ADAPTING A SPIRITUAL AND DIVINATORY TRADITION
ON DEVELOPING A DO-IT-YOURSELF,SOLITARY PRACTICE OF THE ORISA TRADITION AND IFA
Toyin Adepoju
One of the best known Africana spiritual traditions is the Orisa tradition.I hereby suggest theoretical and practical approaches to adapting this tradition in terms of a do-it-yourself solitary practice conducted solely by oneself as a text and practice based discipline.These suggestions are made with reference to the central Yoruba institutions of Ogboni,Gelede and Ifa,which have historically played a central role in the constitution of the Orisa world view and its social role in Yorubaland from where the Orisa tradition originates.The meaning of Ogboni,Gelede and Ifa and an adequate framework for this presentation,justifying its goal, will be provided in another essay.
The Feminine Matrix of Ille and Odu as the Spiritual Nexus of Ogboni,Gelede and Ifa
It is vital to unify the various aspects of the feminine complex in the Orisa tradition and demonstrate the fact ,in my view,it is not possible to gain a comprehensive grasp of the central Yoruba institutions of Ogboni,Gelede and Ifa without an understanding of the feminine complex as their unifying matrix.This synthesis is not identical with the better known presence of various female Orisa from Osun to Olokun but is a terrestrial/cosmic synthesis deriving from an interpenetration of the terrestrial power of Ille,Earth,in relation to the terrestrial and cosmic presence of Odu.The conceptions of aje,often translated as 'witch' and Awon Iya Wa,Our Mothers,which seems to be a collective description of the aje in terms of a source of spiritual power understood as feminine, seems to be intimately related to the conceptions of Ille and Odu.
Female Centred Awo
A study of these conceptions and their associated practices convinces me that with a proper approach to this feminine matrix,one can gain access to what I understand as the spiritual core of Ogboni,Ifa and Gelede.The literature I have read suggests that the idea of spiritual practices being rooted in a women's mystery-mystery being not simply absence of information but a numinous, transcendental reality in the sense in which you describe awo- might not be prominent in terms of widely accessible theory and practice of spiritual disciplines.The subject seems to exist more in terms of obscure but venerated conceptions,as in its relationship to Yoruba kingship and in terms of secret knowledge,as in the relationship between the babalawo and odu.
The Diaspora seems to be more proactive in cultivating this aspect of the tradition as a distinctive discipline as evident in developments from Cuba in which Victor Betancourt developed a Gelede society, described by Carolyn Watson in "Citizenship,Religion and Revolution on Cuba" (PhD thesis Univ.of New Mexico,2009) in relation to the worship of "Igba Iwa,the beginning and the end of all life" and the account of initiation into Odu in Falokun Fatunmbi's practice,an initiation I understood is administered by his wife.The initiation also seems to be shrouded in secrecy.
The whole secrecy issue around the conceptions of aje and Awon Iya Wa as demonstrations of what is described in terms similar to the female focused conceptions of witchcraft evident in the history of that concept is not something I find tenable.In my journey so far in the world's spiritual traditions I conclude that to avoid presenting information on this subject is tantamount to cheating Africans and the world of information about vital perspectives on a particular form of spirituality. I am also convinced that esoteric knowledge in as much as it does not emerge through transmission between human beings,can be accessed depending on determination and access to particular strategies.To that effect I am developing my own techniques for initiation into the feminine matrix composed of the relationships between Ille (Earth),Odu,Awon Iya Wa and the concept of aje.
Theory and Practice:Study of Myth
I am doing this through a grounding in theory and a development of practice.In terms of theory I am proceeding through a line by line analysis of the pivotal ese Ifa(Ifa poem) in which Iya Agba,the venerable aged woman descends into the earth inside a forest,living in a calabash constituted in its interoir by four smaller calabashes within which are to be found natural substances that evoke the presence of four representative Orisa.I interpret this myth as central for appreciating the character of this calabash-Igba Odu-as a cosmic symbol and magical artifact.
Practice: Visualisation, Meditation and Cultivating a Relationship with Ille,the Earth
In terms of practice I am proceeding through developing a series of meditations to enable one take advantage of the ideas and access to power and knowledge that the conception of the Igba Iwa/Igba Odu (I am still trying to find out if they are different) makes possible.Along with the mental focus represented by meditation and visualisation,I would like to develop an approach consisting of cultivating an intimate relationship with the earth as an entity and with natural forms in general.My experience with nature spirituality in Benin convinces me that access to cognitive acceleration through the concentrations of energy and centres of consciousness represented by particular trees, groves and forest locations could l prove priceless.
My understanding of such concentrations of power in nature suggests that they are not very visible in societies where natural forms do no exist in their pristine nature but I have seen one such grove in a park in London East Finchley, and another such grove of trees at England's Avebury.Fatumnbi's conception of Odu in his essay "The Ifa Concept of History" on his website suggests ways of harmonising Western and African nature spiritualities and their related philosophies of nature and associated practices.A study of modern Western Paganism,Wicca and witchcraft is certainly illuminating in this regard.
Erecting a Foundation for Self Initiation and Self Training in Ifa
I am also convinced that with access to such a complex of theory and practice one is in a position to erect a structure for self training as an Ifa babalawo.With a consistent sequence of initiations into the spiritual intelligences behind Ifa and a careful study of its literature,one should be able to eventually ascertain for oneself if it is possible to perceive human realities through supra-intellectual knowledge and effect changes therein, which is how I would summarise the goal of divination.
Forthcoming: Fundamentals of building your own Ogboni illedi and constructing and consecrating your edan ogboni
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-Africa Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin.
For current archives, visit http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
For previous archives, visit http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue-
unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
No comments:
Post a Comment