It Is Not Wrong To Go Back For That Which You Have Forgotten Sankofa Sankofa can mean either the word in the Akan language of Ghana that translates in English to " reach back and get it" (san - to return; ko - to go; fa - to look, to seek and take) or the Asante Adinkra symbols of a bird with its head turned backwards taking an egg off its back, or of a stylized heart shape. It is often associated with the proverb, “Se wo were fi na wosankofa a yenkyi," which translates "It is not wrong to go back for that which you have forgotten. Metaphysical Lesson We must remember that when we are speaking of a force of power so immediately and atomically strong that we cannot come close to touching its outer layers, or we would burn up even in spirit. This is the power and force of Olodumare. This is why the mechanism of modes of behavior and symbolism of Odu Ifa teach us today and yester years about character because it is due to the development of our character, which conditions our spiritual selves and bodies to withstand the power of Olodumare. Therefore Orúnmìlà character became so conditioned that he was able to withstand the powerful emanations of Olodumare and live. In order for Olodumare to accept this conditioning or the rules It made Olodumare displayed “humility”. Osa Otua He that steps into the river Would know the depth of the water He that shouts a cry of help Would widen his eyes up the sky Cast divination for Orunmila On the day he was inquiring of the secrets of Olodumare Would I discover the secrets of everything on earth? He asked They told him to perform sacrifice But he should go and place his sacrifice at the beach Orunmila then performed the sacrifice He carried his sacrifice and made for the beach As he was about to place his sacrifice Olodumare had removed his cloth He was stark naked But the robust part of Olodumare’s buttocks is the Ocean As Olodumare inhales The ocean’s current would breeze off shore When he exhales The ocean current would breeze on shore Faa The breathes in and out of Olodumare Is the reason for the ocean’s current and movement? As Orunmila was about to place the sacrifice Olodumare became suspicious You Orunmila! Hinn, Orunmila answered Did you not see my secret? Olodumare asked I only saw the robust part of your buttocks Orunmila answered There is nothing you will not know henceforth Olodumare says Orunmila then started to dance and rejoice He was praising his Babalawos His Babalawos were praising Ifa He that shouts a cry for help Would widen his eyes to the sky Cast divination for Orunmila On the day he was inquiring of the secrets of Olodumare It is you and we Orunmila and Olodumare They are equal status It is you and we… Ela moyin Aboru, Aboye, Abosise, There is a three-fold circumstance taking place in the writing of this blog and lesson. The issues at hand came from three different places, one the reading yesterday for Itadogun in Osa Otura, second in one of my student’s Ogungbemi explanation of the Sankofa bird’s meaning-which was also a subject of a speech made months ago by the Nan Kpojito Alade; and then a question posed by Baba Norman Powers on his Facebook page. His question was a simple Is family dead in our communities? What I saw in all three scenarios were manifestation and revelation of the word of Ifa. Is Family Dead in Our Communities The question becomes do we as a people in Ifa and Orisa understand consciously, ‘what does family’ mean in terms of how we treat each other? We have spiritual connections with people through our rituals and ceremonies of initiations, lineages, ègbè, but will never ask if your sister or brother have food in their refrigerator or if they are feeling well or not. And if we do ask, there are some people who will want to know when are they going to pay get paid back for your services of the supposed heart? As a spiritual community, we are not teaching what family is, or those who do teach these valued lessons are ostracized as being caring with compassion or ridiculed. Ebi-family is synonymous Isese-tradition and it is a cultural norm that we should be maintaining. We are outraged at the killings that take place in our communities, yet, we are not outraged by our mistreatment of our women and children in terms of simple respect. While we sing praises to the Orisa, our mothers and fathers live in nursing homes in the care of strangers. Is family dead in our community it is dying a slow painful death. When we had the Odu Ifa for the year 2012 of Ogbe Yonu from Oke Itase; Ifa said that we needed to feed the Elders of the Night to save our children....one hen and 9 eggs... People secretly ask whose children are these or oh they are crazy... but even a baby was shot in the car with her father-dead. Who cared if they were Ifa and Orisa people or not but that they are our people dying? Our so call Orisa and Ifa family would have been out in the night doing the spiritual work necessary.... If a snake is about to bite you for you do not see it do you care if the person is Christian, Muslim, Hindu, all you care about is who is going to kill the snake...Many of us priest who have Orisa Odu for some Olofin and those who have Orisa Aje, do you know that feeding these Orisa and asking them to heal the community. By marching them through the neighborhoods can heal our communities and make the necessary changes in experiences (Odu is the sum total container of all experiences) and Aje can help to heal poverty... Is family dead go figure.... It Is Not Wrong To Go Back For That Which You Have Forgotten Sankofa When we look back in time, to see from whence we have come, much of what we are returning with in terms of the lessons sought, have been ritualistic ‘confusion’? Many of us have return to Naija and other West African Countries with an attempt to gain a religious understanding of who we are. Unfortunately, some people have had no concern over the true nature of culture and tradition. While others have been steeped in learning everything they can in order to extend the value of it into our own people’s mindset and reality. We have learn sacred text and have been confounded by them, searching through the membranes of the minds of elders seeking to find the hidden keys of spiritual understanding in order to scratch the itch that cannot be satisfied by anything other than Olodumare and Ifa. Yet, truly what have we forgotten about ourselves which we need to return to self in order to discover our true natures. We have forgotten our own power and internal spiritual development. We have gone ‘home’ so to speak, yet, have not tried to enter the spiritual mind of our ancestors in order to recover who we once were and still are. We are being tricked out of our monies, put out on the streets of foreign countries, 419’ed because of our religious pursuits looking for family and treat our own people here like dirt under our shoes. We have forgotten our ‘stuff’; like in the “Ntozake Shange’s For Colored Girls”, our stuff or spirit has been up for grabs without us knowing its true value. We have forgotten our faith. Our belief in our own abilities and even with what we do not know we have the ability to secure this knowledge by simply asking our deities to reveal it and be patient enough to wait for it. He that steps into the river -Would know the depth of the water-He that shouts a cry of help-Would widen his eyes up the sky-Osa Otura The caveat in this scenario is Osa Tura as an ese Ifa is famous for the verse which identifies the face of Olodumare as Truth. It however, has another aspect in that it also identifies those who will be on the constant look out for discovering the undiscoverable. Often, we do not know the depth of the questions we are asking until we are in the mist of the issues. Just as Orúnmìlà went to Ifa in order to ascertain the truth of whom and what is Olodumare; he was unaware of the depth of what he was asking. There are those extraordinary times when we are seeking deep questions about the people with whom we are associated in this religious tradition both here and abroad. When we ask those questions, we must begin to be prepared for the answers. Sometimes those questions are answered with scathing evil medicine returns to us because we dare to ask, or silence dead silence or even ostracizing and ridicule. Be prepared for this is not a job for the faint of heart. Orúnmìlà found with a humbled Olodumare reward of an equitable position. Unfortunately, in the world of Ifa and Orisa human style, you will discover what you have found was enough to break your heart but lift your spirit at the same time. Now here is the ambiguousness of this statement. You would say what is she talking about? Well, the story goes like this: one wanted to know information and decided it was not worth the trouble it was in finding the information. Then, just as one was about to let the search go, an amazing thing happened, spirits brought the question up through another source and person. When trying to let it go again, spirits brought it again through another source and this time we had to do the rest of the work. This is how this Odu works Osa Otura is an odu which will not let an issue go. It will track you, shadow you, and force you to see reality even when you want to see only the shadows. When you are bringing the truth when others are afraid of the truth you bring; you are ridiculed, you are hindered but you must have faith in Ifa, Orisa, and yourself. Even when you are faced with an awesome force of nature or powerful people; if those in position of power are corrupt or too powerful for you to deal with and you are afraid, Osa Tura says I will cover you. It will empower you and give chase to those who oppose you. What Orúnmìlà knew was his faith was greater than his fear. This is our lesson. Our faith must be greater than our fear. If we are going back for anything let us go back for our faith in Ifa and Orisa… Ire O!
Posted on: Fri, 02 Aug 2013 19:10:44 +0000
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