Contemplations on Irete Ogbe (Irete untelu)

The revelation of the existence of God comes from contemplation of an ant walking across the floor. It's not the act in and of itself, but the millions of years of evolution, and confluence of events that happened in order for that simple event to occur.

Further contemplations on Odu Iwori Ogunda (iwori aweda)

When playing cat and mouse
It is best to not be
Either the cat or mouse
But instead the person behind them
Sprinkling cat nip

Contemplations on Iwori Ogunda

The world is a room

From which we can not escape

But if we open the windows

The light of divine grace

Might shine in

So that we may

See more clearly our surroundings and

Realize that one day

The door to another world

Might open our minds to

Eternity

YTR Ifa does NOT believe in "reinitiations", thoughts on Oba accord of miami ...

Aboru aboye aboshishe,

First I will state, the people involved in the initiations that cause all this ruckus do NOT represent all of the YTR/Indigenous Orisa worshippers, and I can't understand why everyone thinks they do. I can only assume this event was used to further other people's political agendas, or in an act of retribution for hurt feelings.  Second, it may seem ironic, but I totally agree with the lucumi that it was uneccessary for anyone to "redo" anything.

Last and most important, I will cite the Odu Ogbe Ate in it's entirety in English and Yoruba to show why Ifa (at least) says "re-initiation" is wrong:

Ogbe Ate:

Ogbe, come and be initiated in order to be comfortable
To take a hand of Ifa and then be fully initiated is the pride one has in Ifa
These were the declarations of Ifa for Orunmila
When he planned to initiate his child
Orunmila was advised to offer sacrifice
He complied
When I received a hand of Ifa
My father then performed Itelodu for me
Lack of wisdom
Lack of deep thought
These are what compel people to be initiated repeatedly on three occasions
After being initiated
The issue of Esu Odara needs to be taken seriously
Why must Esu Odara be given extra considerations?
After being initiated
We must not use a worn out twisted rope to climb a palm tree
We must not jump in the river without knowing how to swim
We must not take undue risk which may cost life
We must not snatch the wife of Awo
We must not snatch the wife of medicine man
We must not have ilicit carnal knowledge of a ritualists wife
We must not plan evil against our friends with his wife
We must not lie to our Oluwo
Any matter that had been exhaustively addresses, we must not raise it again
Orunmila was the person who initiated Akoda
He also initiated Aseda
He equally initiated Araba
Only Orunmila Agboniregun
Was the person we do not know who initiated
Now, after I have been initiated
I will complement it with self initiation
All those things that are my taboos
I will surely avoid them
I have been initiated
I will re-initiate myself, by myself...

Yoruba
Ogbe waa te k'ara o ro wa
Mo gba mo te ni iregun Ifa
Dia fun Orunmila
Baba yoo te omo re n'ifa
on ni ko sakaake, ebo ni sise
O gbe'bo, O rubo
Nigbati mo gba
Baba a mi si te mi
Ailogbon ninu
Amiero nikun

Nii mu'nii wo igbdu leemeta
Bi a ba te Ifa tan
Eese ti oro Esu Odara fi ku, Ifa?
Bi a ba te Ifa tan

A kii fi ajaku igba a gu ope
A kii be ludo lai mo we
A kii ri iku nile ka tori boo
A kii fe obinrin Awo
A kii  gba aya isegun

A o gbodo mu obinrin abore wole kelekele loo fe
A o gbodo ba obinrin imule eni seke
Oluwo eni kii bi ni loro ka se
Koiko ti erin gberi mo

Orunmila lo te Akoda
O te Aseda
O te Araba
Orunmila Agbonniregun Olojo ibon
Oun nikan soso la o mo eni to tee

Nje bi a ba te mi tan
Maa tun'ra mi te
Eewo ti a ba ka fun mi
Maa gbo
Tite la te mi
Maa tun'ra mi teo
####

You notice a few things, one is this line


When I received a hand of Ifa
which affirms a version of Awofakan in YTR/Indigenous Yoruba practice

and second
Any matter that had been exhaustively addresses, we must not raise it again
Which is the Yoruba version of don't ask what you already know as the lucumi say. BUT, with the very important caveat that it must have first been "exhaustively addressed"

The rest is somewhat self explanatory... We too, do not believe in "re-initiation", For the record, so what is all this nonsense really about??

marcos ifalola

Is Pinaldo (cuchillo) necessary?? A question of lucumi theology...

Aboru Aboye Aboshishe,


I recently entered into a conversation about the much talked about and controversial "Pinaldo" or "Cuchillo" ceremony of the lucumi. Here are my thoughts on the subject, one which is both difficult and important.

Pinaldo does not have an equivalent in Nigeria, though there is a professor/babalawo, with a clear lucumi agenda that has a paper that tries to assert (with many five dollar words) that there is a link from the kuanaldo (Ifa "cuchillo" ) ceremony to one in nigeria since there are some similarities to ijeshon. His agenda is clear as he tries to promote the argument about "lost" ceremonies "kept" by cubans to assert some higher level of authenticity to Cuban Lucumi practice. The link does not seem clear to me in my reading of the paper.

The story I've heard is that there was a famous santera (see david brown's work, he has names dates etc) who had a break with the existing system of the time, in which Ologun (achogun) were the only ones with authority to sacrifice. This already varies from Yoruba practice since each Orisa has their own separate priesthood, and they don't require outside priests to offer their sacrifices. That said, the Achogun had such a chokehold on the system that she decided to break away and created the pinaldo ceremony to "authorize" others to do what they did with the "knife".

It seems a very likely/credible story. I've done pinaldo lucumi, and worked in a few. It's 85% the same as kariosha. With obvious differences... I won't go into detail in this public area... Publicly though, there's a fancy table where all the santeros sit who have pinaldo (even if you're a santero, if you don't have pinaldo, you can't sit at the table) and obviously Ogun speaks for the first time through his own caracoles.

All in all, not very exciting, but just as expensive as your kariosha. I've heard all sorts of justifications like "it gives you the right to use the knife for sacrifice" (ok fine). Or, my favorite, it's a "confirmation" of your Osha... What??? You have all the Odu you were born with, if everything was done correctly, why would you need to "confirm" your Odu?? You were only born with one Odu, so all the new Ita is giving you is a more current "snapshot" of your life, with the exception of Ogun, who if he's speaking for the "first" time with caracoles, is a new Ita, and his ewoo/advice stands for life (according to lucumi theology).

I'll additionally point out there have been lots of "elder" santeros I've met who didn't have Pinaldo (usually because of cost), they seemed to be doing just fine. However, I need to point out, the Lucumi are well within their rights to create ceremonies they deem theologically necessary. Was this? perhaps yes, perhaps no... It may have been strictly political, may not have. We'll never know for sure.

The real question is, do today's priests deem it to be a theological necessity? Do they agree with ceremony's existence? Like with ALL religions, it's up to the Lucumi priesthood to decide whether this ceremony lives or dies, whether it is a necessity, or something that's outlived its purpose. The difficulty of course lies in the fact that as a decentralized religion, there is no governing body. This means that if a tradition or ceremony dies, it dies a more organic/chaotic death, not one which was deemed so by a ruling body. This of course makes the process more complex and lengthy.

We can see an example of this if we look at the whole year in white. Slowly, as the newer generations come about, there has been a relaxing, or even forgetting of the "rules" to the point where I see people who are touching during their year, use any utensils/plates to eat, some who only wear white for 3 months. I'll note here that wearing white for a year is not a part of initiation in Nigeria (though it is often worn during the ceremonies), however it was pointed out that some priests are given a mandate during their Ita to wear white always, or for a year or X period of time. This is how I believe the year in white, and many other traditions/taboos (Sango and Oshun priest's not "touching" each others "crown") got started. ie one priest passes their ewoo to their godchildren, and it propagates as general rule, instead of being specific to one person).


Some food for thought...
Aboru aboye aboshishe
Marcos Ifalola Sanchez

NJ Child Endagerment and Santeria/Palo case

Aboru aboye aboshishe,

Please take a moment to pay attention to this case that is now happening in the NJ courts. http://www.northjersey.com/news/crimeandcourts/Three_charged_in_child_endangerment.html This is a classic case of ignorance of the law, and bigotry in its application. Whether you know these people or not, like them or hate them, believe they deserve this or not, it doest NOT matter. There is a bigger picture and a larger issue at hand. If this is allowed to go through, our hard fought for 1st amendment rights are being squashed, and this already happened in the Church of lukumi babaluaye supreme court case. DO NOT stand by and let this happen, because next it might be you. Get involved! Go to the court appearances dressed in white as a show of solidarity, fight for the right to practice our religion and not be afraid they might take our children from us.

In the meantime, please sign this petition which will be sent to the court, prosecutors, mayor, senator and congresspeople.
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/NJsanteriaendangermentcase/

Alaafia,
marcos ifalola sanchez

Contemplations on Ifa ritual, Ofun Meji and Oriki to Yemonja

Aboru Aboye Aboshishe,

Sorry for the long pause, moving between continents can be time consuming... Enjoy...

Contemplation on Ifa ritual:

Ritual is devoid of meaning if one does not understand from whence it came and it's underlying theological principles. It is to say, an open act of worship is meaningless if the act is made only with intent, but no understanding of what the act means. If intent were the sole basis for giving meaning to an act, then we can say as we please caring only that we mean it in the name of worship. Ritual without understanding is like a wind blowing a leaf this way and that, it certainly moves, but where it lands is anyone's guess.

Ritual married to understanding is like a man in the desert who with compass and map in hand, can reach a desert oasis. Ifa is my compass and Odu my map, that I may find shade and water in the desert of humanity.

Ofun Meji

‘We-start-where-we-end’
Was the Awo who divined for ‘the small child who knows nothing’
When performing Esentaiye at the dawn of his life
He was told that if he sought wisdom
And did not lie, or be treacherous
Ifa would support him
He was told that in life, there are many roads,
But only the road of righteousness would lead to an end
Supported by Olodumare
And that in the end
He would return to the place he began
Next to the innumerable Irunmole in Orun

When nearing the end of his life
The Awo ‘We-start-where-we-end’
divined for ‘the small child who knows nothing’
who had become the wise elder who knew much
Ifa said he supported his Ori
And his Ori had supported him
In choosing the righteous path
And so he would return to the place he began
Next to the innumerable Irunmole in Orun
It is such that we repeat the cycle of life
Until we reach Apere (the perfect state)
Ofun Meji
Who was first
And became last
Showing that everything that begins, will end
Trading places with the end, that became a beginning
Eepa Odu


Oriki Yemoja


Ashe o Iya mi Yemoja!
Mother whose children are the fish
Who inhabit the primordial waters
Mother whose salt runs in our veins
Able to give life when ours has drained
Mother who lives in our tears
Revealing yourself in both our darkest and happiest moments
Ashe o Iya mi Yemoja!
Your curves wind like the rivers that sculpt their travels in stone
Even mountains can not stop you on your journey
There is no obstacle you can not circumvent,
Nothing that can block your way
Even the hardest and strongest
Will give way, or be overtaken
Ashe o Iya mi Yemoja!
Without you
We can not live
Without you
We can not thrive
Without you
We can not survive
Ashe o Iya mi Yemoja!
May you provide us with health
Ashe
May you provide us with wealth
Ashe
May you provide us with someone to share our lives
Ashe
May you provide us with children
Ashe
May you provide us with longevity
Ashe
May you provide us with wisdom
Ashe
May you provide us with peace
Ashe o!

Aboru Aboye Aboshishe
Marcos Ifalola Sanchez