Ire lona Ikole Orun
The return from Earth to the Realm of the Immortals
In 1989 I traveled to Ode Remo in Ogun State Nigeria. For seven days over a hundred men, women and children from Ode Remo devoted much of their attention to my spiritual elevation. The amount of money they requested to assist me in this process was minimal so I can clearly say they did not participate for financial gain. As the elders explained their motivation to me I discovered a deeply held belief based on the idea that if your life gets better my life gets better, if you suffer, I suffer. They were truly and deeply concerned about my welling being. The experience of encountering this level of concern, empathy, love and affection from total strangers changed my life forever.
At the end of my visit I pulled my tape recorder from my bag and ask Araba Adesanya Awoyade if there was anything he wanted to tell Ifa worshippers in the United States. The Araba is the eldest Ifa priest in Ode Remo. At the time of my first visit he was seventy years old. He was initiated when he was four years old and has been studying the wisdom of the ancestors all of his life. The Araba pointed a finger at the tape recorder and said; “Tell them if they see something red to call it red and if they see something black to call it black.” Then he said, “If you treat me like your real father all will go well with you.”
There was nothing more he wanted to say. At the time I barely understood his point. Some twenty years later I am astonished at how important his words were, and what an influence they have had on my life. His initial point was very simple, if you want to fix a problem you need to accurately identify it first. Cultural conditioning in the United States has reached a point where there is more concern about saving face than being honest about admitting a mistake. The media calls this spin. The concept of spin means the ability to fabricate a plausible lie that shifts blame from you to someone else. Politicians speak of spin as if it is a noble concept and are rarely challenged by the media. The problem with spin is that nothing ever gets fixed because no one is dealing with the real issue. In my opinion those reporters who claim they do no use spin are the worst offenders. As a consequence admitting a mistake is frequently seen as a sign of weakness and weakness is viewed as an open invitation for exploitation and the possibility of being conned, abused, or ignored. This lays the ground work for invoking the elenini of self deception.
The ability to call red, red and black, black, in traditional Ifa is based on the idea there is no shame in admitting a mistake. Making mistakes is called being human. The ability to learn from mistakes is the process of developing wisdom. Those who never admit to making a mistake have a flat line learning curve, meaning they are stuck making the same mistakes over and over again.
Divination is used as a learning tool in traditional Yoruba culture to identify mistakes and to provide ancestral wisdom on the question of how to fix the damage to self and world that result from poor judgment, confused thinking, and distractions caused by blaming others. In my experience as a diviner I have encountered many people who live with the fear of being exposed. It is the fear that someone will discover the secrets of their past and use the information as a source of ridicule and denigration. If you can admit to mistakes, you have no secrets; there is no fear of exposure. No one has the potential to become a threat. Holding on to the fear of exposure can become a full time job. When we hold on to this kind of fear it makes balance between the head and heart impossible. As a consequence there is no connection with iponri or the higher self. We live in a constant state of delusion and it is the nature of all delusions that eventually they get exposed. This is the meaning of the phrase Esu ni pa ko which literally means the Spirit of the Divine Messenger decapitates my wisdom. The word pa for decapitation is significant because it describes the break between the head and the heart that characterizes all illusion. Holding on to fear blocks the ability of the ori to process the lessons that come as a result of new experience. The ability to integrate new experience into our developing consciousness is one of the fundamental consequences of calling red, red and black, black.
Fear of exposure leads to keeping secrets and deliberate deception. Keeping secrets takes effort; it is a source of tension. Excessive tension can create both physical and mental illness. I have made some serious mistakes in my life. I like to think I have learned from those mistakes. Learning from mistakes and sharing the lessons of what was learned with others is the whole point of Ifa. Our entire sacred scripture is based on ancestral wisdom related to the idea of fixing mistakes. In traditional Yoruba culture this wisdom is put in poetic form and remembered so that each new generation does not have to reinvent the wheel. When we resist admitting to a mistake we are essentially embracing what Ifa calls ibi. We are saying I would rather be wrong and deny it then learn from the past. This point of view is the source of ibi. In Yoruba language the word ibi means after birth. When a baby is in the womb the placenta sustains life, when the baby is born the placenta becomes toxic, if the umbilical cord is not cut the baby will die. The analogy as an Ifa religious symbol is that holding on to old ideas is toxic to spiritual development. In English this is called resistance, it is the reason the same mistake is made over and over again. In order to build community based on learning lessons rather than resistance to growth, there needs to be trust. If I share an experience in which I was vulnerable afraid and acted against my self interest I need to know this information will not be used against me at a later date. In traditional Yoruba culture when a matter is resolved it is over and ever spoken of again. It is a taboo that is strictly enforced. This simple formula builds trust and makes support for admitting mistakes possible.
I have no shame or fear of admitting mistakes as a teaching tool. My intention is to demonstrate how I have learned from past mistakes. I use this tool not to be noble, but because I have learned Ifa from elders who were willing to admit their own struggles with growth and learning. In the Diaspora frequently the information I share is turned against me as justification for not listening to me or used as a source of gossip for selfish reasons and used by students to justify acting as my teacher. When this happens trust is broken, once trust is broken it is very difficult to fix. This is the reason for the strict taboo against gossip. In Ifa gossip is saying something critical of another person who is not present to defend themselves. A number of people have gone to Ode Remo to inform my elders that I am a bad person. The folks who delivered these messages always look suspect in the eyes of my elders. Not because the things they said were untrue, but because I was not present to defend myself. In their opinion the allegations were meaningless because there was no way to determine the truth of the matter.
If someone makes you angry, your ability to objectively describe the source of the insult disappears completely. The human mind has the ability to justify anger by distorting reality. Ifa teaches we are what we resist. People anger us when they exhibit behavior we know we need to fix in ourselves. Anger is a message from Spirit saying look at the consequence of your own actions. The failure to appreciate this dynamic gives birth to one of the single most insidious forms of elenini; it gives birth to the demon that says all of my problems are someone else’s fault.
The tendency to blame others for our problems is the reason Ifa makes it taboo to criticize an elder. When I first meet Araba Adesanya Awoyade I was forty years old and he was seventy years old. He understood the problems of a man my age because he lived through the stage of his development. I have no idea what it means to seventy years old so my opinions about is problems are useless and ill relevant. In traditional Yoruba culture the limitations of age are understood and honored.
In Western culture everyone believes their opinion has value for others whereas Ifa teaches that unsolicited opinions are only expressed towards someone younger who is behaving badly; otherwise no opinions are offered without an invitation. In addition, when someone in traditional Yoruba culture does ask an opinion it is considered rude to offer that opinion without first quoting the wisdom of the ancestors that is why Yoruba culture has such a rich legacy of proverbs. Opinions are offered by commenting on either well known proverbs or by quoting Odu. To offer an opinion without quoting a source of inspiration for that wisdom is considered arrogant and uninformed.
All the taboos described here maintain trust in a community because trust is the foundation for all personal, spiritual growth. For example, it is possible I might have an issue with an elder that might be legitimate. The issue needs to be addressed to maintain trust however I still need to maintain the taboo against being critical of an elder. The protocol is to take the issue to the elders elder, which is done with everyone present. At this point the elder’s elder may or may not tell you how they feel about the situation and they may or may not tell you what has been done to fix the problem. The issue becomes a matter of concern for your elder and your elder’s elder. To make this system work requires trust that the elder will use their best judgment to resolve the problem. This system of entrusting elders creates social structure. If everyone in the community is a mentor to those younger and a student of those who are older, problems can be fixed in an orderly fashion. If I break my arm I go to a doctor who specializes in setting bones. For Westerners this is not a hard idea to grasp. But because of conditioning, when it comes to personal matters related to development and growth there is a belief there are no experts and everyone feels entitled to follow their own guidance. Such behavior results from deliberate conditioning and people who feel this way are easily manipulated. Psychologists call the conduct Narcissism, the idea that only your opinion matters.
People who are easily manipulated are unconsciously guided by marketing experts and politicians to support ideas that are contrary to their best interest. The people who sell Hummers initiated an advertising campaign in which children were encouraged to convince their parents they needed to buy an $80,000 car that gets four miles to a gallon of gas. The campaign was successful. Every time a politician waves the red flag of terrorism and the need for security Americans lose more of their civil liberties. The Western system of justice is based on the right of habeas corpus: those who are arrested must be informed of the charges against them within ten days of their arrest. From an Ifa point of view the loss of the right of habeas corpus is the basis for the total destruction of social structure. Without social structure it is impossible to fix anything spiritual. Recently the US Congress decided the right of hebeas corpus was no longer important in the United States. That means anyone can be arrested anytime for any reason and held without cause indefinitely. That is rule by whim not law.
In my experience some folks have the mistaken notion that being initiated into Ifa means never admitting a mistake; never saying, “I apologize;” never saying, “I don’t know;” never saying, “I will find out and get back to you.” These are all statements that make us human; they indicate we are on a path of learning, development and humility. Without these things life is an illusion, an open invitation to disruption by Esu, the Spirit of the Trickster. It is Esu who brings us one simple message; it is Esu who says, you think you know everything, check this out.
Living life in ibi, or a state of illusion, makes assisting others impossible. Ifa teaches we need to embrace Esu as the source of transformation and change before Esu snatches us from illusion by greeting us with hard lessons that we cannot avoid. The task of spiritual growth can be disciplined and relatively simple when based on following the guidance of elders. It can also be a nightmare of struggle, pain and confusion based on the need to appear infallible.
Based on the training I received from my elders in Ode Remo I believe the effective use of altered states of consciousness to contact Spirit requires alignment with higher self. The process for placing yourself in alignment with higher self involves creating harmony and balance between head and heart. The only way this can be done is through the development of character. Anytime we behave poorly the heart knows and the head will either accept responsibility for the bad behavior or fix any problems that result, or the head will generate illusion in an effort to negate taking responsibility for our actions.
Once we start the process of invoking illusions to justify bad behavior we disrupt the alignment between the head and the heart. The result is an altered state of consciousness that reflects only fragments of ori rather than a holistic connection with Spirit. To avoid the invocation of elenini requires spiritual discipline; it is simple: do the right thing regardless of how you feel. Doing the right thing from the perspective of Ifa involves embracing fundamental codes of behavior based on the ancestral understanding of iwa-pele.
Honesty is the first principle of iwa-pele. This is what the Araba meant when he said call black, black and red red. The Odu Osa’tura describes honesty as follows:
S’òtító s’òdodo; soore má s’èkà. Òtító a b’ònà tóóro.
Be truthful, be righteous, do good and not wickedness. Truth, the traveler on the narrow path.
Òsìkà a b’ònà gbara, s’òtító s’òdodo; s’òtító s’òdodo; eni s’òtító ni’malè ngbè. Ase.
Wickedness, the traveler on the broad path. Be truthful, be righteous. May it be so.
In Ifa honesty is closely associated with humility. Ifa defines humility as the ability to consider someone else’s opinion. Ifa is based on the idea that spiritual growth is based on an honest analysis of personal problems and that over time this process creates an integration of the head and heart otherwise known as wisdom. We consider the opinion of others as a tool for learning and honoring the wisdom of our elders, and we acknowledge their accomplishments in life. To facilitate our own learning process there can be no humility without first considering the possibility that from time to time we might be wrong. Humility is the medicine for anger; we become angry when someone tells us something that is true and we don’t want to admit it. If someone accuses us of something that is not based in reality, we are not angry; we are disappointed, a subtle distinction allowing us to use our emotions to guide our actions.
Traditional Yoruba culture places great emphasis on what is called ori tutu meaning cool head. Ori tutu is the ability to remain calm in the fact of adversity and hostility. Ifa teaches not to act in anger, because when we become angry humility compels us to consider the true source of the anger. Humility allows us to consider the possibility our anger is the result of unresolved internal conflict. Being hurt is different than being angry; being hurt is rooted in disappointment which is a legitimate response to unfair treatment. Anger is hearing something you know to be true that remains unresolved inside of you.
Ifa teaches the idea of consensus reality; this is the meaning of the term ile ife meaning house of love. Ile Ife is the name of our sacred city in the realm of the Immortals and the name of our sacred city in Nigeria. We create Ile Ife in our personal lives as the result of the effort to honor the admonition to be honest found in the Odu Osa’ tura. Being honest means taking responsibility for our actions by stating the facts progressing in a straight line, meaning do not distort the facts to support an agenda. The odu also says Olodumare is truth and Ifa oral tradition says Olodumare is unknowable. That might seem like a contradiction. It means all dogma is subject to change; the finite can never fully be known and life is a never ending effort to move closer to Olodumare; it is a movement that is never fully successful because the finite cannot become the infinite. Anyone who claims to know God from a finite perspective is delusional and uses gossip, greed and violence in an effort to coerce others into supporting the delusion. These threats are not for the benefit of the other, they are a vain attempt to convince your self that a self- generated life realizes eternal truth, which is an illusion always doomed to failure and at some point encounters the true nature of reality.
Controlling behavior effectively blocks empathy with others. I someone is trying to control you based on their need to manipulate you there is no concern for your well being. As part of my training in divination I was taught that empathy is the basis for effective divination. Empathy is the opposite of control. I cannot solve a problem by simply understanding it. To assist someone else solve a problem, I need to feel the problem. This is especially true when making ebo. In Yoruba language the word ebo means make an offering to Spirit. In order to make effective ebo the diviner needs to place their own ori in perfect alignment with the client’s feelings. The diviner then takes these feelings and places them in Orun meaning they use an altered state of consciousness to take the problem into the invisible realm. Again the ability to do this is based on the ability to develop good character based on traditional Ifa guidelines.
These guidelines are clearly explained in the Ifa Odu Ika-funfun as presented in Chief FAMA´s book, Fundamentals of the Yoruba Religions Orisa Worship, which lists the sixteen principles of good character as they are taught in traditional Yoruba culture. An analysis of these principles provides a solid foundation for understanding the goals and intentions of Ifa spiritual discipline, as well as for a deeper understanding of iwa pele. The principles are based on the concept of eewo which is the Yoruba word frequently translated as taboo, but is more accurately understood to mean I become the mystery.
Eewo
1. They advised them not to call a potato a potato that is they must not say what they do not know.
Commentary
This admonition is a little cryptic, it means if you don’t know what a potato looks like don’t pretend you know. Ifa as a spiritual discipline is based on the principle of humility. In competitive Western culture it is considered a sign of weakness to admit a mistake or to acknowledge a lack of understanding. In traditional Yoruba culture no one is expected to know everything, that is why we build community. If you do not know the answer to a question someone else will have the needed information. Ifá says good character requires the ability to admit you do not know the answer to a specific question and to make some effort to find someone in the community who is a real expert.
In the past twenty-five years I have seen circumstances where someone has misunderstood something I read, passed that misunderstanding off as ancient wisdom and charged a large amount of money to do work based on their misperception. In traditional African Ifá we do work after receiving the permission and the blessing of our elders. This is particularly important in a cultural based on oral learning skills. For example children are taught the corpus of Ifa starting at age seven. They learn the entire scripture by the time they are fourteen. Whenever a child recites sections of the oracle at the end of each sentence they pause. If the sentence has been spoken correctly the elders say hein meaning you got it right. Once a year the entire scripture is recited, in Ode Remo where I was initiated, the recitation lasts from sun down to sun up for four days. In this way the collective wisdom of the ancestors is preserved word for word, sentence by sentence for generation after generation. When a young man or woman demonstrates he or she is able to recite the entire corpus they are given permission to offer their services as a diviner. This is a way of preserving the integrity of ancestral wisdom.
Because our Ifa Orisa religious communities in the Diaspora are fragmented and contentious, the quality of training suffers. Bit by bit we need to re-establish the tradition of receiving the blessing of our elders before we determine we are ready to proceed with various types of ritual work. Admittedly this is not always possible. Sometimes a problem needs to be fixed and we struggle to do the best we can based on limited information. It is all right to admit that is what we are doing because such admission creates a foundation for a trial and error methodology that can lead to a real solution of the problem. The shift comes when we receive training from an elder and accept the training even when we are resistance.
For me this admonition is one of the fundamental reasons why Ifá needs to be practiced as a communal religion. If ten or more people join hands to practice Ifá the resources available to the community is not ten times larger it is a hundred times larger because each person knows another ten people who have specialized skills that over time might be needed by the group. Remember a person who might have the solution to a particular problem might not worship Ifá. In my opinion it does not matter. For example AA works as an effective tool for breaking addictions. If someone in an Ifá community has a problem with addiction participation in AA is an effective ebo.
I know an elder in the south side of Chicago who has effectively led AA groups for thirty years. He knows little or nothing about Ifá. He is an expert at what he does. When I am doing divination in Chicago I refer clients with substance abuse problems to him. The issue is fixing the problem.
I got drunk once when I was eighteen years old. I understood immediately I did not want to get drunk again. That was a good decision for me, but it did not give me any of the tools needed to help others who have struggled with this decision. I am not an expert in dealing with problems of alcohol addiction. I know many people who are. On my path of destiny for this incarnation of my Ori that is all I need to know.
Anyone who needs to be seen in the world as an expert in everything should consider contemplating the lessons of O´bara Meji. The holy Odu O´bara Meji speaks of the transformation of the ego as an important component in the road that leads to connection with Spirit. Odu Ifa says O’bara Meji got drunk and boasted he could wash black cloth until it became white. The Oba or village king head of his boast and asked O’bara Meji to perform his miracle. It was the mother of O’bara Meji who performed the miracle to save her son from embarrassment. Those who pretend to be experts are dropping a huge stone on the path that leads to connection with the Spirit. The purpose of Awo is to fix problems and give guidance. The purpose of Awo is not to develop a reputation as someone with all the answers. These are two different paths. One leads to Spirit, the other does not.
Eewo
2. They must not call special beads, special beads, that is they must not perform anything for which they do not have the basic knowledge.
Commentary
This means do not perform rituals that you have not been trained to perform. This is similar to the first admonition with a slight variation. The first admonition says don’t pretend to know something that you don’t know. This admonition says don’t do anything you don’t know how to do.
In Ifá our elders make the determination when someone is ready to do something and they give us permission. Too often those who are newly initiated decide they are ready to become independent, cut off all communication with their teachers and do work they are not fully qualified to perform. Ultimately this approach undermines the credibility of the self-styled elder and results in great harm to those who innocently come for guidance.
Many students who come to me from a Santeria or lucumi perspective (Ifa Orisa as it is commonly practiced in the Diaspora) feel they can create something powerful by mixing their lineage with what I teach based on my studies in Ode Remo. If you were initiated in a lineage that does not teach, by elders you do not trust, it might be worth considering embracing a lineage that does teach and that does have elders worthy of trust. Using the hunt and peck method, take a piece here and a piece there approach is a prescription for disaster. You cannot teach yourself what you do not know. That is why we have elders. The concept of elder is based on the idea that wisdom is the result of training coupled with experience.
I use the spiritual technology of my lineage because my elders are familiar with the ritual processes I use. If I get in trouble I can contact them and they can offer valuable guidance because they know what I am doing and they can tell by asking questions what I am doing wrong. I use the spiritual technology of my lineage because it is recognized by the ancestors of my egbe meaning extended family. If the ancestors are familiar with what you are doing they will be present to support the work. If the ancestors support the work their link with Orisa will open a portal allowing you to work with Orisa; connecting to Orisa with the support of your ancestors creates the possibility of establishing a link to Ela. The Spirit of Ela is the Spirit who guides the Ifa divination process; a link with Ela creates the possibility of doing awo or divination effectively because the divination has the potential to receive guidance from Spirit.
In my experience this invisible system of support does not manifest when you are simply making stuff up in an effort to appear knowledgeable. Honoring this taboo makes it possible to open the road to learning the art of awo or divination. Honoring this taboo takes patience, requires courage and demands discipline. There is no other way to have experience other than to gain experience by actively engaging problem solving in the real world. The quick fix gives only the appearance of expertise. Awo is a communal discipline because it is based on the idea of mentoring and being mentored. We learn from those who know and we teach what we learn.
Eewo
3. They must not call a parrot a bat, that is, they must not mislead people.
Commentary
The most common violation of this taboo I have experienced in our communities in the Diaspora is the endless arguments over which way is the best way; it is a variation on the notion that my God is better than your God. The disputes over the question of whether, Lucumi, Santeria or traditional Ifá is correct are pointless. The effectiveness of ritual is based on the integrity of the participants not on the mechanics of the process.
The development of good character needed to open the door of connection to spirit includes the development of tolerance for other perspectives. During five trips to Nigeria I have never once heard an elder of Ifá denigrate another religious tradition. Some of my Ifá brothers in Ode Remo attend a Christian Church on Sundays and some of my Ifá brothers attend Mosque. Neither group is hostile to the other nor do they appear to have a problem with the idea of approaching Spirit from more than one perspective.
Personally I have some difficulty with the political history of some Christian groups and serious differences of theological opinion, which does not mean I do not support the right to freedom of religious choice. I recognize good people in virtually every religious tradition. The ability to develop good character transcends theological belief. For all my personal disagreement with Christian theology my first theological teacher was a Lutheran and I have always been inspired by the good works of Mother Teresa.
The denigration of other religions is at the core of the need to gossip. The need to gossip is rooted in deep self-doubt that uses the denigration of others in an ineffective effort to build confidence. The only way to build confidence is to practice the discipline of finding inner peace, the discipline of knowing from your heart and soul you are a good and blessed person. Knowing this eliminates the need to denigrate others.
Eewo
4. They must not say iroko leaves are oriro leaves, that is, they must not deceive people.
Commentary
There is perhaps a fine line of distinction between misleading someone and deceiving them. In simple terms misleading someone is frequently the sin of omission, giving a false impression by withholding information. Deceiving someone is deliberately giving false information for the purpose of manipulation and control. Deception is the basis for conning someone, usually for personal gain; it impacts the Ifa Orisa community when people falsely claim to have been initiated or falsely claim to have knowledge and expertise in areas where they have no real training.
This problem frequently exposes itself when someone says, “I am the only person who does initiations correctly.” From a traditional Ifa perspective there is no such thing as the correct way to do an initiation. The question is: how we do an initiation effectively? In the Yoruba language the word ajo means improvisation or spontaneously action. In traditional Ifa every initiation involves an element of ajo meaning guidance from Spirit to address the specific needs of an individual initiate. Simply doing a ritual by rote is not considered effective because it fails to take into consideration the specific destiny of a particular person.
Deception also becomes an issue when folks make false claims about the results that come after completion of the initiation process. There are those who will claim initiation will fix all your problems, cure all you ills and make it possible for you to get anything and everything you want. This is silly. Initiation is first and foremost permission to study the sacred technology of traditional Yoruba culture. Nothing is fixed without effort, and there is no increase in skill and wisdom without training and discipline. Ifa has resources for fixing problems but those resources are only available to those who study the system. Initiation does not make you all knowing, all powerful and perennially healthy. Effective initiation gives the initiate a glimpse of what it feels like to place the self, the inner self and the higher self in perfect alignment. Placing these three aspects of the self in alignment is the foundation for connection with Spirit and connection with Spirit represents the possible manifestation of full human potential. We live in a holographic universe where every fragment of Creation is a reflection of the total universe. Alignment with the higher self can give us a glimpse of that portion of the hologram directly affecting our personal destiny.
Eewo
5. They must not try to swim if they are ignorant of swimming, that is, they must not claim wisdom they lack.
Commentary
Those elders who claim to know everything suffer from the false notion that this is an impressive marketing ploy. Ultimately it does not work because the day always comes when the elder needs to prove their claims.
Pretending to know everything is a vain effort to make the finite infinite and this simply is not possible. Frequently international conflict is based on a conflict in religious dogma. In simple terms conflict is the result of the idea that a particular group has exclusive access to “God’s Will,” which in turn leads to a belief that my God is better than your God. Once a disagreement reaches such a level of rigidity there is no room for negotiation, reconciliation or empathy. A person who believes God hates homosexuals will not engage in dialogue to let go of homophobia. They deify the issue based on the assumption they grasp God’s will. Ifa teaches that God’s will always remains a mystery. For this reason traditional Yoruba Ifa rejects all dogma related to the idea of having any special understanding of the Source of Creation. In traditional Ifa the Source of Creation is referred to as Olorun. There are no shrines dedicated to Olorun; there are invocations for the Spirit of Olorun and there are no stories in Odu Ifa that describe Olorun in any way. Olorun is simply described as the unknowable mystery.
Any attempt at being an all knowing elder in light of the unknowable mystery of Creation is considered arrogance at best and foolishness at worst.
This is also an admonition against what I call the paper tiger syndrome, the tendency by some elders to make up nonexistent problems and sell useless ritual solutions that appear to be effective because the core problem was an illusion.
Eewo
6. They must be humble and never egocentric.
Commentary
This admonition established the difference between those elders who believe the community should serve them and those elders who understand their responsibility is to serve the community. There is, however, a difference between true humility and effected humility. True humility is the result of being willing to listen to someone else’s opinion and to consider it long enough to test its validity in the real world.
A person who is always right and who never makes mistakes has a straight line learning curve that in turn creates a distortion in their perception of self and world. No one is right about everything all the time. It takes a whole lot of energy to hold this illusion and when the illusion becomes internalized the person no longer sees the world they are actually living in, they only see the world they have created in their own imagination. This is a source of delusion and delusion is the source of mental illness. It is sort of like trying to follow directions from someone who has never been where you are going.
Eewo
7. They must not enter Akala´s house deceitfully, that is, they must not be treacherous.
Commentary
Entry into a traditional Yoruba home without permission creates the impression of ill intentions. Ifá says even giving the impression of treachery is taboo. In the Diaspora the non traditional notion has developed that suggests Spirit will give you whatever you want as long as you give them lots of blood. This none traditional idea has attracted the attention of criminals who use this idea as justification for protecting their criminal enterprise. I have a milk crate full of letters from people in prison who asked my why Spirit did not protect them after they made a blood offering. The answer is simple our oral scripture says treachery is taboo.}
Eewo
8. They must not use sacred feathers for cleaning after using the toilet, that is, they must not violate personal taboo.
Commentary
Every initiate has personal taboos based on the divination done during their initiation. Taboo is not designed to restrict behavior; taboo is designed to create positive boundaries in which appropriate behavior becomes automatic. For example a taboo against drinking alcohol is a taboo against potentially self-destructive behavior.
Whenever a traditional Yoruba awo makes offerings to spirit they bath first to wash away any contaminating influences that could affect the quality of their work.
There is also a general taboo among Ifa initiates against using fowl language. You do not want the mouth that invokes Spirit in one moment to be the mouth that hurls curses in the next.
The body is considered igbodu meaning sacred grove. A clean body and a clean ritual space are conducive to effective invocation of Spirit.
Eewo
9. They must not defecate on sacred Ifá food, that is, they must not break taboo.
Commentary
In addition to personal taboo there are general taboos that apply to an egbe or society of a particular Spirit. Honoring the taboos of an egbe creates trust and trust is the foundation that makes ritual work effective.
The reference to defecating on sacred food is not so much literal as it is an admonition not to have negative thoughts while doing ritual work. You do not want the person who is praying for your elevation to be jealous, greedy and disdainful while they are assisting you in fixing a problem.
There is a tradition in some Ifa ritual of teaching a parrot to say invocations for good fortune to insure that any potential negative thoughts from a human awo do not contaminate the invocation process.
Eewo
10. They must not urinate inside the traditional factory for making palm oil, that it, not to break taboo.
Commentary
This is a reference to honoring the general taboos that regulate the community and the culture. For example deference to elders is an unspoken obligation that rarely appears in divination because it is fundamental to the entire extended family and taught as part of cultural home training.
In traditional Yoruba culture there is a taboo against using your left hand to eat. The left hand is used for cleaning yourself in the lavatory so it is not used during meals to touch food.
Showing respect for cultural taboos is a way of supporting the spiritual elevation of the entire community.
Eewo
11. They must not take a walking stick form the blind, that is, to respect the weak, to respect the feeble and be nice to them.
Commentary
This is a manifestation of the Ifá idea if your life gets better my life gets better and if you suffer I suffer. Protecting the unfortunate is also part of the discipline of learning humility. It is a way of counting our blessings and protecting our self from committing the taboo of arrogance.
In traditional Yoruba culture great effort is made to make sure everyone is part of an extended family that everyone has productive work that contributes to both the well being of the family and the community and there is a strict taboo against denigrating anyone for any reason. Denigration is considered a form of hexing and the belief is the hexing is a reflection of bad character and does more harm to the source of the hex than it does to the intended victim.
Eewo
12. They must not take a walking cane from an old person, that is, to respect and be nice to the elderly.
Commentary
In traditional Yoruba culture the old and the young are considered closet to the Immortals. The young are respected because they are recently arrived on Earth from the land of the ancestors, and the old are respected because they are making preparations for returning to the realm of the ancestors. Both the young and the old are considered messengers of Spirit. To treat them kindly is to remain open to Spiritual guidance.
Eewo
13. They must not take a friend’s wife, that is, not to betray a friend.
Commentary
Trust is the hardest element in a relationship to fix once it is broken. The way to maintain trust is to be honest and to keep your word. Betrayal in any form is the source of the loss of trust. In traditional Yoruba culture great value is placed on keeping your word. In other words if you cannot keep a promise do not make it.
They must not take Ogboni´s wife, that is, to respect moral laws.
Commentary
In traditional Yoruba culture promiscuous behavior is considered disruptive. Ogboni is the traditional Yoruba institution for settling disputes. It is very similar to the judicial system of courts in Western culture. Those who become judges in Ogboni take an oath to support one another and to be of assistance whenever a problem arises. Creating problems through immoral behavior and infidelity is clearly breaking that taboo.
Eewo
15. They advised them not to go behind and discuss secrets, that is, not to betray trusts
Commentary
For me this is the most important taboo for maintaining harmony within the community, it is the taboo against gossip. This is a strictly enforced taboo in traditional Yoruba culture because it is understood that a violation of the taboo is extreme destructive to social cohesion. Gossip is defined as saying something critical of someone who is not present to defend themselves.
If you go to a traditional awo with a complement about another person there will be no discussion of the facts of the matter until the person is present to respond. Gossip is destructive because a one side version of events is seldom objective and if there other person is not present there is no basis for resolution. In simple terms discussing a problem for which there is no basis for resolution is a waste of time.
Eewo
16 They must not disrespect or make love to a Babalawo´s wife.
Commentary
This means honor the sanctity of another person’s family. If an awo is responsible for the health, happiness and well-being of the extended family, disrupting any part of the family has negative consequences for the entire community. In the Diaspora some awo are under the mistaken impression it is necessary for an awo to be polygamous and that polygamy means you are free to have intimate relationships with anyone, for any reason at any time. At best this could be described as wishful thinking.
Polygamy is a part of traditional Yoruba culture which I believe developed to make sure everyone is connected to an extended family. Traditional Yoruba families are schools that teach a trade skill and teach the necessary spiritual disciplines need to practice those skills in a responsible way. In a polygamous relationship the first wife is in charge of the finances and the first wife can veto any requests for additional wives. By giving the first wife this authority it diminishes the possibility of jealousy and disruption.
Agbo ato, the oriki on iwa pele was first presented in English in Ifa Literary Corpus, by Chief Abimbola. I post here with my commentary because for me it is the key for healing the wounds that are threatening to unravel foundations of our faith.
Ire
Baba
Agbo ato I have asked for joining in collective prayer to deal with the situation in Japan this article describes the depth of the problem
ire
baba
Agbo ato
I am of the belief that the nuclear accident in Japan threatens to do great damage to the planet. I am also of the opinion that the damage already done is significant. I honestly believe that the problem has reached a point where the only hope of salvation is through communal prayer. The call for prayer has come directly from Dr. Masaru Emoto who lives in Japan. He has called for healing prayers on specific days. I am asking all Ifa Orisa members to consider joining in this global prayer effort. I believe that life on Earth is being threatened by this disaster and I believe prayer can avert disaster. Please consider this global effort.
Oriki from the elision ori kiki meaning praise consciousness is the Yoruba for ritual invocation. In my experience Oriki have specific ritual function and that function is clearly expressed within the invocation. Here is an example of an Oriki specifically for invoking the Ara Orun (ancestors) of Awo within an Awo’s lineage. I find this invocation to be extremely effective and I use it whenever I am doing initiations. In my experience this invocation calls the Ara Orun of Awo so effectively you can feel them enter Igbodu you can hear them respond to Oriki and ocassionally they become physical visible. In my opinion Orunmila is Ara Orun for the Spirit of Ela. In my experience the Ara Orun of my spiritual lineage are links to Orunmila and this link opens the door to connection with the Immortal Spirit of Ela.
The spiritual discipline of Ifa is based on the development of iwa pele. The Yoruba word iwa pele, frequently translated to mean good character, literally means I come to greet the Earth. According to Ifa we greet the Earth in order to learn how to live in harmony with the Earth. Living in harmony with the Earth is the foundation for iwa pele because the discipline needed to embrace iwa pele builds personal character, develops healthy families, sustains functional extended family, nurtures the entire community and gives hope to future generations. The first step in understanding how to greet the Earth is to understand the world we live in. Traditional Ifa is based on an oral scripture that is a collection of poems that preserve ancestral wisdom; they are organized into verses related to two hundred and fifty six metaphysical principles. The key to understanding the verse is to understand the principles being expressed in the verse. This might seem like an impossible task, but the truth is it is very simple, when you break the principles down into their component parts.
The symbolic markings used to identify each verse are based on two vertical marks – a single line and a double line.
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