Ẹ Káàbọ̀! Introduction

There are 256 Odù of Ifá. The word Odù is somewhat equivalent in meaning to “volume(s)”. Each of the 256 Odù originally had 800 poems, making a total of 800 poems x 256 Odù = 204,800 poems. To put this in perspective, when written as regular poetry on paper, the current collection of two poems from each Odù in this membership is about two thousand US letter-sized pages!

Any large collection such as this requires systematic classification for storage and retrieval. There are three different systems for classifying the 256 Odù of Ifá into volumes. Here, we use the oldest system that was used in ancient times to store and retrieve the poems in the human mind – no paper, no pens, no computers – just mathematical codes for each Odù, and further codes for remembering the content of the volumes. This ancient coding system is a natural binary system, in which the signature of an Odù, and the flow of poems from one Odù into another, function as memory joggers.

In this ancient and oldest system, the 256 Odù of Ifá are classified into two groups. The two groups have a combined total of 16 volumes:

• Group 1 , called Ojú Odù, is one volume that is made up of the sixteen Odù that have “méjì” or “èjì (which means “two”) in their names. They have “two” in their names because in their signatures, the markings on the right of the Ọpọ́n Ifá (divination tray) is the same as the markings on the left. The total number of Odù in this group is 16. Hence, the full number of poems in the Ojú Odù Group is: 16 (Odù) x 800 (poems) = 12,800 poems.
• Group 2 is called Àpólà Odù. There are fifteen volumes in the Àpólà Odù: Àpólà Ogbè; Àpólà Ọ̀yẹ̀kú́ … up to Àpólà Ọ̀ṣẹ́. There are 240 Odù in the fifteen volumes that make up this Group. Àpólà Ogbè has 30 Odù; Àpólà Ọyẹ̀kú has 28 Odù; Àpólà Ìwòrì has 26 Odù; and the number of Odù in each subsequent Àpólà continues to reduce by 2 until we get to (16) Àpólà Ọ̀ṣẹ́, which only has two Odù.
• Even though the total number of poems in the Àpólà Odù is 240 (Odù) x 800 (poems) = 192,000, the fifteen volumes that make up the Àpólà Odù have different amounts of poems in them. Àpólà Ogbè, which is the largest, has 30 Odù, hence, has 30 (Odù) x 800 (poems) = 24,000 poems. But Àpólà Ọṣẹ́, which contains only two Odù, has a total of 2 (Odù) x 800 (poems) = 1600 poems.

Important Notes:

1. Even though there are three systems for classifying the 204,800 poems, the classification system is irrelevant to the content of the Odù. The poems, the poems’ content, the poems’ signatures, the analysis, etc, will always remain the same. Just as: 2 x 3 = 6 is the same as 3 x 2 = 6; and just as “multiplying two oranges with three apples” OR “multiplying three apples with two oranges” will not change the apples into grapes or the oranges into figs, the order in which the poems are arranged in the classification and retrieval system is irrelevant to their content. However, the classification system is very relevant to memory and recall.
2. Unfortunately, most of the 204,800 poems of the Odù Ifá are now lost. There are some Odù in which we can only verify the authenticity of about 20 or so poems! At Òrìṣàworld Foundation, our estimate is that between 80 and 85 percent of the poems are now lost.
3. The primary reason for this project is the preservation of the extant poems.

Go to the next lesson for instructions on locating specific Odù.