Opon ifa is a tray on which Ifa divination is meticulously done. The casting of Opele (sacred string for Ifa divination) is done on it. The permutation involved in the divination is also done on it since the diviner uses his fingers to create symbolic encodings and do decodings in the course of a divination exercise. The creation of symbolic marks (encodings) is aided by the sacred Ifa powder (Iyere Ifa) spread on the flat surface of the divination tray (opon ifa).
An image of Esu is crafted at the top of the divination tray while images of the following listed human, animal and material objects are crafted round the tip of the opon ifa: ooni (crocodile), opele (ifa divination string), obinrin (a woman), eja (fish), eku (rats), alabahun (tortoise) etc. The presence of Esu on the opon Ifa shows the importance of Esu as a messenger who relays the massages to Olodumare as prescribed by Ifa; while the presence of animal images shows the importance of animals in Yoruba traditional religious/spiritual beliefs and practices. The divination marks (odu) crafted on the opon ifa could be interpreted as a symbolic encoding of Ifa as an all-knowing deity.