Following Babalawos:
OLOKUN HISTORY
At that time, there were no trees in heaven or on earth that remained covered with water. Eledumare and the other orisa wanted trees to grow in heaven, so Eledumare caused Eji, the god of rainfall to wet the entire landscape of heaven.
After the ground soaked in the moisture and became soft, Eledumare caused Iju, the god of forests to make trees grow. Iju said “Let all forms of plants grow from the soil.”
Gradually, myriads of plants began to emerge from the soft bare soil. All types of plants, including the sweet and the bitter, the smooth and the thorny, the poisons and the therapeutic herbs, germinated and grew.
Some plants had fruits, others only bore flowers; many stood upon huge roots, others had no roots at all. Eledumare inspected the plants and approved of every one of them, because each one had a different purpose and constitution
Now Obatala asked Eledumare: “When shall we establish the humans settlement on earth? That way we can separate human beings from the orisas. When we know who is who, the orisas will better be able to protect people.”
Eledumare said, “We will move them as soon as we prepare earth for human habitation.” Lo and behold, the face of the earth was flooded, and within the flood was the grand palace wherein lived the goddess of the deep seas, Olokun.
She heard of the plan to establish the human population earth but did not like that plan. Since she began to live in the depths of the sea, Olokun had begun to separate her life and existence from others. At some point, she lost direct contact with Eledumare, and lived a totally independent life.
She exceedingly enjoyed her life under the sea. At some point, howver, she became too absorbed in her solitude, because she was shielded by the huge body of sea from the others.
She became engrossed in herself, in her sense of importance and in her power and dominion over the entire earth, which was under the sea.
She was not there when the plan to establish people on earth was made. The plan therefore caught her by total surprise. She was angry and many questions quickly crossed her mind:
Why did they not consult her before making a decision that affected her own domain? Was it because they thought she was powerless, therefore they could just do anything they wanted without involving her? Her mind was agitated.
OLOKUN PREVENTED ELEDUMARE AND OTHER DIVINITIES
She therefore decided to prevent Eledumare and the other divinities from establishing human life on earth.
She decided that she was going to flood heaven with her waters, to demonstrate her powers to the others, who seemed to have forgotten that she the goddess of large salt waters.
She decided that after flooding Eledumare and the other orisas from heaven, she would later allow them back, if and only if they promised to abandon the project to establish human beings on earth. Olokun personally did not like the few human beings that she had seen.
Obatala had said that he would make them perfect, but from Olokun’s perspective, they were no more perfect than Obatala himself. And Olokun knew that, just as the other orisas, Obatala was far from perfect.
The human beings that he created therefore had all the flaws of the gods. In addition, they had other profound physical and emotional weaknesses and illnesses, and totally relied on the orisas for everything.
Their ranks included liars, thieves, murderers, adulterers, debtors and layabouts. The few honest ones are not enough to redeem the warped ones. Yet the orisas insisted on populating the earth with people.
Eledumare had said “The earth will only be their market place. Heaven will still remain their home.”
That is why till today people say that “The world is a market place. Heaven is our home.”
Olokun grew even more furious when she learnt that people would turn the earth into a market place. But Olokun also needed the earth for her studio, for Olokun was an amazing bead maker.
She spent her time in solitude, making beads, combining dyes and pigments to make amazing beads of dazzling hues.
She knew that she would lose her entire bead business once humans came to live on earth with her. She knew that some will steal her beads. Some will break her bead pots. Some will vandalize her studio.
Some might even begin to steal her bead making idea, and start to make beads themselves. Because she had no faith in humans, and because she was not consulted before the decision was made, Olokun refused to accommodate humans on earth.
Now Eledumare could sense that Olokun was not happy about the plan to establish the human settlement on earth. S/he therefore called a meeting of all the orisas to discuss Olokun’s position.
SPECIAL MESSENGER
All the orisas decided that a special messenger should be sent to Olokun to convey the decision to establish the human abode on earth to Olokun.
Eledumare then called forth Orunmila, the orisa of divination. Eledumare said “You Orunmila know the past, the present and the future. Tell us what will happen after we send an emissary to Olokun.
Will she agree to our plan, or will she remain adamantly against it? And who should we send to convey the message to Olokun. Because the message is as good as the messenger.”
ORUNMILA CONSULTED IFA
Orunmila asked them to allow him to consult his Ifa divination system. He then brought out the entire Ifa paraphernalia, including the opele, iroke, opon and agere ifa.
He placed his divination tray on the floor and cast his opele string on it. The Ifa divination signature that the opele forms is oyeku meji. Orunmila recited the attached odu verse as follows:
INCANTATION
INCANTATION INTERPRETATION
Orunmila said everything will be fine. The outcome of the message, Orunmila said, will depend on the presentation of the messenger.
THE CHAMELEON
Eledumare asked “So who will this important messenger be?” Orunmila looked around. Directly in front of him was Ega, the chameleon. Orunmila pointed at the chameleon, who was surprised by the choice. Everybody was also surprised.
Obatata expressed disappointment by the choice of Chameleon. Obatala asked “What power has the chameleon, where Olokun is concerned? Olokun will simply drown the poor fellow. It stands no chance.”
Osun said, “Everybody knows that the chameleon is so ugly. At least send someone who is a little more handsome to do the job. She might fall for the looks and charm.”
Sonponna said “Don’t send the chameleon. It does not look particularly healthy. It walks slowly like a tired and senile fellow.
You should find someone who looks more healthy than the chameleon, who walks more smartly and thinks more quickly. Not a slovenly fellow like the chameleon.”
But Eledumare insisted that they must listen to the voice of Orunmila. Eledumare said “Whatever the Ifa divination says, after Orunmila has consulted it, is final.”
So they all agreed to send the chameleon to Olokun to convey the news to her. When the oracle chose the chameleon to go to Olokun’s abode to convey the news to her that the earth was going to be converted to human abode, everybody was totally surprised because it was such an unexpected choice.
Most surprised was the chameleon itself. Slowly, in its ponderous manner, the chameleon crawled forward, one foot at a time.
It flickered its tongues seven times as a sign of greeting to Eledumare and the dinities and said:
"If it will please you, my Lord, let me speak here: why not listen to the voice of the others apart from the oracle?
After all, the oracle is simply the voice of one divinity, and only one divinity, that is Orunmila.
How can the wisdom of just one divinity be more important than the wisdom of the entire group?
Everybody here is saying that you need to choose someone much stronger, faster, quicker and more appealing than my poor self, for this most important assignment.
Yet you insist on listening to the voice of only one divinity. Is the Ifa divinity infallible? Why must the voice of one divinity take precedence over the voice of the others?
After all, you often say in proverbs that ‘Only several hands will lift a heavy load. Two heads are better than one.’
And when you listen carefully to what everybody is saying, you will understand that nobody is being malicious towards me.
I am kind of slow of movement. It takes me a long time to get from one point to another. The distance between heaven and earth is enormous.
Even for the fastest of fellows, it will take some time to get from here to earth.
Now imagine someone like me. It would take for ever. I would never get there in decent time, whereas a fast fellow would go quickly and return quickly.
Secondly, it is no lie that I am not handsome. I don’t need anybody to tell me that, because I have seen my own reflection in the mirror for too many times. I just don’t look too good. There are many fair gents here.
There is Ogun, most ruggedly handsome, whose look has never failed to charmed female divinities.
Olokun would not be able to resist his masculine charm. I strongly feel myself that you must not send someone as ugly as myself to a vain character such as Olokun.
She would be utterly disappointed by my looks and would not grant me any serious audience. Finally, is the issue of my slow thinking.
It simply takes some time before things sink into my head. It is not my fault. This is simply my nature.
Some people think fast on their feet. I don’t. . It simply takes a moment and a while before the profundity or meaning of things before apparent to me, even though others understand immediately.
To think of it, I didn’t even know what you were all discussing at first, but it was not until Eledumare explained it to me that I began to understand.
Now everyone knows that Olokun is a sophisticated divinity. It would be a disaster for the entire human project if Olokun were to ask me an intellectual or philosophical question.
I would not even know where to begin to answer her question about anything. Please, Eledumare, this choice of me is not reasonable.
Choose someone else who could get the job done, and stop listening to the voice of one divinity, and denying the opinion of the others.”
IFA ORACLE IS INFALLIBLE
Eledumare then answered the chameleon by saying “I have listened carefully to your plea. You have presented a convincing and moving argument. I am inclined to simply accept your argument to appoint someone else to replace you.
But I will not do so for one reason. You asked whether the Ifa oracle is infallible? The answer is simple. Yes the Ifa oracle is infallible. You cannot hear a lie uttered from the mouth of Ifa divination.
Whatever the divination says is the truth and entirely the truth. The divination knows no lie, cannot lie and will not lie, because it is founded upon veracity
The oracle is the epitome of the truth. No one must call the oracle a liar. To call the oracle a liar, is to be spreading lies and to have no care for the truth.
The Ifa divination is therefore not the voice of one fellow, but the fact of all life. To deny the truth of Ifa is to deny the essence of life itself.
Because only the Ifa divination has the record of the very beginning, and has kept the record intact since then.
Ifa divination knows the present most clearly because it is the embodiment of all knowledge. Ifa divination tells the future without fail because the divination exists in the future, even though it caters to the past and the present.
Because it exists in the future, it will always live, and doubtlessly continue to bring the future and the past to the present.
That is why the voice of the Ifa divination must be heard and obeyed beyond and above the voice of any other, or any group, large or small.
What the future holds is plain to no one except the divination. If we ask the oracle for guidance in whatever we do, it will surely guide us, based on what will be to our benefit in the future.
Because whatever we do or fail to do now will affect what will happen or fail to happen in the future.
That is why we need to ask the oracle before we do anything, because we must not do regrettable things.
Now that the oracle has chosen you to go on this journey, you have to go, because you are the choice of the oracle.
Ordinary wisdom says you are the wrong choice. But the wisdom of the oracle is not ordinary, but based on a vision of the present, past and future.
How can you compare the ordinary vision, however numerous the eyes, with just one eye of the oracle’s vision? It is the difference between sleep and death.
We must be careful not to doubt the wisdom of the oracle. But in the wisdom of the oracle is the key to the future.”
TRUST IFA DIVINATION
Yemoja then asked Eledumare, “But what is the sense in choosing someone who appears most ill-suited for the assignment to do the assignment? It is like asking the snail to do a one-hundred meter sprint.”
Eledumare then said, “Yemoja, by trusty of your divination oracle. If the oracle says that the snail will win a one-hundred meter sprint, then surely the snail will win the race.
Now that the oracle has chosen the chameleon to go on this important assignment, it is best for us to respect the wish of the oracle.
Not respecting the wish of the oracle is deadly. What we need to do, rather than doubt the oracle, is begin to prepare the chameleon for this most important journey.
Whatever we find to be the chameleon’s weakness, we must fortify, to enable the poor creature to carry out that onerous task.”
IDENTIFY THE PROBLEMS AND GET SOLUTION
Ogun said “One serious problem with the chameleon is speed. It will take the chameleon forever to move from heaven to earth..”
Eledumare said “Once we identify the problem, the solution is round the corner. To solve the problem of speed, we will endow the chameleon with the power of Egbe, the divinity of speed. What do you say Egbe?”
Egbe replied, saying, “Be it as you wish. Egbe will deliver the chameleon to and fro heaven, a zillion-trillion times faster than the speed light.”
Eledumare then said, “There, the chameleon’s problem of speed is over,”
Worried, Sango the god of lightening and thunder, then stepped forward and said, “But the chameleon is still sluggish.
Even though Egbe does solve the problem of speed, it cannot solve the chameleon’s problem of sluggishness.
I don’t think a sluggish fellow such as the chameleon could interact with Olokun, if I know her well.”
Eledumare replied “Once we identify the problem, the solution is right around the corner. To solve the problem of sluggishness, we will endow the chameleon with the spirit of brother and sister divinities,
Gaga and Sasa. Gaga the brother will provide an agility of body befitting of a professional wrestler.
And Sasa, the sister, will provide a grace to the chameleon’s body that will shame a trained dancer.
What do you two say, Gaga and Sasa?” Gaga and Sasa said in unison “Be it as you wish. We will lend to the chameleon’s body the agility of a leopard and the grace of a serpent.”
Eledumare said, “There, the problem of agility is over.”
Osun, the gorgeous river goddess then said “But we must all agree that the chameleon is not the most attractive person. Olokun, on the other hand is a beautiful woman, even though she is the
vain type.
But it all makes it the more difficult to send someone as ugly as the chameleon to Olokun. I believe that she will refuse to welcome the chameleon, saying that the chameleon was too ugly to for her to see..”
Eledumare said “Once the problem is identified, the solution is just around the corner. To solve the problem of ugliness, we will endow the chameleon with the beauty of Egbin, the embodiment of beauty itself. Here, tell me, Egbin,
what do you think?”
Egbin stepped forward and said, “Be it as you wish. . I will endow the chameleon’s body with beauty in preparation for the great human project.”
“Eledumare said, “The problem of attractiveness is over. . Now, you need a companion on this journey. You may choose anyone you like as your companion, so you may not feel lonely.”
To the utter surprise of everybody, the chameleon pointed to the snail. They all remarked that the snail was even slower than the chameleon, more timid, perhaps even a lot less intelligent.
But they were relieved because of the special endowment that the chameleon now had, thanks to the divinities.
These endowments, naturally, would reflect upon the snail too, and the mission might be saved. The chameleon, accompanied by the snail, thus became the messenger to convey Eledumare’s request to Olokun.
But it was a totally transformed chameleon that set out on the journey Its entire body was transformed by the powers of the various divinities who endowed the chameleon with their special attributes.
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