Ifá owns the world, the world as encapsulated in the face of the ọpọ́n Ifá divining tray (pictured), in the hands of Ọ̀rúnmìlà with Èṣù overlooking from the top. Ọ̀rúnmìlà is the custodian of divine, moral, economic, linguistic, and metaphysical order, and his teachings are kept by the babaláwo elders.

As the life of man is enmeshed in many riddles, seen or unseen, the quest to know that which is obscured becomes juxtaposed against the fear of the unexpected and unknown. Clients consult the babaláwo who, by chanting oratory prayers and casting the Ọ̀pẹ̀lẹ̀ or the Ikin, communicates with Ọ̀rúnmìlà to seek solutions to life’s numerous problems.