In the Ifa Tradition of Yorubaland, West Africa, the attributes of the Source of All Things are personified as the sentient Beings called Orisa. In the Sacred Oracles of Ifa, the text and oral tradition of the faith, there are 256 of what westerners would likely refer to as Chapters. From the standpoint of Ifa, these 256 Odus are not merely divisions of the text, but instead represent the wisdom of 256 of the 401 Irunmole (Divine Attributes of Olorun, God) or Orisa. A listing of the 256 Odu is available in our publication, Adura: An Ifa Prayer Book For Beginners, Vol. 1, 2nd Edition. Some of the 401 Orisa have been lost in the diaspora as a result of the machinations used to subdue Africans during the period of the European Slave Trade and Imperialism, but there are many who have survived and are worshipped by practitioners around the world in various African based spiritual systems. There are 8 Priniciple Orisa who have maintained their presence and power throughout the various Ifa based spiritual traditions across the African Diaspora and who are considered to be the primary Spiritual Forces that can 'crown a persons head' (i.e., be our personal link to Home and guide and protector in the marketplace.)
Update: In 2014 I wrote to the Emese and Isoro Traditional Council of Chief expressing my desire to be able to acknowledge by name each of the 401 Orisas. My feeling was that since my house is Ile Awo Orisa, the House of the Mysteries of the Orisa, it is representative of all of the Orisa, and as the Oluranse Emese, Voice of the Emese, I would have a responsibility to homage all of the Orisa. Below I quote the response I received from the Emese and Council. Note that some information has been left out because it was not authorized to be shared.
The 401 Orisas are not observed or consecrated by everybody. Oduduwa, the first Ooni was the first Oba who had those Orisas as his chiefs and consultants. It is the king that pays homage, obeisance and rituals to the 401 Orisas. The names are listed inside the AARE Crown that the Ooni wears. These are the ones sent with Orunmila during his sojourn in Ile Aye. The council also has the responsibility of performing the rituals and sacrifices to 201 of the Orisas, many of which are not allowed to be crowned on any individual's head. The Orisas that are crowned on people's heads during reading and initiations are the ones brought by Orunmila, who then performed the first initiation for his son Oseetura. The names of these Orisas are sacred and cannot by called by everybody without the prerequisite spiritual power and authority. The Council will at this point give you a list of some of the Orisas that are solely the responsibility of the Emese. (Note: Here the Council provided me with the names of 10 of these Orisas.)
It is to be noted that these Orlsas are not crowned on people's heads. They are called Orisa Ipinlese, which means Orisa of the Beginning.
[Oju Orisa List]
[Back to Library]
