Taboo the Invitation / Door Opener to Ajogun (Adversaries) into ones life.
Inviting the rivals of Ire (goodness) in ones life is the function eewo performs, this eewo can occur at in instance yet takes days, weeks or longer to correct, and in some cases become life threatening if care is not taken.
Often times people ask why is it that problems occur or illness sets in, or things occur that a recent divination did not reveal, then question many things about the tradition or even the competence of the diviner, some even wonder why an Ire promised did not manifest or takes longer then an affliction (Ajogun) to occur in ones life ?
This can sometimes be because of the issue of Eewo or taboo / tabu
Definition :
ta·boo or ta·bu adj
1. forbidden to be used, mentioned, or approached because of social or cultural rather than legal prohibitions
2. set apart as sacred and at the same time forbidden to be used
n
1. a prohibition or rejection of particular types of behavior or language because they are considered socially unacceptable
2. a type of behavior or a subject that is forbidden or disapproved of because it is considered socially unacceptable
3. the practice, especially in some Polynesian societies, of regarding particular things, people, or types of behavior as sacred and therefore forbidden to be used, made contact with, or engaged in
vt
1. to prohibit or disapprove of particular types of behavior or language because they are considered socially unacceptable
2. to regard particular things, people, or types of behavior as sacred and therefore forbidden to be used, made contact with, or engaged in
Ifa teaches us that the breaking of eewo can have far reaching implications in life and open the door to all kinds of calamity in ones life. Eewo itself can render someone vulnerable to the very thing they are trying to avoid. This breach also includes Priest(tess) as well; it can reduce us in spiritual level. These taboos may not only be food, but places, people or things, it can be as simple as losing ones temper or reacting in a certain fashion that is in opposition to what the message of your diviner (Dafa, Opele, Erindinlogun or Obi) advises. It can also be the very subtle lack of showing proper respect to ones elders, teachers or rank within the hierarchy of our tradition.
Consider breaking ones taboo likened to exposing ones self to a flu virus WITHOUT the proper precautions namely healthy eating, resting habits & personal hygiene etc, virus are all around and we need to take care to avoid getting afflicted by them. Same as all the Ajogun are around any one of us, at any giving time. It is true our Ori, ancestors and Irunmole will protect us to a certain extent (like the healthy lifestyle choices mentioned above) BUT the necessary precautions still need to be made. One cannot take what is poisonous to one and proclaim arrogantly that what they have taken as prevention will protect them, common sense must still prevail.
In Ifa IkaFun, Ifa says that just because one has done Itefa ceremony does not make one to feel they could jump into a fast moving deep river without knowing how to swim !!! in essence do not think that the priest is impregnable.
Also in Eji Ogbe Ifa say, that now that you have “climbed to the top of Holy Palm Tree, don’t let loose your hands” the end result in both cases could be disasterous.
One must still respect taboo and use sense, if one knows what is poisonous to one, then such a person should make efforts to avoid such.
The same applies to the matter of relationships and personal intimate affairs, this holds true, we still must use sense even in matters of the heart, namely when engaging into a relationship as a priest, we, both genders must acknowledge the divinities that reside within us, and end the “flipping or sampling” that appears to be too prevalent within our community. The relationship should be as the person is, scared and treated as such, so misdeeds, taking other peoples partners, slanderous commentary and betrayal have no place within the relationship, and should for all purposes be considered as Eewo, punishable by Ifa. I will write a blog specific to this topic in the future, to add more explanation and details about this matter.
One Odu Ifa dealing with the Taboo issue,
It is the tortoise, which wakes and places the Ifa tray on its head
The snail is it which travels and uses its house as its load
The black ant’s masquerade is it which comes out in its flying costumes
These were the Babalawo who cast Ifa for Olodumare
After creating the world and assigning the parameters to operate within
Olodumare made taboo its king
If we undergo initiation into priesthood
We shall later eventually die
If we do not undergo initiation into priesthood
We shall later eventually die
Please let us recognize taboo
Taboo is the most difficult (to sustain)
The most delicate of them all (to observe)
It is taboo killing people in the world
They were merely accusing death falsely.
Ifa says that your success in life, your ability to achieve success, happiness and sound health depends entirely on how much taboo you are able to recognize and avoid. Whether ones chooses to perform their own initiation into any priesthood or not, much of how they will live their lives depends on the observance of ones taboo.
We have the ability, through our means to communicate with divine to identify our own taboos, but knowing the path and walking it are two separate things. Ifa is stressing how we live our lives, what we do in life and who we are is the key, what position we occupy in life, is only a footnote to the much larger issue.
In conclusion, in ones journey in life, consider the potential ramifications of breaking taboo, when you have come to know what your own personal taboos may be, one should make efforts to observe them, doing your own initiation into Ifa or Orisa is only a portion of this, even having ordinary divination and hearing the messages is a portion of the whole picture, coming on path or not is subjective AND relative to performing full and complete sacrifice, that full ebo I am referring to is the ebo of personal observance and adjustment, the critical one. A major part of those messages from Divinity and performing the sacrifice is the observance of taboo.
Study your life, learn and master your own Odu (letters cast during your initiation), do a thorough self analysis and incorporate the messages from Divinity into your daily routines and habits, this will aid one in living well and in accordance with ones destiny. It is Eewo the invitation for all the Ajogun into ones life, which can pull one from ones path and create other hindrances and obstacles in life.
Awoyinfa Ifaloju
