Ifa is a divination system and Yoruba religion that represents the teachings of the Orisha Ọrunmila. It is practiced among Yoruba communities and African diaspora in South America and the Caribbean. The word Ifa refers to the mystical figure Ifa or Orunmila, regarded by the Yoruba as the deity of wisdom and intellectual development. The system of divination used in Ifá is a code to access the scientific and metaphysical knowledge in the literary corpus, the Odu Ifá. The Ifa divination system is applied whenever an important individual or collective decision has to be made. The Ifa divination system is made explicit through its babaláwo, who is versed in the knowledge and wisdom of the unknown—a philosopher steeped in his love for nature, in the use of herbs, and in the ways of the countryside. Ifa 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 other traditional African religions.