This festival is the celebration of Osa and Olokun.  The odu Ifa that talks about this festival is Osa Meji.  It was divined for Olokun and Osa. Osa and Olokun are the wives of Oduduwa. During this time only Olokun had money Osa was very poor.   Olokun is the first wife of Oduduwa and did not have any children. Because of her childlessness she advised Oduduwa to marry another wife. This second wife is Osa.

Both Osa and Olokun were told to make the sacrifice.  Only Osa made the sacrifice.  Osa was the only one to have children and Olokun remained  childless.

During this festival the king calls all his children to wear Agbon and celebrate.  Only Osa had the children and Olokun did not have the children to dance in the festival.

They sing:

olomo loni laye

osara mo ko omode o

oye ye ko oyeko.

Because Olokun didn’t have children she was sad and went to the sea.  THis is why she left Ile-Ife and went to Eko and changed to the ocean.  In the end Orunmila made an extraordinarily large sacrifice for her to have children and at last she had children.

The Agbon festival is celebrated every year and this year was enjoyed and attend by the Araba Agbaye, his children, all the Awos, the Emese, Osara people and their children.

Orishada would like to thank all who  attended this year’s Agbon festival and we look forward to next year’s festivities.

Orishada is proud to introduce the newest member of the Orishada family.  We are blessed with a new child and pray goodness and prosperity to shower all members of the Orishada community.  Ase!

Ododun lari orogbo

Ododun lari arusa

Ododun lari omo obi lori ate

Ododun la o wa ri lode isalaye

Ododun lawo toro lowo olodumare

Won ko ni fi enikeni sa wa ti o

Gbogbo Eyin Ololufe Orishada

Ibanuje koni je ti yin o Ase

E  adupe gidigidi lowo gbogbo ololufe wa

Ase ye samo odun asamodun semi o

For a full explanation of your odu Ifa please contact us at Orishada@gmail.com.

Aboru Aboye,

The Araba Agbaye has released the following statement:

I Araba Aworeni Awoyemi Adisa do not permit the unauthorized use of my name, image, or words to be used. Anything having to do with my name must be authorized by me especially when used to gain notoriety or money by the user.

It has come to the Araba Agbaye’s attention via the World Wide Web or internet that his name is being used as a means to gain money and notoriety. The Araba Agbaye has neither divined, given ebo instructions or authorized this to be done on his behalf in Venezuela. The advertisement of these services is false and is being done without his authorization.

Ake ko kumo enikokan

Ika kumo eniyan

Bi eniyan ba yo leda

ohun gangan a ma yo won se

A difa fun etutu ti se omo

Ikofa orunmila ni ojo to ba ni aya sun

Iro ti lo

Otito ti de o

Odabo

The Igbe Ifa Pade Orisanla Lona or the Ijekuru Itapa festival was held this week, January 20, 2010. This festival represents the the time when there was a war between Orisanla and Oduduwa. When the two Orisa were fighting a great war insued and Orunmila came to settle the dissagreement between the two of them.

During this festival the Araba Agbaye represents Orunmila, the Ooni of Ife along with the Emese represent Oduduwa and the members of Itapa represent Obatala. As a part of the festival the Araba took Ifa to the Enuwa to meet the members of Itapa where many rituals took place. All the Awoolodumerindinlogun were present and participated in the rituals. This day represents a war where Orunmila pleaded with Obatala and Oduduwa for peace. Orunmila pleaded with the two Orisha not to destroy Ile-Ife. After Orunmila settled the disagreement Oduduwa traveled to Itapa and the members of Itapa traveled to the palace to show that the war has ended and there is peace. All the people were happy and celebrated, good things were then able to enter the town.

It is important that only those directly involved in the peace proceeding be present during the festival. Because this festival represents a time of war only the Awo, Itapa members and the Emese Ooni were present. Throughout the day of the festival no outsider can pass in front of the Palace or Itapa or in front of Oketase.

The Odu Ifa that explains the story behind this festival is Irete Ogbe.

The Araba Agbaye and the Awoolodumerindinlogun

Members of Itapa

Obalesu and other Members of Itapa

Owolabi Aworeni and his brother Asiwaju Ijo Orunmila, with Ifa

Iya L’Orisa and members of Itapa

Isu gbojo odun isu pe ewe

Koko fi igba ojo la le

Akere gboun ojo o fi

Ikatere ona ofun

Difa fun odun to gberu ti

Kole orun bo wa otu Ife

A gbe odun kale

Odun ko lo mo

This incantation is from Etura Meji. It states that we will all continue to have good festivals throughout the New Year and beyond.

Orishada.com greets the member of Itapa for a wonderful festival this year. We also greet the Ooni of Ife, the Emese and all the Awo of Ife. We wish all a Happy Itapa Festival and a prosperous 2010.

The Odun Elefin festival for the Araba Agbaye was held Tuesday, June 23, 2009. This is the festival of Orunmila where the Araba Agbaye will pray for all Ifa devotees. During the celebration the Araba became the Ekun Orisa, where he symbolically transformed into a leopard. The symbol of the leopard can only be represented by the Araba Agbaye.

Mo po ju wo eyin kin ri oba Araba da amotekun odese odieranko abifinlara

This proverb is for the Araba Agbaye and says to look back to see the King, the Araba has turned into the leopard. The Araba looks like the animal with spots, he is the leopard.

The Araba emerged from the chamber of Ilebora at Oketase and went to the Origi.

At the Origi the Araba performed many rituals and chanted adura for all the people gathered.

Next, the Araba and all the people gather proceeded to the Ooni’s Palace. On the way to the Palace the Araba and all the Awo did many spiritual rituals.

All the Ojugbona sang and chanted adura at the Palace. All the Awoolodumerindinlogun consulted Ifa when at the palace. Then they went to the Araba Agbaye and recited the Odu that fell. Because of the secret nature of the true consultation, all the Awoolodumerindinlogun when asked by the Araba in public they replied Eji Ogbe, Ire Aje, etc. This is from the Agbongbon to the last of the Awoolodumerindinlogun.

The Odun Akara (bean cake) festival was held Tuesday, June 16th in Ile-Ife.  In this festival all the babalawo and the ojugbona paraded through the streets of Ile-Ife to many the local shrines including Origi and other Orisha shrine.s  The people of Ife made Akara (bean cake) to eat, feed the babalawos and deities.

After this ritual they babalawos performed the Ojumamaworire that night until the  morning of the following day.  This took place in each individual compound.  Singing, dancing and chanting adura continued all night through the next day.  Each Orisha was called using ritual language.

The Araba Onisese Agbaye, the head of all the Awos in the world was recently interviewed by the Nigerian Compass newspaper. The Nigerian Compass is a widely distributed newspaper in Nigeria. The Araba Agbaye was interviewed by Kayode Falade and Yemisi Adeniran on the akudaaya phenomena.
The akudaaya is a person that is dead, but has not gone to heaven. They go to another town away from all who knew them in life and live like regular human beings, which includes marrying and having children.

According to the Araba,
“[It] is not everybody that dies that becomes an akudaaya. When someone dies untimely, they are usually seen here and there as they roam around. At times, they are also re-born but mostly they go to other places different from where they had dweled to continue their lives. These are the beings Yoruba refer to as akuda or akudaaya. Whenever their covers are blown, they re-locate to other places.”
The akudaaya are basically ghosts that have turned to another thing and dwell on earth in towns other than where they lived when alive.
“[The akudaaya] would never make themselves known to anybody who knows them before. But he or she may appear to those who know they had died in dreams but not physically. They may appear to those ones as apparitions but never face to face and physically.”
The akudaaya live normal lives eventhough they have died. They do almost everything a live human does and they are very difficult to recognize.
There used to be a place where the akudaaya gathered, this was many years ago. In the town of Ajiran, they would cogregate at a market held at night, but they didn’t necessarily live in this town. The Araba also spoke about the places where the akudaaya congregate:

“There is even another like that here in Ile-Ife. It is called Oja Ejigbomekun. In the days of yore, the market held in the dead of the night. It would begin around 10p.m. and reach its fullest around 1.00 a.m. The site is just there (pointing outside) where the Chief Obafemi Awolowo statue is mounted. But now, because of Western civilisation, it no longer holds in the night. The whole of the area then was filled with Odan trees but they have all been felled.”

When the Araba was asked about a particular place where one can find their relative that had passed on he replied:

“No, there is not. I told you, you cannot. Even if you meet him, you can never recognise him or her. It is possible that he or she is there but you would not recognise them even when you come across each other. Unless one employs supernatural powers that will make you see extra terrestrial beings. But again, that is very dangerous as one begins to see so many things without being able to tell anybody. In fact, one must not tell. It is sacrilegious. Any attempt to do that turns one into one of them. That is why babalawo do not seek that type of powers. (wi we oju) opening the third eye. Anybody who does that will be seeing all sorts of things and beings. As you were entering here, you might have stepped on some beings but they would not take offence because they knew that you have no third eye to see them. But if you had seen them and still stepped on them, the action may be your last.”

The Araba was then pressed on the point of seeing the beings that are not normally seen with normal human sight. The interviewers wanted to know again if it is possible to see a dead relative. To this the Araba replied more firmly:

” I told you they cannot be seen. May Olodumare never allow you to see them because if you do, the consequences would be disastrous. May death not claim you now because that is the only time you can see these beings.”