OPELE (IKIN) OR MERINDINLOGUN

Opele, Ikin or Merindinlogun are divination tools the babalawo uses to divine things for people.

Orunmila in his lifetime made use of the, ikin known as IBO and latter Opele to divine. Hence till date the Opele is used by Ifa male diviners while Merindinlogun is the Ifa female diviner's tool.

Orishas like Shango, Esu, Obatala, Ogun etc function in liaison with Orunmila. Today the Babalawos are Orunmila's divination designates. The 16 ODU IFA (Meerindinlogun) Orunmila left behind are what Babalawos use to divine with.

To become a divining Babalawo, adept an initiate must be well versed and tutored in the divining art and letters. The Ifa assists people with a lot of services such as worship of (Ori, Ogun, Ile, Esu), festivities, celebrations and sacrifices, which has meanings to Ifa. The Ikin and Opele talk about bygone things, the present and future. Merindinlogun provides similar services of wisdom. IFA also assists in disease diagnosis, treatment, and healing.

The babalawos or iyanifa also assists in matters like protection, progress, wealth, revenge, insurance, marriage, love, affection business, legal matters, ducaton, favor, land issues etc, encountered in our day-to-day lives.

These are the basic 16 Odu Ifas, inherent within these basic 16 are branches of other 16 Odus such as  16 x 16 per basic Odu making a total of 256.

1. Ogbe

2. Obara

3. Irosun

4. Ogunda

5. Osa

6. Owonrin

7. Okanran

8. Oyewu (Oyeku)

9. Ofun or Orangun

10. Ose

11. Odi or (Eji) Omo Nle

12. Irete

13. Otura

14. Oturupon

15. Iwori

16. Ika

All these ODU-IFA have meanings assigned to each when divined and have a special binary manner of writing them down.