Orunmila

Whoever refuses to obey the diviner’s words…should be prepared to see Olódùmarè in heaven. Anyone can throw kola nuts or cowries and read how they land. But for serious quandaries, you need a trained diviner, a babaláwo (male) or iyaláwo (female), to perform a formal Ifá divination for you. Bring an offering of money, whisper your question or problem to the offering in secret, and hand it over. The awo throws a divining chain strung with halved palm nuts, or else tosses nuts on a ritual tray, matching the pattern in which they land to one of 256 poems they memorized during training. The awo then counsels you on how to proceed, including recommending sacrifices to any spirits who might be less than pleased with you.

Ifá is synonymous with its Òrìshà, Òrúnmìlà. He’s close to Òsanyìn and Èshù, and is the only Òrìshà who regularly talks to Olódùmarè. As befits the voice of God, Òrúnmìlà doesn’t go in for fancy Incarnations, dressing in a billowy green-and-gold Nigerian agbada wherever and whenever you see him. He’s a working babaláwo even now; if he has time, he’ll usually get out the palm nuts for someone free of charge if they recognize him and ask politely. It’s who he is: not only the god of divination, but also divination itself.

Òrúnmìlà’s Scions gravitate not only to divination, but also to any field which demands a steeltrap memory. Predictably, they make excellent detectives, university presidents, and pharmacists. They’re highly sought after as advisors and consultants.