How the sixteen-cowrie system, kola divination, and the Fon, Ewe, Cuban and Brazilian relatives relate to Ifá, and why formal similarity is weaker evidence than it looks.
The Yorùbá wey dem quote, the proverbs, oríkì, ẹsẹ Ifá, word list headwords, Odù names and citations dey exactly as the corpus record dem, for every language.
Ifá dey inside one family of divination system-dem wey share structure for different levels, and to map this family well, person must separate three kind relationship wey different well-well: system-dem wey be Ifá under another name, system-dem wey share the formal structure of Ifá but get different history, and system-dem wey simple pass for structure and dey do different work. To mix all these together na the main reason why error plenty for public gist.
Bascom give us the analytic tool wey make this mapping dey honest, and e make sense make we state am before any description because e guide every single one of dem.
When two divination system both get sixteen figures wey get four-position, e dey look like sixteen point of connection. But Bascom show say na only three.
"The identity of the sixteen figures na something wey must surely come out from three principle: (1) the figures dey use four item; (2) each of dem fit take two different form; and (3) the order wey dem follow dey important. Based on these rules, na sixteen and only sixteen basic figures dey possible. As e be so, this identity na just three point of similarity, no be sixteen, and divination system-dem wey spread across Africa dey share two out of these principle"
This thing dey important for every argument wey dey based on say shapes resemble each other, including the question about how geomancy take spread for file 07. Sixteen figures no be some strange coincidence wey need historical explanation; na wetin person go naturally get from four item wey get two state inside fixed order. Wetin go strange pass na shared names, shared verses, or shared interpretations, and na that kind evidence person suppose dey look for.
Bascom come show how these basic principles spread far well-well. The first two principle alone na wetin define the normal African way to throw four cowries or four piece of kola or bitter kola nut, where each piece dey fall face up or face down but order no matter, so na only five outcome dey possible: four, three, two, one, or zero wey face up .
To add the third principle, wey be sequence (order), na wetin dey produce sixteen. Person fit do this one by throwing the four item one after the other, or by tying dem join rope, "wey be wetin dem dey do for the case of Ifa divining chain" Na the same thing the hakata divination of the Karanga, Zezuru, Korekore and other Shona group-dem dey do, plus some San group-dem, the Venda, Ila, Tonga, Pedi, Leya, Rhodesian Ndebele and other people for southern Africa, where dem dey identify four marked piece of bone or wood as man, boy, woman and girl, and read dem as head and tail for that order, wey still dey bring out sixteen figures wey tally with the ones marked with single and double line .
So the sixteen-figure structure come out on its own for plenty places across Africa just from simple and natural design choice.
Bascom address the comparison wey most readers dey bring come, and the numbers clear the matter.
The I Ching dey use the second and third principle and e dey use figures wey dem form from single and broken line, "however, as e dey based on three item instead of four, na only eight basic figures or 'trigrams' and sixty-four derivative figures or 'hexagrams' dey there, whereas Ifá and the other African system-dem dey use sixteen quadragrams and 256 derivative octagrams"
Na that one be the main difference and e dey mathematical pass as e dey cultural. The I Ching na base 2 wey get three position wey double reach six; Ifá na base 2 wey get four position wey double reach eight. 2^6 = 64 against 2^8 = 256. The two system resemble each other for kind but dem different for size, and no documented record dey show say one come out from the other.
Bascom mention one interesting procedural similarity: dem dey get the I Ching figures by tossing three coin or by arranging forty-nine yarrow stalk "wey dem dey count out four-by-four for way wey resemble Islamic sand-cutting small" E present this one as resemblance, no be say one come from the other.
E still add one data point wey really surprise person: even as far as Micronesia, one knot divination system wey still dey based on counting by four dey produce sixteen basic figures and 256 derivative figures . If system wey get the exact numbers of Ifá fit come out on its own for Micronesia, then Ifá numbers by demselves no be proof say contact happen with anything.
Ẹẹ́rìndínlógún (ẹẹ́rìndínlógún, sixteen, wey literally mean four-less-than-twenty; also owó mẹ́rìndínlógún, sixteen cowries) na the second major Yorùbá divination system and na im dey most important for diaspora.
Dem dey throw sixteen cowries ground together and the diviner go count how many land with mouth up. Bascom: "just like when person throw four cowries, n + 1 figures dey possible because order no matter; for this case seventeen figures dey, from zero reach sixteen cowries wey face mouth up"
Seventeen figures, no be 256. Na this one be the main structural point and people dey always report am wrong. Because order no matter, wetin dey come out na count instead of pattern, so the system no be binary at all in the way Ifá be. The third principle of Ifá no dey here. Wetin this one bring na smaller address space, and the outcome-dem no get equal chance to happen: to get eight cowries up get high chance pass to get zero or sixteen, whereas every single Ifá figure get equal chance.
The system-dem overlap for vocabulary. Some of the seventeen figures "na by the names of the basic Ifa figures dem take know dem, like Odi or Edi, Irosun, Ọ̀wọ̀nrin, Ọ̀kanran, Ogunda, Ọsa, Ọ̀ṣẹ and Ofun; and some get the names of the derivative figures, like Eji Ogbe and Ogbeṣẹ (Ogbe Ọ̀ṣẹ)" Dem still dey use some of these same names for the five figures wey dey come out when person throw four cowries .
Na this kind evidence dey carry weight, based on how Bascom take talk am: mathematics no force shared names to happen.
Just like Ifá, the seventeen figures carry verse dem wey dem cram wey get myths and folktales inside wey dey guide interpretation . Na dis one separate Ẹẹ́rìndínlógún from the simpler methods and put am for the same class as Ifá as system wey carry corpus.
The Yorùbá account, including from Ifá diviners demsef, na say the cowrie system come from Ifá. Bascom: "Plenti Yoruba people, including the Ifa diviners demsef, dey look dis method as sometin wey come from Ifa, and dem dey point to one myth wey talk say the method dey based on wetin the River Goddess Ọ̀ṣun learn about divination wen she dey live wit Ifa"
Dat account come from system wey get interest for im own seniority, and anoda serious position dey wey counter am. Wande Abimbola argue say "Ọ̀ṣun get plenti thing to do wit how Ifa divination take start pass wetin the babalawo dem dey ready to admit," since Ọ̀ṣun na im be the original person wey hold the bag of wisdom (apò ìwà) wey the Ifá tradition almost certainly come from . Based on dat reading, the priority dey go the oda way, or at least the borrowing no be one-way traffic.
Confidence: contested. Wetin the tradition imself talk and wetin one leading scholar wey also be initiate talk no agree wit each oda.
The difference for standing get document and e matter well well.
Bascom: "For all the methods of divination wey Yoruba people dey use, dem dey look Ifa as the most important and the most reliable" And on access, the difference clear well well: "even though Ifa dey open to the public because people wey dey worship any deity fit consult the babalawo dem, divination wit sixteen cowries dey usually happen during ritual occasions inside the cult of specific deities" Ifá na general service; the cowries belong to specific ọ̀rìṣà cults.
The way things be for gender and diaspora turn the ranking upside down. Ẹẹ́rìndínlógún "dey simpler pass Ifa divination and dem no hold am for high esteem for Nigeria, but for the Americas e dey more important pass Ifa because plenti people know am pass and dem dey use am more frequently," and dem trace dis one to how e relatively simple, to how Ṣàngó, Yemọja, Ọ̀ṣun and the oda ọ̀rìṣà wey join body wit am take popular, and to the fact say both men and women fit practise am, and women plenti pass men for inside dese cults, whereas na only men fit practise Ifá .
Dat last clause na Bascom own position on gender inside Ifá, wey file 06 show say people dey dispute am.
Ogunnaike explain the structural symmetry, wey fine well well. Ẹẹ́rìndínlógún na Ọ̀ṣun get am, wey be the true-true female òrìṣà, and e completely open to women, even though men fit practise am too . People believe say Ọ̀ṣun collect am from one man, her husband Ọ̀rúnmìlà, and the tradition dey gendered female sotey practitioners, even the male ones, dem dey see dem as wives of Ọ̀ṣun . Ogunnaike reading: the two systems "dey really look like the Chinese yin-yang symbol for how Ifa and Ẹẹrindinlogun dey clearly connected to one gender, but still carry one central part wey join body well well wit the oda half of the whole" Each system get im gender and each one carry sometin from the oda gender for im center.
Bascom Sixteen Cowries (1980) na the standard study .
The simplest of the Yorùbá methods and na im people dey use pass by far, because e no need specialist.
Obì àbàtà, the kola nut wey get four lobes, dem dey split am come cast the lobes, and each one go fall face up or face down. Since dem no dey control the sequence, five outcomes dey possible . The same thing dey apply wen dem cast four cowries or four pieces of bitter kola .
Bascom talk straight about wetin dey follow am: dese three methods "get limit for wetin dem fit forecast, mainly because dem no get the verses wey dey connected to Ifa and the casting of sixteen cowries" Without verse corpus, divination system fit answer questions but e no fit bring out deep content. Obì dey give yes, no, and few graded answers. E no fit give full case.
Na dis one be the clearest example of the argument wey dey run through dis section: the corpus na wetin make Ifá wetin e be, no be the binary mechanism. Obì dey share the two-state principle and e be completely different level of thing because e no get literature wey follow am.
Sources from practitioners describe the four lobes as two male (ako méjì) and two female (abo méjì), and the readings dey depend on how open and closed lobes take combine . The published scholarly literature on obì divination no plenti reach the practitioner literature, and I never see any peer-reviewed work wey reach Bascom own on Ifá. Confidence: medium on the detailed readings; high on the five-outcome structure, wey be Bascom own.
One distinct divination system wey dey among the Yorùbá but e no spread equally at all. Bascom note say "na only once-in-a-while Agbigba diviners dey among the Yoruba outside the Yagba area" , wey put im Yorùbá stronghold for northeast, for the Yorùbá/Ẹ̀gbọ́n boundary.
Agbigba get connection wit the Igbo Afá system and wit divination practices across the Niger, and dem dey generally describe am say e dey use chain wey resemble the ọ̀pẹ̀lẹ̀ wit different set of figures and different material for interpretation. I no see any source wey reach Bascom or Abimbola standard wey give im structure in detail, and I no go reconstruct am from practitioner material. Confidence: contested, in the sense say Agbigba dey real and dem document say e exist, but the literature wey dey available to me no describe am well reach.
Make una note how the name overlap wit Igbo Afa (wey also be Afá), wey be different matter from Ewe Afa wey dem discuss below. Dem don study the Nsukka Igbo Afa system on im own and na distinct tradition, no be Ifá dialect.
Bascom record say among the Yorùbá, sand-cutting and manipulation of seeds dey happen, just like for Siwah, among the Gbari and for Madagascar, "but here sand-cutting na distinct system of divination and e very likely say na sometin wey dem just introduce recently"
Dis one na di Islamic ʿilm al-raml wey dem dey do side by side with Ifá instead of make dem mix am together, and wetin Bascom judge say e just recent among di Yorùbá dey important to di transmission debate for file 07: di sand-cutting wey di Yorùbá dey actually do no be di ancestor of Ifá, but na something wey enter later wey person fit identify separately.
E also note say since di nineteenth-century Yorùbá wars against Muslim neighbours end, di number of Muslim àlùfáà don increase, even though e never reach di number of babaláwo .
Na dis cases get di closest relationship, and na here di system be substantially Ifá under different name.
Fa na di Fọ̀n name for both di deity of wisdom and di divination system, wey dem dey do for wetin be Benin today. Na Yorùbá Ifá priests carry di system go give di Fọ̀n during trade and war between di seventeenth and nineteenth centuries .
Di way e take happen na through Dahomey rivalry with Ọ̀yọ́, wey bring heavy religious and cultural exchange, as Dahomey deliberately take Yorùbá art, deities, and culture join dia own existing beliefs, including Ifá divination . Wetin Maupoil talk, as dem report am, be say scholars generally accept say Fa no come through conquest .
Bascom data support say dem get close identity for di side of names: figure names dey standard "with some modifications in pronunciations and spelling" among di Fọ̀n . Di order na another matter, and na only 4 out of im 16 Fọ̀n lists follow di dominant order .
One special Fọ̀n element na di kpoli, di personal sign wey person wey dey do initiation dey receive inside di sacred grove of Fa, wey dey show im destiny, before e come build im own Fa shrine . Dis one match di personal Odù wey person dey receive during Ifá initiation.
Bernard Maupoil La Géomancie à l'ancienne Côte des Esclaves (1943), wey based on fieldwork for Lower Dahomey from 1933 to 1936, na di standard study and e reach 686 pages . E still remain di fullest account of any West African geomantic system for any language, and dem never translate am go English, wey be serious gap for English readers.
Afa na di Ewe name for di system, wey dem dey do for Togo and southeastern Ghana . Wetin Bascom find out again na say di names dey standard with modifications, though im Ewe sample small, na three lists, and na only one follow di dominant order .
Di Edo people of Benin City dey do di system too , and Bascom discussion about di Edo chain, okpelle, include description of how di client dey whisper wetin e need enter cowries wey di diviner go come place di chain on top, dey tell am say: "You, Okpelle, know what this man said to the cowries. Now tell me" Di way dem take dey hide di question from di diviner na di same as wetin dey happen for Yorùbá practice.
Sikidy na di Malagasy divination system, wey dem generally count as member of di same geomantic family wey pass completely different route take reach there, cross Indian Ocean and through Islamic contact instead of make e pass West Africa. Bascom note say seed manipulation and sand-cutting dey happen for Madagascar . Trautmann 1939 study treat Vodou, Fa, and Sikidy together . Sikidy dey important to di transmission argument specifically because na geomantic system for place wey Yorùbá influence no reach, wey show say di family wide pass only West Africa.
Di Yorùbá system cross go Cuba with enslaved people and survive inside di Lucumí tradition, where babalaos dey practise Ifá and di cowrie system, diloggún, spread far pass am.
Bascom find out say di Cuban material hold names tight well-well: figure names dey standard with spelling modification, and 5 out of im 6 Cuban lists follow di dominant order, wey be higher rate of conformity pass im Fọ̀n sample . Di Lucumí names still dey clearly recognisable through Spanish spelling, as file 03 explain.
Di rebuilding happen under special conditions. Traditions loss under slavery, dem restructure di religion make e fit survive, and na councils of priests inside di cabildos make di decisions . As Spanish replace Yorùbá, dem start to tell di verse narratives as apatakís while Yorùbá survive inside di chanted suyeres . Confidence: medium, because na practitioner-facing sources dem be instead of peer-reviewed scholarship.
Di Cuban tradition special position on women for Ifá, and di structural reason, dey clearly explain for file 06 .
Bascom get only one Brazilian list, wey follow di dominant order . For Brazilian Candomblé di cowrie system, jogo de búzios, na im dominate, and proper Ifá divination no dey prominent reach wetin dey Cuba. Matory Black Atlantic Religion na di standard scholarly work on di transatlantic religious movement and how continuous contact with West Africa, instead of isolation, take shape di Brazilian and Cuban traditions .
American ọ̀rìṣà practice enter through Cuban santeros for di 1970s, and later develop direct relationship with Nigeria and Benin, partly over di matter of women initiation . Hucks na di standard study .
Arranged according to how strong di relationship be:
Di same system under other names. Fọ̀n Fa, Ewe Afa, Edo, and di Cuban and Brazilian Ifá. Dem share figure names, share 256-figure structure, and get documented historical transmission .
One related Yorùbá system wey share names and get im own structure. Ẹẹ́rìndínlógún: seventeen count-based figures, shared names, im own verse corpus, im own ownership by Ọ̀ṣun, im own gender rules .
Members of di wider geomantic family. Islamic ʿilm al-raml, European geomancy, Malagasy Sikidy. Dem share four-position sixteen-figure structure, contested transmission history , file 07.
Method-dem wey their structure simple pass Yorùbá. Obì, four cowries, four part of bitter kola. Pieces wey get two positions, no sequence, five outcomes, no collection of verse .
Independent system-dem wey get similar structure. Southern African hakata, Micronesian knot divination. Same numbers, no clear contact between dem, wey come out from the same three design principles .
Na this last category suppose direct how person go read the whole map. Bascom three-principle analysis explain why plenty people wey no relate at all reach sixteen figures, and na im be the reason why formal resemblance alone no dey prove much.
Each Odù is two columns of four marks, every mark single or double, giving four bits per column, eight bits in total, and exactly 256 possible signatures.
All 256 Odù listed with signatures, the 16 principal Odù in the competing ranking orders, and an honest account of where the sources disagree.
The mathematics of the system, the mnemonic architecture that makes a corpus this large holdable, and a careful separation of the documented claims from the popular ones.
The 2005 proclamation and 2008 inscription, the state of practice in Nigeria and the diaspora, commercialisation and the online problem, and what a curious outsider should and should not do.
A historical and structural analysis of Ifá divination, examining its relationship to trans-Saharan geomancy, regional adaptations across West Africa, colonial suppression, and transatlantic diaspora divergence.
Ifá is a Yorùbá system for reaching a decision by casting a signature, retrieving the memorised verses filed under it, and reasoning from the precedents they contain.