BENIN OLOKUN SYMBOLISM AND THE DEPTH OF BEING 4
Toyin Adepoju
Adesukhunmwun
Stainless Sky
Furu ike ya
kawazu tobikomu
mizu no oto
Breaking the silence
Of an ancient pond,
A frog jumps into water
A deep resonance.
Matsuo Bashô
Adaptation of translation by Nobuyuki Yuasa
Yamada Kôun Rôshi said: "When your consciousness has become ripe in true zazen — pure like clear water, like a serene mountain lake, not moved by any wind — then anything may serve as a medium for realization."
[ The Olokun Igha-ede image was] created by the... ohen[Olokun priest/priestess]in ground orhue [sacred chalk][for this ] purpose: Igha-ede no gha emwin n' ihen (The divider of the day that shares food among all of the deities). This ohen explained that the ends of the igha-ede...are like fingers, enabling sacrificial gifts, messages, and prayers sent through the image to be appropriately distributed. As the ohen prays, she sifts numerous additional fine chalk lines from the ends of the design, like those at the top.
Benin Olokun Igha-ede image,explanatory text and Olokun praise name from Norma Rosen, "Chalk Iconography in Olokun Worship"African Arts, Vol. 22, No. 3 (May, 1989), pp. 44-53+88.
Matsuo Bashô frog haiku and commentary from "Matsuo Bashô: Frog Haiku:Thirty-one Translations and One Commentary".
by
Robert Aitken
at
http://www.bopsecrets.org/gateway/passages/basho-frog.htm
Accessed 06/07/10
Also blogged at Olokun Waters
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