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Ihafa: A Journal of African Studies 8: 2

December 2016, 77-107

An Analysis of the Nature of Spirit in Ifa Literary

Corpus
Ayodele Shotunde, Chiedozie Okoro,
& Godwin Azenabor
University of Lagos

Abstract
The dialectical orientations in world affairs promote zero tolerance or
the winner takes all game. This challenge has perhaps been
responsible for the deprived peace and progressive development,
especially in Africa. In this direction, this paper examines the nature
of spirit in Ifa literary corpus. Ifa is regarded as a compendium of
knowledge and wisdom. The paper aims to unearth the essential
qualities of spirit in Ifa’s philosophy. However, spirit, as it is used in
this work, refers to mind. Mind in Ifa is holistic, consisting of the
material and non-material aspects. Hence, the discourse on spirit in
Ifa is dualistic not dualism but monistic duality. Mind in Ifa operates
on the rules of symbiosis and complementarity. In Ifa, spirit has
primacy but not superiority over matter. The nature of spirit in turn
determines how the mind relates to the external world. In Ifa, the
external world is not just an appearance, but co-exists with spirit. Ifa

________________________________

Ayodele Shotunde
Department of Philosophy, University of Lagos
Phone: +234 802 313 5991; E-mail: [email protected]
Chiedozie Okoro, PhD.
Department of Philosophy, University of Lagos
Phone: +234 802 313 5991; E-mail: [email protected]
Godwin Azenabor, PhD.
Department of Philosophy, University of Lagos
Phone: +234 802 313 5991; E-mail: [email protected]
78 Nature of Spirit in Ifa Corpus

operates the methodology of hermeneutic analysis, which is further

anchored on the principle of duality. The principle of duality states
that opposites are equal and reciprocal, but for the purpose of
convenience, one must be active while the other should be passive.
This allows for symbiosis and complementarity. The objective of this
essay, therefore, is to unearth the logic and epistemology of the
metaphysical system in Ifa, which should set the stage for a
philosophical analysis of Ifa tradition. On this note, the essay
employs the hermeneutical analytical method native to philosophical
inquiry as a process of investigation. The paper argues that the
culture of a people forms the background for distilling pure
philosophical orientations that affect the process of development.

Keywords: spirit; monistic duality; dualism; logic/epistemology;

metaphysics; Ifa literary corpus.

1. Introduction
The question of the nature of spirit (mind) has in recent times
come up globally, especially as it affects the external world. The
Arcus Dictionary defines mind as that which is responsible for
one’s thoughts and feelings; the seat of the faculty of reason.
According to Omoregbe (2003:32) the concept of mind can be
defined as the power of thinking. Thinking is intangible as well
as a power native to man. Put differently, the mind by nature is
nonphysical or immaterial aspect of human person where it is
believed that consciousness takes place. The point to underscore
here is that the mind is a nonphysical or spiritual power native to
man.
Specifically, it has been argued that where there is mind
there is consciousness, and consciousness itself is metaphysical
power underlying the physical operation of the human mind. In
this regard, it shows that consciousness is an alert cognitive state
by which one is aware of oneself and one’s situation. The
awareness of oneself and one’s situation helps to condition one’s
environment. In consciousness, therefore, there must always be
a correlation between the subject (knower) and the object
(known) which brings about a balance output of reasoning or
thinking. This is simply because the mind cannot function itself,
on its own without the external world. The external world in this
 Shotunde, Okoro, & Azenabor 79

regard represents sensibility in both the living and nonliving

things such as human body, stones, rivers etc., while the mind
represents reason, understanding, illumination and spirit (see
Azenabor 1999:124).
Furthermore, the concept of spirit is used
interchangeably with the mind among African scholars like
Idoniboye (1973), Unah (1999), Azenabor (2010) and Okoro
(2015) to mention just a few. They describe spirit as the one
entity that remains constant in all spheres of African belief
system. The material has meaning and purpose only through the
lenses of the spiritual. In fact, the idea of “Spiritual Empiricism”
is the beginning of African metaphysics. In this direction, even
nothing becomes something, when the right spiritual apparatus
is utilized.
Be that as it may, it is an established fact that in a state of
knowledge process phenomenon and tradition in African
metaphysics, like Ifa, the relationship between mind and body is
not a problem; it is in everyday experience. No clear-cut
distinction exists between the mind and the body; they are
interrelated, connected and are different aspects or
manifestations of the same reality, which is undifferentiated.
Although, Ifa offers a physical aspect in reality, but in the
expression and conduct of an adept there is no distinction
between the physical and nonphysical. This is because it is
believed that African notion of reality have two sides that are
symbiotic.
In his book entitled, Individual: an Essay in Descriptive
Metaphysics, P. F. Strawson underscore double aspect of reality
just as Martin Heidegger’s thesis on being and non-being. These
are Western philosophers who have come closest to the African
notion of reality, yet there is a fundamental difference between
Strawson’s and African’s notion. Whereas Strawson believes
that it is only man who has these two aspects, an average
African man believes that every existing object has this realistic
nature. Thus, “the African, unlike most Western philosophers,
goes as far as to ascribe spirit or mind to other things, like trees,
rivers, stones, moon” (Azenabor 1999:125).
80 Nature of Spirit in Ifa Corpus

In consequence, it is the mind or spirit that gives a thing

its essence and life in African notion of reality. It is by joining
of a spirit to a material body that all things are created, and it is
by the separation of spirit from the body that they are destroyed.
Therefore, it is the spirit that gives strength, vigour, power and
growth to anything. Spirit is the basis of a thing. It is its
distinctive character (cf. Azenabor 1999:126). In this regard,
Idoniboye rejects the Cartesian concept of causal interaction
between mind and body and rather favours the idea of symbiosis,
as expressing the relationship between the two.

2. Ifa as a compendium of knowledge

It has been cited and accepted by different scholars and
researchers that Ifa literary corpus contains a total of 256
chapters or categories of understanding known in Yoruba
thought system as Odu (cf. Abimbola, 1976). These categories
of understanding are sub-divided into two main parts, namely;
major and minor categories of understanding. The major
categories known as Oju Odu which are sixteen (16) in number
and the minor categories known as Omo Odu or Amulu Odu
(means permutation) comprises of two-hundred and forty (240).
Through these categories of understanding, all reality takes their
meaning or essence in the universe. According to Abimbola
(1976:29), the former are by far senior to the latter perhaps
because they are whole and intertwined in nature. The
chronological order among the first sixteen Odu is presented in
the table below:

The Sixteen Major Geomantic Symbols (Odu) in Ifa

1 Eji-ogbe Nature
2 Oyeku-meji Change
3 Iwori-meji Grace
4 Odi-meji Blockage
5 Irosun-meji Time
6 Oworin-meji Scarcity
7 Obara-meji Plentitude
 Shotunde, Okoro, & Azenabor 81

8 Okanran- Strife
meji
9 Ogunda-meji Work
10 Osa-meji Scattering/disruption/hindering
11 Ika-meji Mischief
12 Oturupon- Burden
meji
13 Otua-meji Favour
14 Irete-meji Productivity
15 Ose-meji Choice
16 Ofun-meji or Circulation
Orangun-
meji
Fig. 1 Adapted from Wande Abimbola’s Sixteen Great Poems of Ifa and
interaction with an adept of Ifa.

As has been noted earlier that Ifa is a compendium of

knowledge and wisdom which embraces double aspect reality
(i.e. spirit/matter, mind/body, rationalism/empiricism, etc.) as
revealed unto the illuminated minds, manifesting in religion,
politics, philosophy and science. It involves the practice of
aiding the memory and meditative device to interpret the past,
present and future. Okoro (2015:63) extensively quoting Augulu
Onwuejeogwu describes Ifa as

A system of transmitting meaning from the finite

province to the world of everyday life, this signs are
decoded into everyday common language to
generate symbolic experiences and knowledge
which determines social action in the world of
everyday life.
82 Nature of Spirit in Ifa Corpus

He explains further that these sign systems of transmitting

meaning are represented in the divining chain (i.e. opele) of
eight half-seed shells.
Ifa is consulted by the supplicants for reasons such as
uncertainty as to know whether something is the case or not,
illumination of obscure phenomena and advice or deliverance in
human helplessness. To shed more light on the exposition and
analysis of Ifa as a compendium of knowledge, Olufemi Taiwo
(2004:306) reasoned that:

Ifa is a compendium of knowledge and wisdom. It

bespeaks a sophisticated society in which people,
ordinary folk and experts alike are agitated by
questions of causality, proof, consistency, clarity,
efficacy, correctness, and the likes. And this, the
human need to know, to anticipate the
imponderables of human existence in an often
hostile and inscrutable world, and we can better
appreciate the premium that is placed on Ifa as an
omniscient intelligence.

It is deducible from the above quotation that embedded in Ifa is

the wisdom, knowledge and understanding anyone can think of.
Perhaps, it is root of the appellate in Yoruba thought system
that: “akere-fi-inu-ṣ’ọgbọn/akere-fọgbọn-ṣe-’nu” translated as:
‘little but immensely wise and repository of wisdom.’ By
implication, Ifa can be described as the wisdom of the old, the
fundamental basis of all the African sciences, as represented in
each of the categories of understanding.
Owolabi (2001:574) explains that at the heart of African
notion of reality is the veneration of wisdom (i.e. Yoruba
Ọgbọn) as the ultimate value. It suffices to say that the concept
of wisdom is inexhaustible in the African system of thought.
Besides wisdom, a reasonable number of handful colourations
are embedded in the African notion of reality. Wisdom is simply
the capacity for rational decision and mystical relations of
forces. It is the synergy between rationality and experience,
spurned by ‘will’ and ‘imagination’. Above all, wisdom is
 Shotunde, Okoro, & Azenabor 83

continuous improvement on one’s destiny, as wisdom is

continuous ad infinitum. Perhaps, this is the reason why Sophie
Oluwole (2015:16) states that: “Ọgbọn ọdun yi, were emi”
translated as: wisdom of today is folly of tomorrow. In this light,
wisdom is the mastery between the metaphysical or supernatural
forces and the natural/societal forces, as mediated by the human
self. Put differently, wisdom consists in the harmonization of
this tripartite composition of man and his society, usually done
in a hierarchicized order with the singular purpose of unifying
the horizontal and vertical forces in man and in the society
(Okoro 2012).
Human being is the center or subject of ontological
harmony called ‘wisdom’. In other words, human essence
abound in the harmonious coordination of the various parts of
the body, each mechanically significant for the collective whole.
Thus, the centripetal force is ‘Ori’ or ‘Ori-inu’ (i.e. inner head),
the seat of destiny and self-actualization (power of the will and
imagination). In all, the practical manifestation of the will is via
‘owo’ (hands), the essence of it is hard work in the African
thought system. In this direction, all human beings attain self-
order. Mediating between metaphysical and physical realities in
a cosmic order, man exhibits his transcendental immanence and
structuring prowess to attain a collective teleos or destiny (which
results into social order). In all, Ifa sees anything or every reality
as basically interconnected, ranging from human being through
its society and the activities therein. Thus, holistic understanding
of this piece offers core knowledge of the African notion of
reality.

2.1. The epistemology of Ifa literary corpus

The expression, epistemology of Ifa literary corpus derives its
strength from the principle of metaphysical interfusion. This is
because it is a nonphysical kind of epistemology that operates
the simultaneity of transcendental and realism. In this kind of
epistemology, the principles of rationalism, empiricism,
idealism and materialism are all holistically interwoven. It is
against this background that the epistemology of Ifa literary
84 Nature of Spirit in Ifa Corpus

corpus is simply describes as nonphysical or spiritual

transcendental.
The transcendental nature of epistemology in African
notion of reality derives from the traditional conception of
‘eniyan’ in Yoruba (Igbo mmadu/mmadi). Eniyan is conceived
to be essentially transcendental, metaphysical, ontological or
spiritual. It is in this light that Idoniboye (1973:83) writes that:

Spirit is the animating, sustain, creative life-force of

the universe. It is what gives anything its
individuality. In human bodies it becomes the mind
or soul so that the individual mind or soul shares in
the collective mind-or-soul-stuff of the universe.

It is clear from the above quotation that eniyan as consisting of

the physical body (the Yoruba ‘ara’ or the Igbo ‘ahu’ or ‘aru’)
and the immaterial self as pure consciousness (the Yoruba ‘emi’
or the Igbo ‘mmuo mmadu’). ‘Emi’ or ‘mmuo mmadu’
represents man as pure spirit or pure consciousness or simply
vital-force or causative agent that animates man with awareness
or consciousness. This point was variously underscored by
scholars including Bolaji Idowu and Adegboyega Orangun in
respective order. In the words of Bolaji Idowu, “emi ‘invisible
and intangible’, is the source of life and is associated (though
not identified) with the breath, it is for the Yoruba, a human
spiritual component, but it should be regarded as the vital-force
or basic life principle” (quoted by Hallen 2000:296). On the
other hand, Orangun (1998:43) regards emi as; “the spiritual
element in the human personality. It is immaterial and invisible,
it is the vital-force that gives life to the body, its presence in or
absence from the body depicts life or death respectively”.
Granted the analysis offered by these scholars, one can safely
posits that ‘emi’ is the structure of intelligence of man in
African notion of reality.
At a glance, one can also deduce the ontological root or
source to a pure transcendental epistemological discourse from
the aforementioned. This concerns the duality of eniyan as
physical body and as pure consciousness. The material body or
 Shotunde, Okoro, & Azenabor 85

the physicality depicts eniyan as an immanent finite being with

fallible tendencies while pure consciousness depicts eniyan as a
transcendent being with the infinite rational capacity of new
innovation to create, invent and discover, thereby making eniyan
an ontological being with the propensity or capability to
transcend a given situation. Philosophically speaking, the whole
discourse about transcendence and immanence concerns which
faculty of the mind institutes both “transcendental knowledge”
(i.e. ontological transcendence) and “objectivity”. The pertinent
question here is; how could human consciousness be both
transcendent (showing infinitude and autonomy) and immanent
(showing finitude and dependence) at the same time? Finitude
reveals the reliance of imagination, understanding and pure
reason on sensibility. On the other hand, the transcendent nature
of consciousness reveals the spontaneous nature of the mind (as
reflected in the higher faculties of the mind) which portrays
consciousness as autonomous. Existentially speaking, human
creativity terminates at the point of death which signifies
finitude. Meanwhile, the infinite aspect of human consciousness
has an endless capacity for invention, discovery and creativity.
In epistemology of life-force rationalism and empiricism
are interwoven, whereby consciousness is holistic; that is to say,
it comprises the sum total activity of the human soul. To shed
more light on consciousness, Scott (1972:626) explains that:

Consciousness consists of the external condition (i.e.

the world as encounter with objects of experience
and other physical conditions of human
consciousness such as; physiological, chemical and
neurological structures of the body; as well as
general cultural and social conditions) of
consciousness, and the internal conditions intrinsic
to consciousness which relate reciprocally to
consciousness as parts to whole, in which elements
intrinsic to consciousness are lively structures
through which one is aware of things.
86 Nature of Spirit in Ifa Corpus

The summation of the above quotation shows that the latter

sense of consciousness is said to be presentational or
representational. By this token, we mean that something stand in
for or appears in a conscious state, in which case, consciousness
is strictly absolute in the sense that nothing occurs for
consciousness that is not, however, in some determinable sense
presented by consciousness precisely.
Taking a cue from both physiological and neurological
perspectives, ‘ara’ (the Igbo ahu or aru) consists of the five
senses and these include oju (eyes) ‘ri’ for sight, eti (ears) ‘siri
oka’ for hearing, imu (nose) ‘gborun’ for smell, ahon (tongue)
‘ede’ for taste and the aida-ara (the whole body system) isan
imo (touch or feeling) (cf. Dictionary of the Yoruba Language).
‘Isan imo’ further consists of gbi-gbo-riri (feelings of solidity or
coming into encounter with conditions such as heat or cold of
liquid or of gas) and imi edun (emotional feeling). It then
explains that the physical body has a direct relation with the
environment that is processed or coordinated by agbara ogbon
(nerves) through ogoro-ehin (spinal cord) to the opolo (brain)
whereupon the memory (iranti) plays its basic functions of
storing (isura), remembrance (iniran) and association (egbe). It
goes to show that the physical (body or external) condition of
consciousness in perception is paramount in knowledge
acquisition. But this sense perception is not possible without the
pre-experiential function of emi (spirit or vital force) which duty
it is to animate the body with consciousness. Therefore, from the
transcendental point of view, emi provides the pre-experiential
or a priori condition for consciousness in the first place and for
knowledge formation and knowledge acquisition.
From the above, we have seen the analysis of human
subjectivity or the internal conditions of consciousness that has
to do with double aspect of reality. It is from this point that we
go back to the delineation of the ontological (transcendental)
constitution of the human personality. For instance, emi as a
transcendental entity is a tripartite composite of ori, ori-inu
[Igbo chi, Bini and Ishan ehi, Urhobo emena, Ijaw tamuno,
Tallensi of northern Ghana moyin and Akan okra (cf. Omijeh &
Appiah-Kubi 1998:259-265)] and esu (the Igbo eke and agwu).
 Shotunde, Okoro, & Azenabor 87

As the determiner of one’s destiny, ori is the source of human

ontological transcendence otherwise known as the human
prowess of existentiality. ‘Ori-inu’ will most appropriate to
capture the human prowess of existentiality. According to Bolaji
Idowu, ori (ori-inu) is the inner person, the soul personality. For
Orangun (1998:43), ori is the essence of personality, personal
ego and the guardian angel which rules, guides and controls the
activities of man quoted in Hallen (2000:295). The concept of
‘ori-inu’ (the Igbo chi) has been described as a person’s second
half, his ‘invisible half’, his ‘super ego’, the ‘guardian angel’,
his ‘major ego’, his ‘over self’, his ‘other self’, his
‘transcendental self’, ‘divine spark’ (cf. Okoro 2015:40). It is
evident from the foregoing that ‘ori-inu’ has been used both
anthropologically and ontologically. However, as part of the
earlier mentioned, our preoccupation is the transcendental
exposition of the epistemology of Ifa, that is to say the theory of
knowledge in Ifa literary corpus. Among the outlines of the
concepts that are germane to our ontological inquiry include
“super ego”, “major ego” and “transcendental self”. These
concepts together depict ‘ori-inu’ as the ‘pure ego’ which, as the
faculty of pure reason, possesses the power of transcendence to
levitate man beyond the physical into the metaphysical terrain,
that is from the given to the non-given, from that which is actual
to that which is possible, thereby making emi a being of
possibilities or a being of boundless potentialities. ‘Ori’
therefore represents man’s futuristic essence which is why it is
used to depict man’s destiny. Nevertheless, anyone who aspires
to surpass the vicissitudes of life has no choice but to call upon
the exploits of one’s transcendent ori. It is in this light that the
African notion of reality affirms the transcendentality of ori as:
ori ni onise ẹda ò ni aropin, translated as: “it is ones inner-head
that matters no one is indispensable”. Put differently, everyone
has his/her talent as endowed by nature, if and only if, one can
discover this talent ones ‘ori-inu’ will therefore affirm. It is from
this light that we see ‘ori-inu’ as one’s transcendent essence
which is the fountain of will to power.
Consequent upon the above, esu serves as the fulfilled
path, the determined path or yesterday; that is to say, it deals
88 Nature of Spirit in Ifa Corpus

with the past which we can do little or nothing about. Within the
purview of the existentialist, ‘esu’ would refer to ‘human
facticity’ or simply ‘the given’. It refers to human fallenness
which depicts man as an emotional, sentient, weak entity who
has the tendency to backslide, lose focus, to be fallen or become
entirely prostrate. Again, the inevitable human conflictual
essence comes into being as usual. As a sentient being, eniyan is
not different from animals over which he rules and should one
decide to recriminate about the past, one will definitely fail to
utilize one’s ‘ori-inu’ possibilities. To lead life at the levels of
esu is simply to lead life at its ebb and the ebbing of life
amounts simply to self-abandonment, to forfeiture. The path to
ontological and epistemological realism is the way of ori-inu.
From the above exposition and analysis of
epistemological procedure in Ifa literary corpus, we have seen
that ‘ara’ (i.e. body) is the connecting point or vehicle of
perception. We have also seen that ‘ori-inu’ is the faculty of
reason (ratio), which duty is to bring about illumination through
intellectualization. It goes to show that eniyan as a duality is
capable of two principal types of concepts such as empirical
concepts (derived immanently from sensibility) and
transcendent concepts (derived from transcendent reason). The
pertinent question that an inquisitive mind might ask is that:
how is it possible to overcome this duality in man and transcend
towards holism? It is at this juncture that we enter into the
analysis of the third main faculty of the mind known as
imagination (i.e. iro in Yoruba or nlepu in Igbo). ‘Iro’
encapsulates the capacity to vision things ahead or be able to see
things up-front. Therefore, iro entails forethought, projection or
the visioning of things in trance on the one hand. On the other
hand, iro combines both sight (i.e. immanence) and thought (i.e.
transcendence) to further amplify expectation (i.e. ireti in
Yoruba or olileanya in Igbo).
What is apparent in the foregoing analysis is that iro
combines in it the powers of vision and synthesis. By its power
of visioning, iro as the faculty of imagination creates a trance
situation through which process things are imaged in a pictorial
or symbolic form. This is the ability to recall distant events or
 Shotunde, Okoro, & Azenabor 89

objects in the mind’s eye as if these events or objects are present

right before us. This is simply a trance creation by the
imagination. Imaginative visioning is no other than depth
meditation that results in the clear and lucid presentation of
issues in such a way that both physical and mental sights are
symbolically harmonized. Indisputably, such deep sights into
things have a way of penetrating into the core of things, to
unveil or reveal their innermost structure, which of necessity
yields deep understanding (what Leibniz describes as
apperception). Thus, the imagination is symbolically resented as
the naked winged eye that has the ability to traverse all time and
all space without hindrance.
Furthermore, by its function and power of synthesis, the
imagination operates the law of simultaneity such that by its
mediating, integrative and symbiotic functioning, imagination
becomes the intermediary linking thought to sensibility and vice
versa, in a way that makes thought and sensibility
interdependent. This way, transcendence ideas and concepts are
made to teleguide the functioning of sensibility so that the raw
sensory data of sensibility gather physical sight and, inversely,
the raw sensory data of sensibility go through processing (i.e.
purification) until they become imaged to trigger off visioning,
which in turn sparks up illumination through intellectualization.
It is in this light that Kant (1963:78) writes that “without
sensibility no object would be given to us, without
understanding no object would be thought. Thoughts without
content are empty, intuition without concepts are blind”.
Beyond its functions of symbiosis and visioning
therefore, the imagination is in actual fact the faculty of depth
and trance, making it not just the faculty of production or
productivity but also the harmonizer of knowledge as pure
consciousness (as depicted by the Yoruba emi or the Igbo mmuo
mmadu, that is, the human spirit or vital force as pure
consciousness) and knowledge as pure perception (as depicted
by the Yoruba ara or the Igbo ahu mmadu, that is, the human
physical body as representing consciousness at the perceptual
level). This way, the duality of human consciousness and the
duality of knowledge are transformed into pure holism thereby
90 Nature of Spirit in Ifa Corpus

providing human knowledge with depth and in turn making

understanding a pure holism and transcendental activity. To
buttress this expression, Iroegbu (2005) submits that it is by
imaginative visioning that we are able to pierce into the core of
things and symbolically create interpenetrating links among the
things of the world. Okoro quoting Anyanwu (1981:95)
succinctly captures the African mode of cognition in the
following expression:

When the African looks at a tree within the

assumptions of his culture, he sees and imagines a
life-force interacting with another life-force. He sees
the colour of the object (tree), feels its beauty,
imagines the life-force in it, and intuitively grasps
the interrelationships between the hierarchies of life-
forces. If he did not do this, he would not have
concluded that spirit exists in the world. He does not
see spirit with his eyes nor is it a rationally and
theoretically postulated concept like atoms and
electrons.

We observe immediately that the holism and transcendental

nature of human subjectivity is that which enables “ogbon ati
imo” (i.e. wisdom and understanding). In essence, the holistic
and transcendental nature of human subjectivity embodies the
totality of ‘ogbon ati imo’. This is to say, that ogbon (wisdom)
and imo (understanding) are intricately webbed together since
the separation of the two will render ‘ogbon ati imo’ spurious.
‘Ogbon’ separated from ‘imo’ will become derogatory since it
will immediately connote cleverness or craftiness. ‘Imo’
separated from ‘ogbon’ will become redundant since it will
merely refer to spurious or purposeless understanding. This
means that ‘ogbon’ (wisdom) cannot be separated from ‘imo’
(understanding). It goes to show that the processes of knowledge
acquisition (i.e. oye- learning and eko- education) should be
such that fires ones imaginative capacity from the beginning so
that the individual can acquire deep, functional, pragmatic and
practical knowledge (the Yoruba moye or the Igbo amamihe)
 Shotunde, Okoro, & Azenabor 91

about things. Put differently, ‘moye’ as knowledge is worthless

if it lacks depth, functionality, pragmatism and practicality.
Hence, the Yoruba thought system has this experience
encapsulated in the following expression: “oye o kan ti agba”,
translated as: ‘knowledge is boundless’, showing that the
mystery of knowledge which in turn manifests as understanding
are not restricted whether in the old or young mind. The point to
underscore here is that, for the African knowledge, formation is
a pure symbiotic unity or homogeneity that follows an
imaginative process. It is through this aesthetical, mystical and
imaginative process that transcendence is instituted and through
this transcendental objectivity we come to gain knowledge of
the world. Perhaps, it is through this African notion of reality
that Onyewuenyi (1978:251) defines the African concept of
knowledge (wisdom) as how deeply one understands the nature
of vital-forces and their interaction with one another. To buttress
this point further, Onyewuenyi employs Tempels’ argument that
“true wisdom lies in ontological knowledge; it is intelligence of
forces, of their hierarchy, their cohesion and their interaction”.
Indisputably, this is exactly what imaginative or symbolismic
knowledge entails; that is to say, the ability to create a fusion or
balance between the ideal and the real.
In achieving the task of symbolismic symbiosis, the
human imagination has to perform the act of trio process. This
entails a tri-functional process that embodies introspection,
retrospection and projection. By these tri-functional processes of
the human imagination, human being actualizes its prowess of
synthesis, visioning, depth and trance, all of which make
cognition holistic, transcendental and realistic. This means that
the imagination is the seat and fountain of all human invention,
creativity and discovery.
Therefore, in Ifa, the imagination is the hob upon which
the disciplines of ogun rotate and revolve. ‘Ogun’ encapsulates
all the arts, sciences of the specialized or professional adept. The
adept is a specialist in some particular kind of art or science.
Hence, there is the Ifa adept (specialist in the science and art of
divination), just as there are other adepts whose specialty
include the followings: smelting, immunology, medicine,
92 Nature of Spirit in Ifa Corpus

technology, agriculture, arts and craft etc. The Ifa adept is at a

much higher level than other adepts, simply because his
profession requires depth and technicalities that are uncommon.
. The distinction between the former and the latter marks the
demarcation between the specialized sciences as regional
philosophies or anthropologies (i.e. metaphysica specialis) and
philosophy as ontology proper (i.e. metaphysica generalis), a
demarcation that makes philosophy the infrastructure, the
ground and apex, the parent and queen of all the other sciences
(cf. Momoh 2000:8).
In sum, it is by the combination of these principles as
mentioned above that the Ifa adept is able to act as the medium
or intermediary between the transcendental world of forms
(what African scholars like Okoro and Onwuejeogwu among
others describe as the ‘finite province’) and the world of
everyday reality for his clients and, by so doing, he is able to
institute balance and cohesion in the society. The back and forth
of this argument is that the split personality problem is purely at
the state of imagination and such an individual cannot be said to
be in full control of his/her cognitive powers. Therefore, the
epistemological procedure in Ifa literary corpus, cognition
connotes holistic process that involves the representation and
unification of degrees of experiences in one’s consciousness via
power of the transcendental imagination.

2.2. The metaphysics of Ifa literary corpus

The transcendental features in the Ifa literary corpus centers on
imaginative visualization or representation of the world in the
mind’s eye and the purpose of such manner of representation is
primarily to achieve harmony and cohesion amidst the duality
and diversity in the world. The idea of imaginative visualization
or representation of the world as the subject of the thinking
activity in Ifa and the unity of all perception are made possible
by the life-forces or vital forces. Thus, resolution in Ifa is not
purely a matter of logic but also lies beyond the scope both of
sense experience and of the proper use of theory answerable to
sense experience (Abimbola 1976:29 and Okoro2015:47).
 Shotunde, Okoro, & Azenabor 93

Our experience of transcendent complementary unity of

consciousness determines the type of comprehensiveness we are
dealing with in a particular situation. It is in this light that
Asouzu (2004:423) argues that:

This idea determines if we are dealing with a low-

level comprehensiveness or with comprehensiveness
on a higher plane. These experiences serve as the
bridge between knowing and acting, between the
ego and the world. That is to say, where we have an
authentic form of this experience, we have an
instance of a situation where the mind is in a
position to put into action the demands of the
principle and imperative of complementarity.

The point from the above quotation is that, based on data of

sense experience, the babalawo (i.e. an adept of Ifa) draws
inferences and made predictions. In this direction, the babalawo
will be able to give common sense account and explanation to
most occurrences in the world. Most especially in matters
deserving down-to-heart solution, they made spirited efforts to
offer insightful answers devoid of mythological insinuations.
The babalawo are often interested in offering solutions to human
problems in the future and now and for this reason, they devote
much energy towards evolving a functioning human society
with most of the social institutions that take care of the needs of
all.
To this end, the universe of African understanding and
meaning of reality constitute the visible, invisible, ideological or
nonmaterial. ‘Eniyan’ (i.e. human being) has a natural tendency
to form these three ideas because he has an irresistible tendency
to seek the unity of things. Hence, this human transcendental
imagination which is the tendency to seek the unity of all reality
which forms the primary idea of the soul, that is to say, the unity
of all phenomena that make-up the entire cosmos (such as
divinities, ancestors, animals, vegetation and minerals
respectively). The tendency to form these concepts is therefore
94 Nature of Spirit in Ifa Corpus

quite natural and irresistible since ‘ogbon’ (i.e. human reason)

naturally seeks the unity of things.
The usefulness of these ideas or their function is to serve
as guidelines directing human understanding towards unity. For,
just as the understanding brings unity to the diversity of the
world through its synthesizing activity, so does the mystical zero
(at this point all things are one) brings unity to the diversity of
conceptions by means of the imaginative visualization. They
direct the understanding towards points of unity, and the
purpose of employing them is to bring about a systematic unity
of thoughts.

2.3. The logic of Ifa literary corpus

Conventionally, the concept of logic creates formal structures
for making thinking methodical and organized through a set of
rules or principles that provide strict guidance for thought.
Based on this explanation, logic is the tool for making reasoning
rigorous and critical (cf. Okoro 2015:46 & Otaphor 2000:13).
Taking a cue from Okoro’s article, the life-force
principle in the African philosophy is embedded in the
divination process (igba Afa) of the Afa (i.e. Yoruba Ifa)
system. As part of his bid to expatiates further on Ifa or Afa
divination system which will reveal its logic, Okoro, quoting
Augulu (2007) explains that divination system is not a language
but it is a specialized communication sign system which
generates, symbolically, knowledge related to past, present, that
are employed in predicting the future actions. Ifa is like a form
of symbolic logic. Hence, Ifa is used as a divination process by
the babalawo (Igbo dibia) as a sign system to transmit meaning
from the finite province to the world of everyday life, these
signs are decoded into everyday common language to generate
symbolic experiences and knowledge which determine social
action in the world of everyday life (Augulu, 1997:85-86 cited
in Okoro).
It is deducible from the above analysis that the logic
behind the spiritual and transcendental kinds of metaphysics and
epistemology of the African notion of reality and how these
spiritual transcendentalist metaphysics and epistemology are in
 Shotunde, Okoro, & Azenabor 95

turn fused into the logic of symbolism, is accomplished through

the process of Ifa or Afa divination. At this juncture, we notice a
magnetic imagination at work to achieve balance or a mean
between the two extremes. Again, we notice at once that
imaginative representation of the world in terms of symbolisms
is purely mental or ideational but never physical. To buttress this
view further, Okoro, quoting Bonachristus, refers to the logic of
life-force as the “African symbolismic logic that substantiates
African symbolismic philosophy”. He adds that:

Since the universe of African understanding and

meaning of reality is invisible, ideological or
nonmaterial, the adjective “symbolic”; because, even
though if the terms “symbol” (symbolic) and
symbolism (symbolismic) overlap in being
ideological or nonmaterial in relation of the qualities
of existence, “symbol”, unlike (symbolism) does not
exactly and always represent ideological or
nonmaterial relation. Symbol can be material or
nonmaterial, but “symbolism” is always ideological
or nonmaterial (2003:7).

It is imperative to clarity that the use of the terms “symbolic”,

“symbolism”, and “symbolismic” in this study to means
transcendental imaginative visualization or representation of the
world in the mind’s eye and the purpose of such manner of
representation is to achieve harmony and cohesion amidst the
duality and diversity remain the reality of the African world-
view. To capture this expression vividly, let us consider the
statement of Bonachristus (2003b:5):

African symbolismic logic is the science and method

of the symbolismic deposition of the quality and
relation of existence by the symbolismic order and
categories of the symbol of reality, knowledge and
consciousness, the symbolism of word, truth and
thought, and the symbolismic expression of
language, meaning and understanding. So, African
96 Nature of Spirit in Ifa Corpus

symbolismic logic is the science of the quality of

existence and the method of the relation of
existence. It is the science and method of the quality
and relation of existence.

The pertinent question here is: how exactly does this logic of
life-force or logic of symbolism proceed? It proceeds by the
actual process of Ifa divination which involves the throwing of
the Ifa chaplets (i.e. opele usually in pairs) that represents a pure
process of investigation or inquiry. The pair nature of the Ifa
chaplets is meant to capture the duality and diversity of things in
the world.
The statement of Anyanwu (1981, p.87) on the African
universe is in line with the foregoing when he says that it
“cannot condone regimentations because there is a continuous
interplay, intermingling and interdependence between spirit
(forces) and the material world”. The point to underscore in
Anyanwu’s statement is that isolated cases do not exist in the
African universe of forces; that is to say, a foundation is
propped up by another and another by another and so forth. Put
differently, in African conception of the universe, nothing is
absolute, everything is interconnected; apparently the
fundamental principle of the philosophy of life in the African
reality is complementary. Consequently, Africans do not talk of
isolated activities, but of symbiosis. In the universe of holism,
things are not compartmentalized, departmentalized and
fragmented. Based on this, Okoro extensively quoting Anyanwu
(1983:53-54) draws the following conclusion:
(i) since there are no isolated life forces in the universe,
there can be no isolated individual person;
(ii) society is the manifestation of the order of the
universe;
(iii) all relationships between all the life forces ought to
be strengthened and not weakened;
(iv) there is no dissociation of sensibility from rationality
in African culture. The duality of experience should
not harden into dualism. Politics therefore, should
not be discussed as if it were separated from religion
 Shotunde, Okoro, & Azenabor 97

or religion as if it were separated from all practical

activities

Granted the circuitous or cyclical nature of the universe of

forces, we cannot conceive the world as having a beginning or
an end in time since, as an organic entity, it has the capacity for
self-regeneration and self-sustenance. Thus, still on the question
of procedure, it is imperative to add that the Ifa divination
system as a pure process of investigation operates on three
principal principles, namely; the rules of deduction, induction
and hermeneutics. Before we delve into the delineation of
deductive and inductive principles, let us see how the
hermeneutic principles of thought function within the universe
of life-force.

3. The hermeneutic procedure in Ifa literary corpus

The term hermeneutics comes from the Greek hermeneus which
literally translates as an interpretor and has been generally used
to mean the art, skill, or theory of interpretation, of
understanding the significance of human actions, utterances,
products and institutions (Bullock 1988:380). The term was
used in philosophy from theology by Dilthey in the late
nineteenth century. It refers to the fundamental discipline that is
concerned with the special methods of human studies, which do
not merely order the raw deliverance of sensation but must seek
an understanding of their essential meaningful subject-matter.
The hermeneutic procedure of Ifa divination operates
upon a tripartite sequence of analysis, synthesis and
signification. Signification here defines the end of Ifa divination
that expectedly should reveal or unveil a particular message or
prescription which then would be applied to a given situation,
making revelation and application to be by processes of
signification. What we notice at this level is that the rules of
deduction (depicting holism) and the rules of induction
(depicting particularism and probabilism) now roll into one to
produce the binary system that progresses by way of interfusion
or integration. In essence, holism and probabilism play
interconnected roles in the investigative/divination process of
98 Nature of Spirit in Ifa Corpus

Ifa. It is this interconnective functioning that brings about

interpretation in the form of revelation or reveilation (cf. Okoro
2015:56-57). This revelation process is a continuous one that
juxtaposes opposing views that are in turn resolved at a higher
level. The assumption is that the universe of forces is one of a
continuum and in such a universe; things are transient, the same
way as solutions to problems.
The Ifa divination and investigative process (meaning
the throw of a pair of opele) entails a clockwise operation from
down to up so that the jinkoto (i.e. open) end of the opele and
the malu (i.e. closed) end of the opele are connectively
interpreted at the point of Ifa divination (cf. Abimbola 1976:15-
16 and Okoro 2015:56). Each of the opele insides (i.e. jinkoto or
rough) or the outside (malu or smooth) surfaces consist of four
half nuts which are attached to each half of the chain. In this
direction, both of them represent lines of light. The closed end
of the opele represents closed line of light, while the open end of
the opele represents the open line of light. Since the two sides
belong to light and are two sides of light, they then meet at
circle of light otherwise known as the Ifa mystical zero.
According to Okoro, the Ifa mystical zero or circle of light
depicts the harmonic mean of the differential integration of the
two sides of opele; that is to say, it is the mean or the hub
around which hermeneutic interpretation rotates, revolves and
proceeds. With this pattern, zero would depict the void,
boundlessness, a limitless expanse or simple nothingness. It is
observed that the Ifa mystical zero depicting nothingness, which
is the interconnecting point from the two sides of the opele (i.e.
jinkoto and malu) as paths of light and together they also depict
the pathways to Being, derive their essences and substance. This
implies that the nonBeing and Being are equi-primordially
predisposed at that realm. In defense of the Ifa hermeneutic
interpretation of reality, Okoro (2015) writes:

Du or Di (meaning that which is, thing that is there

or simply to be) as Being becomes the ground on
which hermeneutic discourse and investigation
progress, meaning that interpretative discourse is an
 Shotunde, Okoro, & Azenabor 99

endless process that evolves a concentric circle of

dialectics. As it applies to the arena of discourse
intended for the settlement of a dispute, it is readily
assumed that conflict (disagreement) and resolution
(agreement) are equi-primordially pre-disposed.

Consequently, it shows that as pathway to Being, jinkoto

representing the closed line of light indicates darkness,
permanence, passivity, inactivity, motionlessness, resting and,
by extension, feminine in principle and negative in polarity,
while malu representing the open line of light indicates light,
activity, change, mobility motion and by extension masculine in
principle and positive in polarity. To paraphrase Okoro’s
(2015:36) statement, the binary structure of Ifa is determined by
a frequency of binary relationship as follows: “binary
dissimilarity; binary similarity; binary opposition; binary
inversion; and binary inversion-opposition”. Needless to say, it
is this structural frequency of binary relationship that plays up
transformational relationships in the Ifa process of divination.
Through this transformational processes of relationships, general
situations are harmonized with particular individual traits, in the
same way as general human traits are harmonized with
existential circumstances. To buttress this thought further,
Okoro (2003b:6), quoting Bonachristus extensively states that:

The Ifa mystical zero is the circle of integro-

differential reality that determines the nature and
nurture of existence on earth. It is the circle of all
things that are what they are and all things that are
not what they are not. It is the ancestor of space and
time, of every thought, every word and every deed.
It is the cross of life and death, of light and darkness,
of spirit and flesh, of being and nonbeing. It is the
basket of wisdom, of knowledge and intelligence,
the pot of power, the soul of conscience and
character, the parameter of change and permanence,
and the provider of nurture and nature.
100 Nature of Spirit in Ifa Corpus

Thus, the logic of Ifa literary corpus is a system of

representative inquiry, in the words of Bonachristus (2003a) and
Okoro (2015:60), it is a symbolismic science and method of
revelation, interpretation, analysis of existence. It is a
representative system of theories and practices, governing
thought and conduct in relation to the meaningful investigation
of the principle and laws that regulate culture and existence.

4. The deductive procedure in Ifa literary corpus

Perhaps, the shortest and quickest way to answer the question of
deductive processes in Ifa literary corpus is to say that it is all
about holism. According to Azenabor (2010:79) holism is
simply a theory with many dimensions. It is based on the idea
that the fundamental principle of the universe is the criterion of
wholes, that of complete and self-contained systems. He adds
that, in holism, whole is greater than the single part. Holism
seeks to grasp the single wholeness of the varied pattern of
culture. Thus, the holistic value is built around an ontology that
accepts diversity or otherness without hierarchical judgments of
human worth. By implication, it is with this mode of thought
that we are able to establish a synthesis of human knowledge.
Furthermore, it is believed that holism captures the
deductive procedure in Ifa thought system. For example, Okoro
sums up this holism in the instance that involves the
harmonization of forces along vertical and horizontal lines. The
integration of forces along vertical and horizontal lines is based
on the assumption that things in the universe are equi-
primordially inter-disposed, one exercising primacy over the
other. In the instance of vertical integration, it presupposes that
Ifa reveals the order by which forces in the universe are
hierarchicized. By this process of vertical integration, the
cosmos is considered one organic whole in which higher forces
affects the lower forces in the hierarchical order. It is from this
that the system of vertical integration is considered the
components of forces that make up the entire cosmos (God as
the most supreme force, divinities, ancestors, man, animals,
vegetation and minerals in that respective order) hierarchically
exert influence on one another. On a horizontal scale, integration
 Shotunde, Okoro, & Azenabor 101

involves the effective coordination of the various systems that

make up the cosmos and the human society into a circuitous
whole, thereby reflecting a common purpose, teleos or cohesion
in the universe and in the society. Okoro (2015:52) writes:

The entire universe is a perfectly coordinated system

of stars (suns), planets, moons (satellites), comets,
meteors and meteorites, while the human society,
reflecting the order in the universe, should replicate
a perfect homogenization of the various institutions
that make up the society.

Consequent upon the above quotation, we notice that the holistic

and deductive nature of the universe is premised on the fact that
forces interfuse and that this process is made possible by the
cyclical progression of things in the African universe of forces
to ensure that the forces are schematically arranged in a binary
pattern, which in turn reflect the dualism in nature. Granted this
pattern of binary fusion by which forces mutate in a cyclical
progression, the first reality that occurs is the number four (4) or
base four. This is represented on the table in figure 2 below.

S/N Four Principles in Ifa Literary Translation

Corpus
1 Ogbe Permanence
2 Irosun Space and Time
3 Ogunda Mechanism
4 Otura Flow
Fig. 2 Adapted from Wande Abimbola’s text entitled, Sixteen Great Poems of
Ifa and in my conversation with an adept of Ifa during the course of this
study.

The four mystical realities actually represent four energies and it

is through their interfusion that reality becomes manifest. In
essence, Du or Di (i.e. Being) permutates itself through four
elements and it is through this permutation that emi (life), eniyan
102 Nature of Spirit in Ifa Corpus

(human being) and phenomena (ifarahan) becomes manifest. For

instance, it is by its mutation on base four (4) that the earth
rotates and revolves in a cyclical order such that we notice
seasonal alteration on a quarterly basis. Now the quarterly
arrangement of things brings in the number three (3), another
important factor in the cyclical progression of things. Perhaps, it
is against this background that Okoro (2015:52) argues:

…if on the base 4 (as depicting the four pillars, four

elements or four sources) things mutate, the number
3 automatically becomes the order of progression.
Needless to say, the teaming factors of base 4 and
number 3 produce the prime number 7 as another
important factor in the holistic and deductive order
of things and these numbers do really play
significant factors in the codification of the order of
forces into social reality.

Taking a cue from the above quotation, the researcher observes

that the symbolic importance of numbers in traditional African
notion of reality is also presented by the Dogon philosophy of
creation (cf. Momoh 2000). For instances, it is argued that the
intimate relationship and identity between man and the universe
is initiated by the vibrations of ‘kize uzi’ (i.e. Being). The seven
movements or vibrations caused by ‘kize uzi’ created both man
and the universe. In order to expatiate further on this reality,
Anyanwu (1981:353) writes:

The first and the sixth vibrations (1 + 6 = 7)

produced the legs. The second and fifth vibrations (2
+ 5 = 7) produced the head. The seventh (7)
produced the sex organs of man. Even though the
seed produced the image of man, man also presents
the image of the seed. Man, is therefore, a
microcosm, a universe in miniature.

It is clear from the logic of life-force in African metaphysics that

it is meant to show the ontological structure of things
 Shotunde, Okoro, & Azenabor 103

responsible for the holistic and tripological nature of the

universe, which in turn determines the holistic and tripological
nature of African conceptions of society, time, history, politics,
family, economy and justice. The tripological conception of
things in itself rests on the metaphysical principle of
“interpenetrability of life-forces”. Elements behave magically,
miraculously as they symbolically interact. And since spirit
interlinks, interconnects and interpenetrates all things, it goes to
show that everything is in everything (cf. Anyanwu 1981;
Momoh 2000; Azenabor 2010; Unah 1999; & Okoro 2011,
2012, 2013, & 2015).
To this, Okoro adds that this interfusion is such that the
“world order is replicated in the social order” and the “social
order” is replicated in the “self-order” and vice versa. In
explicating this further, Anyanwu (1981:371) writes:

…by way of interfusion, the three orders are said to

be identical and hierarchical. Whereas the
hierarchicization of the forces and their identical
nature requires that all forces be strengthened and
not weakened, that an individual should be seen in
the light of the whole and that meaning, significance
and value depend on the art of integration.

In essence, all these are made possible by the coordinating

act of spirit. Anyanwu (1981:372) argues that:

Spirit embraces the power of beliefs, ideas and

thoughts. It constitutes the source of authority,
vitality, possibilities, law and integration. Spirit adds
depth and cohesion to life. As a unifying principle, it
eliminates all individual and group boundaries and
creates a wider and deeper social consciousness or
community of people.

Hence, it is by this holistic and deductive nature of things that

human exercise the hope and expectation that the future will
104 Nature of Spirit in Ifa Corpus

continue to be like the past, thereby making induction to be a

by-process of deduction.

5. The inductive procedure in Ifa literary corpus

The basic features and fundamental principle of induction is that
it is based on the law of reciprocity. It tries to link the future
with the past and in doing this it hyperbolizes issues thereby
creating room for a high case of probability. These principles are
very much evident in Ifa literary corpus. Ifa is an integrated
system of symbols, social reality, communication and control
and social action mainly directed towards the construction or
transformation of social reality conceived in terms of the past,
present and future action (cf. Abimbola 1976 & Okoro 2015).
Thus, in African notion of reality, there is nothing new in
the present as the future will continue to reproduce past
experiences in a cyclical order. Owing to this reality, the
babalawo commits an inductive leap. He readily assumes that,
since we live in the same world controlled by the same
elements, what is true of the past will be true of the future,
meaning that what worked for someone in the past will certainly
work for some other person with a similar condition in the
present. In making allusion to Okoro’s expression where he
argues that as long as the interpretations and explanations of the
babalawo are within this given scope, the validity and rationality
of the babalawo are assured and taken for granted.
It is clear from the rule of induction that, babalawo puts
the efficacy of his divination procedure to test. In the words of
Okoro, this test is no other than the high risk of probability. But
it seems that the babalawo knows better about his problem
which is the reason why he often prescribes his clients to
appease ‘Esu’ (i.e. Igbo Ekwensu), is the key balance of forces
and that is the god or master of mischief and the Minister of
Justice, through a prescribed sacrifice. However, if the sacrifice
and the entire divinations process fails, the babalawo attributes
the failure to the lack of faith or will-power on the part of the
individual to affirm, and since the individual did not summon
enough faith and will-power to affirm, his/her personal god (i.e.
Yoruba ori-inu or Igbo chi) did not as well affirm. Following the
 Shotunde, Okoro, & Azenabor 105

shortcoming of the inductive procedure as a method of analysis

used in atomizing things, traditional Africans insist that
induction as a process of investigation can only gather greater
significance if it is made a by-process of deduction. Hence, the
insinuation is based on the fact that all particularistic knowledge
should be synthesized to become holistic or what Okoro
describes as universalistic. In the contemporary world, the
problem of induction is tackled and confronted scientifically.
This suggests that sacrifices are not made to any god or goddess
by the way of appeasement. Rather, theories, rules and laws are
subjected to series of tests repetitively in order to affirm the
validity and veracity of these theories, rules, laws etc.

6. Analytic summary
What the researchers have done in this paper is pure
architectonics. Besides, the analytical exploration of Ifa as a
compendium of knowledge, attempt has been made to examine
the epistemological procedures and the logic while bringing out
the deductive and inductive procedures of the Ifa metaphysical
system. In this direction, we explored the principle of
hermeneutics and its components of duality, cyclicality,
symbiosis and complementarity of Ifa. Findings have shown
that, in African notion of reality, the mind or spirit is an
extension of the cosmic forces whose dynamism is held on
course by mutual interaction of units. This understanding of
man’s interaction with the world makes it possible to live
beyond the demand of their immediacy. They draw inferences
based on empirical evidence but also see deep-rooted
connections between events in the world and the need to attend
to the human quest for higher values. This experience birthed
the analysis in this article with the cardinal message of teasing
out the philosophical quintessence of Ifa literary corpus in a bid
to open it up for comparative study and discourage
misconception of the Ifa philosophical system.
106 Nature of Spirit in Ifa Corpus

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