From the publisher
Traditional Yorb culture is founded on the idea that everything in Nature has Or or consciousness. This belief leads to the idea it is possible to communicate with Forces in Nature called ris. One form of communication is through altered states of consciousness commonly refered to as possession. The other is to communicate with Nature through the use of divination. In traditional Yorb culture divination is the manipulation of either seeds or shells to create numberical patterns these patterns refer to specific verses of oral scripture. These verses are a way of preserving the wisdom of the ancestors. Traditional Yorb culture has four main systems of divination that are interrelated and inter connected. The first is obi obata, which essentially is used to give yes no answers to direct questions. The second system is bsed on the use of sixteen principles that traditional Yorb culture considers the foundation of Creation. This system is called Mrndnlgn from the elision mrn meaning four, dn meaning subtract from, and lgn meaning twenty. In the Yorb system of counting Mrndnlgn is the word for sixteen.
About the author
AWO FLKUN FATUNMBI BIOGRAPHY In 1984 I received omolawo from Awo Fgbm Fsn and started the process of studying If. Five years later, in 1989 I made my first trip to Ode Remo in the Ijebu region of Ogun State Nigeria. During that trip I was fully initiated into If by Araba Adsny, Awyad, and the members of Egbe If Ogunti Ode Remo. At that time my training started under the guidance of Awo Wasu and Ttlay Adsny. I returned to Ode Remo in 1991 to finish the Tef (If initiation) process by completing the three month ebo that seals If initiation. At that time I was also initiated as a member of gbni which is a traditional judicial council in Ode Remo. One year later in 1992 I was initiated into the mysteries of gn by the elders of Ile Ife and was given permission by my elders to perform rs initiations. I have subsequently made a total of six trips to Nigeria as part of the training process and in the year 2000 I was given permission by my elders to perform If initiations. While pursuing my studies I have founded If communities in California, New York, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Illinois, Florida, Oregon, Indiana, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Mexico, Columbia, Uruguay, Venezuela, Ukraine, Russia, Japan, Holland, and Italy. In 2000 I founded the Awo Study Center for the purpose of providing training in the sacred technology of If/rs as it has been preserved by the elders of Ode Remo and Il If. Awo Study Center provides study material, classes, workshops and a website for learning the fundamental prinicipals of If/rs theology and ritual practice. In 2004 I co founded Il Osomi'na with Oloriya Fasegun Fatunmbi. Il Osomi'na sponsors classes, provided traditional initiations, publishes If related training material and gives personal guidance to the extended family of those who have been initiated by Il Osomi'na. Ire Awo Flkun Fatunmbi Omo gb If Ogunti Ode Remo Olor Il Osomi'na, Mxico City, Mxico
