names O g u n d a Ogundabed O g u n d a -
of such town or village reflected in the Ogbe e Ogbe
Odu question. For example, Owonrin-
Elejigbo is the name given to the omo Who wanted to marry Eleyo-
Odu (Owonrin+Ogbe) that founded Ajori princess.
Ejigbo town in Osun State of Nigeria. In fact, each of the cited ese Ifa (1-4)
has long and interesting stories attached

!76
Yoruba 1, (1) 68-73 Bade Ajayi

to it, but for lack of space we shall not go are written). But Yoruba, like English
into the detailed stories.What interests us and French is written from left to right.
is the derivation of some Odu which are Since the system of marking the Odu and
being explored by means of cultural writing the name of the same Odu takes
evidence. Eleyo-Ajori is part of Oloye different directions, there is bound to he
descendants Oriki, Yoruba praise and changes of position in the sign and the
descriptive chant. The ese Ifa above and language though both presenting the
the ones (1-3) preceding it were collected same thing. These changes would not
from Awo Olaifa Ajayi of Ondasa have been necessary if the Odu are
compound, Oyo, Oyo State. named in Arabic. Chinese, odu sign is
After a careful stujdy of the structure written from top downwards. Thus, a
of Apola Ogbe, it is observed that the babalawo prints an odu sign in the
Odu signs are reflected in the language. following order:
In this wise it is suspected that there 2. 1
must have been a meeting point between 3. 3
language and symbol. In fact, one would 6. 5
be curious to know how the structures of 8 7
omo Odo are related to ritual function.
When, for instance, a babalawo casts the
chain and Ogbeyeku emerges thus: Almost every babalawo in the
OO O geographical areas of research prefers to
OO O call the minor odu the way the Apola
OO O Ogbe (1 - 30) are listed above. According
OO O to Adebayo Kehinde of Elepe compound,
the first of the combining Odu Oyo and Anafi Ijala of Kondoro
appears on the right side of the sign. As compound, Alore-Ilorin, omo odu are
the sign changes position, the Odu names callea as regorded to make things
also changes. For example, the name and difficult for the babalawo-in-training and
the sign of the following minor Odu also to maintain the sacred-less of Ifa
change position: corpus. For instance, during Ifa
Ogbeyeku OO O divination session (where a number of
OO O babalawo are present) or an initiation
OO O ceremony or a graduating babalawo, the
OO O young may be tested on the identification
of the Odu that bear certain nicknames or
Oyekulogbe O OO appellations. For example, Ogbeelesin
O OO (Ogbe has horse), Ogbeoloosa (Ogbe of
O OO the deity), is the same Odu as Ogbeyeku,
O OO the first minor in Ifa corpus. (Of the
can this alternating effect in the language many names that an Odu may have,
and the Odu can be coincidence, an variant forms will surface under different
accident or a design? As pointed out circumstances. None of them is actually
earlier. Odu signs arc marked and sad derived from the other). Any experienced
from right to left (the way Arabic words and learned babalawo can easily
!77
Yoruba 1, (1) 68-73 Bade Ajayi

recognise that the above appellations

refer generally to Ogbeyeku, the leader.
of the minor Odu. Our informants have
proved beyond any doubt that there is
hardly any omo Odu that does not have
at least, a nickname (beside the popular
name). The nicknames are oriki
characteristic of an individual omo Odu.
Here are some examples, (see table 1).
These nicknames or appellations
which often during divination process
especially when the signs are being
verbalised, can be multiplied. The
emergence of the names depends lo a
large extent on the situation and
circumstance surrounding the divination.
Another important question that
needs be answered in order to throw
further light on the derivation of omo
Odu generally Apola Ogbe in particular
is whether or not all scholars on Ifa
literary corpus write the names of the

!78
Yoruba 1, (1) 68-73 Bade Ajayi

!79
Yoruba 1, (1) 68-73 Bade Ajayi

odu alike. The answer is definitely

negative. The way Bascom (1969:50)
writes the Odu is different from the way
Abimbola (1977:17) and McCtelland
(1982:44- _ 45) write and analyse.
The way, Bascom and McClelland
write the names (as shown above) is
basically the same. What differentiates
McClelland's writing is the use of
hyphen 10 compound the iwo words.
Almost all our informants list omo Odu
the way Abimbola writes them. Thus we
select relevant data from Abimbolas
together with ow own collection for this
analysis.
As revealed in this study, the
derivatory process of some of the Omo !
Odu names is difficult to explain
linguistically. But where neither the
phonological rules nor semantic
properties can be used to explain the
derivation of certain Omo Odu, cultural
evidence, as demonstrated in this paper,
can be used to explain the origin.
However, the learned babalawo are so
familiar with almost every odu in Ifa
corpus that once an odu is mentioned,
they can readily identify and narrate the
stories (ese Ifa) relevant to the Odu. At
initiation ceremony, for instance, the
master babalawo might call any emerged
Odu by its appellation or nickname to
test the ability of the graduating student
babalawo.

!80