Osogbo (negative)
in scheme: Divination Outcome Types
definition: A sign comes with negative polarity. The indicated difficulties or blockages are present. Prescribed works (ebó) are required to avert or mitigate.
type: Concept
preferred label: Àṣọtẹ́lẹ̀ burúkú @yo
preferred label: Osogbo (negativo) @es

Divination Verse
type: Class
subclass of: SacredEntity
comment: A single verse, story, or pataki within a sign's corpus. In Ifá: an ese Ifá. In Dilogún: a rezo or pataki. In Fá: a hwenoho. Verses carry narrative, ethical, prescriptive, and esoteric content. They are the primary means by which divination knowledge is transmitted and applied. Verse text is initiated-elder access; the existence of a verse corpus for a sign is public.

verse theme
range: langString
minimum access level: access-initiated-only
comment: Thematic summary of the verse's principal narrative or prescription, without reproducing the text. Initiated-only.
type: DatatypeProperty
domain: Divination Verse

reading date
domain: Divination Reading
minimum access level: access-community-only
range: date
type: DatatypeProperty

Okuele / Ekuele (divining chain)
definition: Eight-piece divining chain of alternating concave and convex seed halves used by Babalawos as a faster alternative to palm nut casting in Ifá.
preferred label: Okuele / Ekuele @es
type: Concept
in scheme: Casting Media

Iré Owó (wealth)
in scheme: Divination Outcome Types
definition: Iré of prosperity. The sign comes with the blessing of material abundance.
preferred label: Iré Owó @es
type: Concept

prescribed work
type: ObjectProperty
minimum access level: access-initiated-only
comment: The ebó, rogation, ceremony, or spiritual work prescribed as a result of this reading. Range: iroko:EboTypeScheme. Among the most sensitive data: links divination outcome to specific prescribed action.
domain: Divination Reading
range: Concept

Abstention / Prohibition
in scheme: Prescribed Work Types
definition: A behavioral abstention or avoidance prescribed by the reading: specific foods, colors, locations, or activities to avoid for a defined period.
preferred label: Abstención / Prohibición @es
type: Concept

Animal sacrifice
in scheme: Prescribed Work Types
preferred label: Sacrificio animal @es
definition: Ritual sacrifice of an animal specified by the reading. Species, preparation, and allocation are operational details held at initiated-only access.
type: Concept

Owó Dilogún (cowrie shells)
in scheme: Casting Media
preferred label: Caracoles / Dilogún @es
type: Concept
definition: Sixteen cowrie shells used in Dilogún divination by authorized Olorisha.

Ifá
type: Concept
definition: The Yorùbá-derived divination system using ikin (palm nuts) or okuele (divining chain) to generate 256 binary odù configurations. Practiced by authorized Babalawos. Versions found in Lucumí (Cuba), Candomblé de Ifá (Brazil), Trinidadian Orisha, and continental Yorùbá communities.
in scheme: Divination System Types

primary sign
type: ObjectProperty
range: Divination Sign
domain: Divination Sign
comment: In composite systems (Ifá), the sign generated by the first cast. The primary odù of a compound figure.
minimum access level: access-public-unrestricted

Divination System Types
has top concept: Obi
has top concept: Fá
has top concept: Chamalongo
has top concept: Derlé
has top concept: Vititi Nfinda
preferred label: Àwọn ìrú ọ̀nà aṣọtẹ́lẹ̀ @yo
preferred label: Tipos de sistema de adivinación @es
preferred label: Types de système divinatoire @fr
has top concept: Dilogún
has top concept: Itá
has top concept: Ifá
type: ConceptScheme
preferred label: Tipos de sistema divinatório @pt

Iré Omo (children)
in scheme: Divination Outcome Types
definition: Iré of children or generativity. The sign comes with the blessing of progeny or creative fruitfulness.
preferred label: Iré Omo @es
type: Concept

Iroko Framework: Marca Module (Divination Systems and Sacred Sign Corpora)
modified: 2026-02-25
imports: iroko-core
version IRI: https://ontology.irokosociety.org/iroko-marca/1.3.0
type: Ontology
is part of: iroko-framework
references: iroko-authority
references: iroko-narrative
created: 2026-02-21
version info: 1.3.0
creator: Iroko Historical Society
license: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
description: Domain module. Vocabulary for documenting divination systems, sacred signs, reading records, and verse corpora across Afro-Atlantic traditions. Covers Ifá (256 odù), Dilogún, Fá, Obi, Chamalongo, and analogous systems. Sign names and system typologies are public; verse texts, reading details, and prescribed works are restricted at the property level. Use with iroko-authority to document who may perform or transmit readings; iroko-narrative for verse corpus transmission chains and patakí variant relationships.

verse source
domain: Divination Verse
minimum access level: access-community-only
comment: Provenance of this verse record: oral transmission, field recording, published collection. Range: iroko:DocumentaryEvidence.
range: DocumentaryEvidence
type: ObjectProperty

Obi Abata (coconut)
definition: Coconut divided into four pieces for Obi divination.
in scheme: Casting Media
type: Concept

Ikin (palm nuts)
definition: Sacred palm nuts (ikin Ifá, obi Ifá) used by Babalawos for Ifá divination. Considered the highest-authority casting medium in Lucumí/Yorùbá tradition.
in scheme: Casting Media
type: Concept
preferred label: Ikin (nueces de palma) @es

Prescribed Work Types
preferred label: Tipos de trabajo prescrito @es
preferred label: Àwọn ìrú iṣẹ́ àṣẹ @yo
has top concept: Spiritual cleansing
has top concept: Ebó
has top concept: Head Rogation
has top concept: Adimu
type: ConceptScheme
has top concept: Full ceremony
has top concept: Animal sacrifice
has top concept: Abstention / Prohibition
has top concept: Itutu / Etutu
preferred label: Types de travaux prescrits @fr
preferred label: Tipos de trabalho prescrito @pt

sign received
range: Divination Sign
comment: The divination sign(s) that appeared in this reading.
minimum access level: access-initiated-only
domain: Divination Reading
type: ObjectProperty

Divination Reading
comment: A specific divination event performed for a recipient by an authorized diviner. Records the sign(s) that appeared, the outcome polarity (iré/osogbo), prescribed works, and the entities indicated. Reading records are among the most sensitive data in the framework: recipient identity is no-access; the date and officiant are community-restricted; the prescribed work and entity are initiated-only.
type: Class
subclass of: SacredEntity

verse text
range: langString
type: DatatypeProperty
domain: Divination Verse
comment: The full text of the verse. Elder-only: ese Ifá and analogous verses are among the most sacred and operationally powerful materials in the tradition. Their disclosure outside authorized transmission is a serious breach.
minimum access level: access-initiated-elder

reading outcome
domain: Divination Reading
type: ObjectProperty
range: Concept
minimum access level: access-initiated-only
comment: Whether the sign came iré (positive polarity) or osogbo (negative polarity) in this reading. Range: iroko:OutcomeTypeScheme.

verse lineage
type: ObjectProperty
comment: The ile or lineage corpus from which this verse version derives. Different lineages may hold different versions of verses for the same sign.
domain: Divination Verse
range: House
minimum access level: access-community-only

Casting Media
has top concept: Chamalongo (coconut shells)
type: ConceptScheme
has top concept: Obi Kola (kola nut)
preferred label: Meios de lançamento @pt
has top concept: Chamalongo (prepared bones/discs)
has top concept: Okuele / Ekuele (divining chain)
has top concept: Obi Abata (coconut)
preferred label: Medios de lanzamiento @es
preferred label: Àwọn ohun ìdán @yo
preferred label: Médiums de tirage @fr
has top concept: Owó Dilogún (cowrie shells)
has top concept: Ikin (palm nuts)

casting medium
domain: Divination System
minimum access level: access-public-unrestricted
range: Concept
type: ObjectProperty
comment: The physical medium used to cast or generate the sign in this system. Examples: ikin (palm nuts), okuele/ekuele (divining chain), owó dilogún (cowries), obi (coconut), obi kola (kola nut), chamalongo (coconut shells or bones). Range: iroko:CastingMediumScheme.

Head Rogation
definition: A cleansing and feeding of the head (ori/eleda) using specific cool and white materials. One of the most commonly prescribed works across Lucumí and related traditions.
type: Concept
in scheme: Prescribed Work Types
preferred label: Rogación de cabeza @es

has corpus
type: ObjectProperty
minimum access level: access-public-unrestricted
comment: Links a DivinationSystem to its DivinationCorpus. The corpus is the complete body of verses, prescriptions, and commentary associated with this system within a specific lineage. A system may have multiple corpora across lineages — each lineage's corpus is a separate DivinationCorpus instance (subclass of LineageKnowledgeGraph). Access: public-unrestricted — the existence of a corpus associated with a system is public knowledge; the verse content within the corpus is governed at elder-initiated level on the DivinationVerse instances themselves.
range: Divination Corpus
domain: Divination System

secondary sign
comment: In composite systems (Ifá), the sign generated by the second cast. Together with primarySign, identifies the full odù compound.
domain: Divination Sign
minimum access level: access-public-unrestricted
range: Divination Sign
type: ObjectProperty

sign taboo
comment: A prohibition (eewo) traditionally associated with this sign. Taboos relate to foods, behaviors, materials, or associations that persons born under this sign or receiving this sign in reading should avoid.
domain: Divination Sign
type: DatatypeProperty
minimum access level: access-initiated-only
range: langString

sign number
range: string
minimum access level: access-public-unrestricted
domain: Divination Sign
type: DatatypeProperty
comment: The numeric identifier for this sign within its system. For Dilogún: 1–16. For Ifá: the composite index of primary (1–16) and secondary (1–16) throw.

reading recipient
type: ObjectProperty
minimum access level: access-no-access
domain: Divination Reading
range: Person
comment: The person for whom the reading was performed. No-access: reading recipients have a reasonable expectation of confidentiality. Stored internally for provenance tracking only.

governing entity
range: SpiritualEntity
comment: The spirit or deity principally associated with this sign across the tradition. In Ifá: Ogbe Meji is governed by Obatala; Oshé Meji by Oshun. This is a tradition-level association, not reading-specific. Range: iroko:SpiritualEntity.
minimum access level: access-community-only
type: ObjectProperty
domain: Divination Sign

prescribed entity
domain: Divination Reading
range: SpiritualEntity
minimum access level: access-initiated-only
type: ObjectProperty
comment: The spiritual entity indicated by the reading as requiring propitiation, attention, or ceremony. Range: iroko:SpiritualEntity.

Chamalongo (prepared bones/discs)
type: Concept
definition: Prepared bones or discs used as an alternative casting medium for Chamalongo. The specific preparation is lineage-specific and restricted.
in scheme: Casting Media

authorized practitioner type
domain: Divination System
comment: The authority title required to cast this system. In Ifá: Babalawo. In Dilogún: Olorisha with dilogún authorization. In Fá: Bokonon. Range: iroko:AuthorityTitleScheme.
type: ObjectProperty
minimum access level: access-public-unrestricted
range: Concept

Divination Outcome Types
has top concept: Osogbo Ikú (death)
type: ConceptScheme
has top concept: Iré (positive)
preferred label: Tipos de resultado divinatório @pt
preferred label: Types de résultat divinatoire @fr
has top concept: Iré Owó (wealth)
has top concept: Osogbo (negative)
has top concept: Iré Aré (victory)
has top concept: Osogbo Arun (illness)
has top concept: Iré Omo (children)
preferred label: Tipos de resultado divinatorio @es
preferred label: Àwọn ìrú àbájáde aṣọtẹ́lẹ̀ @yo
has top concept: Iré Aiku (long life)
has top concept: Osogbo Ojú (enmity)

Itutu / Etutu
definition: A cooling or pacifying ceremony, often performed after death, severe osogbo, or to address Egun. Requires specific authority and materials.
type: Concept
in scheme: Prescribed Work Types

Iré Aré (victory)
preferred label: Iré Aré @es
type: Concept
definition: Iré of victory or achievement. The sign comes with the blessing of success in endeavor.
in scheme: Divination Outcome Types

gender restriction
range: langString
domain: Divination System
type: DatatypeProperty
comment: Documents tradition-specific restrictions on who may cast this system, expressed as a free-text note. For Ifá in the Lucumí tradition: historically restricted to initiated men (Babalawos); contested in some lineages and Afro-Atlantic communities. This property records the documented practice of the lineage being described, not a normative judgment.
minimum access level: access-community-only

Divination System
subclass of: SacredEntity
type: Class
comment: A tradition-specific divination system consisting of a defined corpus of signs, casting methods, and interpretive frameworks. Examples: Ifá (256 odù, palm nut or chain casting), Dilogún (16 principal signs, cowrie casting), Fá (Fon parallel to Ifá), Obi (4-part binary coconut or kola reading), Chamalongo (Palo Kongo coconut/bone divination). A DivinationSystem belongs to one or more traditions and may have regional variants.

reading officiant
comment: The diviner who performed the reading. Range: foaf:Person. Community-restricted to protect practitioner privacy unless the officiant has consented to public attribution.
domain: Divination Reading
type: ObjectProperty
range: Person
minimum access level: access-community-only

Osogbo Ikú (death)
type: Concept
in scheme: Divination Outcome Types
preferred label: Osogbo Ikú @es
definition: Osogbo of death or severe loss. The most serious category; requires immediate and specific ebó.

Itá
preferred label: Itá / Ifá de Cabeza @es
definition: The extended Ifá reading performed for an individual at initiation (kariosha, itá de kariosha) or as a life-path consultation. Typically multi-sign, conducted by a Babalawo, and interpreted by Olorisha elders. The itá record is among the most sensitive personal documents in the tradition.
in scheme: Divination System Types
type: Concept

Vititi Nfinda
definition: Mirror or reflective-surface divination used in Palo Monte for spiritual vision and consultation. Complementary to but distinct from Chamalongo; requires specific nganga authorization.
type: Concept
in scheme: Divination System Types

Iré Aiku (long life)
type: Concept
in scheme: Divination Outcome Types
preferred label: Iré Aiku @es
definition: Iré of long life. The sign comes with the blessing of longevity.

sign proverb
domain: Divination Sign
type: DatatypeProperty
minimum access level: access-community-only
comment: The principal proverb (owe) associated with this sign. Proverbs are often publicly known and shared in scholarly literature. Language-tagged.
range: langString

verse corpus
type: ObjectProperty
comment: The set of DivinationVerse instances in a specific lineage's corpus for this sign. The existence of a corpus is public; the verse content is initiated-elder only.
minimum access level: access-initiated-elder
domain: Divination Sign
range: Divination Corpus

verse sign
type: ObjectProperty
comment: The divination sign to which this verse belongs.
range: Divination Sign
domain: Divination Verse
minimum access level: access-public-unrestricted

Ebó
definition: A prescribed offering to the Orisha or Ifá indicated by the reading. Includes specific materials, animals, foods, or objects. Operational details are initiated-only.
in scheme: Prescribed Work Types
type: Concept

Osogbo Arun (illness)
definition: Osogbo of illness or physical affliction.
preferred label: Osogbo Arun @es
type: Concept
in scheme: Divination Outcome Types

Divination Sign
comment: A discrete sign, figure, or configuration within a divination system. In Ifá: one of 256 odù (each identified by primary + secondary throw). In Dilogún: one of 16 principal signs (odù Dilogún, omieros, and their paths). In Fá: du figures. In Chamalongo: one of 5 configurations. Each sign has an associated corpus of verses, prescriptions, and spirit-entity relationships. The sign's name and number are public; verses and prescribed works are restricted.
type: Class
subclass of: Sign

Dilogún
in scheme: Divination System Types
definition: Cowrie shell divination using 16 shells (owó dilogún) to generate 16 principal signs. Practiced by authorized Olorisha. Used in Lucumí/Ocha, Candomblé, and related traditions. Shares sign names with Ifá odù but distinct system, corpus, and authority structure.
type: Concept
scope note: Lineage-specific variations exist in casting protocol, sign count, and authority requirements.

Chamalongo (coconut shells)
in scheme: Casting Media
type: Concept
definition: Four coconut shell halves prepared and consecrated for Chamalongo divination in Palo traditions.

reading notes
domain: Divination Reading
comment: Free-text notes from the diviner. Elder-only: may contain specific operational detail.
range: langString
type: DatatypeProperty
minimum access level: access-initiated-elder

Full ceremony
type: Concept
definition: A prescribed ceremony (initiation, reception of Orisha, specific feast) indicated by the reading as necessary.
preferred label: Ceremonia completa @es
in scheme: Prescribed Work Types

Obi Kola (kola nut)
definition: Kola nut divided into lobes for Obi divination. More traditional form in continental Yorùbá practice.
type: Concept
in scheme: Casting Media

verse title
comment: The title or opening line of the verse as used within the lineage. Community-restricted: verse titles alone can partially disclose operational content.
range: langString
type: DatatypeProperty
domain: Divination Verse
minimum access level: access-community-only

Iré (positive)
preferred label: Iré (positivo) @es
type: Concept
definition: A sign comes with positive polarity. The indicated blessings are accessible. Prescribed works (ebó) confirm and open the path.
preferred label: Iré @yo
in scheme: Divination Outcome Types

Osogbo Ojú (enmity)
preferred label: Osogbo Ojú @es
definition: Osogbo of enemies or opposition. The negative force indicated involves interpersonal conflict or hostility.
type: Concept
in scheme: Divination Outcome Types

Fá
preferred label: Fâ @fr
in scheme: Divination System Types
definition: The Fon and Ewe divination system cognate to Ifá, using palm nuts or a divining chain to generate du figures. Practiced by Bokonon (male diviners). The du corpus is distinct from but related to Yorùbá odù. Primary in Benin, Togo, and Haitian Vodou communities with Rada/Fon lineages.
type: Concept

Divination Corpus
comment: The complete body of verses, prescriptions, proverbs, and interpretive commentary associated with a divination system as transmitted through a specific lineage. Distinct from the system itself (which is the abstract framework) and from individual verses (which are its units). A corpus is lineage-specific: Ifá lineages in Havana may hold different verse inventories than those in Lagos or Trinidad, each representing a distinct corpus.
subclass of: LineageKnowledgeGraph
type: Class

Derlé
definition: Card-based or object-based divination associated with Espiritismo and Haitian Vodou mesa blanca practice. Distinct from African-derived binary casting systems.
type: Concept
in scheme: Divination System Types

Chamalongo
in scheme: Divination System Types
definition: Kongo-derived divination using four coconut shell halves or prepared bones/discs. Generates 5 configurations. Used in Palo Monte and related Bantu-Atlantic traditions. Practiced by authorized Paleros (Tatas and Yayas).
type: Concept

Spiritual cleansing
type: Concept
in scheme: Prescribed Work Types
definition: A full-body or environmental cleansing (despojo, limpieza) using herbs, waters, or other materials prescribed by the reading.
preferred label: Limpieza espiritual @es

Adimu
preferred label: Adimú @es
type: Concept
definition: A food or vegetable offering (without blood) to an Orisha. Accessible outside of full ebó; considered the first step in propitiation.
in scheme: Prescribed Work Types

Obi
in scheme: Divination System Types
definition: Four-piece binary divination using coconut (obi abata) or kola nut (obi kola). Generates 5 configurations from the binary state of four pieces. Used across Lucumí, Candomblé, and Yorùbá traditions for confirmation and yes/no queries. Less elaborate than Ifá or Dilogún but widely practiced.
type: Concept