Òsùmáré – Quicksilver of the heavens

 

Òsùmáré is the rainbow or rather the rainbow is the trail Òsùmáré leaves in the heavens, the imi Òsùmáré, 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.   Òsùmáré is related to change in the shape of the ever skin-leaping boa that rests in the heavens. One Yorubá proverb praises Òsùmáré 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 Òsùmáré  with Òsùpá, ‘the moon’, which also makes sense as it underlines his cyclical function of renewal and restoration of divine order. Personally, I do believe that yet another layer can be unveiled by looking at the antagonism between Sango and Òsùmáré. Òsú means ‘double headed ax’ and is the symbol of Sango. The Òsú carries the ideas of dynamic equality between night and day, between severity and mercy. The òsú is usually shaped in the format of a woman, to signify that a king is no king unless woman has blessed him as such. In Brazil a story is at times recounted about a time when Sango was married to Òsún, the spirit of sweetness, love and beauty.  With a growing fear of losing Òsún to the handsome and elegant Òsùmáré Sango calls Òsùmáré to a duel. For several days they fight, Sango flashes his thunder and releases fire from his mouth, while Òsùmáré calls upon the help of the serpents, snakes and vipers and event transforms himself into one. After three days Sangó severs Òsùmáré into two parts, but the creator seeing the great beauty now slain puts him in the sky as a token of divine presence and restitution. In Brazil this story and several others have contributed to this Orisa being called ‘meta-meta’, meaning ‘half-half’ in Brazil, but refer to a triplicity in Yoruba. Clearly this ‘yorubá-term’ is derived from  an  incorrect etymology by the similarity of ‘meia-meia’, in Portuguese, that means two halves. Anyway, this story might tell us that the name Òsùmáré means ‘he who is made eternal by Sango’s ax’.

Òsùmáré traditionally provides wealth and honour. It is an Orisa that is propitiated by people in need for financial stability and in need for recognition. And let it be clear that the ideas Òsùmáré being homosexual or bisexual or pansexual are a deviation from the principle of change. We need to realize that Òsùmáré is the very point of balance between contrasts. He is the power that turns night into day and day into night.  He is the power that turns the moon and the cycles of the planets, which is why he sometimes is referred to as ‘Lord of the Stars’ and appointed the milky way as his home. Òsùmáré is the change of fortune by self renewal, the votary must do as the serpent itself and change the skin to embrace wealth and fortune.

Òsùmáré and his connection to riches are also told of in the corpus of Ifá, like Owonrinrosun where Òsùmáré is called to the castle of Olokun to rescue the life of his sick daughter. He goes there and saves her. Olokun’s reward was ‘ajé ola’, meaning that Òsùmáré was ‘surrounded with riches’. Hence this opens up for the rich tradition we find in Dahomey related to Dan, the chief serpent as Heviosso’s ladder of descent to earth and the serpents intense relationship with the mysteries of the ocean and wealth. But that is another story… as is his deep relationship with the Orisa Omolu, the Lord of Infectious disease…  Òsùmáré manifests in the Ifá corpus in all odu that express total balance, like ogbe-yeku, iwori-di and so forth and is on one orin (song) praised as ‘Awó yo lojú Òrun’, ‘the secret of the heavens appears in the sky’.

Oya – The Ancestral Wind of Wisdom

 

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 that dresses the fire. But wind, the aerial element is also a reference to the spiritual domain, to the corporeality of spirits which are of air and wind. This association will tell us that Egúngún is the wind within the earth, the one that speaks like the wind. The wind is the portent of the empyrean wisdom. It is here we find the link between ancestral wisdom and what is hidden within the earth. This is why we place our heads to the ground and ask from Onile what we need to stay strong and ardent. He who listens is Egúngún, the ancestral memory – the sub-terrestrial wind. He is this because the wind is spirit, it is the memories not only in the ancestral mind, but it is also the portal to the divine mind. Wind upon wind, layer upon layer, nine in all, which is the dress Oya carries. Oya cuts the treetops; because the trees are our ancestors and she descend upon the crown of trees as the vinculum of divine inspiration. Her womb is the gateway of wisdom. She is the wisdom that flashes through the sky and ignites immediate understanding. She is the wisdom that makes us humble and by this we fall to the ground. As we lye there with our back to the ancestral winds murmuring underneath she flashes in the storms above us – She is wisdom and this is why Sango desperately needs her, like the Egúngún mediums need her touch to speak. Sango as the rustic politician needs wisdom. He needs the spark of inspiration to walk with his thunderous presence. He needs the voice of reason dawning upon him as a white cloth from Orisa Nla. Oya is ‘the charming one’, because she can seduce the mind. She is the wind of death because she is divine justice. She is the wisdom of equilibrium resting on the shoulders of Egúngún. She is the womb that invigorates the earth and wind to speak its wisdom. Eepaa Oya!

Por favor, posso complicar sua vida?

(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 controle ou contenção do centro emocional de seu poder. Então, a maldade a qual Ìká se refere, é a maldade que se ergue de emoções descontroladas que dão foco somente às gratificações imediatas do indivíduo propriamente. 

Vejo isto o tempo todo, Ìká em ação no mundo, esta falta de controle e consideração em todos os lugares, que dá forma às ações das pessoas, tornando a vida dos outros mais complicada. Isto tudo pode ser orientado puramente pelas metas egoístas, tais como parar o carro no meio da rua para conversar com alguém, ou furar uma fila. Isto pode ser relacionado à falta de controle de seus filhos, que fazem com que o ambiente seja desprazeiroso aos outros, como pode ser simplesmente dar foco e exaltação ao seu próprio prazer de qualquer forma antes dos outros.

A mensagem é simplesmente sobre o controle dos impulsos emocionais imediatos. Mantenhamos em mente que se sua vida fica melhor, minha vida fica melhor. Ao fazer a vida dos outros mais fácil, fazemos nossa própria vida mais fácil, e através deste tipo de consideração refletimos Ìká em ire e isto nos trará boa fortuna, desde que entramos em um círculo positivo de ajuda e atenção mútua. 

Ìká é também um odu que na diáspora denota bruxedos e maldições, mas poucos parecem levar em conta que fofocas, mentiras, falta de consideração e malícia geral são a essência do bruxedo, e em última instância irá nublar as percepções de seu verdadeiro Self – no final das contas, você perderá a apreciação por si próprio e agir de formas desconsideradas e rudes, sem perceber que é seu próprio ódio que te move. Você SE transforma em uma vibrante maldição ambulante sobre qualquer pessoa que você encontra. Isto soa alarmante, e é – mas a solução é muito simples: tenha consideração e perceba que ao ajudar os outros, você está ajudando a si mesmo. Ao fazer isto, um retorno a Ile Ifé, ‘a cidade do Amor’ está aberta pela espada de Ogun …

Please, Can I complicate your life?

 

(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 or containing the emotional centre of this power.  So, the wickedness Ìká speaks about is a wickedness that rises from an uncontrolled emotional centre that is focusing only on the immediate gratification of the individual itself.

I see this all the time, Ìká in action in the world, this lack of control and consideration everywhere that takes shape in one person’s action making other peoples life more complicated. This can be everything oriented from purely self centered goals,  such as stopping your car in the middle of the road to chat with somebody, to sneak to a more advance position in the queue.  It can be about your lack of control of your children making the environment of other people unpleasant as it can be to focus on your own pleasure being exalted in any way before any others. 

The message is simply one of controlling one’s immediate emotional impulses. Rather, let us keep in mind that if your life gets better, my life gets better. By making other peoples life easier we make our own life easier and by this kind of consideration we reflect Ìká in ire and it will give to us good fortune as we enter into a positive circle of mutual aid and caring.

Ìká is also an odu that in the diaspora denotes hexing and curses, but few seems to take into account that gossip, lying, lack of consideration and general malice are the essence of a curse and ultimately it will cloud your perception of your true inner self – and in the final instance you will lose appreciation of yourself and act in manners inconsiderate and rude, not realizing that it is your own self hatred that moves you. You make yourself into a vibrant walking curse upon everyone you meet. 

This sounds alarming, and it is – but the solution is so simple, be considerate and realize that by helping others, you will be helping yourself.  By doing this, a return to Ile Ifé, ‘the city of Love’ is opened by Ogun’s machete…

Death, Bones and Ancestry

 

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, “the strength of medicine to be bones”.  This means that bones are crucial; it is the bones that are the seat of the ancestral consciousness. And here enters the element that often generates confusion; whether egun refers to a specific ancestor or to the collective consciousness of ancestors .  The particular ancestor of one’s family line is referred to as ara orun (dweller I heaven). When addressing ones family ancestry one is connecting to a particular part of one’s ancestral consciousness.  This is good, but it also depends on the character of one’s ancestor, which is why it is so important to perform the funeral rites for the deceased ones, in order to facilitate an easy transition to orun and avoid that the ancestor gets earth bound. In the west we sadly enough often deal with ancestors who do not possess the consciousness to assist those that are left on earth. Likewise, we have the idea of ibi, of what is bad, generally, ibi can be said to be misfortune – what is left when Ire or fortune is not to be found… In the case of ibi Egun this shows itself in the destructive patterns of dysfunctional families. This is the consciousness of specific ara oruns that are transmitted as a legacy in the family. As should be clear from this observation, the west does suffer in this regard.

The veneration of ara orun is also at times called, Egúngún Bàbá which is connected to the line of paternal ancestral spirit; Often it is this kind of Egúngún that are coming down in the festivals together with the Aláso, which is often the case also in the Diaspora as for instance in the festivals celebrated in the island Itaparica in Brazil. 

Egungun on the other hand is not actually an ancestor. Egúngún Aláso is the deity that comes down during masquerade and is efficient in repelling malignant influences from the community in general. And not only this, Egungun was sent from Olodumare in the odu Oturupon meij and was assigned the task of generating stability on earth by opening the roads of communication between aiye and orun. The Odu also tells how this Imole entered the ground in order to become a stabilizing force for humans. One of the verses in this odu tells about the snail who, in serenity, was slowly being blessed with harmony, peace and all good things. The lack of bones in the snail Is interesting here as it is a direct reference to Orunmila, but this invites yet another complexity of metaphysical dimensions, so for now, let’s point out that the snail is both slow and sacred to Obatala and Odu. This tells us two important things about how we can enter into contact with both our ancestors and the collective spirit of death and stability. With patience and ori rere, or a content and calm consciousness we can become a living road towards the lost memory of generations upon generations of wise men and women. With a calm consciousness we can put our head to the ground and connect, because this is actually our birth right, perhaps the only one we have, the unveiling of ancestral consciousness.