Irete-Ogbe: How Odu Became Orunmila's Wife by Awo Falokun (Spanish Version)

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Irete-Ogbe: How Odu Became Orunmila's Wife by Awo Falokun (Spanish Version)

Irete-Ogbe - How Odu Became Orunmila's Wife Part 12

"Odu told Orunmila that no one could disturb them.  If oso wanted to destroy them he would be destroyed.
Odu told Orunmila if Aje wanted to destroy them, she would be destroyed." 

Commentary:

Oso is a reference to the power of male ancestral societies and Aje is a reference to the power of female ancestral societies.  These powers are used to protect family lineages within any given community and family lineages can and do develop conflicts that do not necessarily contribute to the harmony of the entire community.  Giving Ifa a position of authority in a community requires protection from both personal and collective efforts to influence that authority in negative ways.  The verse is saying Odu has that power.

How does that power manifest?
When an Awo or Iyanifa integrates right brain/left brain they have the ability to go into possession with Ela.  In a state of possession Ela can take a person down the right hand path, meaning the path of elevation or down the left hand path, meaning the path of protection.

Having both witnessed and experienced the left hand path of Ela I can say that it is an extremely powerful weapon in the medicine bag of communal protection.  For this reason presentation to the Odu pot is limited to those who are considered capable of embracing iwa pele.

"Odu told Orunmila that he should never make fun of her.  Odu said if he did not make fun of her all of her work would be good and she would never fight with Orunmila."

Commentary:

Not making fun of Odu means respecting women and women's power.  The verse is saying that if Orunmila and by inference Ifa initiates abuse, denigrate or disrespect women in any way they will loose access to the ase and protection that comes from Odu.

"Odu told Orunmila if he knew what he wanted to send her to get it and it would be his.
Odu said if Orunmila sent a message for someone to suffer, that person would suffer.
Odu said if someone wanted to harm Orunmila even if only slight, she would go to war against that person.
Orunmila said I know you are important.  Orunmila said you are stronger than all other women in the world.
Orunmila said he would never be displeased with Odu.  Orunmila said none of his children would ever make fun of her because Odu is the power of the Babalawo.  Orunmila said if a Babalawo possesses Ifa he would also possess Odu."

Commentary:

Here Ifa is affirming his commitment to the taboo of Odu.  Those who believe this taboo is limited to who can and who can't see the contents of a specific pot are, I believe, missing the point.

Ire,

Awo Falokun

Irete-Ogbe - How Odu Became Orunmila's Wife Part 11 by Awo Falokun

"Together Orunmila and Odu went into the world.  Odu said I will teach you my taboo.  Odu said you must not let your other wives see my face.  Odu said she would fight whoever looked at her face.  Orunmila said he would honor her taboo."
       
Commentary:

There are different variations on this verse and there is widespread debate on the nature and meaning of this taboo.  Here we see the taboo against letting women see Odu is not directed against all women, it is directed against women other than Odu.

Some of the debate on this topic advocates the notion that only men can look inside the Odu pot and because only men can look the pot this taboo somehow makes men more powerful than women, or more spiritually developed; any number of similar variations.

The purpose of looking into a pot is to receive the ase or spiritual power of that pot and to allow the ase of the pot to transform the ori or consciousness of the person who is blessed to view the ase.  If Odu represents primal feminine spiritual power than men who look into the pot during initiation do so as a way of expanding their own consciousness to include an experience of the feminine perspective.   If a woman looked into the pot it would only serve to show her something that she already has, there would be no transformation.  Nothing suggests, implies or infers anything at all about the relative worth of men or women.  It is simply a reaffirmation of the message implied by the name of the diviner’s suggestion a model for cooperative effort.

This section of the Odu is also an implied reference to a rule of order in Ogboni.  It is one of the functions of Ogboni to assign an elder mother from Iyaami to protect the awo of a particular community.  The elder mother is usually the first wife of the awo.  However there can be exceptions, in particular when an awo is married to a non-traditional woman who does not participate in Iyaami ritual.
       
"Odu told Orunmila she would transform his burdens into good fortune.  Odu said she would heal all things.  Odu said she would change anything that went wrong and make it right."

Commentary:

This verse is simply saying Orunmila who has access to the tools for divination and therefore the knowledge of how to fix a problem must still rely on Odu for the spiritual power to implement that knowledge.

I would argue that those awo who claim Ifa is only for men have not made a close reading of Odu Ifa.  In my opinion Irete Ogbe is just one of many Odu that stress the value of men and women working together.

Commentary:

"Odu told Orunmila if he honored her taboo she would makes things good in the world."

Honoring the taboo means both not letting the uninitiated look into the Odu pot and insuring that men integrate the feminine perspective into their own ori.  The feminine perspective is not so much a gender issue as it is a symbolic reference to the need for Ifa priests to embrace the qualities of empathy, compassion and the unconditional love of a mother to a child.  These qualities are needed to insure that the power of Odu, the power of the primal female ase, is used in a positive way that elevates the entire community and not just the needs of a single person.

On the level of topographical metaphor some scientists have recently suggested that the structure of DNA is coded into gravity.  That means whenever evolution creates a planet with water the fundamental forces of nature conspire to produce life.  The scientist who advocate the idea that DNA is coded into gravity say that this structure is transformed into physical reality when the form of DNA comes in contact with water and light.  We have the Forces of Nature of feminine water meeting masculine light.

The verse is clearly making a reference to the fundamental nature of pro-creation and making the point that this interaction is coded into Ifa ritual.

Ire,

Awo Falokun

Irete-Ogbe - How Odu Became Orunmila's Wife Part 10

"Odu entered the house of Orunmila and called to him.  Odu said Orunmila I have arrived.  Odu said I have many powers.  Odu said she did not want to fight with Orunmila.  Odu said if someone asked for her to help them fight Orunmila she would not help.  Odu said she did not want Orunmila to suffer in anyway.  Odu said she would fight anyone who wanted to make Orunmila suffer."

Commentary:

On a social level this verses is affirming a commitment by the women's secret societies to support the public work done by Orunmila.  It is an affirmation of acceptance of the principles of good character advocated by Orunmila and a commitment to preserve and protect Ifa as the fundamental principle for social organization.

"Orunmila said, not bad."

Commentary:

Orunmila is acknowledging his appreciation for this support.  The notion that Iyaami should be considered a group of evil women is total nonsense not supported by Ifa scripture and the teachings of the prophet Orunmila.  The denigration of Iyaami started with British colonialization.  The women of Iyaami are the guardians of the crown of the Oba or traditional Yoruba kings.  The crowns are adorned with the icon of Iyaami.  There is no way that any culture let along Yoruba culture is going to adorn the regalia of political leaders with icons representing evil in the world.

The British demonized Iyaami because they were afraid the elder women of Iyaami would block their efforts to exploit Nigerian resources.

Ire,

Awo Falokun

Irete-Ogbe - How Odu Became Orunmila's Wife Part 9

"Orunmila made the offering.  On the day Odu arrived at Orunmila's home she found the offering outside the door.  Odu asked who has made this offering to the Earth?  Esu said it was Orunmila who made the offering because he wants to marry you.  Odu took the offering and fed the bird Aragamaga."

Commentary:

Here we have the relationship between Odu, representing raw spiritual power, and Orunmila, representing social order and the development of good character, being facilitated by Esu.

The word good character in Yoruba is iwa pele from the elision I wa ope ile meaning I come to greet the Earth.  We greet the Earth because the Earth is our teacher the Earth teaches us how to live in harmony with self and world.  By seeing the offering Odu is expressing her understanding the Orunmila is a good man, who was attempting to do good things in the world.

In this section of the verse Odu takes the offering and feds Aragamaga.  This is the first reference in the verse between Odu and Iyaami Osoranga.  The bird Aragamaga I would translate to mean the body of female power.  This is a symbolic reference to the collective power of all women.  This power is accessed through Odu or the womb and links all women through Ori or consciousness.  The power of Iyaami is the ability of women to pray in the astral realm as a group.

Iyaami as an Egbe or religious society was set up to do three things.  There first responsibility is to protect the women of a given community.  In the olden days all women were automatically members of the Iyaami Egbe.  The elder women of the community were initiated into the secrets of the Egbe but all women were members.  If any woman was the victim of male violence the elder mother of the Iyaami Egbe would go to the Chief Ifa priest of the village and ask him to mediate.  If the mediation was unsuccessful the women would invoke the collective power of Aragamaga which is the power to prevent a man from going to sleep by inducing nightmares.  After two or three nights of no sleep the abusive man was often willing to consider changing their abusive character.

I believe that the men who misread this verse are often in denial about their own abusive issues.

The bird used to administer justice is described as a black bird.  In Iyaami Osoranga there is also a white bird whose job it is to make sure the power of the black bird is used fairly.  Just because a woman accuses a man of violence does not automatically make the allegations true.

The third bird in Iyaami Osoranga is a red bird who job it is to locate abundance.

When Odu or the portal of female power accepts the offering of Orunmila and feeds it to the black bird the gesture of accepting the offering is recognition of the fact that Orunmila was not a threat to the safety and well-being of women.

This primal relationship is symbolized in Ifa initiations when offerings are made to Iyaami and it is symbolized when portions of ebo (personal offerings) are giving to Iyaami.  This represents a primal covenant between divergent forces in nature and this covenant is reaffirmed during initiation and when making offerings prescribed by Ifa divination.

Ire,
Awo Falokun

Irete-Ogbe - How Odu Became Orunmila's Wife Part 7

"Odu used this power to gain access to the house of Orunmila."

This I believe is a key point in understanding Irete -Ogbe.  Here the verse is saying Odu initiated the association with Orunmila.  It was Odu that wanted to align herself with Orunmila.

Commentary:

The relationship between Odu and Orunmila is a fundamental polarity in Ifa Cosmology.  Again like Ifa references it is a metaphor that applied to various realms of Creation.

Let’s revisit the meaning of these two important words.  Odu the womb of rebirth.  I say rebirth because after the moment of Creation all birth is rebirth.  The is the great awo or mystery of the Holy Odu Odi Meji from the elision O idi meaning the Spirit of a woman’s root chakra or pelvic area.  The idi contains an Odu.  Idi incubates the process of rebirth while Odu is the portal through which rebirth enters the world of manifestation.

The word Orunmila is commonly translated to mean Heaven is my salvation.  I would translate it a little differently from the elision Orun mi ala meaning the invisible realm is my light.

With the words Odu and Orunmila we are dealing with the fundamental polarity between contraction and expansion.  In Nature this polarity is the contrast between gravity (gravity) and expansion (electromagnetism).  According to Western Science and Ifa Science this polarity creates physical reality.

Ifa is a expression of Nature worship, so all aspects of Ifa ritual reflect the fundamental elements of Creation.

On a personal level the polarity between Odu and Orunmila is the polarity that integrates right brain and left brain.  This integration is the basis for the Egyptian discipline known as the mystic eye.  In traditional Ifa this integration is accomplished through Tefa for men and through Iyaami for women.  In Tefa men receive right brain ase to balance the ase of left brain male energy by being presented to the feminine ase of the Odu Pot.  In Iyaami Osoranga women receive the right brain ase of what can be described as the male energy of becoming a warrior.

The relationship between Odu and Orunmila in the personal real is the foundation for the ideas associated with proper conduct in marriage in traditional Yoruba culture.  The marriage relationship is rooted in gender equity that in fact reflects the nature of reality in the Universe.

In the Earth Realm the light that comes through the Portals of Earth called Igbodu from the elision igbo odu meaning womb of the forest is the light that shapes the Earth.  It is also the light that allows humans to communicate with the Ori of the Earth manifested as Spirit of Orisa.

In the Universe the metaphor of the relationship between Odu and Orunmila is a reference to the light that comes through the womb of pulsar to create new stars and new galaxies.

Awo Falokun

Irete-Ogbe - How Odu Became Orunmila's Wife Part 6

"Olodumare said if you want it to do bad things it will do bad things, if you want it to do good things it will do good things.  Aragamago was the bird brought to Earth by Odu."

Commentary:

Spiritual power in its primal manifestation is morally and ethically neutral.  For example fire may be used to cook a meal or burn down an enemy’s house.  The moral effect of these two uses of fire is based on value judgments made by human consciousness.  In both examples the nature and function of fire itself remains the same.  This verse is not advocating the use of spiritual power to do bad things; the verse is describing the natural phenomena, as it exists in its primal form.

"Odu said no other person will be able to look upon it, she said it must not be looked upon.  If any enemy of Odu looks upon it, she will shatter his eyes; the power of the bird will make him blind."

In Ifa spiritual practice initiation is used to unlock the latent potential of ori or consciousness.  When a person is initiated they receive a power object, usually a pot that symbolizes their personal elevation.  After initiation the pot becomes a source of personal renewal.  Part of Ifa spiritual discipline to protect the pot from contamination by those who have not been initiated.  The verse is saying that the spiritual power used to protect the pot is associated with the power of the Aragamaga bird and the secrets of women's spiritual power.

That is one of the reasons why the Odu pot was given to Orunmila by his wife.

The verse is very clear it says a woman made the Odu and gave it to Orunmila.

Those who be blessed to be present to the Odu pot will know why it was given to Orunmila by a woman.  There are things in an Odu to pot that can only be given to a man by a woman.  That is a concept that is fundamental to our faith.  Those who say women have nothing to do with the Odu pot either haven’t actually read the verse and in their effort to interpret the verse they are so blinded by a fear of women they cannot understand the worlds being spoken.

Ire,

Awo Falokun

Irete-Ogbe - How Odu Became Orunmila's wife Part 4 & 5

"Aragamago is the name Olodumare gave to the bird.  Aragamago is the name of the bird belonging to Odu."

Commentary:

Aragamago is a spirit bird associated with the mysteries of Iyaami Osoranga.  Odu is a force of nature and it is a pot associated with Ifa initiation.  In this verse we have the inference that the worship of Ifa is dependant on Odu and Odu is empowered by Aragamago and Aragamago is a symbolic reference to the mysteries of women's power preserved by the secret society called Iyaami Osoranga.  This then takes us back to the name of the diviner, which is the key to the meaning of the Odu, and the name of the diviner tells us this Odu is about learning how to work together.

This takes us back to the meaning of the word Osoranga from the elision oso ran ga meaning astral travel brings us female power.  The word Aragamago from the elision ara ga mi ago which I would translate to mean I greet the body of female power.  Aragamago is the think women search for when in their astral mode of consciousness.  That thing is the ability to create life.  As a hermetic principle the ability to create human life is the template for the ability to create anything in the universe.  It is the foundation of the ability of ritual to fix what is broken in the world.

Aragamago or the ability to create life first entered the Universe in the moment of Creation.   This ability is seated in the womb of a first generation star which is essentially a huge cauldron creating hydrogen atoms.  When this cauldron collapses in on itself it explodes creating a cloud of gas.  In Ifa scripture this cloud of gas is called Omi Orun or Heavenly Waters.

The Heavenly waters gather together in the Odu or womb of a second generation star which transforms hydrogen atoms into all the basic elements of Creation.  This is the first major work in the Alchemical process of transformation.

The Heavily waters of second generation stars creat planets, planets create all forms of life on earth.

It is the bird of Aragamago spreading her power of fertility throughout the universe.

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Irete-Ogbe - How Odu became Orunmila's wife Part 5


"Olodumare told Odu that anything she wished to accomplish would be done if you send the bird to do it.  Olodumare said, anyplace you want to send this bird, it will go there."

Commentary:

Here the verse is affirming the belief that effective prayer requires ase or spiritual power.  The verse is identifying astral travel as an effective source of spiritual power in the personal realm.  Astral travel is the ability to disassociate the ori or consciousness from the physical body allowing consciousness to view hidden dimensions of reality.

From a metaphysical point of view the concept here is based on the idea that humans are spiritual beings having a human experience.  As human beings our ori is connected to our Iponri and our Iponri is connected to Orun.  That means everyone knows everything.  The issue is where are we going to place our concentration.  This issue is why Ifa spiritual discipline is based on iwa pele.  The mechanism for placing our concentration in the moment in the correct time and place is totally dependent on suuru or inner peace.  Suuru is the ability to be in the world and to see the world through a lens that is not shaped by egotism, greed or the need to control others.

We embrace the ability to access higher levels of consciousness by embracing the idea that if your life gets better my life gets better.  Once we fear the other, once we compete with the other once we denigrate the other, once we judge the other, our ability to access that which is needed to fix that which is broken our ability to access higher levels of consciousness is closed.  In the Yoruba language the closing of this door is called ibi.

The best example of using the bird to find ire is through the ase of Osoosi.  The omo of Osoosi are given birds to track in the bush.  The bird is similar to the bird of Iyaami.  When a traditional Yoruba tracker is about to go into the forest the tracker sends their bird to view the landscape in concentric cycles.  Before a tracker even enters the forest they know the location of every animal, every bird, every source of water, every predator and virtual every living thing for miles in every direction.  This is a skill women are born with and men can develop.  It is a fundamental component of an Awo’s ability to transform ibi into ire.

Irete-Ogbe - How Odu became Orunmila's wife Part 3 by Awo Falokun

"Whenever she will arrive on Earth, the Babalawo said Odu this is your beginning.  Olodumare gave her a bird.  She took the bird on her journey to Earth."

Commentary:

Dudu in Yoruba is the word black.  In liturgical Yoruba black refers to both a range of dark colors and it refers to those mysteries that remain hidden, unseen and unknowable through common mundane experience.  All awo (mystery or secret) can also be described as dudu.  The word Odu takes the root of dudu, which is du and adds the prefix O.  In liturgical Yoruba the letter O is often used as a reference to the spirit of a thing.  The word Odu could be translated to mean the spirit of the primal mystery.  In more poetic language the word Odu could be translated to mean the Womb of Creation.

In common usage the word Odu sometimes means calabash or pot.  The word Odu when used as an Ifa icon is frequently described as Igba Odu.  The word Igba commonly means pot, so it makes no sense to interpret Igba Odu as pot.  As spiritual metaphor the word Odu is a clear reference to the idea of womb.  But as in all liturgical words the concept of womb refers to the womb of women, the womb of planet earth, the womb of the galaxy and the womb of Creation.

Using the word Odu to refer to a pot in various realms of Creation suggests that certain vortexes are a place where pro-creation and regeneration takes place.  Odu beyond the physical womb of a woman is a place where the force of contraction unites with the force of expansion to create stars, which create the elements, which create the planets, which starts the chain of evolution leading to human life.

Ifa teaches that everything in the universe has Ori or consciousness which is why the metaphor of womb is appropriate.  From the perspective of awo or hermetic physics all manifestations of Odu as womb are interdimensional portals connecting various realms of creation.  The most common connection in human life between Odu and interdimensional realms is the connection between Orun and Aye (Heaven and Earth) that exists in the female womb.  Every time an egg is fertilized and becomes a fetus the spirit of an ancestor journeys from Orun to Aye to infuse the fetus with Emi (the human soul).  Emi is our eternal self which is having a human experience in a particular incarnation.

Igbodu from the elision Igbo Odu means womb of the Forest.  It is the place in Nature where the Immortals make the journey from Orun to Aye and infuse a sacred space with ase (Spiritual Power).  That sacred space then becomes known as Odu or the womb as portal between Orun and Aye.

The reference in this verse of Ifa scripture to a bird is also multi-layered.  The spirit of a birth allows the Ori of both men and women to make the journey from Aye back to Orun.  In English this journey is frequently described as astral travel.  According to Ifa scripture the ability to astral travel is called oso.  This ability is given to men by virtue of Ifa initiation and is given to women by their grandmothers.  The ability to astral travel that comes through initiation is called oso and the ability to astral travel passed from grandmother to granddaughter is called Aje.

The word Aje is often erroneously translated to mean witch.  In original European usage witch means wise woman but has the connotation of evil woman as a result of the dominant influence of Catholic theology on European consciousness.  The Catholic Church teaches that all things occult are evil.  The word occult simply means invisible, so the development of occult power or the ability to astral travel that is learned through some form of initiation is considered inherently evil by Catholic doctrine.  Because this power can be passed from grandmother to granddaughter the Catholic Church teaches that women are inherently evil.

This begs the question; how do grandmothers pass the power of Aje to their granddaughters?  The answer is deceptively simple; grandmothers pass the power of Aje to their granddaughters by Blessing them.  If a young girl is told that she can do anything, that belief will enable her to do anything.  If a grandmother denigrates a granddaughter and teachers her she is worthless and incompetent that is what she will become.

It can’t be that simple.

It is that simple.

We live in a consensus reality and the way we are programed by our elders becomes who we are.

Being Aje includes the belief in the ability to astral travel which is taught as a survival skill when the women of the village meet as Iyaami Osoranga from the elision Iya mi oso ran ga meaing my mothers astral travel to retrieve ga with the word ga meaning female power.  The word ga in this context refers to the ability of women to use their physical Odu (womb) to open the portal to Orun without being pregnant.

Men do not have this option.

That is why men are initiated into Odu.  The initiation of men in to Odu gives them the ability to make the journey from Aye to Orun.

This initiation does not make them better than women it makes them equal to women.

Women do not receive Odu because they were born with it.

The methodology for making the journey from Aye to Orun involves the ability to use the spirit of a bird to guide the Emi or soul of both men and women from their physical body into the invisible realm.  This journey is symbolized by the Osun staff and the presentation of the Ifa male Iyawo to the Osun staff is the first step in the Ifa initiation because the ability to astral travel as guided by the Osun staff is the first step in the process of connection with the Spirit of Ela which is the point of Ifa initiation.

When Odu refers to birds it is sometimes referring to specific physical birds which are used as both icons and as medicine to facilitate astral travel.  The physical birds of Ifa are actually metaphors for a physical phenomenon that occurs in Nature.  If you go to an Oroko tree and meditate from sun down to sun up you will begin to see flashes of light dance in and around the tree.  These flashes of light are interdimensional transferences of Ala meaning the light of primal consciousness.  These flashes of light are the actual birds of Iyaami and these flashes of light are the fundamental building blocks of Creation.  When you are in the presence of light as Ala you can invoke the transformation of that light into anything.  This is the fundamental mystery of Alchemy.

The light of Ala is different from what we could call ordinary light or common light.  Ordinary light is generated by electromagnetic waves and include all the colors of the rainbow.  This kind of light generates heat that can lead to various types of explosions.  The light of Ala is generated by gravity.  It does not generate heat, and when it explodes it does not cause damage.  It was the ability of gravity to generate energy which is at the core of Nicolas Tesla’s ability to access free energy.  Light generated by electromagnetic pulses is called a sign wave; light generated by gravity is called a longitudinal wave.

The electricity in our homes is based on sign waves.  Tesla was working with longitudinal waves.

There is a difference.

Longitudinal waves are extremely powerful and can be engineered to create either free energy or to create weapons of mass destruction.

Ifa uses a metaphor to describe the destructive power of longitudinal waves.  It is referred to as the anger of the mothers.

Science has recently discovered that gravity carries the blue print for DNA.  This means the entire universe is a cauldron or Odu for the generation of human life.

This means the philosopher’s stone of Alchemy is the Universe.

Ifa teaches that learning, growth and spiritual development comes as a result of an increase in the understanding of awo, or more correctly through the revelation of Odu.  That is why the places of initiation are called igbodu from the elision igbo odu meaning the womb of the sacred forest.

Nature has Ori which is why we can speak to Nature when we are in altered states of consciousness.

An awo who cannot speak to Nature is useless.

That is why awo go into possession because Nature knows everything, humans do not.

The miracle of Esu is that Nature speaks to Ori in the language Ori understands.  That is the way Creation works.

When the verse speaks of Odu coming to Earth it is speaking of the manifestation of primal principles in the Earth itself.  For example when the Earth was still in a gas state there was no manifestation of the Odu that creates land.  Odu came to earth to form earth, air, fire and water.  Each of these manifestations of Odu can be described as the journey of Odu from Heaven to Earth.

The verse goes on to say that when Odu made the journey from Orun to Aye, Olodumare (The Creator) gave her a bird.  This does not mean a woman holding a bird initiated the genesis of earth, air, fire and water.  Ifa teaches that everything in Creation has Ori or consciousness.  Odu coming from Heaven to Earth describes various forces in nature emerging throughout the process of evolution.  In Nature there are two forms of ase or spiritual, expansive ase and contractive ase.  Ase that is expansive is described as masculine and ase that is contractive is described as feminine.  It is the polarity between dynamics and form and not the polarity between men and women in the anthropomorphic sense of the words.

In this Odu the bird symbolizes communication between Ori and other higher, more evolved or we could say primal forms of consciousness.  In particular the bird symbolizes the ability of Odu to communicate directly with Olodumare.  To say Odu carries a bird is to affirm the notion that natural phenomena has consciousness' and that these various forms of consciousness are able to communicate to one another.

This is the basis for what is known in the Western World as the Gaia theory of Nature.  The Gaia theory is based on the idea that the Earth is a conscious living being and that various natural phenomena throughout the world are linked to Gaia as the nurturing mother of this particular planet.  The bird is the symbol for the ability of inanimate objects to communicate to one another.  It is also used as the symbol for the ability of human to communicate with spirit using the medium of astral travel or out of body experience.  In Ifa spiritual practice birds represent the ability to communicate with spirit and for this reason birds are found on the crown of the Oba, on the staff of many Orisa and on the Osun used to protect the ori.  The ori is protected as a consequence of its ability to communicate with spirit, which includes the expectation of being warned of potential danger in any give situation.

To say Olodumare gave Odu a bird prior to her journey to Earth is a comment on the fundamental structure of reality.

It is a topographical metaphor.

To summarize; Odu as womb gave birth to the Universe, Odu as pulsar gives birth to planets, planets have spiritual power centers called Odu that are places of communication with spirit, women are born with Odu.  As Ifa metaphor Odu is the womb of Ori in which right brain, left brain components are fused together to elevate consciousness or in the language of Ifa to give birth to a higher self.  That is the meaning of the Yoruba proverb that says the Ori that leaves the house in the morning is not the Ori that arrives home at night.

Also Read:
Irete-Ogbe - How Odu Became Orunmila's Wife Part 1

Irete-Ogbe - How Odu Became Orunmila's Wife Part 2

Awo Falokun

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Awo Falokun is available for Ifa / Orisa Initiations and Workshops. Call: 775-741-0188 or email: awofalokun@ifabooksinc.com for more information.

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Irete-Ogbe - How Odu became Orunmila's wife Part 2 by Awo Falokun

"You walk over the bush, I walk over the bush, we both walk over the bush together were the Babalawo who cast Ifa for Odu on the day Odu made the journey from Heaven to Earth."

Commentary:

In Odu Ifa the name of the diviner is a key to understanding the solution to a particular problem.  In this verse the name of the diviner is you walk over the bush, I walk over the bush, we walk over the bush together.  In Yoruba the word bush is a reference to the forest outside of a village.  Walking into the bush means leaving the comforts of the home and the village to travel into the natural environment.  In Yoruba culture you go into the bush to gather herbs, to hunt, to make a clearing to start a farm and countless other tasks related to survival.  The inference here is that we approach the issues of survival individually and we approach the issues of survival collectively.  Nigeria has the highest population density of any region on the continent of Africa.  The steady growth in population is, I believe, a result of the effective distribution of labor in the rural areas making it possible to maximize limited natural resources.  The name of the diviner is telling us that this verse of Odu Ifa is a revelation of the mystery of working together.

On a personal level the metaphor of working together is a clear reference to right brain, brain integration.  It is impossible to work effectively with others until you have first learned how to integrate the conflicting elements of the inner self.

What becomes more clear as the verse unfolds is the fact that this Odu makes references to the cultural structures that guide the working relationship between husbands and wives.

In a cultural context the idea of working together addresses structures used in traditional Yoruba culture to guide the working relationship between men and women in the larger community.

The concept of Odu also functions as a metaphor for the way in which the earth regulates itself so abundance will be available to those who live on earth.

Finally, I believe the description of the relationship between Orunmila and his wife is a topographical metaphor that describes the polarity between electromagnetism and gravity.  In Ifa physics this dynamic is described in terms of gender based symbols which male energy representing expansive movement and female energy representing contractive movement.  According to Einstein the building blocks of Creation can be described as both wave (expansive energy) and particle (contractive energy).  He also stated that all energy carries both manifestations of movement and the difference is simple a matter of perspective.  I believe Einstein’s ideas were foreshadowed by the wisdom of our traditional Yoruba ancestors.

Awo Falokun

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Awo Falokun is available for Ifa / Orisa Initiations and Workshops. Call: 775-741-0188 or email: awofalokun@ifabooksinc.com for more information.

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Irete-Ogbe - How Odu became Orunmila's wife Part 1 by Awo Falokun

       I am of the opinion that ese Odu (versese of Ifa scripture) were written to be interpreted on at least five different levels;
              
1.   Odu describes the spiritual way in which as individuals we integrate right brain and left brain as the foundation of spiritual development.

2.  Odu describes the spiritual way in which we relate to others on a personal one on one basis.

3.  Odu describes the spiritual way in which we relate to our entire community.

4.  Odu describes the spiritual way in which we to the Earth.

5.  Odu describes the fundamental principles of physics and astro-physics meaning it describes the which is the universe is created and presents the fundamental laws of Nature needed to unlock abundance from Nature.

          Each of these levels of interpretation include both a description of the context of the interpretation, a description of what is broken and guidance on how to fix what is broken.  I want to apply these different levels of interpretation to a specific Odu, Irete Ogbe.  This Odu is described in Ifa scripture as; How Orunmila found a wife.  In my opinion it is a classic example of the way Ifa scripture is a multi-layered metaphor describing the Nature of reality.

        Again in my opinion this is one of the most misunderstood and most frequently distorted Odu in the entire corpus of Ifa scripture.  Many Awo will disagree with my interpretation of this Odu.  Disagreement can be a good thing, and it is the basis of theological dialogue.  Unfortunately I believe the most common interpretations of this Odu are rooted in a form of sexism that represents resistance to the issue of gender equity as taught by the Prophet Orunmila.

Let's start by an examination of the basic text as translated by the Late Pierre Vergier aka Awo Fatunbi (ibae):

          You walk over the bush, I walk over the bush, we both walk over the bush together were the Babalawo who cast Ifa for Odu on the day Odu made the journey from Heaven to Earth.

          Whenever she will arrive on Earth, the Babalawo said Odu this is your beginning.  Olodumare gave her a bird.  She took the bird on her journey to Earth.

          Aragamago is the name Olodumare gave to the bird.  Aragamago is the name of the bird belonging to Odu.  Olodumare told Odu that anything she wished to accomplish would be done if you send the bird to do it.  Olodumare said, anyplace you want to send this bird, it will go there.
 Olodumare said if you want it to do bad things it will do bad things, if you want it to do good things it would do good things.  Aragamago was the bird brought to Earth by Odu.

          Odu said no other person will be able to look upon it, she said it must not be looked upon.  If any enemy of Odu looks upon it, she will shatter his eyes; the power of the bird will make him blind.

          Odu used this power to gain access to the house of Orunmila.

          Orunmila consulted his Babalawo who consulted Ifa.  Orunmila was told, "If we teach a person to be intelligent, that person will be intelligent, if we teach a person to be stupid, that person will be stupid.  Ifa told Orunmila to take Odu as his wife.  The Babalawo said a power is in the hands of Odu.  They said because of this power Orunmila must make an offering to the Earth.  They said the offering must be made in for the welfare of all people.  The said the offering must be made so Odu will not kill people, and so Odu will not eat people because the power of Odu is greater than the power of Orunmila.  They said Orunmila must quickly make ebo.  The Babalawo gave him the ingredients for the ebo.

          Orunmila made the offering.  On the day Odu arrived at Orunmila's home she found the offering outside the door.  Odu asked who has made this offering to the Earth?  Esu said it was Orunmila who made the offering because he wants to marry you.  Odu took the offering and fed the bird Aragamaga.

          Odu entered the house of Orunmila and called to him.  Odu said Orunmila I have arrived.  Odu said I have many powers.  Odu said she did not want to fight with Orunmila.  Odu said if someone asked for her to help them fight Orunmila she would not help.  Odu said she did not want Orunmila to suffer in anyway.  Odu said she would fight anyone who wanted to make Orunmila suffer.

          Orunmila said, not bad.

          Together Orunmila and Odu went into the world.  Odu said I will teach you my taboo.  Odu said you must not let your other wives see my face.  Odu said she would fight whoever looked at her face.  Orunmila said he would honor her taboo.

          Odu told Orunmila she would transform his burdens into good fortune.  Odu said she would heal all things.  Odu said she would change anything that went wrong and make it right.

          Odu told Orunmila if he honored her taboo she would makes things good in the world.

          Odu told Orunmila that no one could disturb them.  If oso wanted to destroy them he would be destroyed.

          Odu told Orunmila if Aje wanted to destroy them, she would be destroyed.

          Odu told Orunmila that he should never make fun of her.  Odu said if he did not make fun of her all of her work would be good and she would never fight with Orunmila.

          Odu told Orunmila if he knew what he wanted to send her to get it and it would be his.

          Odu said if Orunmila sent a message for someone to suffer, that person would suffer.

          Odu said if someone wanted to harm Orunmila even if only slight, she would go to war against that person.

          Orunmila said I know you are important.  Orunmila said you are stronger than all other women in the world.

          Orunmila said he would never be displeased with Odu.  Orunmila said none of his children would ever make fun of her because Odu is the power of the Babalawo.  Orunmila said if a Babalawo possesses Ifa he would also possess Odu.

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Awo Falokun is available for Ifa / Orisa Initiations and Workshops. Call: 775-741-0188 or email: awofalokun@ifabooksinc.com for more information.

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