--Abdul Salam:Out of curiosity, kindly share the Ese Ifá that speaks to the Muslims "killing 200 everyday until they sacrifices to Eshu . . ."Thanks a bunch!MOAOn Thursday, August 1, 2019, 11:07:22 PM MDT, Abdul Salau <salauabdul@gmail.com> wrote:There is an Ese ifa describing encounter of Yoruba with Moslems. The Moslems were killing 200 everyday until they made sacrifices to eshu who destroyed them he manifested himself as strong wind.My research informs me that Eshu known as Shu in Ancient Egyptian cosmogony is the god of wind. Shu is part of creation one of elements of creation.Look for textual evidence from Ancient Egyptian sources.All the bestAbdul Salau--On Fri, Aug 2, 2019, 12:26 AM Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju <toyin.adepoju@gmail.com> wrote:--
Invocation of Èṣù
A Prayer Cosmological and Intimate, Mystical and Existential, Lofty and Pragmatic
Comparative Cognitive Processes and Systems
"Exploring Every Corner of the Cosmos in Search of Knowledge"
A Voodoo veve, a symbol meant for invoking Papa Legba, the persona of Èṣù
in his journey to the New World through the Slave Trade.
The intersecting horizontal and vertical lines dramatize the intersection of possibilities
represented by the crossroads, embodied by Èṣù and Legba.
That intersectionality is the central motif of the prayer below.
The hat evokes Legba's character as a dandy.
Installation art found online.
Artist unknown.
Introduction
I would like to share with you one of my favourite prayers. Developed by myself, from personal as well as from different sources. Some lines are composed by me. Others are adapted from various religious and philosophical contexts. They are all unified to dramatize a cohesive picture of Èṣù, a pivotal deity in classical Yoruba cosmology.
My purpose is to contribute to public demonstrations of the practice of classical African spiritualities. The public face of these spiritualities is significantly eclipsed by Christianity and Islam in the native Nigeria of classical Yoruba cosmology. These ancient spiritualities are often associated in the public mind, at least in my experience with Nigeria, with clandestine identifications conducted out of shame or questionable or sinister intentions, a situation leading to widespread ignorance of the inspirational depth, philosophical scope and artistic dynamism of these spiritualities.
Such efforts as what I am doing now contribute to taking these spiritual traditions beyond their greater visibility but restricted appreciation in various contexts. These informed contexts include scholarship on classical African spiritualities which is deeply illuminating but often unknown to most. Such educational frameworks also include such imaginative literature as the great works of Wole Soyinka, strategic for appreciating classical Yoruba cosmology, but which most people most likely have not read. These expansive frames of information are also represented by traditional institutions which are publicly recognized but the scope of whose understanding by most people might be questionable.
What are my sources and the rationale for these textual selections brought together to dramatize a perspective on Èṣù ? How did I arrive at this expansive picture of this complex and controversial deity? What roles does this prayer play in my life as both philosophical interpretation of the cosmos and a practical guide for my own life's journey?
I would like to beg your indulgence to respond to such queries another time. I am still at an embryonic stage in my relationship with the prayer. Also, I have composed some responses to the questions I raised but I need to edit and expand those responses to facilitate ease of understanding, a task I need to find time for.
I am sharing the prayer now out of a sense of responsibility to disseminate something I am finding of value in my private life but which demonstrates broad ranging significance in philosophy and spirituality. The elucidation of my understanding of these values, however, might need to wait for another time on account of constraints of time and psychological readiness.
Ritual Attitude
This prayer can be approached simply out of curiosity or to enjoy its imaginative form. It can also be read outwardly or inwardly, with full attention, addressing it to Èṣù, in the understanding that Èṣù, an invisible but ever present identity, can hear you. You could also operate in the belief that by this invocation you make yourself more sensitive to a presence that underlies and permeates existence.
Prayer
1
Èṣù, vitalistic immensity at the intersection of being and becoming
spark of paradox
cohesion of cosmos
cosmic dynamism
irony that constitutes existence.
Pervasive as air, swifter than wind
yet nestled in the temple within the self
flame of being
seed of consciousness.
He is not born
nor does he ever die
nor, having come to be
will he ever come not to be
unborn, eternal, everlasting, this ancient one.
To you whose form is the orisa that is my own self
essence of every spark of awareness
to you, O Èṣù
I come for refuge.
2
The clay and the shaper of the clay
the empty space around which the clay is shaped
the solidity surrounding the empty space
fashioning wonderful objects out of emptiness
the wonderful void that contains one's consciousness
and the wonderful consciousness that contains the void.
Owner of inside and outside
dweller at the crossroads of impossibility and possibility
what cannot be, what is, what was, what may be.
Fire of union between situations, modes of being and forms of knowledge
essences, qualities and their interrelations
one simple light.
Horrific power erasing the boundaries between
past and present
living and dead
physical and non-physical
spirit and matter.
Paradox intersecting various dimensions of being and becoming
shocking the mind
out of its settled patterns
opening it to supramundane insights.
Unanticipated probability
improbable reality
probable unreality
knowable unknown
unknowable unknown.
Chameleon whose eyes see front, sides and back.
Awaken!
Let the universe of creative possibilities unite at my position in space and time
my perceptual and existential alignment in time and space
become the creative convergence of cosmos.
Also published on
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