Patakin: Orisha Stories from the Odu of Ifa Paperback – August 17, 2022

"Patakin" are oracular narratives recited by diviners of the religion of Ifa and Orisha across the Yoruba Diaspora. Yoruba captives took Ifa and Orisha to Cuba in the nineteenth century. The Ifa system consists in 256 "odu," considered "containers" of traditional wisdom, both philosophical and practical. Each odu contains multiple stories, as well as, prayers and sacrifices to resolve the problems people encounter in their lives. The Cuban Yoruba, called Lukumi, and their ritual descendants, recreated a large corpus of thousands of stories in Spanish, a regional variation. This unprecedented book contains a selection of 240 stories from the Lukumi divination corpus, translated into English for the first time, by David H. Brown, Ph.D., also known as Egüín Koladé (Olo-Obatala, Awofaka Iwori Koso). An in-depth scholarly introduction explains the significance of patakin within the Ifa corpus in Cuba; how diviners employ the stories in the practice of Ifa divination; and the continuum of the stories between Africa and the Americas. In order to introduce the stories to practitioner and wider audiences, the book organizes the stories according to 24 principal orishas in the Cuban Lukumi pantheon. Orishas are the deities that are the focus of Yoruba and Lukumi worship. An odu, its key themes, and the prayers and sacrifices associated with it frame each story translation. For example, the odu Okana Otrupon contains the story, "Why Elegba is the Doorman of All Houses." The Odu Odi Ka contains the story, "The Kingdom of Yemaya." There are chapters for each of the following orishas and other spiritual entities: Eshu-Elegba, Ogún, Oshosi, Oddé, Osun, Orí – Eledá – Orisha – Ashé, Olofin, Osain and Aroní, Asojuano, Babalú Ayé, Naná Burukú, Dan/Aidá Jueró, Inle (Erinle), Orisha Okó and Korikoto, Ibeyi (Twins), Shangó and Ogué, Abita, Agayú and Oroiña, Odudúwa, Oraniyán, Obatalá, Yewá, Obba, Yemayá, Oyá, Oshún, Orunmila, Olokun, Ile Iyá Oguere, Ikú, Orun and Oro, and Añá. Read more