Archive | August, 2009

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Ori Apere: Destiny

Posted on 28 August 2009 by Babalawo Aworeni

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The ORI created the individual to this world, it created all the orisha including orunmila and oduduwa.  The Ori is what holds an individual’s destiny.  The Ori is what creates rich and poor, allows for dissapointment or joy.  The Ori is in control of one’s daily ups and downs.  Ose Tura explains that the Ori is more important than medicine, that one shouldn’t believe in juju but in one’s own individual power manifested by their Ori.

The Ori is a spirit each individual has on his or her own.  When we come from heaven we pass a place where we obtain our own destiny, but it is the Ori that assists us in getting a good destiny.  When the human being was created, Olodumare created the Ori.  When one dies the Ori dies as well.  Before consulting Ifa, one already knows their duty to their Ori.

We can know when our Ori is angry through consutation with Ifa, asking from our head, and realizing something is amiss when our hard efforts seem to waste in vain exertions.  The Ori is a spirit akin to the soul and follows us when we come from the heaven.

An individual has two heads, the Ori Inu is inside the physical head.

Ori Inu ma ba to de je

This is a prayer that the Ori inside doesn’t spoil the Ori outside.  The physical Ori that you see is on the outside.

One can know the precise things that their Ori wants through divinaion.  If one disobeys their Ori all things will fail despite their best efforts.

Some examples of different types of destinies are as follows:

1)   To Wa Wo Iran, with this type of destiny the person has come from heaven as an observer.  Their destiny is to just look and not to act or participate.

2)  Asiniwale Aye,  the person with this type of destiny has come to earth worship another person.

3)  Eni To Wale Aye Wa Se Rere, a person with this destiny has come to earth with the sole purpose of doing good.

There is a difference between destiny and behavior.  Where behavior is a choice, one’s destiny cannot be changed as it come with us from heaven.  It is not possible to change one’s destiny.  One’s destiny can sometimes not be fufilled do to their choice in behaviors.

To care for one’s Ori, it is important to keep your head clean, not to be careless when touching your head, and be mindful of who is touching our head.  One can receive Ori to worship.  When one wakes, they can hold their head and pray that their Ori will bring good things.

Ori Ajike, ori aji ge, ori logbe ni ti a de ade owo, ori

lo gbe ni ti a wo ewu ileke, ori lo gbe di olola,

ki a to mo obi bo Orisa ori ni ki a mobi bo

Plenty of odu Ifa speak about the Ori, for instance Ose Tura, Ogbe Di, Ogunda Ogbe, Obara Meji, Eji Ogbe, Etura Meji, etc.  White is the color of destiny.  As for the taboos of the Ori, how your ori creates you is how you should be.  Don’t use color on your hair or use harsh treatments on your head, treat your Ori with care.  The food for the Ori is, obi, cock, eja abori, igba, omi tutu, otin.  However your Ori bless you, you can feed it.

We appreciate you visiting Orishada.com and if you have any questions please comment and we will answer.  May your Ori bless you and keep you safe throughout your travels.

ASE O

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Iwa Pele: Good Character

Posted on 16 August 2009 by Babalawo Aworeni

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Iwa Pele is character.  In the olden days, Iwa was the most beautiful woman in the village and everybody  wanted to marry her.  It was only Orunmila that made the proper sacrifice and was allowed to marry Iwa.  When Orunmila made the sacrifice he was given one special instruction and it was that he could never yell or mistreat Iwa.  One day years into his marriage with Iwa, Orunmila returned home and his food was not yet prepared.  Orunmila began to scream at Iwa.  Iwa patiently bore the brunt of Orunmia’s wrath.  She quickly finished preparing the food and Orunamila sat and ate.  In the morning Iwa packed her things and left Orunmila’s house and returned to Heaven.

Orunmila searched and searched for Iwa eventually finding her in heaven.  When Orunmila went to heaven to find Iwa, he changed his clothes as not to appear as himself.  When Iwa came out, Orunmila begged her to return.  She agreed but her said that she would never return in human form again.  She would only return in spirit.

The person that is patient will see Iwa, for Suuru (Patience) is the father of good character.  Great things in life comes to those with patience.  Good character is easy for some and very difficult for others because of one’s mind.

If  a person doesn’t have good character no one will look for them, everyone will dislike them and on one will give them the good advice.  If you have a good mind you can also have good character.  Being good to others invites good character.  It also important that one cannot judge them self it is others that will recognize the good character in them.

One does not feed or worship good character, she is a collection of behaviors and she is necessary to receive and care for the Orisha.  To work with the Orisha one must have Iwa, it requires good character and patience.

Eji Ogbe and Ogbe Ogunda are amoung the many odus that speak of Iwa.

The next post will focus on Ori inu.

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Ifa and Orisha in the Diaspora

Posted on 10 August 2009 by Babalawo Aworeni

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Orishada.com has recently travelled to the diaspora and has learned many things about how Orisha worship is practiced so far away from the source of the Yoruba people, in Ile-Ife, Nigeria.  We should first point out that it is much appreciated the stuggle of those in the Afrikan diaspora to keep and maintain the worshipping practices of their ancestors and the sacrifice it takes to have maintained over what has spanned many centuries.  However, today is a new day and with modern conveniences such at internet, phones, airplanes, etc it is very possible to see, understand and gather information directly from the source of Orisha worship.

The major inconsistencies in the names, adura, and initiation practices, to begin with are grossly different than what is practiced in Ile-Ife.  We recognize that not all diaspora Orisha worship is aimed at emulating what is practiced Ile-Ife but for those that are using the name of Ile-Ife, to attract clientèle it is unfortunate how many of the practices in these Iles are so very inconsistent with those in the Source.

Specifically we would like to clear up some major inconsistencies.  Some major points about initiations include:  One is never beaten, made to be exposed naked before members of the opposite sex, there is no intercourse required to receive “ase,” there is a huge difference between receiving an Orisha and being initiated to one and a full Ifa initiation is 7 days long.  When a person is initiated they should receive their own divined Odu Ifa, Oriki, personal taboos, and general information about their odu Ifa, how to care for their Ifa and instructions for worship in the future.  One should not be initiated and left in the dark or forced to pay extra money for what should have been included in the original 7 day initiation. After one is initiated they are not considered Babalawo or Iyanifa.  These are titles bestowed on very learned priests after years of study.  One does not become a pastor simply by being baptized, it takes many years of dedication and focus.

Also, Orisha worship is part of a culture, the Yoruba culture and to properly worship one must practice the culture.  There is no separating the two.  There are cultural norms and protocols for men as well as women.  Iles claiming to practice Ifa and Orisha worship as taught from Orunmila  must also attempt to practice the culture.  Orishada witnessed women inappropriately dressed at temple sites and men shaking hands with their elders.  This among other things is not tolerated in Yoruba culture where respect is of paramount importance.

Unfortunately, we found that some Babalawos do not praise Orunmila but praise money.  They are more concerned about collecting clients without educating them and using the name of Orunmila to gain prestige.

If you have any further questions about initiations or Ifa and Orisha worship in Ile-Ife please respond to this post.

The next post will focus on Iwa Pele and the nature of human character.

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