Ifa Divination: Communication Between Gods and Men in West Africa

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Indiana University Press, Mar 11, 1991 - History - 575 pages

"The sacred texts of Ifa, repository of the accumulated wisdom of countless generations of Yoruba people, are an invaluable source not only for all students of African oral literature and Yoruba civilization, but also for future generations interested in the continuing vitality of Ifa divination and a Yoruba way of life and thought." —Henry Drewal

This landmark study of Ifa, the most important and elaborate system of divination of the Yoruba people of Nigeria, remains a monumental contribution to scholarship in anthropology, folklore, religion, philosophy, linguistics, and African and African-American studies.

 

Contents

Introduction
3
Previous Studies
13
The Apparatus of Ifa Divination and
26
3
41
Ibo and Adimu
51
The Sacrifices and Medicines
60
The Predictions
68
Professional Ethics
76
Iwori Ofun 1
310
Edi 9kanran 18 318336
318
Edi Irosun 12 338340
338
Irosun Qbara 1 346350
346
Irosun Qsę 12 354358
354
Qwonrin Meji 12 360362
362
Ogunda
368
Qsa Ogunda 1 374384
374

The Kings Diviners
83
The System of Belief
103
The Divination Verses
120
Ogbe Meji 112 140162
140
Ogbe 9yęku 13 164170
164
Ogbe Iwori 14 170180
172
Ogbe Edi 14 180184
180
Ogbe 9kanran 16 190202
194
Ogbe Ika 13 220228
220
Qyęku Ogbe 14 230232
230
Qyęku Iwori 13 258262
260
Qyęku 9wonrin 1 266268
266
Iwori 9yęku 12 284286
286
Qsa Meji 1 384386
384
Irętę Irosun 1 392398
394
Irete Qsa 13 404416
404
Irętę 9se 12 416428
416
Otura 9bara 14 428440
434
Otura Irosun 14 440446
440
Oturupon Otura 1 446450
446
Ofun 9sa 13 534540
534
Ofun 9şe 14 540548
540
Ofun Meji 16 548558
548
Parodies 14 560562
560
The Choice Between Five Specific Alternatives
570
Copyright

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