CONFERENCE
MISSION KEYNOTE ADDRESS PANELS
BIOGRAPHIES
PRESS RELEASE SPONSORS ADVERTISEMENTS PICTURES
Women’s Conference,
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A.
January 3lst, 2004
Owonrin Meji
Idasiki ona nii rejo leyin
The
unsmoothness of the road breaks the snake’s back
Adifa fun Esin
Divined
for horse
A bu f’agbo
Divined
same for ram
Nijo ti won nsawo
rele ooni
When
they were on Ifa mission to the
Atesi, atagbo
Inclusive
of the horse and the ram
Awo ile Oooni
Alanakan-esusu
Awo in the
A difa fun Ooni
Divined
for Ooni
Nijo ti o r’iba
ile baba re mo
When
he lacked the iba (ase) from his father (meaning, all the ancestors)
(When
he was denied the ases from his ancestors; as a
result of which life was hard for him)
Iba baba
Iba to baba
Iba yeye
Iba to yeye
Iba Oluwo
Iba to Oluwo
Iba Ojugbona
Iba to Ojugbona
Iba Akoda
Iba to Akoda
Iba Aseda
Iba to Aseda
Iba pa-npa-sigidi-adaso-mamero
Iba to the big savior (to Ikin Ifa tree)
Afeyi ti mo ba
da se
Unless
I do not give appropriate iba (because I give the
appropriate ibas)
K’oro ma saigba
Will
my doings not be sanctioned (whatever I do will be sanctioned with ase).
It
might seem like I have taken a long time (to come out with a new book)
Planning,
I was planning; I was organizing
(I
was organizing my work, and that was the
reason I was late)
It
might seem like I have taken a long time(to come out
with a new book)
Planning,
I was planning; I was organizing
(I was organizing my work, and that was the
reason I was late)
Since
I must juba Akoda
That
was the reason I was late
And
I must juba Aseda
That
was the reason I was late
Ori must be reverenced
That
was the reason I was late
Elders
must be venerated
That
was the reason I was late
Contemporaries
must be placated
That
was the reason I was late
And
Owonrin S’ogbe must be
venerated
That
was the reason I was late
And
I must give iba to the Oluwo
That
was the reason I was late
To
the Ojugbona, I must give iba
That
was the reason I was late
Basic Information on Ifa, the Profession
I
must give iba to Araba, the
foremost leader in Ifa
That
was the reason I was late
And
the positive energies in Ifa must be venerated
That
was the reason I was late
The
utmost one must be venerated
That
was the reason I was late
The
Baba with who it is worth spending a lifetime
That
was the reason I was late
Orunmila, I bow in reverence
I
was late because I was busy planning and organizing my work!
Song
E ma ma’pe
mo pe o
Ato, ato mo mi se o, ato
E ma ma’pe
mo pe o
Ato, ato mo mi se o, ata
Ki nto juba Aseda
Ato, ato mo mi se o, ato
Ki nto juba ori
Ato, ato mo mi se o, ato
Agbaagba, mo se ba
Ato, ato mo mi se o, ato
Mo
juba omode
Ato, ato mo mi se o, ata
Owonrin S’ogbe, Iba
Ato ato mo mi se o, ato
Egungun, mo se’ba o
Ato, ato mo mi se o, ato
Ki nto juba Oluwo
Ato, ato mo mi se o, ato
Ojugbona, mo se’ba
Ato, ato mo mi se o, ato
Araba, baba eriwo
Ato, ato mo mi se o, ato
Iba l’otu
Ato, ato mo mi se o, ato
Bara, Alesin Oyan
Ato, ato mo mi se o, ato
Baba,
a to i ba j’aye
Ato, ato mo mi se o, ato
Orunmila, mo yinbo’ru
Ato, ato
mo mi se o, ato.
Thank
you for making my job easy. When I was told that I woud
be the “Key Note speaker,” I asked myself, “What is new, and what should be
discussed?” Practically, nothing is new. However, there is plenty to be learned
from Ifa, the Orisasand
from each other. I always believe that Babalawo and Olorisa are the
representatives of Ifa and Orisas
in this life. What a heavy responsibility!
When
we discuss the Orisas, we discuss them
in Unison. For instance, Esu is important to all the Orisas; Ogun’s role can
never be compromised; Osun’s power is never underscord; Oya’s fearsomeness is
never underestimated when weighed against Sango’s power;
Orunmila’s humility is never taken for granted by the
Orisas; Orunmila’s
humility is never taken for granted by the other Orisas;
eerindinlogun (cowrie
shell reading) is never belittled when compared to Ifa
(the esoteric words of Odumare made manifest to Orunmila). Orunmila and Orisas accept that eerindinlogun
is an extension of Ifa, and Ifa
needs to be consulted when it becomes necessary, that is, when an issue is
overbearing for eerindinlogun. There was never a
battle between them
Each
and every one of our Orisas had his/her
defined portfolio and there was never
any confusion in the discharge of their duties. In performing their Odumare-given tasks when on earth, the Orisa
worked with each other, they respected each other, they lived in harmony and they
consulted with each other when the need for that arose. Orunmila,
being witness to creation and as a result of which he was and still the one
most knowledgeable about human spiritual needs, was
highly respected by all the Orisa. Orunmila reciprocated this love. He respected the Orisa as much as they respected him. Actually, he
respected them more than they respected him, a quality that made him the most
humble of the Orisas.
By
this virtue and in conjunction with his knowledge, Orunmila
became the mutually agreed leader of the Orisas.
This position humbled Orunmila more because his
responsibilities doubled as a result. He
became the father, the counselor, the judge and even the most trusted friend of
the Orisas. There are various Ifa stanzas that tell us about Orunmila
and Orisa’s mutual relationships. There is a story about Orunmila,
Ogun, Esu, Sanponna and the Iyamis in Odu Ifa Otura
Meji. This particular chant is from Olujowo Oriki Ifa by Araba Fasina Agboola. The verse says:
Ajenje niregun / Egboro
nide Adifa un Orunmila / Nijo ti nti
ikole orun bow a ikole aye / Ngo lowo lowe, Ajenje niregun,
egboro nidere / O ngo ni ire gbogbo,
Ajenje niregun, egboro nidere…chant and tell
stories.
Aro, aro, aro
Orunmila got what he wanted with cooperation of the other orisa. There was resolution and everyone was happy; Obatala even had a meeting with all the Orisa
afterwards.
You
will excuse m
E
for asking, “Why is there so much ego, so much bickering, so much deceit, and
so much division among Babalawo and Olorisa?”” Who do they represent, the Orisa or themselves? It is apparent from the
teachings of Ifa and the Orisa
that they were united, even as we gather here now, the Orisa
are still united in their spiritual Ile (ikole orun). It will be very good
if al OMO Orisa, a term that includes OMO Ifa, see themselves as one family- a friendly, happy
family.
In
the spirit of Orunmila and the Orisa,
I wish we would see ourselves as one, and hopefully, close the division that
seems to separate us. Orunmila, Sango, Esu, Oya, Osun, Babaluwaye, Osanyin, Ori, Obatala,
Ogun, just to mention the few, are known for their
unique energies all over the world. In the diasporal
practice, about seven of these Orisa are given
at once to a new initiate. As I speak, most of us have our ‘warrior ileke’ on – about seven different ileke
with each representing different Orisa. I have
never heard of any fighting amongst these Orisa
when they are so given. We can borrow from the Orisa’s
peaceful coexistence; we can emulate their togetherness; we can practice their
tolerance; we can borrow from their unity; we can imbibe their example of
cooperation in the face of confrontation. There is so much we can do.I will conclude with a verse fro Otura
Obara. It says:
Otura Obara
Owo omode o to pepe
T’agba o wo keregbe
Ise ti ewe be agba,
k’o ma se ko
Oni ohun ti baba omo nse fun omo]
D’ifa fun Otura ohu
n Obara
Ni’jo ti won nsa’wo
lo si ilu
A
child’s hand cannot reach the…………
An
adult’s own cannot enter a gorge
An
adult should not refuse a child’s plea for favor
A
father has an obligation for his child
Divined
for Otura and Obara
The
day they went on a missionary journey to
Otura and Obara were friends and they
both wentto the same town to practice. Even though Ifa told them to cooperate with each other, they chose to
work against themselves.Rather than prosper, they
both suffered. Their lives improved after they went back to Ifa
and followed Ifa’s advice.
May
unity, love and humility prevail among us, ase.
Aboru aboye. Chief
FAMA
All Copyrights reserved to
Chief FAMA.