Homage To The One Who Sends and to those who are sent! Homage to Orisa and Egun!
Ifokanbale Omo Orisa! Peace of Mind from Olodumare Children of Orisa!
Ire ati Ayo!
Good Tidings and Joyfulness!
I honor your gods, I drink from your wells, I bring an undefended heart to our meeting place. I have no cherished outcomes, I will not negotiate by withholding, and I am not subject to disappointment. I am here! And They are all here with me! Ase! Ase! Ase!
Lord of my Ancestors, I have no knowledge except that which is given to me through inspiration, that which is sent to me by way of an angel, and that which I am blessed to acquire by way of some discipline. I thank you for guiding my words, my thoughts, and my actions so that all that I say and do may serve to point the seekers in the right direction. Ase! Ase! Ase!
Orisa Orunmila
The Prophet of Ifa
Mo juba awo Orunmila.
Iwo ni Iko Olodumare.
Iwo ni Olupilese Awo Odu Ifa.
Iwo ni Ifa.
Iwo ni Oluwa Awo Igba Owo-Eyo.
Iwo ni Ohun Idarisi.
Iwo ni Oluwa Asiri Iwa.
Iwo ni Orisha Julo Loye.
I humble myself before the mystery of Orunmila.
You are the Messenger of Olodumare.
You are the Author of the Mysteries of Odu Ifa.
You are Ifa.
You are the Owner of the Mysteries of the Cowry Shell.
You are the Voice of Fate.
You are the Owner of the Secrets of Existence.
You are the Most Intelligent Orisha.
This year’s Ifa Festival will commence on the 13th of July 2018. This will usher in our ODUN TUNTUN (NEW YEAR). This year's festival is the Ifa year that celebrates the union of OSUN SENGESE and ORUNMILA as recorded in Odu Ogbe Iwori (Ogbewehin), the 19th Odu in the Sacred Order of the Odus established by Orunmila. The significance of this year's celebration cannot be overstated. It comes around every Ogorun Ogun (100 cyclical years), when the Iboji pada di ibere (when the grave became the point of beginning/existence.) This Ifa Ogorun Ogun requires that the temple of OSUN is to be inbuilt in the temple of ORUNMILA, This symbolises the union of the Orisas with Esu Laalu to be moved at the entrance of the temple. It is a time when Osun rules on the waves of Yemoja to bless and prosper the devotees.
The Yoruba believe in Divination. They believe that Ifa is the source of all knowledge and that the Orisha Orunmila (also called by the praise name IFA) is the keeper of this knowledge. It is through divination that man is told what must be done to change things that are negative to things that are positive. Orunmila is deemed the Prophet of Yoruba spiritual traditions and culture. It was he who developed and expounded upon the system of esoteric worship known to this day as Ifa.
Through the study of human nature and divine nature, Orunmila saw that dual levels of potentiality existed. Through him we understand that the study of animate and inanimate, manifest and unmanifested, [‘chaos’ and ‘order’], visible and invisible worlds leads to fundamental understandings of the self-ontology, and that these fundamental understandings bring about the evolution of human spirit, which, in turn, encourages divine behavior, worldly progression, and expanded cosmology (Isopo).
Orisa Orunmila’s physical origins are shrouded in ancient legend, however, it is believed that he was born of humble West African parents. To the people of the land he was clearly recognized as a divine child, and although poor and crippled, he expressed from the onset divine wisdom and attributes. Orunmila grew to be known as ‘the little man with the big head.’ His great intelligence superceded all known teachings and his divine nature was seen as a blessing of the angelic forces. In the translation of his name is the meaning ‘only Heaven knows the way to salvation'.
It is important to understand that the ‘flesh and blood’ Orunmila, whose influence is evidenced even in ‘...ancient Khamet /Egypt’, in the ‘...Essence community of the Judeo-pre-Christian era’, and in the spiritual traditions of most Indigenous People’s of this world, was not the originator of the wisdom that he spoke. Ifa is from the ‘Beginning’ and is a part of the Consciousness of Olodumare. The guidelines set down by Orunmila are ‘keys’ to closing the gap between Ori (earthly consciousness) and Iponri (heavenly consciousness).
Iba se Orisa Orunmila! (Homage to Orisa Orunmila!)
As always, it is my hope that the Isoro traditional Council of Chiefs will share with me, and I with you, more information about this special occasion and about Orunmila, the historical person and the sentient energetic matrix.
If you would like to donate to the Ifa Festival or to any of the Ifa Temples, Shrines, School, Electronic Communications Center Initiative, or general funds, please contact me by email and I will provide you with the bank transfer information so that you can make your donation directly and securely.
Modupe!
I hope you will reflect on this message and share your comments and questions with me for our future Posts on this and other topics.
Aajiirebi! May the Unblemished Cloth of Orunmila Continue to cloth us with the Wisdom Of the Here and the Hereafter!
Ase! Ase! Ase!
Click on the Contact Us link above or below to email your comments or questions.
Ki Olodumare, Orisa, ati Egun fifun e ni Itona, Imoye, ati Opo Ire!
My Olodumare, Orisa, and Ancestors bestow on you Guidance, Wisdom, and Abundant Blessings!
