Iba'se - The Ifa Prayer of Praise

The prayer presented here is used as an opening invocation in many of the ceremonies
performed by the elders of Ifa in Ode Remo, Nigeria. The prayer is based on the concept of
honoring those Spiritual Forces that are worshipped in the town of Ode Remo.

Because there is a wide range of differences in the Spiritual Forces that are worshipped in any
given Yoruba community there is a range of variation concerning the content of this prayer. Even
within the same area, the older initiates will tend to be more elaborate in their pronouncement of
an opening prayer than the younger initiates who are still learning the art of invocation.

Ope ni fun Olorun,
Gratitude to the Owner of the Realm of the Ancestors,
Iba Olodumare, Oba ajiki,
Homage to the Creator, the King who we praise first,
Mo ji loni,
I awake today,
Mo wo'gun merin Aye,
I behold the four corners of the World,
Iba Elawori,
Homage to the Spirit of Purity,
Agbegi lere, la'fin ewu l'ado,
He who carves the cloth at Ado in the form of a sculpture,
Eiti Olodumare ko pa'jo iku e da,
The one whose date of death has not been changed by the,
Omo Oluworiogbo,
Child of the Chief Priest who made all the Heads that exist in Creation.
Iba'se ila Oorun,
Homage to the power of East,
Iba'se iwo Oorun,
Homage to the power of the West,
Iba'se Ariwa,
Homage to the power of the North,
Iba'se Guusu,
Homage to the power of the South,
Iba Oba Igbalaye,
Homage to the King of the Seasons of the Earth,
Iba Orun Oke,
Homage to the Invisible Realm of the Mountains,
Iba Atiwo Orun,
Homage to all things that live in the Invisible Realm,
Iba Olokun a-soro-dayo,
Homage to the Spirit of the Ocean, the one who makes things prosper.
Iba afefe legelege awo isalu-aye,
Homage to the power of the wind, the Mystery of the Mysterious World,
Iba Ogege, Oba ti ngb'aiye gun,
Homage to Mother Earth who sustains the Universal alignment
of all things in Nature,
Iba titi aiye lo gbere,
Homage to the perpetuity of the World into eternity,
Iba Oba awon Oba,
Homage to the King of all Kings,
Iba Okiti biri, Oba ti np'ojo iku da,
Homage to the Averter of the final days,
The King who could change the time of Death,
Iba ate-ika eni Olodumare,
Homage to the mat that cannot be rolled up once laid out,
Iba Odemu demu kete a lenu ma fohun,
Homage to the power that extracts Goodness from the Realm of the Invisible,
Iba'se awon Iku emese Orun,
Homage to the dead, the messengers of the Invisible Realm,
Iba Ori,
Homage to the Spirit of Consciousness,
Iba Ori inu,
Homage to the Spirit of the Inner Self,
Iba Iponri ti o wa l'Orun,
Homage to the Spirit of the Higher Self who lives in the
Invisible Realm of the Ancestors,
Iba Kori,
Homage to the Creator of the Calabash that contains the Inner Self,
Iba Ajala-Mopin,
Homage to the Spirit of the Guardian of all Inner Spirits
who are chosen from the Invisible Realm of the Ancestors,
Iba Aludundun-Orun,
Homage to the Spirit who announces the Destiny that is created
in the Invisible Realm of the Ancestors,
Iba Odo-Aro, ati Odo-Eje,
Homage to the Blue River and the Blood River,
that place which causes destiny to be forgotten,
Orun Ori nile, e oo jiyin, e oo jabo oun ti e ri,
The Invisible Realm of the Ancestors is the permanent home of the Inner Self,
It is there that the Inner Self accounts for what it has done
during the Journey to Earth,
Iba Esu Odara, Okunrin ori ita, ara Oke Itase, ao fi ida re lale,
Homage to the Divine Messenger of Transformation,
The Man of the Crossroads, from the Hill of Creation,
We will use your sword to touch the Earth,
Iba Osoosi ode mata,
Homage to the Spirit of the Tracker,
Owner of the Mystery of Spotted Medicine,
Iba Ogun awo,
Homage to the Mystery of the Spirit of Iron,
Onile kangu-kangu Orun,
The owner of innumerable homes in the Realm of the Ancestors,
Iba Obatala, Orisa Osere Igbo,
Homage to the Spirit of the Chief of the White Cloth
who is praised at the Sacred Grove,
Oni kutukutu awo owuro,
Owner of the ancient Mystery of the White Cloth,
Orisa Osere Igbo,
The Spirit who is praised on sacred Day of the Forest,
Iku ike,
Guardian of those with physical disabilities,
Oba pata-pata ti nba won gb'ode iranje,
King of all future generations,
Iba Yemoja Olugbe-rere,
Homage to the Mother of Fish, the Giver of Good Things,
Iba Osun oloriya igun arewa obirin,
Homage to the Spirit of the River,
Owner of the hair comb for beautiful Women,
Iba Olukoso aira, bambi omo arigba ota segun,
Homage to the King who does not die,
The Child of the Thunder Stone,
Iba Ajalaiye Ajalorun Oya Oluweku,
Homage to the Winds of Earth,
The Winds of the Invisible Realm of the Ancestors,
The Spirit of the Wind is the one who guides the mediums of Ancestors,
Iba Aje-oguguluso Olambo yeye aiye,
Homage to the Spirits of Wealth and Good Fortune,
Honor is coming to the Mothers of Earth,
Iba Awon Iyaami,
Homage to the Society of Wise Women,
Alagogo eiswu a p'oni ma hagun,
The White Bird is the Source of their Medicine,
Iba Orunmila, Eleri ipin,
Homage to the Spirit of Destiny, Witness to Creation,
Iku dudu atewo,
The Averter of Death,
Oro to si gbogbo ona,
The Power of the Word that opens all roads,
Iba Awo Akoda,
Homage to the Diviner named Akoda, the first student of Orunmila,
Iba Awo Aseda,
Homage to the Diviner named Aseda, the one who taught Ifa to the World,
Iba Ojubo onomefa,
Homage to the shrine of the six directions.