Otura Meji, Ifa speaks about Wrong Doers

Ela Moyin Boru, Ela Moyin Boye Ela Moyin Bosise

This is an excerpt from Solagbade Popoola's Collection, upcoming book titled: Ifa Dida - Volume One Eji Ogbe - Ofun Meji (isbn 978-0-9810013-1-9) by Asefin Media LLP.

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This Odu stresses the importance of NOT doing or wishing evil on another, some Awo claim that this or other many other messages of Ifa only apply if they appear during divination or if it is their Odu Ifa, this is not the case.
Such "Awo" need to go back to learn about Ifa, Odu Ifa has messages for a person, a family, a group, a community AND for humanity. The first thing to learn is the deeper meaning of the Odu, then learn how to analyze it properly, this can take many years and a good teacher competent in such an area.

We have Odu Ifa which speaks to a person specifically and directly, like ones elder informant, and we have other Odu Ifa which is for teaching people the way of life or philosophy of Ifa, we have others that teach history and cosmology etc.

Ifa is the Master Teacher of Life & Existence.

So this is why the Ifa stanzas are so deep and rich, the number in totality is still unknown. This coming book will help shed some light on those that think/say otherwise about Ifa's messages, Ifa instructs within the Odu Ifa, not ONLY in the process of performing divination.
regards,

Ifaloju
Alawoye.com


Otura Meji:

Ifa warns the person for whom this Odu is revealed to have the fear of Olodumare at the back of his/her mind all the time. He/she must recognize the fact that no matter how powerful he/she may be, Olodumare is the source of all powers and He can take away any power that is being abused or misused from the owner of such power.

Ifa says that if the person for whom this Odu is revealed is put in a position of authority, he/she needs to exercise his/her authority with the fear of Olodumare at heart. He/she must never maltreat others. He/she must not see such power as a vehicle for vengeance or for showing his/her superiority over others.

Conversely, Ifa assures the person for whom this Odu is revealed that he/she will have victory over a more powerful opponent who had been using his/her power, position and/or influence to oppress, intimidate and/or inflict pain.

Ifa advises the person for whom this Odu is revealed to offer ebo(sacrifice) with one matured he-goat and money. He/she is also expected to feed Esu Odara with one roaster. After this, he/she needs to put his/her faith and fear in Olodumare in all his/her thoughts, speeches and actions. On this, a stanza in Otura – Meji says:

Igbonwo mejeeji ni o see gbagbon s`aja
Dia fun Alukandi
Tii s`eru Olodumare Agotun
Oba ateni ola legelege f`ori s`apeji omi
Igba ti o ntorun bo wale aye
Ebo ni won ni ko waa se

Translation:

The two elbows cannot be used to place a
A basket onto the ceiling
This was Ifa`s message for Alukandi
The messenger of Olodumare
When coming from Orun(heaven) to Aye(earth)
He was advised to offer ebo(sacrifice)

Alukandi was one of the very many messengers of Olodumare. He was usually sent by Him to deliver special messages to the human race at regular intervals. All these messages he had delivered without any fault and also without questioning the rationale behind them. The attitude of Alukandi had endeared him to many Irunmole in Heaven. Whenever there was any message to be delivered, the Irunmole would quickly suggest the name of Alukandi to Olodumare. He would then be sent, and the message would be delivered as quickly as possible.

During the course of delivering Divine messages to human beings, Alukandi came to realize that there was great love and affection for human beings who live on earth by both Olodumare and the Irunmole. Alukandi could not understand why this should be so; was it not the same human beings who kill, maim, hurt and destroy each other at the slightest opportunity? Why should Olodumare be in love with those who destroy the environment; polute the air and water; kill insects, rats, fish, birds and beasts at will?; wage war on each other for no other justifiable reason than to show supremacy over one another? Why should Olodumare be in love with those who were not in love with Him; who disrespect Him and His Irunmole; and who had not shown any remorse?

Initially, all these baffled Alukandi. They later turned to confusion for him. In his confused state of mind, he was determined to punish them for all what he perceived to be misbehaviour of the human race.

When the time came for Alukandi to come down to earth to deliver Olodumare`s message, he saw this as the opportunity he needed to take advantage of to deal a deadly blow on all the ungrateful human beings. When he was coming on his assignment, he asked for special powers and his request was granted.

On his way, he decided that he would show no mercy to anyone; why should he show compassion to those who destroy Mother Nature at will? He concluded within himself that they did not deserve his pity.

The day he arrived on earth was a market day. As soon as he set his feet on earth, he declared:

Igbonwo mejeeji ni o see gb`agbon s`aja
Dia fun emi Alukandi
Tii s`eru Olodumare Agotun
Oba ateni ola legelege f`ori s`apeji omi
Igbati ohun ntorun bo wale Aye
Emi Alukandi, Alukandi
Eyi to ba wu mi ni n o pa
Alukandi!

Translation:

The two elbows cannot be used to place a
Basket onto the ceiling
This was Ifa`s message for me Alukandi
The messenger of Olodumare Agotun
When coming from Orun to Aye
Behold, here comes Alukandi, Alukandi
Whoever I like will I kill
Alukandi!

Before anyone could realized what was happening, Alukandi released the special power given to him in heaven and began to kill anybody and everybody in the market. Pandemonium everywhere! Everyone ran for dear life! Nobody could really explain what went wrong. The next day, people came to pick the corpses of their loved ones for burial. Uncertainty enveloped the world. They all gathered in small groups to make meaning of what had just taken place. They could not. At last, they approached the Oba who in turn fixed a general meeting to take place in the market on the next market day.

On the appointed day, the whole market place was filled to the brim. Those who lost their loved ones were first given the opportunity to speak. While they were expressing their ordeal and agony, Alukandi arrived and declared:

Emi Alukandi, Alukandi
Eyi to ba wumi ni n o pa
Alukandi!

Translation:

Behold, here I come Alukandi
Whoever I like will I kill
Alukandi!

The whole market scattered instantly. Everybody ran helter-skelter. Many were killed by Alukandi himself, many more were trampled to death. In all, more than a quarter of the population died.

From that time, it became a regular occurrence every market day. Nobody dared to go to the market anymore. Chaos and anarchy took over completely. Nobody wished to go out in the day time, talk less of night time. Anyone who wished to live long needed to fear Alukandi.

One day, some elders gathered themselves together and went for Ifa consultation in order to determine exactly what was going on and at the same time, find a permanent solution to it.

The Awo told the elders that what was going on was misuse of power and opportunity. They were told that Alukandi thought that he could fight for Olodumare and the Irunmole. The Awo assured the elders that nobody could fight for them but rather, Olodumare and Irunmole do their fightings when the time was right and appropriate. He assured them further that Alukandi would surely fail because he was not sent on the assignment he was carrying out. He advised the elders to offer ebo with one matured he-goat and money. After this, he told them to feed Esu Odara with one big roaster. The elders complied immediately.

As soon as the ebo was offered, Esu Odara petitioned heaven and complained that Alukandi had been misusing the special powers given unto him. He said that he had wrecked untold havoc on earth. He insisted that only the withdrawal of that power would do. Olodumare sent other Irunmole to go and investigate what Esu Odara had said. They confirmed all his reports and the special powers given to Alukandi were withdrawn.

Unknown to Alukandi that he has lost his special powers, he was busy planning his adventure on the next market day. Esu Odara was equally busy gathering people together to confront Alukandi on the next market day. Esu odara assured the people that their arch enemy had no more power to wreck any havoc on them. He told them to stand firm.

On the market day, Alukandi came as expected. As soon as he came he declared:

Emi Alukandi, Alukandi
Eyi to ba wu mi ni n o pa
Alukandi!

Translation:

Here I come Alukandi
Whoever I like I will kill
Alukandi!

Instead of panic, Alukandi met resolute determination. Instead of fear, he met courage. They all responded in unison, saying:

Iwo Alukandi, Alukandi
Iwo kii beeru Olorun
Alukandi!

Translation:

Behold, you Alukandi
You have no fear of God at heart
Alukandi!

Alukandi was shocked and surprised. He made to rush them but instead, he realized that he had no power to do anything. The next thing he saw was the people tying his hands and legs together. He was unceremoniously sent back to where he came from – heaven. When he arrived, he was not allowed to return to earth again, ever.
Igbonwo mejeeji ni o see gb`agbon s`aja
Dia fun Alukandi
Tii seru Olodumare Agotun
Oba ateni ola legelege, f`ori s`apeji omi
Igba ti o ntorun bo wale aye
Ebo ni won ni ko waa se
O koti ogbonhin s`ebo
Emi Alukandi, Alukandi
Eyi to ba wu mi ni n o pa
Alukandi!
Iwo Alukandi, Alukandi
Iwo kii beeru Olorun
Alukandi!

Translation:

The elbows cannot be used to place a basket onto the ceiling
This was Ifa`s message for Alukandi
The messenger of Olodumare
When coming from heaven to earth
He was advised to offer ebo(sacrifice)
He refused to comply
Here comes Alukandi, Alukandi
Whoever I like will I kill
Alukandi!
Behold, you Alukandi
You have no fear of God at heart
Alukandi!

Ifa says that the person(s) for whom this Odu is revealed shall overcome his/her enemy who appears to be stronger and more resourceful than him/her at the moment.

Conversely, Ifa warns all those connected to this Odu and all followers, never to think of revenging for or on behalf of Olodumare and/or Irunmole. They fight for themselves when the time is ripe and appropriate.

regards
Awoyinfa Ifaloju
www.alawoye.com

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Professional Aspects of Ifa

While on my regular trips to Yoruba land moving through the various locales and sub-ethnic Yoruba groups of Ijebu, Oyo, Egba, Anago, Ekiti & Ijesa areas etc.
One matter comes up as an issue of discussion and differing points of view among these groups, this is the matter of the professional aspects of Ifa and the difference of Ifa as a religious belief system OR a mechanism for solving “clients” problems.
Also where does one draw the line distinguishing the two?

Professional Ritualism:
Many of the professional Ifa practitioners who focus purely on the ritual elements only, they bring people into their temple/office doing enquiries, creating potent concoctions (Atese), performing sacrifices and offerings and giving the client “temporary & immediate” relief from life’s many problems.
In many ese Ifa, Ifa states this is a normal practice that many BabaAwo have Ifa as their main profession and only source of income. Traditionally these Awo have dedicated the majority of their time and investment, in mastering the professional elements; meaning mastery of the arts of performing divination, sacrifice and initiations, also esoteric mastery of herbs etc. Not much different then a Masters, PhD student or any professional, spending a great many years mastering their craft then working in their field of study as a profession. These Awo are highly sought for their proficiency and ability.

I must note here that many of the Awo in US and other places, functioning in this category are not experts in their craft before performing as such. Reason being, lack of dedication to study and mastery of their craft, before they begin functioning for the community, the easy remedy is to mentor under your elder, find your own specialty and master it, then place your flag of professional competence. I will address that issue in another future blog / podcast regarding training.

Ifa Medicine Man (Traditional Botanist)
These Awo are specialist in herbals and medicinal preparations, and have spent a very large investment in learning and mastering the science of healing through natural remedies. These applications may mandate the use of some esoteric knowledge or incantations in-order to activity the healing properties of the natural items. These Awo are referred to as Awo Alatese, some are Babalawo proper and some are Oniseegun who have also performed Itefa ceremony, but remain specialist in healing aspect of Ifa, and are rarely found performing Ifa divination expect in the course of preparing a medicine.

Philosophical Worshipper:
These are the philosophers and in all cases it is these BabaAwo that can articulate and analyze each individual Ifa stanza with stunning accuracy, maintaining keen sensibilities to the linguistic nuances and subtleties of Yoruba cultural, historical, practical, economical and social ramifications etc. of each Ifa stanza and they can interpret the deeper meaning, delivering the message to the seeker with accurate precision.
These group of Awo are also highly sought after by Ifa followers and curious parties alike, because of the clarity they can bring to situations and the depth of their scope with regards to application to ones life. Also they are very useful with matters of history of towns and community taboo, as with cultural ideology and applied ethical norms.
These traditional scholars are priceless within the Yoruba oral tradition.

Ifa Intellectual:
Which is the traditional Yoruba intellectual and these practitioners are cultural, philosophical, historical and practical in terms of worshipping and application of their knowledge, both in ritual elements and the philosophy behind the art, in many ways they are well balanced

My good friend Professor Felix Ayoh Omidire stated “Ifa Priest are the true ‘Organic Priest’ of the Yoruba people, because of the complete inclusion of the worship & divinatory practices of Ifa Priest, coupled with the function Ifa Priest perform for all priest of the Orisa during divination and in certain terms the followers and priest of other foreign religions now in Yoruba land. All these groups will attend the temple of Ifa Priest to consult Ifa from time to time. “

Organic def.

or·gan·ic adj
1.relating to, derived from, or characteristic of all living things
2.occurring or developing gradually and naturally, without being forced or contrived
3.forming a basic and inherent part of something and largely responsible for its identity or makeup
4.consisting of elements that exist together in a seemingly natural relationship that makes for organized efficiency


In Yoruba land, we have many great professional practitioners who can do a great many feats and solve many if not all of life’s problems, like a miracle. When you combine the areas of specialty of the priest mentioned (by the way there are others experts in other fields of Ifa Profession not mentioned here), you will find a high science that will leave you feeling lightheaded to say the least.
The amount of data these professionals recall orally and deliver on demand it truly a sight, my hope is that the ability to teach and learn this art continues for many many years to come, so this knowledge does not disappear.

Babalawo Awoyinfa Ifaloju
http://www.Alawoye.com