Ìrẹtẹ̀ Méjì
Structural profile, canonical ranking, and scholarly documentation of the fourteenth principal sign of the Ifa divination corpus.
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Structural profile, canonical ranking, and scholarly documentation of the fourteenth principal sign of the Ifa divination corpus.
Ìrẹtẹ̀ Méjì is the fourteenth principal sign (ojú odù) within the standard Yorùbá Ifá corpus . In the graphic notation of Ifá, it is characterized by two parallel vertical columns consisting of single, single, double, and single impressions . The poetic and ritual literature preserved under Ìrẹtẹ̀ Méjì engages themes of spiritual alignment, destiny, medicinal knowledge, the resolution of structural conflict between human beings and malevolent metaphysical forces, and the absolute requirement of ritual sacrifice (ẹbọ) .
In the computational and graphic structure of Ifá, each major sign is inscribed upon the carved wooden divination tray (ọpọ́n Ifá) dusted with wood powder (ìyẹ̀ròsùn), or cast through the manipulation of sixteen sacred palm nuts (ikin) or the eight-half divination chain (ọ̀pẹ̀lẹ̀) .
Ìrẹtẹ̀ Méjì is formed by doubling the single sign Ìrẹtẹ̀, yielding an identical paired signature across two vertical columns . Reading top to bottom, each column displays:
I I
I I
II II
I I
The sign consists of a single stroke at the first level, a single stroke at the second, a double stroke at the third, and a single stroke at the fourth .
When manipulated on the divination chain (ọ̀pẹ̀lẹ̀), this configuration corresponds to four paired seeds or pods displaying outer convex surfaces (single marks) and inner concave surfaces (double marks) in an unvarying sequence .
The positioning of Ìrẹtẹ̀ Méjì across regional, continental, and diasporic registers reflects both broad consensus and documented localized variation .
Canonical and Regional Sequence Comparison:
Ọ̀yọ́ / Standard Canonical Hierarchy:
11. Òwọ́nrín 12. Ọ̀sá 13. Òtúrá 14. Ìrẹtẹ̀ 15. Ọ̀sẹ́ 16. Òfún
Lucumí / Afro-Cuban Lineage:
11. Ìká 12. Òtúrúpọ̀n 13. Òtúrá 14. Ìrẹtẹ̀ 15. Ọ̀sẹ́ 16. Òfún
Fon / Dahomey Fá Tradition (Maupoil 1943):
11. Ka 12. Tlukpon 13. Tula 14. Lètè 15. Ce 16. Fu
Ẹẹ́rìndínlógún Cowrie Divination (Bascom 1980):
15. Màrúnlá / Ìrẹtẹ̀ (15 cowries facing aperture-up)
In the canonical Ọ̀yọ́ hierarchy recorded by Wande Abimbola and William R. Bascom, Ìrẹtẹ̀ Méjì holds the fourteenth position among the sixteen Ojú Odù . It immediately succeeds Òtúrá Méjì (the thirteenth sign) and precedes Ọ̀sẹ́ Méjì (the fifteenth sign) and Òfún Méjì (the sixteenth and final principal sign) .
In the Afro-Cuban Lucumí tradition, the placement of Ìrẹtẹ̀ remains aligned with the fourteenth position . In this system, recorded by Bascom in his comparative analysis of the order of Odù, the lower cluster proceeds in the sequence Ìká (eleventh), Òtúrúpọ̀n (twelfth), Òtúrá (thirteenth), Ìrẹtẹ̀ (fourteenth), Ọ̀sẹ́ (fifteenth), and Òfún (sixteenth) .
In the Fon divination system of the Republic of Benin (Fá), the cognate of Ìrẹtẹ̀ Méjì is recorded as Lètè-Mɛ́jì or Lëtë-Mɛji . Bernard Maupoil’s structural documentation registers Lètè-Mɛ́jì in the fourteenth position of the sixteen Gbe-Méjì principal categories, following Tula-Mɛ́jì (Òtúrá) and preceding Ce-Mɛ́jì (Ọ̀sẹ́) and Fu-Mɛ́jì (Òfún) .
In the sixteen-cowrie shell divination system (Ẹẹ́rìndínlógún), which operates on related cosmological principles but employs distinct operational mechanics, the name Ìrẹtẹ̀ is identified with the fifteenth position, known as Màrúnlá . This occurs when fifteen cowrie shells fall with their natural apertures facing upward . Bascom demonstrates that while the nomenclature shares historical and linguistic roots with the palm-nut and chain corpus, the ordering principles of Ẹẹ́rìndínlógún diverge mathematically and hierarchically from the sixteen Ojú Odù sequence .
Comparative research demonstrates that the internal sequence of the sixteen Ojú Odù is not entirely uniform across every West African Yorùbá sub-group . Field research by William Bascom reveals that while the opening cluster (Èjìogbè, Ọ̀yẹ̀kú Méjì, Ìwòrì Méjì, Òdí Méjì) and the concluding sign (Òfún Méjì) remain structurally fixed across virtually all communities, the middle and lower sectors of the order are subject to local variation .
In certain regional lineages, particularly in sectors of Èkìtì, Ọ̀ṣun, and peripheral non-Ọ̀yọ́ areas, diviners historically invert the order of Òtúrá and Ìrẹtẹ̀, or reposition the cluster comprising Ìká, Òtúrúpọ̀n, Òtúrá, and Ìrẹtẹ̀ . Academic scholarship records no definitive historical date or single origin point explaining why specific regional lineages adopted these structural reconfigurations .
The literary corpus of Ifá (ẹsẹ Ifá) associated with Ìrẹtẹ̀ Méjì is extensive, poetic, and multi-layered . The major academic analyses of its verses derive from transcriptions and translations published by Wande Abimbola, William Bascom, Judith Gleason, Awotunde Aworinde, and Bernard Maupoil .
Major Thematic Emphases of Ìrẹtẹ̀ Méjì in Published Scholarship:
1. Conflict and containment of malevolent spiritual forces (Ajogun).
2. The efficacy and indispensability of ritual sacrifice (ẹbọ).
3. The medicinal properties of botanical agents and traditional therapeutics.
4. Epistemological and behavioral alignment with one's chosen destiny (orí).
A prominent thematic core within Ìrẹtẹ̀ Méjì involves the confrontation between human beings and the Ajogun, the malevolent forces recognized in Yorùbá cosmology as death (ikú), disease (àrùn), loss (òfò), paralysis (ọ̀rọ̀), and general affliction .
In Sixteen Great Poems of Ifá, Abimbola publishes a major ẹsẹ of Ìrẹtẹ̀ Méjì that demonstrates how individual vulnerability to these destructive powers is mitigated through divinatory consultation, accurate identification of supernatural hostility, and the execution of prescribed ẹbọ .
The narrative structures in Ìrẹtẹ̀ Méjì frequently present human protagonists facing existential crisis caused by invisible adversaries, where adherence to sacrificial protocols re-establishes structural balance and neutralizes cosmic hostility .
In Ifá: An Exposition of Ifá Literary Corpus, Abimbola analyzes the close structural link in Ìrẹtẹ̀ Méjì between ritual sacrifice (ẹbọ) and physical healing (oògùn) .
The verses documented under this sign often record historical precedents where diviners diagnosed bodily illness and spiritual distress simultaneously . The narratives emphasize that medicinal preparations, derived from specific roots, leaves, and mineral substances, achieve their intended physical potency only when combined with the spiritual sanction obtained through ritual alignment and sacrificial offerings .
The material recorded by Judith Gleason, Awotunde Aworinde, and John Olaniyi Ogundipe documents recitations of Ìrẹtẹ̀ Méjì from the Òṣogbo tradition . These narratives examine the relationship between human character (ìwà), patience, and the unfolding of assigned destiny (orí) .
The poetic chants within this lineage illustrate how pride, disobedience to spiritual counsel, and neglect of ancestral obligations bring about sudden reversals of fortune, whereas humility and structural compliance with divinatory directives yield enduring social and economic survival .
The publication history of Ìrẹtẹ̀ Méjì spans several decades of linguistic and anthropological scholarship.
Wande Abimbola published foundational poetic transcriptions of Ìrẹtẹ̀ Méjì in Yorùbá in Ìjìnlẹ̀ Ohùn Ẹnu Ifá: Apá Kìíní (1968), followed by full translations, tonal notations, and scholarly commentary in later volumes .
In Ifa Divination: Communication Between Gods and Men in West Africa (1969), William Bascom published detailed field recordings collected from practicing babaláwos in Ọ̀yọ́ and Ilé-Ifẹ̀ .
Bascom documented both structural and narrative elements of Ifá. In his compilation of 186 translated verses, he recorded transcriptions and translations for several minor composite pairings derived from Ìrẹtẹ̀ (amúlù Odù), including:
These published records demonstrate the application of Ìrẹtẹ̀ in mixed configurations, showing how the primary sign modifies and is modified by secondary signs within the diagnostic process .
Bernard Maupoil’s La Géomancie à l’ancienne Côte des Esclaves (1943) documents oral recitations of Lètè-Mɛ́jì gathered among Fon, Gun, and Western Yorùbá diviners (bokonon and babaláwo) .
Maupoil recorded these texts with phonetic dialect transcriptions and French translations, accompanied by exhaustive ethnological commentary regarding sacrificial formulas, botanical ingredients, and ritual taboos (èèwọ̀) specific to the sign .
Academic researchers consistently emphasize that published texts represent only a partial record of the vast oral literature of Ìrẹtẹ̀ Méjì .
Academic Record vs. Initiate Knowledge:
Published Academic Sphere:
- Mathematical and binary notation [S5]
- Standard sequential ranking and regional variations [S1][S5][S6]
- Representative poetic verses (ẹsẹ Ifá) and mythic narratives [S1][S2][S3][S9]
- General sociological, medicinal, and philosophical analyses [S1][S2][S8]
Initiate-Held Priesthood Sphere (Oral Transmission):
- Secret ritual incantations (ọfọ̀ and àyájọ́)
- Exact preparation of specialized consecrated medicines
- Esoteric consecration protocols for the emblems of Ifá
- Thousands of unrecorded lineage-specific verses
The transmission of Ifá occurs orally across years of formal apprenticeship under master diviners . An enormous body of liturgical content under Ìrẹtẹ̀ Méjì remains confidential within the priesthood .
This initiate-held material includes:
Scholars such as Abimbola and Bascom maintain that academic publications are descriptive and structural rather than manual instructions for ritual practice . The written record documents the literary excellence, philosophical complexity, and structural logic of Ìrẹtẹ̀ Méjì while acknowledging the integrity of the unwritten oral corpus preserved by living practitioners .
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The third principal sign of the Ifá divination corpus, its geomantic structure, regional ranking variations, textual themes, and published oral literature.