Dafa: The Ifá Concept of Divination and The Process of Interpreting Odu

Dafa, the act of performing the divination system of the Yoruba of Nigeria is the fundamental way in which the Babalawo or Iyanifa commune with the wisdom of the Orisa Orunmila, also sometimes called Ifa. It is through rigorous study, guidance, and practical application over a period of time that an initiate can learn the necessary ebo (sacrifice) and oogun (medicine) that are within each of the verses or ese of Ifa.Although verses of Ia are learned via the teacher student relationship through oral transmission in Nigeria, Awo Falokun in his book Dafa uses his experience and understanding of ifa to explore the sixteen meji odu and the subsequent combination of the verses of odu to give us a basic insight or a doorway into the 256 verses from a metaphysical perspective that make up the ifa corpus. It is only through ones consistent emersion into the study and practical use of ifa in ones daily life can the verses or ese of ifa come alive to assist us in over coming ones daily struggles and adversities, as well as provide preventative solutions which in turn manifest real and fundamental transformation on the path of the individuals destiny.