The Starry Cave

  Ò s ùmáré is the rainbow or rather the rainbow is the trail Ò s ùmáré leaves in the heavens, the imi Ò s ùmáré , literally ‘the discharges of the Rainbow’. The name itself is difficult to break down etymologically, but it is common to see it as a contraction of Olodu and máré , as a direct reference to the eternal presence of the creator.  Maré always present the idea of ‘what always will be’.  In terms of Òsú this prefix has at times been turned into Èsú, as in Èsúmàré , it will then reveal itself as the principle of eternal transformation or change, which also makes sense.    Ò s ùmáré is related to change in the shape of the ever skin-leaping boa that rests in the heavens. One Yorubá proverb praises  Ò s ùmáré as the eyes of Olodumaré and brings his role and nature in close proximity with the nature of Danballah and Aiyida Wedo , the ancestral serpents of Vodou. Another interpretation has connected Ò s ùmáré  with Òsùpá , ‘the moon’,...

  Oya is truly a mysterious force of nature, manifested in the bolts of lightning and in the wind. The moments when the wind takes hold announcing thunder and lightning is the dance of Oya in the world. Her praise names are amongst many Oya Orire , she who’s beauty is so great we cannot look away, Oya Oriri , ‘the charming one’, Aféfé lèlè, ‘great wind’, Afèfé ikú , ‘winds of death’. She is also Aféfé légé-legé tí í dá’gi l’okè-l’okè , ‘the wind that severs the treetops’ and Ìyáàmí arina bora bí aso , ‘My mother who dresses in fire’. Her name is probably an elision of O Iya Mesan , meaning ‘Mother of Nine’. This epitaph refers to the nine children she begot with Sango. The first eight were mute, but the night spoke with an outlandish high pitched voice. The ninth child was Egúngún . Oya is the wind that turns into fire. An object in rapid movement will generate heat, and as such the movement of Oya generates heat and fire, resulting in the thunderbolt. She is the wind tha...

(To read this text in English, please, click here) O odu Ifá Ìkáwónrín diz: Ìká ènìyàn kìí wòn ohun tire kí ó tóó seé Isto foi traduzido por Karenga da seguinte forma: “O malvado não mede sua conduta antes de agir”   Agora, a idéia de maldade deve ser discutida. Neste contexto, maldade é uma referência direta à palavra iorubana Ìká . Bem, o dicionário a traduz como maldade e crueldade, e na teologia de Ifá, compreendemos Ìká como o princípio de controle, desde que se relaciona a Obaluwaye. Mais adiante, a palavra ìkálára simplesmente significa ‘emoções’, mas emoções desequilibradas. É a irrupção dentro de você para que você controle seu ambiente em conformidade com o que lhe dá prazer. É interessante ver que o odu Ìká meji é um odu que manifesta Obaluwaye, o espírito das doenças infecciosas que rege as horas mais quentes do dia. Se Obaluwaye está for a de controle, o resultado é cólera, malaria, catapora e mortes por febres altas em todos os lugares, graças à falta de cont...

  (Para ler este texto em Português, clique aqui)   The odu Ifá Ìkáwónrín says: Ìká ènìyàn kìí wòn ohun tire kí ó tóó seé This was translated by Karenga in the following way:  “The wicked do not weight their conduct before they act” Now, the idea of wickedness must be addressed. In this context wickedness is a direct reference to the yoruba word Ìká . Well, the dictionary translates this into wickedness and cruelty, and in Ifá theology we know Ìká as the principle of control as it relates to Obaluwaye . Further, the word ìkálára simply means ‘emotions’, but imbalanced emotions. It is the upsurge within to control your environment in conformity with what pleases you.  It is interesting to see that the odu Ìká meji is an odu manifesting Obaluwaye , the spirit of infectious disease that rules the hottest hours of the day.  If Obaluwaye is out of control, the result is cholera, malaria, smallpox and hot feverish deaths all over, due to a lack of controlling...

  Reverence for the ancestors is fundamental within traditional religious expressions, this being veneration of saints, masses said for the dead, All Hallows celebrations or it bee bovedas, the cult of Palo Mayombe, Mysté Guede et Bawon or Ile Egungun.  In many cases parts of the mystery is lost, leading to a limited understanding of what we are dealing with. Other times, the modern materialistic perspective distorts the western perception of what an ancestor is. If we turn to Africa, a continent the modern west still see as underdeveloped and crude, we find complexity and sophistication that is stunning. If we open the cloth of the cult of Egungun  a dazzling network of consciousness is revealed. As Awo Falokun has pointed out several times, the word Egun is a contraction of ‘o egun’, which means “I am bones” while egungun is derived from the elision e ogun oogun, this carries the meaning of being a “medicine to become the bones of one’s ancestors”, or more literal, ...