Pegasus Reporters Issues on the Wing
“The IFÁ is arranged in a binary system of 16 BOOKS and 256 CHAPTERS/VERSES. It contains ALL knowledge from History of the Earth, the Yorubas and other creations. It talks about Philosophy, Medicine, Arts, Engineering, Astrology, Mathematics and so much more.”
PEGASUS REPORTERS, LAGOS | MARCH 10, 2024
Do not allow anybody stigmatize YOUR BELIEF SYSTEM. It is uniquely yours and defines you!!! When you learn your history it will become difficult for anyone to bamboozle you with warped stories aimed at rubbishing your history.
Don’t allow them to demonize your ancestors, stigmatize their modest contributions to civilization and make you feel inferior.
Allow me.to assist you with some definitions from the little I know. It is by no means perfect because I don’t even nearly qualify as an authority on the subject so if there are errors you identify kindly point them out and teach us to know better.
1. OLÓDÙMARÈ is Supreme Unsearchable God Almighty.
The God concept for the Yoruba people may be different from that of other cultures of the world. It is just as the God concept of today’s Jews is different from the Arabs and that also is different from that of the English.
Olódùmarè is also ỌLỌ́RUN = OLÚ Ọ̀RUN = The Lord of Heaven.
Olódùmarè is obtained from the words OLÓDÙ – TÓ – MỌ – ARÈ.
It loosely translates into ” The All-knowing” or “The owner of All “
In the BELIEF of the Yorubas, through our ancestors, Olódùmarè is not worshipped directly but approached through the ÒRÌSÀS.
Yoruba people DON’T do religion but religiously adhere to spiritual matters.
2. ÒRÌSÀ is from the words ORÍ SÀ = ENI ORÍ SÀ = Favoured and Specially Annointed one.
*A Yoruba mythical figure used for illustration only
ÒRÌSÀS ARE SAINTS, humans who were at one time here with us on earth. They were divinely led and inspired, and they distinguished themselves amongst men, recording great feat while on earth.
Examples are Sàngó, Ogún, Òsóòsí, Òrúnmìlà, Òsùn etc.
Upon their departure they were venerated just as LÍSÀBI is venerated by the Ẹ̀gbás till this day. Incidentally it is LÍSÀBI day today in Abeokuta and Ẹgba people are about this time just returning from the site of LÍSÀBI temples where they had gone to pay the annual libations to his memory.
Then there are IMỌLÈS. It is believed that they just came into being, never born of any mortals. Examples are ÈṢÙ, OBÀTÁLÁ etc
These ORISAS AND IMOLÈS are the deities and intermediaries between our ancestors and Olódùmarè and they prayed to Olódùmarè through them at various OJÚBOS.
3. OJÚBO is a temple, a place consecrated and dedicated as holy.
The spirit of the deities for which the temple is built will be INVOKED in it and it begins to be present there forever.
This is what is mischievously and derogatorily tagged “Shrine” just to stigmatize it.
If it was Ògún for example, the Priest of Ògún will be there to consecrate the place and perform the necessary procedures to make it become a habitation for the Spirit of Ògún.
And it will be there.
They will put some symbolic objects around the temple to give them some sense of visuals but ofcourse the SPIRIT was also there.
It was with that SPIRIT they communicated and not the objects or effigies hanging around
Because you are not in their shoes and you don’t understand these things you will foolishly mock them that they were worshipping “ordinary iron” or praying to “ordinary trees” .
OLÓDÙMARÈ, the ÒRÌSÀS and the IMỌLÈS communicate regularly and as needed with humans through words of instructions obtained from the sacred scriptures accessed by the CODING techniques of IFÁ.
4. IFÁ in itself is basically a system of STORAGE AND ACCESS of information on the SACRED SCRIPTURES as transmitted through the centuries by our ancestors.
The IFÁ is arranged in a binary system of 16 BOOKS and 256 CHAPTERS/VERSES. It contains ALL knowledge from History of the Earth, the Yorubas and other creations. It talks about Philosophy, Medicine, Arts, Engineering, Astrology, Mathematics and so much more.
It talks about Spirituality, Religious order, Mysticism.
It is a complete body of instructions.
The ÒPÈLÈ is the code system by which the messages of IFA are accessed.
The ÒPÈLÈ is an 8-bit arrangement of objects with 2- side of 0/1 or open/close possibilities.
*Yoruba bata drummers; a happy race
It is designed in such a way that various possibilities of 2-side 0/1 outcomes of the 8-bit combination will always connect and correspond to some books, chapters and verses of the IFÁ scriptures as arranged.
The words of those verse will come out as parables to connect with your current situation for which you seek divination.
It will always answer your question.
This is the order of divination.
The divination requires knowledge of the 16-Book and 256 chapters/verses of the scriptures.
A man can learn all 16 books and 256 chapters/verses of IFA scriptures at any time to broaden his own knowledge. It is a matter of time and interest you will learn everything.
It is not voodoo or magic but pure science.
Some people are by the circumstances of their birth according to family lineage duly DEDICATED to the task of learning this scripture.
They are of the IFÁ PRIESTHOOD. They are called loosely called BABALÁWOS.
5. Now, Babaláwo is from the word Baba-ala-wo..
Literally it should mean ” The head of the owners of secrets”.
Because there are several aspects of the IFÁ scriptures which are of serious delicacy our ancestors in their wisdom knew that certain things had to be hidden in other to regulate access to and use of those knowledge.
They withdrew many of this knowledge and kept them in the loop of very few men who could be trusted to behave well with secrets.
That’s wisdom.
This knowledge which are kept in secret became AWO.
The people who kept these secrets are also called AWO.
They bonded into a cult to keep these secrets. The cult is also called AWO.
People who belong to these cults are called AWO or ALÁWO.
BABA is an elder, usually the oldest or the most knowledgeable. He is the leader of the group of ALÁWO and accordingly called BABA-ALÁWO.
Over time perhaps the word became associated with only IFÁ Priests, otherwise the IFÁ PRIEST should have simply been called ONÍFÁ or BÀBÀNÍFÁ
6. But AWO, ALAWO, BABALÁWO, ÒNÍFÁ AND BÀBÀNÍFÁ and all the various PRIESTS are all part of the society which has to be regulated.
For this we have an ỌBA who is Kábíyèsí. He is made, empowered and consecrated to be the most powerful and most heavily fortified man in the whole community.
Around the Kábíyèsí is a council of Executive made up of his Chiefs, e.g. Ọtún, Òsì, Iyaloja, Ìyálóde, Balogun, Ashipa, Olórí Òdó etc.
And there is the LEGISLATIVE part whose responsibility it was to be a check-and-balance on the various AWO and also Kábíyèsí so he doesn’t misuse the enormous powers invested in him.
Ooni of Ife, Arole Oduduwa Olofin Adimula Ooni Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaja II blessing Yoruba descendants in the diaspora
These legislators are the oldest and wisest men on the land. They have seen it all.
They are the ÒGBÓNI in many parts of Yoruba land, ÒSÙGBÓ in Ijebu land, Oyomesi in Oyo etc.
You couldn’t possibly know more than they knew.
They assisted with the tough cases and made sure everyone was in check. They had a duty of great RESPECT to the KÁBÍYÈSÍ but also a duty of LOYALTY to the LAND where Kábíyèsí was found wanting and seen to be misbehaving.
What other democratic principles can be better than all I have outlined above?
But they will make it look like your ancestors were barbarians without sense, a people who couldn’t govern themselves, whereas we had a very beautifully flourishing civilization and in fact our ancestors civilized the Europeans.
All of these things and history we have confused together, and we are made to treat ours with contempt.
We will change the narratives.
#WeHaveMissedRoad
#ThinkYorubaFirst
©Adedamola Adetayo (09 March 2024)
************************************************************
Tell us you were here by replying to this story in the comment section below. You can share it, too.
Pegasus Reporters: making news that reaches your audience | Advertise with us! | Join our Readers’ Channel on Telegram (+234 815 444 5334)) Follow us on Twitter11@pegasusreporter | We are on Facebook; The PegasusReporters | Chat with us on WhatsApp (+234 815 444 5334) | Contact the Editor, Mallam Oyakhamoh Y. Carl-Abu’Bakar with your adverts or articles via pegasusreporters@gmail.com
Read Our Preceding Story: Short-Take with Mallam Abdulkarim M. Abdullahi on Fight Against Corruption by the new EFCC Chairman
