A system of divination
Ifá's literary corpus, the Odù Ifá, is attributed to Orunmila, regarded within the tradition as the figure who first revealed it to the world. Diviners cast either a chain called the opele or sacred palm and kola nuts called ikin onto a carved wooden divination tray, the opon Ifá, and read the resulting patterns.
Traditional salutations
Each orixá (a deity of Yoruba-derived religion) has a customary greeting associated with this practice: Iemanjá is saluted with "odoyá," Oxóssi with "okê arô," and Xangô with "kaô kabecilê." The tradition describes these greetings as following a set sequence — Exu opens the way, Ogum clears it, and Oxóssi finds it.