About

Yoruba diviners (babalawos) of Southwest Nigeria use various tools in their practice, including palm nuts (opele Ifá), a wooden tray (ọpọ́n Ifá), a tapper (iroke Ifá), and a small ivory head that symbolizes the orisha Esu. These implements are often kept in beautifully beaded diviners’ bags, making them easily transportable. They may also wear a diviner’s necklace, which they earn after their education and mastery of divination oral and literary traditions (Odu Ifá). The necklace encircles the Babalawo in the same way that the border of the ọpọ́n Ifá encircles the messages from the orisha. Beadwork is most often reserved for the Oni, so the beaded accessories of the diviner show his elevated status.