"Ayajo Asuwada"
The Great Poetic Prayer
from the
Yoruba Origin Ifa System of Knowledge
Asuwa, the principle of unity dramatized in "Ayajo Asuwada" in action in an ant colony
Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju
Compcros
Comparative Cognitive Processes and Systems
"Exploring Every Corner of the Cosmos in Search of Knowledge"
The poetic prayer "Ayajo Asuwada" from the Yoruba origin Ifa system of knowledge is magnificent for its scope of ideas and the weaving of those ideas into a seamless musical flow represented by a broad variety of characters, from divine creators to natural terrestrial phenomena, from the hairs on a human head to the growth of grass to fish in the ocean, all subsumed by the image of dew falling from the sky, a thread running through a universe of possibilities, a universe dramatized by the poem and reflecting the cosmos, as the cosmos is encapsulated by Earth.
Even though the poem is centred on developments on Earth, the correlation of those occurrences with cosmogonic progression-cosmic origination and development- makes it easy to imagine the poem's central principle of "asuwa", which may be translated as "togetherness," in terms of the developments of cosmos.
I first came across "Ayajo Asuwada" through a selection from it in Babatunde Lawal's The Gelede Spectacle.The beauty of his translation inspired me to seek out Lawal's source for the poem, leading me to Akinsola Akiwowo's "Contributions To the Sociology of Knowledge From an African Oral Poetry," International Sociology 1986; 1: 343 and the storm of responses inspired by the paper in relation to other publications by Akiwowo, a range of reactions that can easily be observed by searching "Akinsola Akiwowo" in Google and such search systems as Google Scholar and archives like Semantic Scholar and academia.edu.
These reactions are centred on Akiwowo's project of indegenising sociology, if I get the term right. I understand this as involving developing sociological theory from ideas within the ideas developed within the cognitive history, the quest for knowledge within particular societies and efforts to understand societies in terms of how they see themselves, if I have understood Akiwowo's project adequately.
My interest here is in Ayajo Asuwada as a prayer, an appeal to cosmic powers to bestow the blessing of togetherness evident in various forms of well being on oneself.
The beauty of the prayer transcends any doctrinal affiliation and anyone who chooses to use it may fruitfully situate any terms they wish for those in the prayer they do not wish to use.
I break the prayer into units that might not reflect Akiwowo's paragraphing method but which help distinguish various thematic clusters.
I begin with Lawal's translation that inspired my interest in the poem.
Ayajo Asuwada Selection by Babatunde Lawal
"Dews pour lightly,pour lightly,
Dews pour heavily,pour heavily,
Dews pour heavily,
So that you may pour lightly.
Thus Ifa [divination] was consulted for Olofin Otete
Who would pour myriads of existence upon the earth.
......
One particle of dust became
A basketful measure of dust
.....
Olofin Otete it was who carried a basketful of dust to the earth
Olofin Otete used a basketful of dust
To create the land at Ife.
Myriads of goodness took the shape of togetherness.
Strands of hair came together to occupy the head.
....
The clumping of trees became the forest,
The clumping of eruwa grasses became the savannah
...
Bees always cluster together
Eeran leaves grow in a bunch.
The broom exists as a bundle.
...
The creator of togetherness, I invoke you
Let myriads of togetherness come to me."
Translated by Babatunde Lawal from Akinsola Akiwowo "Contributions To the Sociology of Knowledge From an African Oral Poetry" in Babatunde Lawal, The Gelede Spectacle : Art,Gender and Social Harmony in an African Culture. Seattle : University of Washington Press,1996.21.
The complete poem as presented by Akiwowo:
Teeming heads congregate at the grove of Ogun.
The anthill is the morere of the eerun.
Asuwa is the morere of humankind.
It was with the principle of asuwa that the Heavens were established.
It was with the principle of asuwa that the Earth was created.
In asuwa forms all things descended upon the Earth activated by purpose.
Complete and actuated for a purpose was iwa at its first emanations.
It was by asuwa that Ori was formed in order to be the Father of all.
Perfect, complete, and actuated for a purpose was iwa at first emanations.
For a set purpose was iwa when it poured down upon Earth.
Origun was the source of Oluiwaaye
While Baba-asemuegun-sunwon was the emanate of Oluiwaaye
Olofin Otete was the emanate of Baba-asemuegun-sunwon
Olofin Otete it was who used a basketful measure of dust particles to create the Earth
Olofin Otete it was who proscribed the cultivation of igbikugbin
In this Father's soil.
Igbinkugbin is death.
Igbinkugbin is loss.
Igbinkugbin is ewe-ina.
Igbinkugbin is yeesi.
Igbinkugbin is anragba leaf.
Igbinkugbin is Yemoro.
Olofin Otete carried the basket of soil particles
And created ile ife (terra firma).
All goodness together formed an asuwa.
When the assembly of hairs was complete,
They took over the head.
When the assembly of hairs on the beard was complete,
They became ojontagiri.
When the clumping of trees was complete,
They became forests.
When the eruwa grasses were completely assembled,
They became savannah.
The agbon, when they assembled completely,
They uphold the roofing of a house.
When the ita assembled completely,
They covered the face of the Earth.
Girigiri is never absent
In the habitat of the aladi.
Girigiri is never absent
In the agiriyan of the eerun.
Alasuwada I invoke you
To send iwa-susu down
To bear to me all ire gbogbo (common good)
Origun, begot Baba Asemuegun-sunwon,
Olu-iwaaye begat Baba Asemuegun-sunwon,
Baba Asemuegun-sunwon begat Olofin Otete.
Otete, you are Alasuwada.
Asuwa:
Asuwa:
Permit all gbogbo ire compressed together to issue forth toward me.
Asuwa:
Asuwa:
Asuwa is what the oyin are.
Asuwa is what the ado bees are.
The eeran leaves grow in asuwa.
Asuwa is what broomsticks form;
It is in asuwa that the eeran leaves grow in the aare.
Asuwa is what the elegiri birds form;
It is the coming together of a multitude of men
That we know as warfare.
It is as asuwa that one encounters the grassland,
It is as asuwa that locusts invade a farmland.
Alasuwada, it is You I call
To send all goodness to me:
All forms of aisuwa, depart from me:
It is from Alasuwada that I emanate.
I am he who is begotten of Alasuwada.
In countless number, the yindinyin throngs their habitats;
In countless number, swarms the Yaya in the hills,
In several asuwa the termites colonise their mounds,
In several asuwa we encounter the ekunkun by the riverside.
It is as asuwa that we find the labelabe by the waterside.
It is as asuwa that we meet the oore in the swamp.
It is as asuwa that we behold the lamilami.
The leaf called adosusu is never found singly.
In asuwa - far as the eyes behold -
We encounter the Erimi tree.
In asuwa, we encounter the egbele fish at sea.
In asuwa - far as the eyes behold -
We encounter the crustaceans in the ocean.
In asuwa - far as the eyes can see -
We meet the eegun: Akaranba is the cognomen of eegun;
Which, when they feed in a school
All other fishes follow in their trail.
Origun Olu-iwa-aye.
Help me to achieve my goal.
Ela: you are the offspring of Alasuwada!
There is no Alasuwada like Origun!
Origun, you are Alasuwada! their trail.
The sediments of last year are found in the river.
Performing their sacrificial rites in the undergrowths.
Ela wooro-wayi!
Origun: come forth and collect sus-iwa-da for me.
Ela wooro-wayi!
You are the Alasuwada!
Dews pour lightly, pour lightly,
Dews pour heavily, pour heavily,
Dews pour heavily so that you may pour lightly.'
Thus Ifa was consulted for Olofin Otete.
Who would pour myriads of existences down upon the Earth
On the day he was to receive the ado of existence
From the hands of Olodumare;
On the day, he was to release
Existences on the Earth.
One particle of dust became
A basketful measure of dust.
A basketful measure of soil became the earthcrust.
Dews pouring lightly, pouring lightly
Were used in moulding our earthly home;
Dews pouring hearily, pouring heavily
Were used to mould the Earth.
So that ire-gbogbo may multiply upon it.
Ire-gbogbo took the shape of asuwa.
There is no luckless head in a companion of travellers.
For ire-gbogbo is in form of asuwa.
Yankangil 0 alone it was
Who strayed for a moment from his companion,
Was said to have stolen iru to eat
From Mother Olugamo's tray in Heaven.
Asuwa!
Asuwa!
Iiree mi.
Asuwa!
There is no luckless head in the domains of Ife.
It is not-being-in-tune-with-other-heads that is the problem.
Ire-gbogbo is in the form of asuwa.
Yet it is from the only-and-only-one Origun in Orun
That each earthly Ori branches,
Ire-gbogbo is in the form of asuwa.
If one ori improves
Its improvement will affect two hundred others.
1. Asekun-suwada nigba Iwa se.
2. Asuwa la fi da Ori tu se Baba won nigba Iwa se.
3. Origun, Asekun-suwada nigba Iwa gun.
4. Asuwada nigba ti Iwa ro.
From Akinsola A. Akiwowo "Contributions To the Sociology of Knowledge From an African Oral Poetry" International Sociology 1986; 1; 343-48.
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