HUMILITY-BY OGUNTUNDE

Good morning everyone, this post was written by a dear friend of mine who is an Initiate and practitioner of the Ifa/Orisha Traditional Order of the Yoruba People of South Western Nigeria. I have so far stayed clear of formally introducing this very important traditional practice to my blog of which I too am an Initiate,( although I have sprinkled it here and there in some of my posts), for one reason. I wanted to be the source of truth whenever I wrote of Ifa (ee-fah). I have realized that throughout cyber world there aren’t many truths regarding this subject. This is a sacred order, and should be regarded as such. There are no books which stands as an holy text in representing Ifa, It is too vast and therefore cannot be contained within a single book or text. So it is taught orally, handed down by Priests called Babalawos (father of mysteries), who have spent almost half their lives studying Ifa under the tutelage of  their master, teacher, often times titled Oluwo, not all Babalawos bares this title.

In Nigeria the Student begins his training as young as five years old, and will live with his teacher for most of his life, learning Ifa. Most will become independent Babalawo’s in about twenty years, depending on how well they learn.  So you can see how sacred this tradition is and that it cannot be taken lightly or be condensed or boxed or crammed for the purpose of giving anyone a slight snap shot of this very complex, elaborate, intricate and systematized oral literary tradition. Ifa is one of , if not the most valuable tradition in All of Africa, a living library of knowledge, the binary code of life, the guide for every human being upon the face of this earth. Ifa is a way of life and I have searched high and low for God and the truth to our existence, knowing that there has to be more than what I have been taught through religion and by screaming, sweating, suit wearing  pastors, and also the ones wearing their black frocks and collars. I found it among these people in Yoruba land. Although Ifa is far and wide throughout the world, Orunmila the owner of the sacred Ifa oracle built his house (meaning where it all began) in Ile Ife, a city (ill-lay, ee-feh, ) Nigeria where it is said was the first place for Orunmila to land when he descended from heaven, but Orunmila traveled the world and spread the message of Ifa, and so Ifa can be found in all cultures, but called by many names. Ifa is also present in your bible, in the book of Genesis where God commanded Light to come forth out of darkness,  He said…Let there be light:” and there was light.  And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. Here, light is  Ogbe, and darkness is Oyeku! These are the first two sacred Odu’s of Ifa, and the oldest, and Orunmila with his wisdom introduced Ifa to you all, within the Pentateuch, the first five books of your bible, Oh Orunmila how wise thou art!  

My respect for my tradition goes without saying, I am an Initiate of Osun, who represent the sweet river water and more, and my name Obara Meji belongs to one of the 16 major Odu’s of Ifa, sacred binary codes of life, (Obara Meji stands in the 7th position) I have provided a link for your better understanding and also we will discuss this, deeper another time. I wanted Oguntunde to write on Ogun, the Yoruba deity of war, and who represents Iron since, he in an initiate of this very powerful and revered deity, and so when I spoke to him and the subject was brought up, he agreed, but went on to tell me that he needed time to put the materials together because like me, he wanted to provide information which was true and also he needed to give the deity Ogun as well as the Yoruba people his full respect in the material he put forward and also in how he treated the subject, for that I applaud him, as these are my sentiments exactly. He has chosen to write  about Humility instead, and his own personal reflections upon this subject. I know this post will ring true to you all, in regards to humility, and here you get to peep a little into our world as Initiates, with the use of  Oguntunde’s (Ogoon-tun-day) language and how he has chosen to explain words unfamiliar to many of you here, please enjoy.

Humility – the strategy for maintaining divine assistance.

First, I’d like to greet you all. I am called Oguntunde in Ibadan, Nigeria, where I was initiated to Ifa and the Egbe Ode (Society of Hunters). Obara Meji is more than a dear friend to me. She is a kindred spirit and essentially my female twin. I was honored but also humbled and a bit hesitant to guest write a post for her blog as I find it not just beautifully executed, but the stories and information she shares are so important for the development and healing of so many that I take this task very seriously.

I chose the subject of humility because of some personal challenges that my spiritual allies and ancestors are guiding me through. During this process, I have been reminded of some of the basic tenets of spiritual and material development within the traditional Yoruba worldview, particularly within the philosophy of Ifa.

Let me back up and briefly touch on the concept of spiritual and material development as I have been taught by my elders in Ifa. Traditional philosophy all over West Africa promotes the idea of reincarnation – atunwa in Yoruba. In Ifa, we are taught that we choose our own destiny (ayanmo, ipin) to accomplish in our life on earth. The individual’s (eniyan) success in achieving ayanmo is mainly predicated on 2 factors: How well one prepares for life on earthbefore one is born (in Ile Orun – heaven, the Realm of the Ancestors, High Astral Plane) and the maintenance of support from various communities: ancestors, divinities, family, village, professional group, etc when we get here. When one has the support of these communities, it is easier to stay on one’s path and the signs are material and physical abundance: health, children, family, wealth, friends, professional success and recognition. When eniyanexperiences difficulties, the oracle Ifa is consulted to determine not just the cause & nature of the blockage or deviation from one’s path but who will assist the individual by receiving the sacrifice made to placed back on that path. I italicized those two phrases because they are not only critical in helping us to understand how to overcome problems, but navigate issues in life in general.

Now that the principle of destiny or ayanmo has been introduced, I have to approach the most important theological principal to be understood in Ifa and the topic of our post – Iwa or Character, specifically Iwa Pele – gentle character. There are so many Ifa verses dedicated to the subject of character, in fact, as you study and read more and more of these sacred poems, you start to realize that they form a guide as how to develop one’s character. The ideal character for attaining success in life and accomplishing the highest destiny is Iwa Pele or gentle character. This is character that seeks; suuru – patience, ogbon – wisdom, otito – truth, inúunre – generosity and ìrẹ̀lẹ̀ – humility.

Traditional West African life has always been described as communal by scholars, but very little has been written how communal living applies to African Spirituality, which is critical in its understanding. I bring this up here because if we take each of the qualities in seeking Iwa Pele, we can discern that it attracts the highest qualities of people and spiritsto us. Pursuing patience, wisdom, truth, generosity and humility will always get assistance from the Egun (Ancestors) and Orisa (divinities, angels). The journey one takes in developing Iwa Pele inevitably prepares one to not only receive blessings, but to cultivate them for the good of one’s community and provide a better situation for oneself inIle Orun and even when reincarnating back to Earth.   I questioned my Oluwo (the priest that oversaw my initiation) about why did I have all sorts of problems after I became initiated to Ifa? He answered by saying that we are born with problems due to the quality of preparation before coming into the world. Orunmila (literally: Heaven is our salvation, the Orisa  of Wisdom that brought the practice of Ifa to the Earth) was guiding me through these circumstances so as a priest I can have the authority through experience to counsel and guide others through similar issues. Getting initiated is a baby step in learning how to propitiate the Orisa and Ancestors to help us to overcome problems. To begin this, humility is needed.   The development of Iwa Pele starts with humility. When we are humble, we acknowledge that we need our community to succeed and accomplish our destiny and achieve abundance in life. If we act like we are wholly independent and have no need of friends, angels, family, teachers or ancestors, then we will not receive their support. Having humility is also accepting that we do not have all the answers when it comes to solving problems in life. Humility brings us to the feet of the Divine for guidance, strength and help to keep us on the path of our destiny. Humility brings us the assistance we need to avert loss and sustain ourselves through any difficulty.    The cliche says: No man is an island. There is an inherent illusion that we have individual spirits anyway. We all emanate from Olodumare, the Womb of Creation: Orisa, humans plants animals, stars planets, all. When we live life respecting that oneness, Iwa Pele is achieved and we experience Divinity and others around us feel that Divine presence and assist us on our journey.   Modupe. I give thanks for this opportunity and your time.

 

Ko mò mò ní torí wa bàjé o.

Ko níí torí wa bàjé o.

Ayé ò ní torí wa bàjé o.

Ifá ó tun un se.

It will not be spoiled in our own time.

It will not be spoiled in our own time.

The world will not be spoiled in our own time.

Ifa will mend it. – Wande Abimbola

All religions are valid as long as it teaches peace and love….Obara Meji!