Let us now examine a few of the appellation or praise names of Orunmila, we know and salute him as Elerii-Ipin meaning the witness of creation, and that creation goes beyond the creation of all life forms on this earth (including humanity) but also the creation of this earth and the other planets as well, some of my mentors will even go as far as saying that Elerii-Ipin even was witness to the creation of the other planets outside of this universe. But let us just examine the meaning of Elerii-Ipin within the context of this earth and all of Nature within, Orunmila was the one who had witnessed our own destiny on earth and recorded it, just as He also recorded the destinies of all the other life forms on earth. In such that Orunmila having known all of life to the extent that he will even know us better then we know ourselves, because He will know where we come and where we ought to go in life to fulfill our rightful purpose here (destiny). We also know that since Orunmila was the one who witnessed and recorded our destiny, He is the one who can advise us and direct us best, this is why the importance of following the various rites of passage we have within the tradition of Ifa, those being ikunle abiyamo (birthing/conception rites), esentaye (naming rites / welcome to earth), Isefa (one hand of Ifa), Omode-Onifa (youth coming of age in worship to Ifa), igbeyawo (marriage), isinku (final rites / burial).
It is the knowledge Orunmila has of our existence and the existence of all of Nature that He assigned the various names and secret names, for which allows us to access more wisdom & knowledge and the coded esoteric knowledge to make things manifest, it is within this coded words that once stated in a certain form and with certain preparations allows us to make ordinary words into incantations, it is by calling on the ordinary and coded words, it was those words that Orunmila gave all of Nature, that one when studies this element of Ifa, one can create and manifest with the utterance of certain words and phrases etc.
Briefly some other names:
Omoloju-Olodumare, meaning the favorite child of Olodumare, or the one that Olodumare pays closer attention to, because of his servitude to Olodumare.
IfaOlokun Asorodayo, meaning the one who can turn sorrow and problems into joy and abundance, the changer of ill fate.
Eegun Ife – Orunmila was known as the primordial inhabitant of ancient Ife town, this Ife is known to be the Ife of Heaven and not necessarily the Ife of earth, which is eastward of present day Ile-Ife, in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria
Oba Ajiki – The King/Ruler worthy of praise upon waking in the daybreak, Orunmila is appropriately greeted (salutation prayer) very early in the morning, upon waking and before one does any meaningful task, Orunmila is the first you would greet to start the day correctly.
Oba Orisa – The Head of all the other Orisa, an honourary title given due to His vast wisdom and knowledge, this is not a literal title. Orunmila earned his respect not by mere presence, but his servitude to Olodumare giving him the greatest portion of the knowledge of Ifa and the influence over the Earth. It is understood that Orisanla was sent to establish the Earth as the eldest, but was advised to first go and have Dafa (consult) Ifa with Orunmila before embarking, he did so and was given advise and told to perform sacrifice, he did not heed the advice and did not perform the required sacrifice this was the reason he was not successful and drank the item Orunmila advised him against, thus his overturn, Olodumare then sent his younger brother Oduduwa to complete the task, which he was also advise to Dafa and perform sacrifice which he did fully and completely, and he and Orunmila went to earth and completed the task of establishing the Earth for living. Every important decision Oduduwa made he consulted Orunmila and Orunmila consulted Ifa for reassurance, and they were always successful. This is why Orunmila is regarded as Oba-Orisa, because beside every great person they have an advisor who makes them and then ensure their success, so Orunmila is a King maker because if his knowledge in Ifa, he supports those that seek after Him.
Olugbala meaning the Master who saves, Orunmila is the one who can save and correct any situation, because he know the foundation and destiny of every living thing, so can change thing to benefit one.
Bara mi Eriigalo meaning my great Lord, which is Ifa Orunmila, he has a grand position within the hierarchy of the Irunmole.
Elaasode meaning Ela is the one who ties Ide on my wrist for longevity, referring to the important Ide Ifa of either green and wine or green and yellow beads tied on either the left or right wrist for blessing and protection, it is not uncommon to also find worn around the waist and around the ankles namely for the Apetebi and daughters of Babalawo as another form of beautification and adorning ones with Ifa beads.
Bara Onigbanso the great repairer of broken calabash (destiny), the calabash here is referred to the container of ones lot in life (fortune), so to repair or mend the damage to ones fortune is a appellation of Orunmila, the term onigbanso can also refer to a calabash repair person not not in the context used here for Orunmila.
Baba Alaba Alase – like Orisanla, Orunmila also is known to control Creativity and power to Manifest. These are two powers sought after and can help one to affect changes in life, it is a guarded secret and one Awo of Ifa and Olobatala can aspire to learn, if they perform good works in the eyes of the Irunmole. It is an earned potential that Orunmila and Orisanla can bless a person with or take away from a person if misused.
Orunmila goes by many many praise names all depicting His greatness and resourcefulness in our lives, Orunmila as Bara mi Arenilekun (my great comforter, in life) is He who we all should ensure we make a routine of appeasing and propitiating on a continuous basis so as to enjoy the benefits of comfort and contentment in life, it is Ifa Orunmila that will bless one accordingly. All you who worship this tradition Ifa, cling to Arenilekun (the comforter) and live in accordance with His instructions to live a blessed life here on Earth.
I will conclude here and may need to follow up on another blog very soon
Awoyinfa Ifaloju
Oct. 2006
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