Orisas know Orisas


When the Yorubas want to report you to humans, they mention your father's name; To report you to the Orisas, they mention your mother's. Orisas know Orisas 


- Akinadé Ọ̀wọ́adé

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Iya ni Wura

  Iya Ni Wura  In the 1800s Books and travelers’ accounts described Yorùba women as powerful traders, warriors, priestesses, mothers and political voices. They held down families, towns and trade networks.  Finance & Economy – Yoruba Women dominated local markets, from kola nuts to textiles. Some became wealthy merchants, controlling trade routes that linked the Yoruba to coastal ports. Spiritual Authority – As priestesses of Òrìṣà like Ọṣun, Yemoja, and Ọya, women carried immense influence in guiding communities through rituals and festivals. Family & Society – A Yoruba woman was the backbone of the extended family system. She was both nurturer and strategist, raising children, managing farms, and ensuring survival during wars and displacements of the 1800s. Resilience in Crisis – During wars and slave raids, women organised escapes, rebuilt settlements and town as well as negotiating peace in some regions. European visitors often wrote with surprise about how in...
Read more

Tolerance and hospitality of the Yoruba

The paradox of tolerance states that “if a society is tolerant without limit, its ability to be tolerant is eventually seized or destroyed by the intolerant”. “in order to maintain a tolerant society, the society must be intolerant of intolerance.”  people who are generally intolerant, must be dealt with, with intolerance. Or else you won’t have peace until they dominate your society.  If they cannot dominate, you will continue to struggle with them perpetually.
Read more

Odu, Odi Ogbe

Image
I reflect on the ODU, Odi Ogbe: It tells us to give great respect to our female elders:  According to Gelede in the Yoruba tradition, it is believed that older women have powers that are equal to or greater than those of the Orisa.  The women are referred to as the "mothers" and are elders, ancestors and deities that have special spiritual powers that can be both beneficial, by providing fertility and health, and harmful by causing disaster, which is why the Gelede performances occur.  The great grandmothers are also called Orisa Egbe, which means "Orisha of society." The term egbe also refers to the society of women (Aje) who can turn into birds and hold secret meetings, or observe secret meetings, whether it be secret male initiaion rituals or people in the community.  Ase wa! Photo: Elders of Candomble, Brasil  Iyaniko Titilare
Read more