Yoruba 1, (1) 68-73
THE SECRET OF IFA DIVINA-
TION and the teachings of Orunmila
are embodied in the Odu, a collection of
stories having a .similar theme. The
Odu of Ifa are of two categories the Oju
Odu (The principal Odu} which are
sixteen in number and the Omo Odu
(the minor Odu) which arc two hundred
and forty. (See appendix for details).
Both the principal Odu and the Omo
Odu are arranged in a specific order of
seniority and the hierarchical ordering is
of great significance in the
interpretation of Orunrnila's message.
There are two identical arms lo the
sign of every principal Odu. But to form
an Omo Odu, the sign on one arm of a
principal Odu combines with the sign
from one arm of another principal Odu.
(see chart
1 -4)
!69
Bade Ajayi
(Ofun on the right and Ogbe on
ihc left).
As shown in the above examples,
each Omo Odu is named and interpreted
in terms of the two halves
configuration. However, the sign on the
right arm of each Omo Odu said to be
more powerful for it determines (the
real message of Orunmila.
We are aware that, Abimbola
(1970, -1977), Bascom (l969) and
MicClelland (1982) have worked on Ifa
literary corpus generally, our main
focus in this paper is the examination of
the process by which Omo Odu are
derive (from the principal Odu) The
thirty. Omo Odu of Eji Oghe which
Abimbola (1970) calls Apola Ogbe are
being used as a case study.
Like the Apola of each of
The other principal Odu, the derivation
of Apola Ogbe takes
Yoruba 1, (1) 68-73 Bade Ajayi

For example, can combine with to form an Omo Odu (Ogbe on the right and
one arm of one arm of Ofun called Ogbefun ofun on the left).The
Eji -Ogbe sign meji combination can be
O O O OO O reversed to produce
O O O O Ofunmagbe
O O O OO O O OO
O O O O O O
O OO
1 2 3 4 O O

Bi omo odu se n hu ninu ifa dida

Bi awon babalawo se n seda amulu odu tabi omo odu lo je Bade Ajayi logun. Bi omo
odu won yi se hu 1o tan yebeyebe pelu iwadii to jinle. 0 fi han pe ogbon omo odu ni a le ri
fayo lati orison Apola Ogbe. O salaye pe ilana fonoloji tabi osuwon itumo ko le kogo
alaye nipa iecda omo odu ja ninu imoIfa, idi si niyi ti o ft tun foju asa daso ro won.

La derivation d'Omo Odu du corpus "ttcraire d'lfa

L'eeri vain propose L. examiner la derivation de lOmo Odu (Odu subardiniuc) de I'Oju
Odu (I'Odu principal). Ce faisant,les odus mincurs qui en resultent, montrent quelque
evidence des processus phonologiques tels I 'elision des voyelles et ton, of /yf' contraction
de voyelles. A partir dune etude soignees de la structure d 'Aploa Ogbe (des phrases
nomnales) on s point de contact entre la langue et Ie symbole. Lessignes Odu refletent
dans la langue.IIs .s 'eei ivent et se lisent du droite comme des mots arabes, tandis que le
yorouba, comme 1 'anglais et Ie francaissecrit du gauche a droit La derivation de
quelques Omo Odu est difficite a expliqucr linguistiquement, Mais ou ni Ies regles
phonologiques, ni les proprietes semantiques ne peuvent expliquer la derivation de
certains Omo Odu, Ieerivnin a pu, dans 1artiiclc, utiliser de I'evidence culturelle pou.
expliquer leur origine.

!70
Yoruba 1, (1) 68-73 Bade Ajayi

!
9. Ogbe+Oworin (Ogbehunle)
10. Oworin+Ogbe (Oworinsogbe)
11. Ogbe+Obara (Ogbebara)
12. Obara+Ogbe (Obarabogbe)
forms which are difficult to account for. 13. Ogbe+Okanran (Ogbekanran)
The something that happens when 14. Okanran+Ogbe (Okanransode)
forming Apola of any what two principal 15. Ogbe+Ogunda (Ogbeyonu)
Odu combine to form a minor thing in 16. Ogunda+Ogbe (Ogundabede)
the process of formation, many changes 17. Ogbe+Osa (Ogberikusa)
in the case of Apola Ogbe for instance, 18. Osa+Ogbe (Osalufogbejo)
when combined with any of the other 19. Ogbe + Ika (Ogbeka)
fifteen principal vice versa, the resultant 20. Ika + Ogbe (Ikagbemi)
minor Odu shows some of phonological 21. O g b e + O t u u r u p o n
processes. (Ogbetomopon)
The purpose of analysis, let us list the 22. O t u u r u p o n + O g b e
thirty Omo Apola Ogbe contains: (Otuurupongbe)
1. Ogbe+Oyeku (Ogbeyeku) 23. Ogbe+Otua (Ogbealara)
2. Oyeku+Ogbe (Oyekulogbe) 24. Otua+Ogbe (Otuaoriko)
3. Ogbe+Iwori (Ogbeweyin 25. Ogbe+Irete (Ogbeate)
4. Iwori+Ogbe (Iworibogbe) 26. Irete+Ogbe (Irentegbe)
5. Ogbe+Odi (Ogbedi) 27. Ogbe+Ose (Ogbese)
6. Odi+Ogbe (Idingbe) 28. Ose+Ogbe (Oseogbe)
7. Ogbe+Irosun (Ogberosun) 29. Ogbe+Ofun (Ogbefun)
8. Irosun+Ogbe (Irosungbemi) 30. Ofun+Ogbe (Ofunnagbe)

!71
Yoruba 1, (1) 68-73
In Apola Ogbe (1, 5, 7, 11, 13,
19, and 27 above), there is elision of
vowel I, o, orm let us consider what
happens in the following derivation:
(a.) Ogbe + Oyeku = Ogbeyeku
Ogbe + Odi = Ogbesi
Ogbe + Irosun = Ogberosun
Ogbe + Obara = Ogbebara
Ogbe + Okanran = Ogbekanran
Ogbe + Ika = Ogbeka
In the above example, the
phonological process of vowel elision
deletes the second of two vowels in these
derivations. In other words, the deletion
is constant. But it must be stressed that
other derivations such as those found in
b- d below are more complicated.
In Yoruba phonology, contraction
of vowels is a common process in the
language. Here are some sample words.
Omo+Eniyan= Omoniyan (human being)
Eti+okun = etikun (bank of the
ocean)
Eran=oko = eranko (animal)
In each of these sample words
both the second vowel and its tone are
elided. The nominalisation pattern in (a)
is identical with this - i.e. Noun + Noun
showing an identical V2 (vowel two or
vowel number two.) elision process. As
closely observed, this phonological rule
applies when Ogbe is in initial position
of the compounded words. With the
exception of Otuurupon different forms
are obtained when Ogbe falls to the final
position of the derived forms (see b, c
and d below.)
Considering Apola Ogbe (2, 4, 10
and 12) a monosyllabic word, usually a
verb, is inserted in the two combining
Odu.
!72
Bade Ajayi
(b) Oyeku + Ogbe = Oyekulogbe
Oyeku lu Ogbe (Labara)
(Oyeku-beats-Ogbe-wiih-its-palm)
Oyeku ni Ogbe {Oyeku-has-Ogbe}
Iwori + Ogbe = Iworibogbe
Iwori bo Ogbe (Mole)
(Iwori-covers-Ogbe-up)
Owonrin + Ogbe = Owonrinsogbe
Owonrin so Ogbe (mole)
(Owonrin-ties-Ogbe-down)
We m a y g i v e a t e n t a t i v e
statement or speculate what happens in
the process of this derivation. It may be
possible that after inserting a verb such
as lu (to beat), bo (do cover) between the
underlying form, the vowel of the
inserted item is deleted leaving only the
consonant remnant which of course,
helps to suggest the inserted verb. On
purely phonological evidence, what we
have are intrusive consonants which do
not seem to be predictable. However, a
semantic consideration will make us
consider that a syllable has been inserted.
A phonological process of vowel
deletion follows, in cacti of the above
examples, it is another Odu that
collocated with Ogbe. Can we therefore,
conclude that when any of the other
fifteen Odu combines with Ogbe a
monosyllabic word (preferably a verb) be
inserted?
Definitely, such a rule or
generalisation would not be workable
because it does not cut across all Apola
Ogbe of similar combination. Examples
are 6, 8, 14 24 and 26. The, operation in
17 and 20 is even more complicated for,
in the former, the initial vowel of the
second Odu is elided and two other
syllables arc added. In the latter, a single
syllable is inserted.
(c) Ogbc + Osa = Ogberikusa
Yoruba 1, (1) 68-73
Ika + Ogbe = Ikagbemi
What all these irregular systems
of combination amount to is that we
cannot use phonological rules to ezplain
the derivation of every minor Odu in
Apola Ogbe. Semantically, the second
Odu of some Omo Odu not have bearing
with the original odu. Consider the
following:
(d) Ogbe + Iwori = Ogbeweyin
Ogbe + Owonrin =Ogbehunle
Irosun + Ogbe =Irosunokanjua
Ogbe + Otua = Ogbealara
In the above example, the underlined
wards under the deriving forms do not
mean the same thing as their counterparts
underlined in the derivation. The
information collected from our
informants confirms dial neither is Iwori
related to weyin nor Oworin to hunle..
Iwori and Oworin are names of two
principal Odu while the terms weyin
(look back) and hunle (look after your
household) in isolation are verb phrases.
What all the irregularities thus pointed
out amount to is that semantic property
cannot be the basis for the formation of
Omo Odu.
As shown in the preceding analysis,
ii is evident that .either phonological
rules nor semantic properties can be used
to explain the derivations of some Omo
Odu in Ifa corpus. However, such Omo
Odu whose derivation cannot be
explained linguistically must have their
origin somewhere and thus cultural
evidence is put into consideration. Each
Odu in Ifa literary corpus normally, has
!73
Bade Ajayi
several stories or Ese Ifa associated with
it.
Our finding reveals that the
babalawo attributes the most popular and
favourite oriki (praise names) arising
from one or more ese Ifa to a particular
Odu. Such Odu are named after the
praise names picked from the stories
associated to the Odu of Ifa in question.
Such names may be sentential or phrasal
in structure as characteristic of other
Yoruba names or nicknames. Hence we
have such Omo Odu as Ogbeweyin,
Ogbehunle, Oworin-Elejigbo,
Ogbeejengbere, Ogbe-afibisoloore, and
Ose-alaroye or Ose-awoko derived from
different ese Ifa. For example, the origin
Ogbeweyin can be traced to either of
these two ese Ifa:
(1) Ogbe weyin baja re o baa pa kun
A dia fun arugbofulani toun
togo
Ogbe, look backwards should
your dog kill a kind of
squirrel
Ifa divination was performed for
a Fulani with a club for self
defence.
(2) Ogbe weyin baja re o pakun
i gboro
Kannyanrin ma de o, obinrin
Igboro
Yoruba 1, (1) 68-73 Bade Ajayi

. !

!74
Yoruba 1, (1) 68-73 Bade Ajayi

Popular Names Nickname/Appellation English equivalent

Ogbesa Ogberikusa Ogbe-runs-away-from-
death
Ogbefun Ogbefohunfolohun Ogbe-gives-something-to-
the-right-owner
Ofunnara Ofunnagbe Ofun-beats-Ogbe
Ogundabede Ogundamorogbe Ogunda-I-have-seen-Ogbe
Ogbeyonu Ogbeegun, Ogbegunda Ogbe-is-long, Ogbe-joins-
Ogunda
Ikagbemi I k a a l a k e n g b e , Ika-has-big-gourd, Father-
Babaalakengbe has-a-gourd
Ogarabogbe Obaraonigba, Obara- Obara-the-owner-of-
Olowuu Obara-the-owner- calabash, people/Obara-the-
of-Owu owner-of-thread.
Otuaoriko Otuaorikoku, Otuaoriire, Otua-head-rejects-death,
Otua-ogood-destiny, Otua
generousity-pays-me.
Osealaroye Oseawoko Oseafibisoloore Ose-the-talking-bird, Ose-
who-repaygoowith-evil
Owonrinsogbe Owonrin-onigbagbo, Owonrin-of-the-Owonrin-
Elejigbo, believers or
Christian faithfuls,
Owonrin-of-the-King-of-
Ejigbo

!75
Yoruba 1, (1) 68-73 Bade Ajayi

Emi n lo ile oko aaro One verse from the Owonrin-Elejigbo

Ogbe, look backwards should your dog the nickname for Owonrinogbe reads:
kill a kind of squirrel, (4) Aragbandu oko ni yi gbirigbiri,
Ifa divination was performed for A dia fun Ogboja
Kannyanrin the wife of over-grown farm. Ti i somo oba lEyo-Ajori.
Kannyanrin has come, the wife of an Aragbandu oko ni yi gbirigbiri
overgrown farm. A dia fun Elejigbo
I am proceeding to my first husbands Ti n lo fomo oba Eleyo-Ajori
house A boulder that rolls over and
(1) and (2) the words Ogbe (a noun) and over,
weyin (a phrase) are nominalised to form Ifa divination was performed for
Ogbeweyin thatfor the name of the omo Ogboja
Odu from which the two ese Ifa are The princess of Eyo-Ajori
picked. Kannyanrin is a type of ese that A very big stone that rolls over
grows well in a fertile land. and over
Other example is that of the omo Odu Ifa divination was performed for
Ikagbemi coming from the following the king of Ejigbo.
favourite ese Ifa.
Ika gbe mi n o joba Ila
Ika o gbe mi n o joba Ila. Bascom Abimbola Mcclelland
Ifa n lo taye Olufe so bi e ni
sogbe. O g b e Ogbeyeku O g b e -
If Ika blesses me I will be Oyeku Oyeku
crowned the king of Ila
O y e k u Oyekulogbe O y e k u -
And if Ika does not bless me I
Ogbe Ogbe
will be crowned the king of Ila.
The three underlinedwords are Ogbe Iwori Ogbeweyin Ogbe-Iwori
compounded to bear the name of
Iwori Ogbe Iworibogbe Iwori-Ogbe
the Omo Odu, Ikagbemi.
There are some Odu that tell the O g b e Ogbehunle O g b e -
histories and myths about the foundation Owonrin Owonrin
of particular Yoruba towns and villages.
O w o n r i n Owonrinsog O w o n r i n -
These are described as Odu to te ilu do
Ogbe be Ogbe
(the Odu that founded a town), that is,
the Odu revealed when a babalawo was O g b e Ogbeyonu O g b e -
invited to divine before the particular Ogunda Ogunda
town or village was founded. The
common practice was to have the names O g u n d a Ogundabed O g u n d a -
of such town or village reflected in the Ogbe e Ogbe
Odu question. For example, Owonrin-
Elejigbo is the name given to the omo Who wanted to marry Eleyo-
Odu (Owonrin+Ogbe) that founded Ajori princess.
Ejigbo town in Osun State of Nigeria. In fact, each of the cited ese Ifa (1-4)
has long and interesting stories attached

!76
Yoruba 1, (1) 68-73 Bade Ajayi

to it, but for lack of space we shall not go are written). But Yoruba, like English
into the detailed stories.What interests us and French is written from left to right.
is the derivation of some Odu which are Since the system of marking the Odu and
being explored by means of cultural writing the name of the same Odu takes
evidence. Eleyo-Ajori is part of Oloye different directions, there is bound to he
descendants Oriki, Yoruba praise and changes of position in the sign and the
descriptive chant. The ese Ifa above and language though both presenting the
the ones (1-3) preceding it were collected same thing. These changes would not
from Awo Olaifa Ajayi of Ondasa have been necessary if the Odu are
compound, Oyo, Oyo State. named in Arabic. Chinese, odu sign is
After a careful stujdy of the structure written from top downwards. Thus, a
of Apola Ogbe, it is observed that the babalawo prints an odu sign in the
Odu signs are reflected in the language. following order:
In this wise it is suspected that there 2. 1
must have been a meeting point between 3. 3
language and symbol. In fact, one would 6. 5
be curious to know how the structures of 8 7
omo Odo are related to ritual function.
When, for instance, a babalawo casts the
chain and Ogbeyeku emerges thus: Almost every babalawo in the
OO O geographical areas of research prefers to
OO O call the minor odu the way the Apola
OO O Ogbe (1 - 30) are listed above. According
OO O to Adebayo Kehinde of Elepe compound,
the first of the combining Odu Oyo and Anafi Ijala of Kondoro
appears on the right side of the sign. As compound, Alore-Ilorin, omo odu are
the sign changes position, the Odu names callea as regorded to make things
also changes. For example, the name and difficult for the babalawo-in-training and
the sign of the following minor Odu also to maintain the sacred-less of Ifa
change position: corpus. For instance, during Ifa
Ogbeyeku OO O divination session (where a number of
OO O babalawo are present) or an initiation
OO O ceremony or a graduating babalawo, the
OO O young may be tested on the identification
of the Odu that bear certain nicknames or
Oyekulogbe O OO appellations. For example, Ogbeelesin
O OO (Ogbe has horse), Ogbeoloosa (Ogbe of
O OO the deity), is the same Odu as Ogbeyeku,
O OO the first minor in Ifa corpus. (Of the
can this alternating effect in the language many names that an Odu may have,
and the Odu can be coincidence, an variant forms will surface under different
accident or a design? As pointed out circumstances. None of them is actually
earlier. Odu signs arc marked and sad derived from the other). Any experienced
from right to left (the way Arabic words and learned babalawo can easily
!77
Yoruba 1, (1) 68-73 Bade Ajayi

recognise that the above appellations

refer generally to Ogbeyeku, the leader.
of the minor Odu. Our informants have
proved beyond any doubt that there is
hardly any omo Odu that does not have
at least, a nickname (beside the popular
name). The nicknames are oriki
characteristic of an individual omo Odu.
Here are some examples, (see table 1).
These nicknames or appellations
which often during divination process
especially when the signs are being
verbalised, can be multiplied. The
emergence of the names depends lo a
large extent on the situation and
circumstance surrounding the divination.
Another important question that
needs be answered in order to throw
further light on the derivation of omo
Odu generally Apola Ogbe in particular
is whether or not all scholars on Ifa
literary corpus write the names of the

!78
Yoruba 1, (1) 68-73 Bade Ajayi

!79
Yoruba 1, (1) 68-73 Bade Ajayi

odu alike. The answer is definitely

negative. The way Bascom (1969:50)
writes the Odu is different from the way
Abimbola (1977:17) and McCtelland
(1982:44- _ 45) write and analyse.
The way, Bascom and McClelland
write the names (as shown above) is
basically the same. What differentiates
McClelland's writing is the use of
hyphen 10 compound the iwo words.
Almost all our informants list omo Odu
the way Abimbola writes them. Thus we
select relevant data from Abimbolas
together with ow own collection for this
analysis.
As revealed in this study, the
derivatory process of some of the Omo !
Odu names is difficult to explain
linguistically. But where neither the
phonological rules nor semantic
properties can be used to explain the
derivation of certain Omo Odu, cultural
evidence, as demonstrated in this paper,
can be used to explain the origin.
However, the learned babalawo are so
familiar with almost every odu in Ifa
corpus that once an odu is mentioned,
they can readily identify and narrate the
stories (ese Ifa) relevant to the Odu. At
initiation ceremony, for instance, the
master babalawo might call any emerged
Odu by its appellation or nickname to
test the ability of the graduating student
babalawo.

!80