About Ifá
A library that knows where its words come from.
Ile De Ifa was built by practitioners and engineers who were tired of seeing Odù copied without sources, and of consultas held over phone numbers and recorded video. This page explains what the house holds, how it is checked, and what it deliberately leaves out.
What Ifá is
Ifá is the divination system and body of knowledge of the Yorùbá people, carried across the Atlantic and kept alive in Cuba, Brazil, Trinidad, Haiti and the diaspora. Its priests, Babalawos and Iyanifás, read the signs that fall when the ikin or the òpèlè are cast, and speak the verses, the ẹsẹ, that belong to each sign.
Ile De Ifa does not perform divination. It does three things: it keeps the written and spoken knowledge of the Odù with their sources, it lets you ask about that knowledge and see where every answer came from, and it connects you with a verified priest for a private consulta.
The 256 Odù
Sixteen principal Odù (Meji) combine into 256 signs. Each has verses, refranes, the orishas who speak in it, its taboos, and what houses say it asks for. The library holds all 256 entries, each marked with its state:
- Verifieda reviewer confirmed the sources
- Traditionaloral teaching attributed to a named house
- Draftstill being gathered; not shown
Traditions we serve
Ifá is one root with many houses. We mark every entry and every priest with their tradition so you are never reading one house's practice as if it were universal.
Regla de Ocha-Ifá as kept in Cuba and its diaspora in Miami, Madrid, Mexico City. Spanish-language verses and refranes.
The tradition as practiced in Nigeria and Benin and by Yorùbá-lineage houses abroad. Yorùbá verses with English translation.
How we verify
Two kinds of things get verified: knowledge and people.
- An editor drafts the entry with every source cited: book, page, or named oral teacher and date.
- A reviewing Babalawo from a different house reads it against the sources.
- They approve, request changes, or mark it Traditional if it rests on oral teaching alone.
- The decision, reviewer and date are shown on the entry.
- The priest applies with lineage, year of initiation, godparent and two references.
- A reviewer calls the references and, where possible, the godparent.
- Identity is checked. The profile goes live with the Verified chip and the reviewer's name.
- Re-verified every year. Reports from clients are read by a human.
Sources
Every verse, refrán and attribution in the library links to a source entry. Written sources list author, title, edition and page. Oral sources list the teacher, their house, and the date the teaching was recorded, with their permission. Answers in Ask will cite these same source entries, so you can follow any sentence back to where it came from.
What stays with your priest
Not everything in Ifá belongs in an app. We hold a clear line between knowledge that may be read and instruction that must be received from an authorized priest.
Odù names, refranes, verified verses, orishas who speak, general meaning. Readable without an account.
Your own signs and consultas, deeper commentary attributed to named houses, Ask with your sign as context.
Step-by-step ebó, ceremonial procedure, and initiatory matter. Never shown in the app. Your Babalawo gives it in person or on the call.
Languages
The whole house is available in English and Spanish: the library, the booking flow, reminders, and the 16-day record. Verses are shown in their original language first, with translation beneath. Every Babalawo lists the languages they consult in, so you can choose one who speaks yours.