What do you gouys think of the western world's surge of interest in african traditional religions, especially in the ifa/orisha religion. So many people, especailly our fellow africans, living in diaspora are seeking to reconnect with their roots. They claim christianity was actaully the religion of the slave masters, they now wish to recoonect with original african religions as they re-affirm their identity. After all, all around the world, the people of the indigenious countries practise their own religions - chinse practise their buddhism, indians practise hinduism, eastern europeans pratise islam, why not we africans. are we doomed to rmin perpetaul slaves, if not in reality, but perhaps in our mentality,


Floor's open, comments please

ABORU ABOYE ABOSISE BARA MI AGBONMIREGUN BARA PETU
ELA RO WA ELA RO WA ELA RO WA
IFA BIO BA NLO S'OKO KI O DE ORUNMILA AJANA BI O BA NLO S'ODO KO BO
BI O BA NBE NIWORAN NIBI OJUMO RERE GBE MO WA KI O RO WA DANDAN
ILAKOSINMOBA KI GBOHUN OMO RE KI O MA TARA JEJE
TATI WERE NI TEKUTE ILE
ERE GEGE NI TEKU AGEGE
IFA DAKUN WA GBEMI OMO OYARA YARA
IFA DAKUN WA GBEMI OMO OYORO YORO
IFA DAKUN WA GBEMI OMO OKORO BI ENI DA IDE

IRO NI WON NPA IFA O LE PARUN
EKE NI WON NSE IFA O LE PARUN
ATELEWO LABA'LA A O MENI TO KO
EKE NI N WON NSE IFA O LE PARUN

THEY ARE TELLING LIES IFA WILL NOT DIE
THEY ARE TELLING LIES IFA WILL NOT DIE
THE LINES ON THE PALM, NOBODY KNOWS WHO WROTE
THEY ARE TELLING LIES IFA SHALL NEVER DIE
IFA NI N O MASIN O ELEDUMARE SA NI N O MA SIN
EMI KI SE OPONU AGBOGUN OBI WOGBO
EDUMARE SA NI N O MA SIN

IFA IS YORUBA TRUE RELIGION

well said!!


IRE OOO

ERIWO YA ERIWO FON ARA MI ISOROWO OPE ENLE OOOOOO EN EN EN EN

ERIN JA E KO MERIN
EFON JA E KO MEFON SO
AGBO WA JA TAN
EWA MU SO L'OJA EJIGBOROMEKUN
ADIFA FUN ORUNMILA
NI IJO TI IKU GB'ODO
TI YI O SI GB'OKO
ADIFA FUN ORUNMILA
TI YI O DI OLUMOGBA
TI YI O SI GB'OMO RE
IFA DAKUN GBA MI JE N RAYE
AGBANI
O BA GBA MI
AGBANI

ELA ABORU ABOYE ABOSISE
OGBO ATO ASURE ELA IWORIWOFUN

Hi again Idinrete

Love the message, but perhaps some interpretation of the passage for our non-naija/non-yoruba speaking readers

tega78:

So many people, especailly our fellow africans, living in diaspora are seeking to reconnect with their roots. They claim christianity was actaully the religion of the slave masters, they now wish to recoonect with original african religions as they re-affirm their identity.

Ehen!So they are finally fed up with towing the whiteman's line/lie,eh?Dem don dey taya for clinging on to the slavemaster race's skirts?Wonderful!The black race is finally coming back home,their true spiritual home.
The ones back home are still in bondage and darkness,though.They are still towing the slavemaster race's LIES and clinging on to his religion.
They will wake up sooner or later.

ERIWO YA ERIWO FON ARA MI ISOROWO OPE ENLE OOOOOO EN EN EN EN---------GREETINGS

NJE BENI BABALAWO TEMI NSENU RERE KIFA-----HERE IS HOW MY FATHER OF MYSTERY PRAISE IFA

EJIOGBE -------THE FIRST BOOK OF IFA
ERIN JA E KO MERIN SO-------------------------------ELEPHANT BREAKS AND WAS NOT PUT ON LEASH
EFON JA E KO MEFON SO----------------------------BUFFALO BREAKS AND WAS NOT PUT ON LEASH
AGBO WA JA TAN-------------------------------------NOW THE RAM BREAKS
EWA MU SO L'OJA EJIGBOROMEKUN--------- IT WAS PUT ON LEASH AT THE MARKET OF EJIGBOROMEKUN
ADIFA FUN ORUNMILA---------------------------CAST THE DIVINATION FOR ORUNMILA
NI IJO TI IKU GB'ODO---------------------------ON THE DAY DEATH TOOK OVER THE RIVER
TI YI O SI GB'OKO---------------------------------AND ALSO TOOK OVER THE FARM
ADIFA FUN ORUNMILA-----------------------------ALSO CAST DIVINATION FOR ORUNMILA
TI YI O DI OLUMOGBA------------------------------WHEN HE WOULD BECOME THE SAVIOUR
TI YI O SI GB'OMO RE------------------------------AND HE WILL SAVE HIS CHILDREN
IFA DAKUN GBA MI JE N RAYE---------------------IFA PLEASE SAVE ME LET ME BE FREE
AGBANI------------------------------------------------THE SAVIOUR
O BA GBA MI-----------------------------------------SAVE ME
AGBANI------------------------------------------------THE SAVIOUR

ELA ABORU ABOYE ABOSISE
OGBO ATO ASURE ELA IWORIWOFUN

ABOUT TIME TOO.

i have prayed my way out of this odua curse, i am no longer under the influence or control of ifa by the power of the blood of Jesus, People esp yorubas need to realise that they need to break the accencetoral bond with all these demons s, deliverance, thats what u need

MP007:

i have prayed my way out of this odua curse, i am no longer under the influence or control of ifa by the power of the blood of Jesus, People esp yorubas need to realise that they need to break the accencetoral bond with all these demons s, deliverance, thats what u need

CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHAT AND WHERE IS THE ODUA CURSE?
WHAT INFLUENCE OR CONTROL OF IFA WERE YOU UNDER?
CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHAT IS DEMONIC ABOUT ANCESTORAL BOND WITH IFA

YOU NEED DELIVERANCE FROM YOUR BIGOTRY

the person that started caving human being out of woods or moulding is one of Adams son,when he killed his brother,he was afraid because nothing like dealth has ever happen b4.he was confused and doesnt know what to do,the satan appears to him and teach him what to do to appease his borther's dealth.the satan taught him to mould the image of his brother and bowl for the image everyday to appease him,unknowingly to him,he becomes an idol worshipper.God has said anyone who bowl for anything except him would be counted among the unbeliever in the hereafter.

ifa,orisa,sango,all are human and not God.Pls dont be brain wash.

there are so many things that God has done for you,look at those things and stop worshipping any idols.

I dont love to comment about religion, but once in a while I think
1. Jesus probably never died for the black man
2. The whiteman that introduceed us to christianity is not as religious

---

Conclusion

---

Why am I wasting my time?

doyenn:

the person that started caving human being out of woods or moulding is one of Adams son,when he killed his brother,he was afraid because nothing like dealth has ever happen before.he was confused and doesnt know what to do,the satan appears to him and teach him what to do to appease his borther's dealth.the satan taught him to mould the image of his brother and bowl for the image everyday to appease him,unknowingly to him,he becomes an idol worshipper.God has said anyone who bowl for anything except him would be counted among the unbeliever in the hereafter.

ifa,orisa,sango,all are human and not God.Please don't be brain wash.

there are so many things that God has done for you,look at those things and stop worshipping any idols.

can you please substantiate your assertion and provide the proof where you got all this stuffs from.
what is the name of the adam's son that started carving human beings out of the wood,

I remember a song from a couple of years back, went "so amazing how this world was made. I wonder if God is a woman" and personally, I haven't stopped wondering since.


After taking a couple of years to ponder upon the origin of life and the reasons why, every conclusion led me the more to realise that the search for life's origins led to the derivation of theological theorems in various cultures that gave birth to the phenomenon today known as God.


That this "God" is an idea that came to man in an attempt to explain his raison d'etre. To fulfill his desire of finding meaning.


Now everything that seems to supercede the abilities or understanding of man was referred to God through prayers and various other forms of spiritual consultations including fasting and tourisms or if you wish, pilgrimages to holy places.


So coming to this end, realising this God is but a creation from figments of the human imagination in an attempt at self definition and also in search of a shoulder for solace when all else fails, I decide that it may just be one luxury I really couldn't afford at that point in my life.


Anyway, at the end of the day, as we grow wiser, the truth is everyone needs God and everyone has a right to choose a god. (check it up in the declaration of human rights).
The buddhist deep in his heart prays for the hindu and muslim to one day see the light. In the same vein, the jew hopes the christian and the pagan would someday turn back and seek eternal life by the Torah.


Well, It occurred some while last year as I went in search of various groups and individuals of varying religious inclinations. I stumbled upon a vast number as I have never imagined worshipping forgotten gods.


I personally have always found comfort and solace in water. At the beach, when it rains, when I cry, I feel some kind of divine connection.
So I consulted the oracle which told me that it was only the calling of my Orisa; Osun goddess of beauty, fertility and amity. Known to the greeks as Aphrodite.


PS: God in general is an African concept. Abraham, Jesus, Moses Noah. All are Africans.

Just the same way the "white" man takes crude oil from Nigeria and Imports Petrol, so did they take Christianity and Judaism from Africa and modernised it into what they now imported into Africa during colonization.

The only true religion that isn't directly of African origin is Islam. Yet Islam itself is just a remix of Judaism and Christianity by an Arab MC on a mountain.


So at the end of the day, Christianity, Judaism, Islam are all our religions. We just have to cleanse them of the idolatory corruption they have been tainted with.


By the way, as for the individual who talked about idol worship, the Image of that white guy on your cross? What do you call it? Those many pictures. Please stop endorsing European idols and condemning African ones.

For you to really know that we are the true owners of these ways of worship as handed down by God, look at the white people. They are already tired of God. They cannot sustain any of these religions because it is not really their culture. Only the Arabs still manage to hold on to Islam because the created it themselves.

But see the way Africa has rooted itself deep in Christianity, you will realise that Jehovah has come back home.

All religions of African origin are true including Christianity and Judaism.

well said, denex

MP007, you're a disgrace to your roots. What do you mean "Oodua curse", what kind of pschological babble is that. So you believe the blood of some mythical jew is gonna save you. Save you from some imaginaed demons? White people brought "your religion" to Africa and tried to wipe out our history and I'm sick and tired of Black folks carrying on bout jesus this, blood of jesus that( my mom included). I still haven't had time to study our religious history but at least I'm rid of the bullsh#t brainwashing I was subjected to growing up.

I started a topic about the following question but "born again christians" disappear like david copperfield when you need them.
What happened to our ancestors who didn't hear the Jesus message before the crackas started putting us in shackles, since the bible says you're going to hell if you don't accept him as your bla bla bla bla BLA

God bless you O tega78. I wonder why most people refuse to understand that what is ours is ours. I'm a true follower of Ifa Religion.

agba ato

Christianity is not only the religion of the slave masters , it is also a watered down version of the Nawaupic Rites, as well as the religion of the Yorubas' refered too as ibile tradition.

The Jew, Christians and Muslim got their religion from the Ancient Tamarean, as well as the yorubas.

For example , In the bible Jesus said in my father's house there are many rooms , they got this from the yoruba Deity (God) of War , Ogun (Olumakin, Ajagbodorigi, Oluirin, olona)

In the yoruba tradition , as part of the oriki (praises) for ogun we have "Ògún Awo, Onile kangun kangun Òrun."  meaning the mystery of ogun , the owner of many houses in the realm of the ancestors (called heaven by the cauasians).

Also in the ifa prayer of praise , we will find the same thing "Iba Ogun awo, Onile kangu-kangu l'ode Orun
Homage to the Mystery of the Spirit of Iron, The owner of innumerable homes in the Realm of the Ancestors"

It should be noted that the attributes and principles of God of Iron of the Yoruba was taking from Ancient Tamarean deity "Sakhmet" who was also a God of War, a daughter of "Re" pronounced Ray. And she sat (ruled) over the element iron just like the yoruba god Ogun awo , (oluirin)

Another example is the Yoruba dictionary created by the International Bible society includes the word Ifayabale. In traditional Yoruba culture Ifayabale describes an Ifa ritual used for settling disputes. It comes from the elision ifa iya baba ile meaning the wisdom of the fathers and mothers of the earth. It is translated in the Bible society dictionary to mean the ascension of our Lord and Master Jesus Christ. Because Ifa is clearly many thousands of years older than Christianity the definition is either deliberated manipulated or profoundly uniformed.

@ All

Even though the Yoruba Deities (Gods) are powerful, we must look higher to the Neteru who gave birth to the Orisha.
It is then that will we know , our ancestors and their greatness , and who we really are.  

http://www.awostudycenter.com/Articles/Ancient_Kemetic_Medicine.htm

I hope you find the link helpful and interestinng.

ire.

Ifa mo gboro kan. won ni oun joye ilesanmi.
Ejiogbe baba Ifa
Orunmila baba opele
Orunmila baba wa
Je kaye wa dun kale o.

but Jesus get superior power.

na u give am? jesus na jewish man, u be african.

na from experience i dey talk. i don rock the 2 powers. Jesus too much.

i no get time. i am currently religionless ( not atheist ).

mr ferlie:

Ifa mo gboro kan. won ni oun joye ilesanmi.
Ejiogbe baba Ifa
Orunmila baba opele
Orunmila baba wa
Je kaye wa dun kale o.

but Jesus get superior power.

now we can start the debate, i would have loved us to start the debate from the beginning of your jesus, anyway lets take it from your "but"

can you provide evidential proof of the superiority of your jesus

mr ferlie:

na from experience i dey talk. i don rock the 2 powers. Jesus too much.

firstly, what is your experience of ifa

concerning experience, My father was an Ifa priest. so there is nothing, i mean nothing, about it that i wouldnt know.
but i chose not my father`s way bc of some personal reasons. Ifa is powerful. but when it comes to Jesus, my brother, the difference is clear. jesus impact in my career, moral life, spiritual upliftment is just awesome.

mr ferlie:

concerning experience, My father was an Ifa priest. so there is nothing, i mean nothing, about it that i wouldnt know.
but i chose not my father`s way bc of some personal reasons. Ifa is powerful. but when it comes to Jesus, my brother, the difference is clear. jesus impact in my career, moral life, spiritual upliftment is just awesome.

just out of curiosity what is the title of your Dad i mean his position in Ifa community if you dont want to reveal his full name on the thread.
your father might be ifa priest but did you actually study Ifa under him or under any other Babalawo.
were you initiated?
what is the Odu that birthed you?

as you have said choosing your own way is personal to you likewise to some other people that have chosen Ifa for their own personal reasons.
to some other people when it comes to Ifa there is no comparison of it with jesus with the way Ifa had impacted their career, morally, spiritually, financially and in all other facets of their lives.

the fact that your father is an Ifa priest does not mean that you know everything about ifa . I am sorry to say, even your Dad  does not know everything about Ifa. personally I dont know everything about Ifa because Ifa encompasses all the knowledge and Wisdoms of this world.

mr ferlie:


Ifa is powerful.

in what sense is Ifa powerful to you?

IFA ba agbomiragun is a true yoruba religion with solutions of todays problem,believe it or not.pointer is the yoruba language

I do not bother myself about negative comment on my religion anymore neither do I condemn other religions. Whoever talked of Ifa not being on the same level with other religions might be right to some extent. This is because we've not been able to take it further than what it was originally known to be. However, this does not take the importance and pureness away from this true way of life.

Rather than defend what is widely held about Ifa, though erroneously, majorly fellow Believers; we should look towards making Ifa easily accessible to all and sundry. That is a first timer to an online Ifa site should be able to know his path in life with or without an Oluwo or Ifa Priest to guide him.

This is achievable and I hope the challenge should be in this direction. Let us visualise the Ile'dus (Odu) as a single computer byte. We have 16 of them from Eji Ogbe to Ofu Meji, and eventually the 256 leading through Ogbe'yeku to Ofu'se. I am looking at a situation where we take it further than the 256 with combination of the main 16 Ile'dus with the 240 Sub-Ile'dus. We will arrive at a massive 3,840 Ile'dus which will definitely address the different traits and characters exhibited by human beings today. My comparison of the Ifa Ile'dus with bytes in computer is for ease of identification. We simply store a single Ile'du with all its attributes and related characteristics as a file on cumputer. Anybody with divination relating to for example Ika'gbemi (Ika-Ogbe) will just access Ika'gbemi's file on computer and read out the contents and warnings where he may likely find rhythm like

Ika gbemi n o j'oba,
Ika ogbemi n o j'oba,
Ogbemi ko gbemi,
N o j'oba ilu bamti bamti
D'ifa fun Onikola
Asa won logbe gbowo,
E e da le ki e ma lo,
Bi Alagbede ba pa owo a daale
E e da le ki e ma lo,
Atewe atagba e ba ni laja se ogun
Ajasegun lawa wa.

Guys lets do this thing.

Barkay

Ogbo Ato e

o seun fun Ikagbemi yen

Thank you Idinrete, I'm a bit busy now. But before close of work I'll still say something sweet because
Didun didun lamboyin,
Ile afara oyin kin koro,
nigbogbo igba ni yio ma dun fun wa o
Ase.

The main problem with african indigenous religions that hinder there wide acceptance,is not only due to the fact that there is no written scriptures through which to express their theology and phylosophy,but most importantly that they have no "EXOTERIC" teachings to draw in the crowd.Note that Jesus used exoteric teachings to draw attention to his movement,and that teaching is what orthodox christianity is based upon today.
Ifa religion is completely based on "ESOTERIC" teachings which are meant only for initiates,and this seriously limited it's spread among the yorubas.
Jesus also gave "ESOTERIC" teachings,but to a selected few in the inner caucus of his movement.Tiny tidbits of such teachings spilled out whenever he preached to his disciples,and that was why they were unable to understand him,but the members of his inner caucus knew what he was talking about.
Most ancient meditarraenian mystery religions operated this way,in two fold teachings,exoteric to draw in the crowd,and esoteric teachings of deeper mysteries for the few chosen initiates.

The question now is this,"What are the exoteric teachings of the IFA religion,directed at the common man?"

Hello Jagunlabi

Firstly, i am not an authority on Ifa but a mere OMO-AWO[student]. like I said earlier in one of my replies, Ifa encompasses all teachings of life both spiritually, morally, physically, scientifically, medically and et al.

With the little knowledge i have of ifa, i will like to share and to learn from other guys on this forum,

In western world they always talk about "ANGER MANAGEMENT" to the extent that people will often resort to therapy and all other forms of programme to control their agressive behaviours. to us as Yoruba people, this is not a new phenomenon or a moral teaching that was based solely on other religious sects but a lot of our people do not know what Ifa has to say on this. Prejudice and bigotry has clouded some peoples mind and eyes and have refused to examine or inquire about the teachings of Ifa.

I dont want to bore people too much let us just examine and talk about ANGER---IBINU in Yoruba.
we all know that "anger" leads to destruction and all other vices.

there are a lot of Ifa verses that talk about anger. the one I will like to share is from OGBE-YONU [OGBE-OGUNDA]

Nje beni Babalawo temi nsenu rere kifa, eri ona ti Ifa gba ko to ma je be lona ti be

Inu bibi ko da nkan fun ni, Anger will not give you anything
Suuru ni baba iwa, Patience is the best form of behaviour
Agba to ni suuru, somebody that has patience
oun gbogbo loni, he has got everything
Adifa fun Orunmila---------------------cast divination for Orunmila BA
Baba nlo re fe Iya, He was going to marry SUFFERING
Ti nse Aremo Olu Iwo, the first child of the King Of Iwo

STORY, ABRIDGED FORM
IYA was the first child and the daughter of the King of Iwo and was at the stage to get married.
All deities like Sango, Ogun, and other deities went to Iwo to seek the hand of Iya in marriage. Iya mistreated them, was very rude and meted out the worst behaviour you can think of on to them. They all failed to marry Iya because they couldnt withstand Iya, they all ran away in their first day. at the turn of Orunmila, before he set for Iwo, he had been warned that no matter what treatment that Iya subject him to he should have patience and to endure. He was severely warned that he will be provoked greatly.
when Orunmila got to Iwo, Iya did not greet him, she did not welcome him, she hissed at him, called Orunmila all sorts of name, she did not give Orunmila any food or entertain him. Orunmila just ignore her. first day, second day, till about the seventh day. To cap it all, Iya took Orunmila's Opon-Ifa[divination board] and used it to cook, she took Orunmila's Pouch [APO OMINIJEKUN] away. this infuriated Orunmila greatly but he refused to react to her behaviour having been warned not to react or to show any form of anger.

At the end of the day the King noticed that Orunmila did not react or show any sign of anger to her daughter. Orunmila's behaviour gave him the assurance that he will take goog care of his daughter if she becomes Orunmila's wife. All along, unknowingly Iya's behaviour had been a test for all the prospective suitors. The King now called Orunmila and gave Iya to him as his wife and he divided his property into two and gave Orunmila half of it. Orunmila bacame rich and he had Iya as his wife.

Moral lesson, ENDURANCE, PATIENCE, PERSEVERANCE

Language lesson, most of our people do not know the meaning of IYAWO[WIFE] this is where the word originated.

IYAWO means IYA- IWO, SUFFERING OF IWO


END OF THE VERSE OF OGBE-YONU
Ijo lo wa njo ayo lo wa nyo, Orunmila then began to dance and to celebrate

Nje Iya kan Iya kan, Suffering, the suffering
Ti Ifa je niwo lo wa d'aya, this suffering that Ifa experienced at Iwo became his wife
Iya kan Iya kan lo wa diyawo, suffering became Wife

ELA BORU ELA BOYE ELA BOSISE
OGBO ATO ASURE ELA IWORIWOFUN