CONCEPT OF INTELLIGENCE AS IT RELATE TO IFA DIVINATION

INTELLIGENCE according to Google.com is the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills. A typical dictionary definition of intelligence is “the capacity to acquire and apply knowledge.” Intelligence includes the ability to benefit from past experience, act purposefully, solve problems, and adapt to new situations. Intelligence can also be defined as “the ability that intelligence tests measure.” (Merriam-webster, 2017) an online dictionary, also explained that intelligence is the ability to learn or understand or to deal with new or trying situations. Merriam-webster further defines intelligence as the ability to apply knowledge to manipulate one's environment or to think abstractly as measured by objective criteria (such as tests). Technically, Emuoyibafarhe (2013) elaborate that intelligence is a capability of a system to achieve a goal or sustain behavior under condition of uncertainty.

Personally, intelligence is the ability to learn, think and take valid decision among numerous available decisions. Intelligence in relation to Ifa divination will not be clear enough if the concept of Ifa divination is not well understand. According to wikipedia, Ifá is a religion and system of divination and refers to the verses of the literary corpus known as the Odu Ifá. Orunmila is identified as the Grand Priest, as he is who revealed divinity and prophecy to the world. Babalawo's or Iyanifas use either the divining chain known as Opele, or the sacred palm or kola nuts called Ikin, on the wooden divination tray called Opon Ifá. Ifá is practiced throughout the Americas, West Africa, and the Canary Islands, in the form of a complex religious system, and plays a critical role in the traditions of Santería, Candomblé, Palo, Umbanda, Vodou, and other Afro-American faiths, as well as in some traditional African religions.

Alamu, F. O. Aworinde, H. O. and Isharufe, W. I. (2014) in their study revealed that the processes used in Ifa divination and the divination structure bear some resemblance with computer science. Bade Ajayi (2009) explained that Ifa divination is operated by means of the configuration called Odu. In the Ifa corpus are as many as 256 possibilities (16 principal and 240 minor Odu) each containing mythological stories which the babalawo narrates in the process of divination. Supportively, Alamu et al., (2014) reported thatIfa is actually an ancient binary computer system which, in some inexplicable way, has successfully linked the probability of numbers with the complexities of the human condition and the ever complex flux of events. Ifa is based on the 8 – bit pattern with its eight-piece divination chain, 16 major odu (chapter) and 256 odu in all. 

At a divination session, several Ibo (instruments for casting lot) may be used to find detail information about a client’s problem, the commonest and simplest form of Ibo of cowry shells tied together representing types and piece of animal bone representing Iho. This relates to computer language today, we need prediction (which is scientific and reliable) more than divination (which is religion and uncertain) Alamu et al., (2014).

 

 Many authors have seen Ifa divination as basic i-p-o (input-process- output) operations in computer science, however, Alamu et al., (2014) regard Ifa divination as an expert system and even highlighted its use in pattern recognition. vis - a - vis the contribution of all the aforementioned authors, there is no doubt that Ifa divination has almost every thing in common with the digital computer and moreover it has a lot of relevance in the field of artificial intelligence. It is therefore concluded that the Ifa divination is an intelligent system, even more complex than the digital computer.