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Alafia! Peace!
Ase! Ase! Ase!

 

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The House of the Mysteries of Orisa
The Voice of the Emese and the Isoro Traditional Council of Chiefs

 
   
 
         

 

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of the Emese,
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and Repository of IFA

 

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Orisa Obatala

Lord of The White Cloth

Mo juba awo Obatala.
Iwo ni Baba Orisha.
Iwo ni Orisha Julo Nase.
Iwo ni Oluwa Awo Ori.
Iwo ni Oluwa Awo Ogbogba.
Iwo ni Oluwa Awo Mimo.
Iwo ni Oluwa Awo Alafia.
Iwo ni Oluwa Awo Ti Abo ati
Ako Ipilese.

I humble myself before the mystery of Obatala.
You are the Father of the Orisha.
You are the Most Powerful Orisha.
You are the Owner of the Mystery of
Consciousness.
You are the Lord of the Mystery of Balance and Equality.
You are the Owner of the Mystery of Purity.
You are the Owner of the Mystery of Peace.
You are the Owner of the Mystery of the Feminine and the Masculine Principles.

In reality, nothing new has been created since the beginning. There is only the Ase, and through its constant movement, reorganization, and realignment is made manifest the endless expressions of the Womb of Infinite Possibility. Orisha Obatala is one of the divine beings called into existence directly by Olofi-dumare. The name Olofi is used more in Santeria than in Yoruba. But both cosmogonies believe that Obatala was among the first heavenly beings to manifest in the Ase. Before Obatala was commissioned to reorganize this part of the Ase, the earth was ruled by, “...the female deity Olokun who ruled over the vast expanses of water and wild marshes, a grey region with no living things in it, either creatures of the bush or vegetation.”

The place where Obatala first set foot on planet earth is universally agreed by practitioners of Ifa to be the city of Ile-Ife in Yorubaland, Nigeria, West Africa. It is here that Obatala began the work of organizing the form of the human being based upon the wisdom of Olofi-dumare. Olofi-dumare apportioned part of His Ase to Obatala who in turn fashioned the human beings and then called upon Olodumare to come and breathe life into them, which Olodumare did. Not only did Obatala fashion the human beings, but this sentient spiritual force also authored the blueprint for the ecosystem that would govern and sustain all life in this region of the Ase.

Obatala is known as the King of the White Cloth, as he is always dressed in impeccable white clothes. He is a symbol of peace and purity. He is also the father of mankind and the messenger of Olofi. ...in Nigeria he is also known as Orisha-nla.

Orisha Obatala is believed to control the mind and all thought, hence the expression,

Iwo ni Oluwa Awo Ori
You are the Owner of the Mysteries of the Head
[head here representing the entire experience of Consciousness and Awareness]

Iba se Orisa Obatala!

Homage to Orisa Obatala!

 

 

  A Service of Ile Awo Orisa since 2001 Last Revised February 18, 2019