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Otura Meji
Otura Meji says that those who face their fears, will eventually find peace. In the sense of Otura Meji this is the peace or inner knowledge, the inner certainty of being on the optimal path of ones destiny. It is the kind of peace that brings personal calm and tranquility, that reinforces family bonds, and reunites the community around issues of social justice. This Odu also represents the source of the mystical consciousness through meditation. The stories in and around Otura Meji contain the birth of Christianity and Islam; the energies of the Odu seems to be the inspiration of religious leaders that strive for peace and justice... after all: that's how all religions began, regardless of how they turned out at the end. Otura Meji emphasizes the need for fasting and meditation as part of ones religious discipline. The Odu speaks of inner peace, and being free from all fears and unrest. Children of Otura Meji are kind and mild of character; often they are eminently suited for a job in trading. They should make regular ebo or adimu to Eshu. When Otura Meji appears in divination, the client has enemies who have influenced his character towards thoughlesness. If he is poor, or has no wife or no good family relations, he should make quick sacrifice to Ogun, Yemoja and Ifa. This will lead to victory over enemies, to the earning of good money, and finally to a good relationship and children. The general statement this Odu makes, is that confusion and doubt will be followed by clarity and abundance. This is a good time for having success in business and relations. "Restles mouth, slippery mouth;
the evil brought about by mouth
is the worst kind of evil;
it is the mouth of Chatterbox
that eventually kills Chatterbox;
it is the mouths of those who idly chatter
that will kill those who idly chatter;
it is the restles mouth that kills
Chatterbox, Blabbermouth."
Those were the ones
who cast Ifa for Squirrel,
who built his home along the roadside.
They instructed Squirrel to be alert,
be very much alert about his incapability
to keep his tiny trap shut, about
his utter inability to keep a secret.
They told him not to tell anything,
whatever he knew, immediately to others.
Squirrel, of course, did not heed the advice.
A short time later Squirrel's wife
gave birth to twins, to ibeji,
which pleased Squirrel mightily.
He immediately announced:
"Now hear this, now hear this!
Squirrel has twins! His home
has become full of life. All those
that listen: come and see
Squirrel's twins."
When the people heard these words,
they stepped aside the path, opened
Squirrel's nest, and searched it.
While searching Squirrel's nest
they found his two children.
They took the young breed home,
put them on top of mashed yams,
and along with the soup Squirrel's children
slid down people's throats
to their stomachs. Yummie!
Ifa says that we should not shout
our good fortune from the rooftops,
nor should we tell any secrets, for silence
helps us to keep what is ours.
That is exactly what the Awo's said:
"Restles mouth, slippery mouth;
the evil brought about by mouth
is the worst kind of evil;
it is the mouth of Chatterbox
that eventually kills Chatterbox;
it is the mouths of those who idly chatter
that will kill those who idly chatter;
it is the restles mouth that kills
Chatterbox, Blabbermouth." "Like water runs over the path,
so runs the path through the Eri-river"
cast for "Muslim with long gowns",
on the day that "Muslim with long gowns"
was endeavoring to follow the path
of the Immortals.
The instructed Muslim to make ebo.
Muslim listened and made the ebo.
From that day on all went well and easy
for "Muslim with long gowns".
Ifa says this person should
lead a life of devotion, in order
to receive blessings.
The ebo is: 4 pigeons, 2 sets of
Muslim prayer-beads, 1 pot palm oil,
1 white plate, and an amount of cowries
to be set by the Awo.
all to Obatala. Ifa divination texts from Jaap Verduijn's Odu Ifa Corpus. Ifa as a divination method is found in many countries in West Africa. However, the Yoruba peoples of (mainly) Nigeria have perfected it. The presented texts are translations, rewritings and interpretations of original Yoruba divination verses, in which the traditional "poetry-like" cadence and rhythm has been preserved and/or recreated as far as the English language allows. The visual structure of the texts in writing is according to tradition - there is no such thing as a line break or a paragraph in Ifa chanting. The texts are part of my "working corpus" as an Ifa diviner. More about Ifa on http://www.qondio.com/mama.pl?a=intelshow&i=17751 |
More about Ifa
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