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Ori-inu is the inner self, the seat of perception and the unknowable knower. The inner self becomes known to consciousness (ori) as the head and heart stabilize their alignment. Access to ori-inu facilitates altered states of consciousness described in Ifa as Spirit communication. Traditional Yoruba culture integrates Spirit communication into the discipline of personal development and uses it as a tool to support spiritual growth. Messages from Spirit can include a vision of the higher self (iponri). The perception of iponri is a vision of human potential or destiny (ayanmo). Ifa teaches that destiny is based on a personal manifestation of iwa-pele meaning good character. According to Ifa cosmology, we are born good and blessed children (omo rere) and choose a destiny prior to incarnation that reflects our essential goodness. Finding destiny is a quest to do the right thing, from an ethical perspective, in any given moment Ifa is a spiritual legacy that predates recorded history, coming from a time when the veil between human consciousness and the voice of Spirit was extremely thin. In the words of Ifa oral scripture, Yoruba cosmology developed at a time when both humans and Spirit walked the Earth. It is my personal belief that our ancient African ancestors had clear access to inter-dimensional beings (Orisa and Egun) who gave them clear and effective instruction on how to place the head and the heart in alignment and from that place of alignment taught them how to live in harmony with the natural environment.
A Yoruba proverb says we become who we are by standing on the shoulders of those who come before us. From the perspective of traditional Yoruba culture, remembering those who came before us is a sacred obligation. Each generation takes responsibility for preserving the wisdom of the ancestors. In most earth-centered cultures, meaning those cultures that make an effort to live in harmony with nature, dissemination of ancestral wisdom is the foundation of the methodology used to guide consciousness along the path leading from childhood to maturity and self-actualization. In psychological terms, modeling heroic ancestral behavior initiates the journey towards self-discovery and individualization. The effective completion of this journey carries the potential for making each one of us a revered ancestor in the collective memory of our descendants. This potential is rooted in the bond of affection between grandparents and grandchildren. In Yoruba culture, this bond is called ife, which is commonly translated to mean love. I suspect the word has a broader connotation related to the word Ifa. If Ifa means the wisdom inherent in Nature, the word ife suggests the expression of that wisdom in everyday life. As elders we have a responsibility to teach our children and our grandchildren they are essentially good so this message continues to inform future generations.
Ifa says we come to earth to make it a better place for those who follow us (ire aye). Based on the Yoruba belief in atunwa (reincarnation), future generations include our own return to the Earth we have previously helped shape. This cyclical process is the foundation for both Ifa ethics and the Ifa view of history. The cycles of birth and rebirth on a personal level are reflected in the movement between creative expansion and destructive contraction that characterizes the traditional African cyclical view of history.
Prior to the emergence of colonialism, historical accounts of past events were expressed in mythic terms. Myth views history as a cycle of re-occurring events based on universal principles that forever appear, disappear and re-appear. Myth teaches transcendent spiritual principles that can be applied to the unique challenges of each succeeding generation. Earth-centered myth is based on the belief that all of humanity is inter-connected and inter-related. It expresses the metaphysical idea that living in harmony with Nature results in benefit for the individual, the community, the global village and the environment.
Post-colonial myth is rooted in the idea of linear progression and is deeply influenced by the Darwinian concept of “survival of the fittest”. In this world-view, history is a sequential progression of events leading to greater degrees of “progress”. The idea of progress is defined as the increased ability to use technology to “control” nature. Those who create the most effective technology for exploiting natural resources are considered the “fittest” from the Darwinian perspective. According to this world-view, the fittest are entitled to “privilege” to ensure the continued linear progression of history. Myth based on this perspective supports the notion that some people are “better” than others. Consequently there is little attention given to the idea of personal growth and development. History written from a linear perspective places emphasis on “Divine justification” for acts of greed, exploitation, and conquest. In Western academia, the Darwinian approach to history is described as “objective” because it tends to exclude references to God while remaining rooted in the concept of Divine justification. In simple terms, this contradiction is hypocritical and hypocrisy always creates psychic dissonance. This dissonance can lead to mental illness and instability often smothered by addictive behavior. The re-occurring message of Divine justification becomes an unspoken assumption in academia and remains fixed in the consciousness of Western culture as long as it remains effectively unchallenged. As a result, spiritual problems directly related to a contradictory world view are ignored.
In 1912, the major European colonial powers met in Berlin to create virtually all the boundaries now recognized as sovereign states on the continent of Africa. The purpose for creating these boundaries was to establish spheres of influence for the exploitation of natural resources. Frequently the newly created borders cut across long established culturally identified geographical boundaries. In order to sanction the largest expropriation of land since the rise of the Roman Empire, European historians needed to justify their political conquest. The Western academic version of this period of history is based on the premise that European industrial nations brought “progress” and “civilization” to a “backward”, “underdeveloped” region that was otherwise devoid of the “intelligence” needed to develop technological resources. Because this world-view has no basis in fact, it was necessary to stifle and destroy opposing points of view. The indigenous history of Africa is both written and oral. The written history was brutalized by deliberately distorting translations of Egyptian hieroglyphics and the oral history was deliberately destroyed by systematic genocide against those elders who were the keepers of traditional ancestral wisdom. From the perspective of Ifa in the Diaspora, the distortion of history makes it difficult to effectively stand on the shoulders of those who have come before us. There is evidence in Africa of an extremely sophisticated culture dating back 150,000 years that created the foundation for all the major sciences in existence today. This ancient culture appears to have been challenged by a series of natural disasters but evidence of creativity and insight remains clearly visible for anyone who takes the time to look.
The process of reclaiming the African cyclical view of history can begin with a careful examination of the mythic story from Ifa oral scripture that gives birth to the tradition of ancestor reverence. In the holy Odu Osa Meji collected by Pierre Verger in Oyo state Nigeria, the early development of the sacred technology associated with communication with the ancestors reflects a shift in the balance of power between men and women in the culture. The verse also gives guidance on how to maintain a healthy balance between genders as part of the stability of the extended family. Osa Meji includes symbolic reference to the essential elements used in traditional Yoruba ancestor reverence. The text of the verse is presented in the next chapter as a basis for study, examination and contemplation. My interpretation is just one of many possible contributions to what I hope becomes an ongoing dialogue.
Introduction, "Egun: The Ifa Concept of Ancestor Reverence"
by Awo Falokun
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