What is ìyẹ̀rọ̀sùn?

The divining powder in which the marks are drawn.

Ifá is a living Yorùbá religious, philosophical and divinatory tradition. What follows is for education and exploration: the structure of the sign system, and what scholars have recorded about how it is used. A traditional Ifá consultation involves trained practitioners and a transmitted body of knowledge that software cannot reproduce, and nothing on these pages stands in for one.

Tradition described: Yorùbá / Ìṣẹ̀ṣe

What is ìyẹ̀rọ̀sùn?

Ìyẹ̀rọ̀sùn is the fine wood powder spread on the divining tray. Bascom identifies it as the dust produced by termites boring into the wood of the ìrọ̀sùn tree (a camwood, Baphia nitida). The diviner sprinkles it over the tray and, with a finger, draws in it the single and double marks that the ikin produce.

Its uses in the tradition go beyond the tray — it is used in the preparation of remedies prescribed by the verses — but those uses are the practitioner's, and are not described here.

Sources for this article

William Bascom, Ifa Divination: Communication Between Gods and Men in West Africa (1969), chapter 3 — page reference not yet checked

Editorially reviewed against the sources named

Next on the path: What are ìbò?All articles The House of Ifá

The House of Ifá is an educational section. Satin Cradle is not a babaláwo, an ìyánífá, a priest, an initiated practitioner or an oracle, and does not offer consultations. Nothing here is needed for any practice.

Explore Related Objects

Candles, incense, stones and tools, presented for those who want to know the material culture around a practice. Nothing has to be bought to use or understand anything on this site.

SHOP ALL DEPARTMENTS