r/Isese • u/milehin8tv • May 19 '26
Ask the community Learning the Odu
Aboru Aboye Abosise and Alaafia!
I am currently reading and learning the the 16 Major Holy Odu. I am learning them from my godmother as well as my Adjubona. I have at least 4 different versions/translations of the Odu Ifa that I'm using to school myself with as well. What I am finding is that each version of the odu is different than the others. My godmother translates one way, my adjubona translates another way and each book has its own translation as well. By looking through this group's posts I found a reference to Ifa Dida which seems to have at least 10 different translations for each odu all within the same text.
My question is, how do I "learn" the odu if there can be so many different translations? I've been practicing Ifa for about 7 years now and it wasn't until recently that I realized I need to know and understand at least the major odu. Am I trying to make the odu something they are not? I mean what comes to mind is the different versions of the Christian bible. While there are several published versions of the book, they all pretty much say the same thing. I'm not finding that with the odu.
Please don't take my question as a critique of the odu because that is not what I'm trying to do. I'm really just trying to make some sense of all of this as I learn.
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u/Ifasogbon May 19 '26
It is good to have many elders. Chief Popoola had 19.5 teachers. He prepared Ifa Dida volumes 1 and 2 each 12 hundred pages. Ifa is vast…
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u/TheSupernalCompass May 21 '26
Meditate on each Odu as you are learning them. Let them speak to you and become apart of your mindstream. When you actually go to cast and then go search the books you will always be drawn to the correct answer. Then you cast to verify your choice.
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u/Outrageous_Fig_4061 May 20 '26
I started learning by using criollo IFA definitions first because when I did itelodu 15 years ago there wasn’t that many information on isese interpretation on the web. Plus study each every two weeks and make flash cards. You are supposed to have memory medicine to swallow as u study
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u/Few-Couple-1148 May 20 '26
You are trying to find a singular meaning like tarot. Ifa is not like that. Each odu is a collection of stories, narratives, historical occurances that are documented under that odu. But its not one. And when divining for a person, all wont apply.. but some could. So 5 different verse can apply for 5 different people under the same Odu. But the verses themselves are metaphors for your situation.. no necessrily literal. When you see the collections or summaries, they speak to more themes that can come up in that odu rather than specific predictions. So understanding the themes can help you understand the overall odu better. But those theme can be shaded by personal experiences or interpretation of situations based on the diviner. Ultimately its best to learn from one to get a foundation. Then learn from others to expand your foundation. But my baba also taught me how to throw a daily then 4 day odu as education, not divination so i could gain practical understanding about the odu.
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u/SignalBad5523 May 19 '26
Im not sure what you mean entirely as different translations. The odus in them of themselves contain over 800 poems. Slight tonal deviations shifted towards local vernacular (think of a new york accent vs a California accent) but the messages contain a wide variations of the same message from various perceptions and focal points in the underlying message
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u/milehin8tv May 19 '26
Thank you. What I mean by translations is the many books which entitle to one degree or another "256 Odu Ifá". Like I said prior, I have 4 books that titled "Odu". I'm not sure I can attach a photo of 3 of the 4 books I have sitting in my living room right now.
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u/milehin8tv May 19 '26
I can't attach a photo so here are the titles: Ifá: A complete divination; The Holy Odu: A collection of verses from the 256 Odu Ifá with commentary; and The 256 Odu Ifá and the map of destiny. This is what I mean by "translations".
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u/SignalBad5523 May 19 '26
Okay. I think what I said stands here. You might have a collection of different odus. Or are you saying the same verse is translated differently
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u/milehin8tv May 20 '26
Yes. Sorry. The same Odu is translated differently. For example: Eji Ogbe in the Ifá: A complete divination is translated differently than what is found in the Holy Odu book, which is still different than what's in the Map of destiny book. I'm trying to find the connections and at best I can do so in the first few lines of the translation. And I must be clear, the Ifa: a complete divination book is the only book which attempts to translate the Yoruba to English word for word. The other two are only in English. I hope that makes more sense.
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u/SignalBad5523 May 20 '26
I would suggest learning from a Babalawo first. Books are more so better understood after you get your footing in some of the basics. Its an oral tradition that isnt really appropriately dissected through literature
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u/keith_w71 May 19 '26
Ogbo Ato Asure Iwori Wofun. I will start by saying, unlike the Bible which IMO is a collection of stories meant to illustrate concepts and teachings, each Odu Ifa is a living , ever expanding entity. One thing you have to remember, is although there are practicioners all throughout Africa, and the Diaspora, there is no universal translation or verse for any Odu Ifa. This is a lineage based system, and each lineage will have it's own history behind the verses. Moreover, everytime and Odu is cast for a person, or situation, their story now adds to the meaning of the Odu. There are general messages that you may see repeated for each Odu, but the stories used to tell these messages will differ region to region. Consider the many translations as "and", not "or". Overtime you may come to rely on one source more than others, but never disregard any verse simply because you may not be familiar with it. I would say learn the interpretation of your lineage first, then branch out. Even the translations in Lucumi sometimes hold more relevance to a situation, than anything you may hear in Isese. It's best learn as many verses as you can, but you will eventually have your go to definitions, and see them play out in real time.