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Adeleye Ifá Academy

Ọ̀nà tífá gbà níbẹ̀ kó tó máa jẹ́ bẹ́ẹ̀ níbẹ̀ ré

This was the path Ifá followed before it came to be so there:

Ifá Is Learned by Ear

The tone and cadence of each verse are integral to its meaning and cannot be fully captured in writing. Here, you listen to the Ọlúwo recite each verse, repeat it, record yourself, and compare your recitation with his until you can recite it correctly.

How you learn here

Ancient Wisdom ∞ Modern Learning

The Ọlúwo recites. The ọmọ awo repeats.

This is how Ifá has traditionally been taught: the Ọlúwo and the ọmọ awo sit facing each other. The Ọlúwo recites part of the verse and waits for the ọmọ awo to repeat it. They continue until they complete the entire verse.

  • Listen

  • Repeat

  • Memorize

In the app, you learn the same way. You listen to the Ọlúwo’s recorded voice and repeat each part of the verse. You decide how long to pause before continuing. If a line gives you trouble, tap it to hear it again.

In the Practice Room, you record yourself and listen to your voice alongside the Ọlúwo’s. You can compare pronunciation and cadence, hear the differences, and practice again.

This way of learning comes with every Odù of Ifá you purchase, whether or not you have a subscription.

Listening is essential to learning Ifá. Tone and cadence are part of what each verse conveys. You learn them by listening and repeating.

Some lessons include additional resources to support your study. Tap certain terms to read an explanation, view a plant’s botanical profile with its scientific name, or see photos and videos showing how the ritual work is carried out.

Try it before you pay

What an Odù of Ifá is

Ifá is ordered into sixteen Ojú Odù. Their combinations yield 256, and each one holds its verses, the stories they come from and the message they carry. Every Odù of Ifá you study in the academy is one of them.

Every Odù of Ifá holds 2 full lessons, with their audio, their text and their translation. Each lesson is studied through the parts Ifá has always been taught with.

And inside every lesson

Every lesson opens into the parts it is studied through in the tradition. Not all of them carry the six: the song and the work arrive when the verse calls for them.

  • ÀṢẸ IFÁ

    The message of Ifá: what the verse comes to say.

  • ẸBỌ

    Ritual.

  • IṢẸ́ IFÁ

    The work of Ifá, when the verse carries one.

  • ẸSẸ IFÁ

    The verse. It is what the Ọlúwo recites and what you repeat.

  • ORIN

    The song of the verse, when it has one.

  • ÌTÀN

    The story of the verse — where it comes from and who it happened to.

All 16 Ojú Odù are published. From there, the teaching continues with the combinations they yield.

The program is the 16 Ojú Odù. From there it continues with Ogbè and its combinations, then Ọ̀yẹ̀kú and its own, and so on, in order, all the way to Òfún. It is being published over time.

This is how every Odù of Ifá is studied. Whenever you want to begin, the odù and their prices are here.

See the odù and the prices