Pastor AIO:

Good day sir. Please can you make more of an exposition of Owonrin Meji. For instance what kind of Ire would you predict from it. If you were divining and it came out with Ire Aiku (long life) for instance what would you tell you client?

I don't think that there is any need to rush through the 16 olodus. This is a discussion forum, we are not compiling an encyclopedia. Let other people come and join in and discuss and react to the thread post by post. This thread has been going for a few years now. Suuru ni baba Iwa. Patience is the father of good character.

I would be interested in seeing some contributions to the other threads in this forum. I wonder what your perspective is on pentecostal christianity/ Grail message/ Catholicism/ Atheism etc. I'm just curious.

Agbo Ato

O baba pastor, thank you for your response as well as your interest in seeing my perspective on other issues. The truth is, I joined NL just for this thread as I saw it was a while that you expressed your desire to reach Ofun Meji and it seemed either you didn't have time or was a little disheartened being the major contributor for the thread. So i decided to help you add to this thread, and encounter a few friends on this forum that I could move with. Thats the main reason why i joined NL.

I will get back to you with some more things for Owonrin Meji.

Baba Pastor, for Owonrin meji, I only have that one verse I am willing share. How was your weekend? I look forward to when we can finish the 16 Olodu.

I apologise that my comments have in anyway been misleading. I asked the poster to email me because I do not like to ask personal questions on a pubic forum. Also it is not possible for me to get a piece of anyone's cake. I live in a small country far removed from a significant majority of you all. I am not soliciting anyone anything. I am just offering my perspective and an attentive ear.
Either way, Miss Inked_Nerd and Miss 190 have more or less already addressed the questioned I wanted to air. Also it seems as if the situation has been resolved by the original poster.

@baba r231and baba tpiah
I am sorry that my post has painted my intentions negatively.

My dear these are the most important questions. Its good that you are concerned with the answers for these question. Would like to talk to you. If you do not mind please contact me. onifade_yemi1@yahoo.com

nikki4848dd:

Who I really am.And who I really am deserves someone that will want me the same as I do him. thanks for opening my eyes to the truth you guys, one love, always, PEACE.

No i have not been to ode remo

fotyfyzy:

hi idinrete,
i am very happy to read all you guys post on here.i have been searching for people who are proud of their root and who will embrace the truth about our origin and religion.i dont have much to say here but idinrete, i would love to let you know that i am an IFA initiate and from igbodu i know the odu that birthed me ,pls can we talk personally as i would love to ask you some things unknown to me yet.thanks

Did Baba Idinrete or Baba Pastor give you the information that you wanted? if not you can always get me at my yahoo id. I would love to see how I might be able to answer whatever questions you may have.

Aboru Aboye

Ojo Awo loni.

Owonrin Meji
II II
II II
I I
I I


Okuta a la ma seje,
difa fun owo,
Omo abimo marun, jere mararun,
Abufun Ese, omo abimo marun, jere mararun,
Won ni ebo ni ki won se
Omo owo ki ku loju owo,
Omo ese ki ku loju ese,
Iwa ki toju oniwa baje,

Translation:

The stone break and have no blood,
Divined for hand,
That will give birth to five children and reap the fruit of his five children,
Also for feet that will give birth to five children and reap the fruit of all five
The children of hand will not died in the presence of hand,
The children of leg will not died in the presence of leg,
Someone behaviors will not perish in his presence.

Ifa said that the person shld make ebo for his or her children that he/she will see their benefit, and he/she should change his or her behaviour to good.

Thought I would get the ball rolling so that we can accomplish Baba Pastor's goal of going through the first 16 Odu Ifa.

Greetings Ladies and Gents,

I want to append what I said before. My friends, sometimes we as people men and women, ask God to send a mate, one that we can truly love and love us in return and all that other stuff. But at the same time, after we have made the request, we want to tell God how and when we want this mate. We limit our possibilities consciously or unconsciously.

Case in point. A woman asks God for a good, responsible man, patient, kind and understanding. God does His thing and a few months later the lady in question meets a man, On the surface he seems to match what she wants BUT, he is short, from the wrong tribe and he doesn't make as much money as her. She closes the door on that possibility saying to herself, this cannot be the man God wants her to be with. How can she be sure without truly opening up herself to the possibility?

Another Case. A man asks God for a good wife. God send her but lo and behold, she doesn't have the physical features he believes she should have. She is not of the same religion as he is and she is uneducated.

There are many more I can outline but it will become repetitive and redundant

We all have in your minds certain criteria that we want in our mates. I will say that many of these criteria can change and some are just not all that important. Some, we can comprise and others we can do without. Furthermore, I have observed that God sends what we need before he sends what we want. And for me I have learnt that when you need nothing, you want nothing. When all your needs are met surprising you don't have any wants.

The main point I am trying to make is, let us stop getting in the way of our own-selves. Let us look beneath the surface and truly surrender ourselves to the unlimited possibilities that exist in the Universe.

Great. I like how the thread going

If I may be so bold as to put my mouth here. There are many good men all over the world. BUt just like you good women, they have been hurt too much, or too shy or a combination of both to come out and talk to women. Relationships in this day and age require some more effort from each party male and female. There are no fairy tale men. But there are men who are willing to learn and understand you. Who already respect and admire you. Maybe the package they are wrapped in to not meet your requirements but I am sure as the sun rising they are there. Most time you do not have to look far for a good mate, male or female. Sometimes its just changing the lenses you have been using to look at the world. In those rare cases where the person is indeed far, God always works it out that you can be with him or her. Many people have found lasting love via internet.

Please ladies do not give up on us men yet. We are here and we are trying.

Aboru Aboye

Irosun Meji

I I
I I
II II
II II

Ahere o ku iwo ni kan soso ninu oko,
Eru o ba aba niju
O dijo ojo ba ro
Ki ahere o too di eleni
A dia fun Egbe Ope ti somo bibu Agbonniregun
Ebo ni Won ni ko se
O si gbebo, O rubo
Nje owo ti n o se la ni Ifa
Bi Ifa ba hu kan, maa teji
Owo ti n o se la ni Ifa
Bi Ifa ba hu meji maa tekan.
Owo ti n o se la ni Ifa

Translation:
Farmhouse the only occupants in the farm
The barn is not afraid of the wilderness
Not until the day that rain falls
Before the farmhouse becomes inhabitied
Ifa declerations to Egbe Ope, child of Agbonniregun
The told him to offer ebo and he head and did
The job I will prosper with is Ifa
If the Ikin remain one, imprint two
The job I will prosper with is Ifa
If the Ikin remain two imprint one
THe job I will prosper with is Ifa

Ifa says the religion and job this person should be doing is Ifa. This person also need to be truthful. Ase

Etala soju baragaga,
Adia fun aye ti sawo lo ile onidere,
Aye o ku mo, ni dere laye wa,
Awo rere ni redere.

Translation:

Etala have spread eye,
Divined for earth that went to onidere house,
Earth never die, it is in idere ( means never dies),
A good babalawo must never died.

Ifa foressee blessing of long life for the person if he can make ebbo he will live long. Ase

I think two is good enough. It is good that we are putting down these things for people to see the beauty of our tradition. But you must remember the babalawo work very hard to learn these verses. The must become Eru to their masters to learn or in some cases must pay them. So let us not cheapen the sacrifice that they make to learn.

A question was asked about how long it takes for a babalawo to be trained, it varies from place to place and idividual to individual. Some students learn ifa at a scary pace and others take much longer. Average 5 years .But that is just preliminary training. Think of it as associate degree. Then from there they are more or less assistants, Then they will add to what they know from different teachers and different places. Its easier now because the foundation has been laid so they begin to learn specialized Ifa. This can take more years. Then we can say for lack of better comparisons. That person has a Bachelor's and can now maybe practice Ifa independently, So they must keep increasing themself until they true PHD babalawo. So depending on the person an average of 10 to 15 years is needed before than person is a real adept.

Ire ooo

So baba, we good for Odi Meji and ready to move on to Irosun Meji? Or you want to explore Odi meji some more?

As I said I dislike typing a lot so If baba Pastor doesn't mind too much I will just append his post.

The Divination Process

When a client goes to a babalawo for consultation he sits on the floor before the babalawo and first the babalawo invokes Ifa:

Ela ro wa, Ela ro wa, Ela ro wa
Ela flow down x3
Orunmila ro wa, Orunmila ro wa, Orunmila ro wa
Orunmila flow down x3
bi o ba r'oko ki o de, bi o ba r'odo ki or bo
If you're at the farm come, if you're by the river come.
Very good invocation to start.

There are two possible tools for divination.  Either the Ikin themselves, or the Opele.
Ikin are the palm nuts that represent Ifa.
http://bilingual.sulekha.com/mstore/bilingual/albums/default/ikinholder.jpg

The Opele is the divining chain which is an easier and quicker way to divine. 
http://www.spiritualtools.org/images/coconut-opele-main-size.jpg

The purpose of ifa divination is to come into communication with Ori.  The client takes the opele from the babalawo and meditates on his problems then touches the opele to his head.

The babalawo invokes the 4 directions plus the center.
Iwaju opon ifa
The front of Ifa's tray
ehin opon ifa
The back of Ifa's tray
Olomun otun
Olomun on the right
Olokanran osi
Olokanran on the left
Arin opon ifa ode orun
Center of Ifa's tray the city of heaven

Then the chain is cast.  According to how the chain falls it will mark out an Odu.  The shells of the chain, of which there are 8, can fall either face down, or face up.  One way is male the other is female.  So all the combinations are possible.
The Odu that first comes up is the main odu of the consultation.  However each odu is very deep and extensive in meaning so the babalawo has to narrow things down so that they will be more pertinent to the client.

The odu are arranged in order of seniority starting from Ogbe first down to Ofun the sixteenth and last.  This order becomes important for asking questions that require a yes or no answer.

The first question asked is whether or not the main odu that was first cast came with Ire or with Ibi.  That is whether it comes with Good fortune or with negative energy.  The opele is cast twice.  If the first cast is senior to the second cast then the answer is yes. If the second cast is senior to the first then the answer is no. Babalawo never pronounce Ibi on the client so they ask, Ifa is Ire or Ayewo that you see? What about the other 240 odu? So it is arranged fron Eji Ogbe to Ofun Ose. That process of asking yes or no, is called dibo. There are two types, the one that a babalawo uses when he is casting ifa for himself and when he is casting for the client. The one you described is when he is casting for himself. The babalawo will give the client some pieces called Ibo(They are bone, cowrie, sea shell, teeth, isin fruit, stone etc). These ibo have symbolic meanings to help narrow down what ifa is saying as well as to determine the type of ire or ayewo. So the client holds the ibo in his closed hands. Because he is covering the ibo, he is Adibo.

For example, imagine that the main odu is Oyeku Meji and now the babalawo wants to ascertain whether Oyeku came with Ire or not.  He casts twice more.  If the order of the subsequent casts is Irosun[b]Meji[/b] and then Ose[b]Meji[/b], well Irosun is senior to Ose so he says that it is Ire.This is if he was casting for himself. For the client, before he asked the Ire or Not Ire, he would give the client two pieces of Ibo to hold. Each one symbolically representing yes and no.(Example cowrie for yes and bone for no.) After the client takes one in each hand. The baba would then ask the Ire or Not Ire question. Using our example here. The first cast is Irosun Meji then Ose Meji. Since Irosun meji is senior to Ose Meji, baba will ask the client to open his Left hand. The piece of Ibo in his hand will tell the baba if it is Yes or No. If his left hand has the Cowrie then its Ire or Yes but if it has the bone, then the answer is Not Ire or No. However if Ose is cast first and then Irosun then he says that it is Ibi.Same process just its the clients right hand that will be chosen. As a rule, right of the diviner is the left of adibo and vice versa. The principle of Dibo is that the client can never accuse the diviner of falsifying the message because he can never see which ibo you have in what hand. It is your Ori that tells Ifa which hand. And Ifa tells the diviner via the opele or ikin.

Now Imagine that the result is Oyeku which has come with Ire.  There is still a considerable amount of content in Oyeku coming with Ire so the babalawo will want to narrow things down a lot more.  Oyeku is a sign that promises a considerable amount of wealth but it also carries the possibility of death and illness.
There are various Ire and various Ibi.

Ire Aiku - Ire of Longevity
Ire Aje - Ire of wealth of which there are two, Aje tutu and Aje gbigbona, cool money and hot money
Ire Aya - Ire of finding a wife
Ire omo - Ire of childbirth
Ire isegun - Ire of victory in battle
etc etc etc

So the babalawo goes through the various Ire ascertaining yes or no for each one.  Imagine now that the readings say that Oyeku meji has come with Ire Aje tutu, what next?

All the while that the opele is being cast the babalawo is chanting verses from Oyeku meji and also greeting certain odu that are cast along the way of the process.  As he narrows things down he also picks on the more relevant verses.  So as we are talking about Oyeku meji he will chant verses that pertain to Ire aje.I cannot defnitely say this is the rule. From all my teachers and when I have seen them divine. Verses are not chanted until they are narrowed down as explained above. Alot of what is said is not only greeting odus that come during the ibo investigation, but they recite a line or two from a verse for the various odu that come to refresh their memory
There is a story in Oyeku meji of how Orunmila journeyed to earth from heaven in the company of other deities.  He had gone for divination prior to making the journey and was adviced to make certain ebo and to not stop on account of anything not even the most torrential rainfall. 
As he journeyed in the company of the other deities, true enough it began to rain heavily.  Rainfall and water is a constant theme in Oyeku, as well as darkness/cloudiness.  This is the Odu that brought rain into the world. 
As the weather kept getting worse the various other deities took shelter along the way, but only Orunmila kept on.  The Rain beat him terribly and it was a serious ordeal but he kept on.  At at last he got to earth and he was the only deity there.  He met two women there.  One was called Oja (market) and the other was called Aje (wealth).  They said that they were looking for husband.  Since Orunmila was the only guy around he did not waste time but promptly married both of them.  By the time the rainfall subsided and the other deities arrived Orunmila was already living comfortably with trade and wealth. 

The babalawo can use this precedent and advice his client on what ebo to make (ie that which orunmila made in the above case).  And he'll also advice his client that he will go through certain ordeals but he should not seek respite but keep trudging on.  His problems may also be emotional and psychological rather than physical.  But at the end of it will be the success of great wealth.

Other questions that the babalawo will ask using the opele is whether an ebo should be done and which orisha should be propitiated.  In the case of Oyeku Meji it is quite likely that Olokun will accept something.  Olokun rules the sea and oyeku has so much to do with water.  If not olokun then one of the water deities like Oshun or yemoja. 

This in brief is how most Ifa consultation processes go

Baba Pastor I am not correcting you just offering a different perspective. I acknowledge your knowledge of Ifa is far greater than mine. I hope I can Learn more from you.

Aboru Aboye To everyone.

Let me introduce myself, My name is Onifade Egunyemi, I am an ifa student. I would like to say how enjoyable it was to read the many positive post about Ifa as well as to read the posts of the verses of Ifa. So far Paster AIO and Idinrete, I would like to say an extra thanks for you sharing. There is much I want to say, and I so dislike typing too much.

I will just share this for Odi Meji,

In this odu ifa says that the vocation that the person should be doing is one where by he is in one place during his work day. He warns that he will receive many annoyances there but accompanying the annoyance is money. So if he can endure the annoyance, he will have wealth.

Secondly, Ifa says this person needs to feed his Ori. Because it is his Ori that will cause his honour and prestige to rise up.

Lastly, Odi meji gives greats prospects for those that are seeking children.

On a side note, Baba Paster AIO the initial invocation to awake Orunmila is different from place to place. But the one you put is very good and effective.