What is ifa.

Ifá is the native knowledge and belief system of the Yoruba. The practice of Ifá them predates historical records. Before the colonial period, the Yorùbá developed practices and institutions that make Ifá revolve around the reality of Yorubaland, and how the human inhabitants relate with that reality. The system of divination used in Ifá is a code to access the scientific and metaphysical knowledge in the literary corpus; the Odu Ifá. Orunmila is identified as the Grand Priest, as he revealed (read; invented) the foundational divinity and prophecy (the first 16 Odu) to the world. A Babalawo or Iyanifa are called Ifa priests, but really, they are scholars; the equivalent of professors in classical university systems. They use either the divining chain known as Opele, or the sacred palm or kola nuts called Ikin, on the wooden divination tray called Opon Ifá to mathematically calculate which Odu to use for what problem.