abeg can someone tell me how to put a link to a youtube video like Recognise did with Sunny Ade, so that you only have to click on play.
Step 1) click on the "Insert flash" icon (It is the one with the colorful circle/spiral thing under the "bold" icon when u are writing a post step 2) change the 2 "200s" to 400 in the ----> [ flash=200,200][/flash] step 3) go to youtube and find the video u want step 4) on the right, you will see a link written in the "embed" field. Copy that link and paste it between both "flash" parentheses in step 2
Step 5) delete everything before and after the quotes on the actual url (i highlighted the example in green so u can see. the URL shows up twice in that long line of mumbo jumbo). . .wither one is fine and long as you remove the quotes
step 6) Post it and keep ur fingers crossed.
Note, dont leave any spaces when u're doing it. . .i left spaces above cause i wanted to show u the process and not post a video. u dig? Good luck
Step 1) click on the "Insert flash" icon (It is the one with the colorful circle/spiral thing under the "bold" icon when u are writing a post step 2) change the 2 "200s" to 400 in the ----> [ flash=200,200][/flash] step 3) go to youtube and find the video u want step 4) on the right, you will see a link written in the "embed" field. Copy that link and paste it between both "flash" parentheses in step 2
Step 5) delete everything before and after the quotes on the actual url (i highlighted the example in green so u can see. the URL shows up twice in that long line of mumbo jumbo). . .wither one is fine and long as you remove the quotes
step 6) Post it and keep ur fingers crossed.
Note, dont leave any spaces when u're doing it. . .i left spaces above cause i wanted to show u the process and not post a video. u dig? Good luck
Wow! I love this thread, possibly the most interesting one I have seen on NL. Double Wow!
Pastor AIO, THANKS for all the explanation, the exposition on the rich Yoruba culture and the seeds for thought that you have planted for our mental gymnastics! Flattery aside, permit me to label you, Beneli and Viaro as the most refreshingly intelligent posters I have met on NL! Thanks again.
Wow! I love this thread, possibly the most interesting one I have seen on NL. Double Wow!
Pastor AIO, THANKS for all the explanation, the exposition on the rich Yoruba culture and the seeds for thought that you have planted for our mental gymnastics! Flattery aside, permit me to label you, Beneli and Viaro as the most refreshingly intelligent posters I have met on NL! Thanks again.
haha. I concur. I'm so excited about going back to Nigeria this year. I'm goin to go to my village and look to learn all I can about my own people and our history and culture. I can't wait to see the look on my mums face when I tell her I have become an adherent of our indigenous religion . It's goin to be a kodak moment. I really hope she survives it
Could there be any connection/correspondence between the Ori and the "ajna chakra" of the yogic world view?
I cannot really think of a connection between them. If I were to force Ori into the chakra system I would probably connect it with Sahasrara. Or maybe even tantric Shiva. Or then again as Purusha whose sacrifice has brought about all of creation.
Excellent thread! I understand that Ori is our own "self" our being. In fact, in Orun Ori chooses the destination that we will Aiye. As you rightly pointed out the estimated Pastor AIO, Ori is more important than Orisa , Ori could be considered our staff Orisa. I understand that in fact the word Orisa in a contraction of Ori-Sá (something like guardian of Orí). Pastor: Am I correct?
Excellent thread! I understand that Ori is our own "self" our being. In fact, in Orun Ori chooses the destination that we will Aiye. As you rightly pointed out the estimated Pastor AIO, Ori is more important than Orisa , Ori could be considered our staff Orisa. I understand that in fact the word Orisa in a contraction of Ori-Sá (something like guardian of Orí). Pastor: Am I correct?
I have heard many interpretations of what Orisa means. A common one is Selected Head (Ori Sa). Sa a meaning to selected or set apart. To be honest it is a very common thing in yoruba to try to find the meaning of a word by breaking it up into composite words and then claiming that the word means the sentence formed. Funnily, I can't think of a word right now to us as an example.
Okay, there is Eniyan meaning human being. It is broken down into Eni ti a yan. One who has been chosen.
This method is used even for english words sometimes. Technology can be broken to te e ki ina lo ji. Because everything to do with technology involves pushing a button so that the power can wake up. England is Igi li a ndi. We are tying trees. Germany is Ija ma ni. It's a war! hence germany's role in history. etc etc etc.
However there is another more scholarly approach to the philology of yoruba words and that involves looking at the word for similar concepts in neighbouring tribes. Often you find that the words for the same things are similar. Therefore you cannot find the true source of the word merely within the context of yoruba language.
I will give you a perfect example with the word Orisa. If you go to the Igbo people and ask them what they call diety they will say OLISA. We find a lot of words that are said to be cognate and what happens is that where in yoruba you pronounce -r- in igbo language you pronounce -l-.
The name Olisa is of African Igbo origin and the meaning of Olisa is "diety".
Olisa, is generally used as a girl's name. It consists of 5 letters and 3 syllables and is pronounced O-li-sa.
There will also be slightly different ways it is used within the context of the culture. For instance a yoruba will never call a child Orisa, but the Igbo can name their children Olisa. We can find cognate terms in other cultures. The Itsekiri can God almighty Orise. In some yoruba tribes the word is Oosa. So you see that breaking it up into Ori and then -Sa might be a mistake.
Can you imagine any nigerian artist singing such a song today about Esu biribiri? His music will simply not sell.
Esu biri biri is my protector Forward is where this vehicle is taking me Backwards is not where this vehicle is taking me Now I know, I know , I know I know the world, I know.
Which brings up the question pertinent to this thread . . . Who is Esu in Yoruba belief? Is Esu really Satan? Or is that just some idiotic conflation of ideas from different cultures. When contemporary yorubas conflate Esu with Satan what does that do to their understanding of religion? Does it not make their religious practice a distorted thing?
Exactly. Does not exist Satan in the Yoruba religion. Satan is unique to the Judeo-Christian religion, not African. The religion of Orisa has no devil, Satan or Beelzebub , This syncretism arises when the first English missionaries came to Africa and wanted to interpret the African religion with Christians philosophy and concepts. Esu, for its "humanized" by certain "tools" that was assigned was associated with the devil by Catholic missionaries. Esu is the great communicator Aiye-Orun , The intermediary between men and Orisa. There is nothing Satan or demonic in it! That is ignorance! My respects dear friend Pastor!
I have heard many interpretations of what Orisa means. A common one is Selected Head (Ori Sa). Sa a meaning to selected or set apart. To be honest it is a very common thing in yoruba to try to find the meaning of a word by breaking it up into composite words and then claiming that the word means the sentence formed. Funnily, I can't think of a word right now to us as an example.
Okay, there is Eniyan meaning human being. It is broken down into Eni ti a yan. One who has been chosen.
This method is used even for english words sometimes. Technology can be broken to te e ki ina lo ji. Because everything to do with technology involves pushing a button so that the power can wake up. England is Igi li a ndi. We are tying trees. Germany is Ija ma ni. It's a war! hence germany's role in history. etc etc etc.
However there is another more scholarly approach to the philology of yoruba words and that involves looking at the word for similar concepts in neighbouring tribes. Often you find that the words for the same things are similar. Therefore you cannot find the true source of the word merely within the context of yoruba language.
I will give you a perfect example with the word Orisa. If you go to the Igbo people and ask them what they call diety they will say OLISA. We find a lot of words that are said to be cognate and what happens is that where in yoruba you pronounce -r- in igbo language you pronounce -l-.
There will also be slightly different ways it is used within the context of the culture. For instance a yoruba will never call a child Orisa, but the Igbo can name their children Olisa. We can find cognate terms in other cultures. The Itsekiri can God almighty Orisa. In some yoruba tribes the word is Oosa. So you see that breaking it up into Ori and then -Sa might be a mistake.
An excellent explanation estimated Pastor! Some friends say Yoruba language is simple to learn , but it really is very complex , The contractions, different dialects make it really complicated, and the study of different subjects (traditions, culture, history etc) take an enormous complexity precisely because of this , As always thank you very much for the valuable assistance! A big hug!
An excellent explanation estimated Pastor! Some friends say Yoruba language is simple to learn , but it really is very complex , The contractions, different dialects make it really complicated, and the study of different subjects (traditions, culture, history etc) take an enormous complexity precisely because of this , As always thank you very much for the valuable assistance! A big hug!
Concerning your post #11 about whether John spoke about Ori or Oro, the latter is accurate - see the quoted text below as copied from destee.com (The Yoruba Metaphysical concept of Ori):
In the Odu Okanran Ogunda there is another version of the creation myth that is not well known. In this version, it is Orunmila (the Prophet, Orisa that represents Olodumare’s wisdom) who carries the snail shell full of the substance which creates land upon the primordial waters. The Snail Shell was taken from the seat of Olodumare and given to Orunmila with the authority to create the earth. In the process of creation, Orunmila dipped his hands into the snail shell and took out measures of earth-dust (Oro, primordial matter) with which land was created on the primordial waters.
Odu Ifa Osa Ogunda
There-were-no-living-things Was the priest on earth That-which-was-suspended But-did-not-descend Was the priest in heaven All-was-just-empty-space With-no-substance Was the priest of Mid-Air It was divined for Aiye and Orun* When they both exited With no inhabitants In the two empty snail shells, There were neither birds nor spirits Living in them Odumare then created himself Being the Primal cause Which is the reason we call Odumare The only wise one in aiye He is the only cause in creation, The only wise one in Orun, Who created humans. When He had no companion, He applied wisdom to the situation To avert any disaster. You, alone, The only one in Orun Is the name of Odumare The only wise one, We give you thanks, The only knowing mind, You created man. Listening to one side of an argument, You judge, and all are pleased. Ase *Aiye is the visible realm; Orun the invisible realm. Most confuse these two words to mean earth and heaven. Hopefully, when you finish reading this material, you will be able to come back and make sense of the above ese (verse) Odu.
In Odu Ifa Osa Ogunda, part of a verse says, “Iri tu wili tu wili la fi da ile aye, la bu da ile,” which means, “Dews pouring lightly, pouring lightly, was used to create the earth world in order that goodness could come forth into existence at once.” The dew drops are particles of Oro – primordial matter - contained in the snail shell. Once empty, it remains as the representation of the base of causation from which matter derived. The “goodness” speaks to eniyan – human beings, which brought goodness to earth. The oro then melted and was suspended in mid-air (referred to in the above Odu verse as the “priest of mid-air”). Oro then dropped;
Oro, the cause of great concern for the wise and experienced elders It sounds, “Ku” (making the heart miss a beat) “Ke” (as a ponderous object hitting the ground) “Gi” (making the last sound before silence) and “La”, with a loud cracking sound is transformed into a new state called “Ela.”
Ela is part of the Orunmila complex. Orunmila can be considered the anthropomorphic representation of Olodumare’s wisdom - ogbon, knowledge – imo, and understanding – oye; the most powerful particles or elements in the earth-dust or droppings. Orunmila’s connection to Ori is fundamental to the Ori complex. He is “Eleri Ipin”, the deity of fate. He was present at the moment of creation, and thus knows the fate of every Ori. He acts as the mediator between a person and their Ori through his ability to speak the words of Ifa as they relate to the individual Ori and its destiny. Ifa is the Oracle. Ela is that invisible energy that moves between the oracle and Orunmila, and between Ori and Olodumare – the umbilical cord. Ela is Oro after it hits the primordial abyss. Oro, as primordial matter, has an innate urge to communicate.
The oro that drops from the elderly is stupendous It was divined for oro-oro-oro Who did not have anyone to communicate with and started groaning HOORO, HOO-ORO! (Ogbon, Imo, Oye, descend!) Olodumare made HOO (Ogbon, Imo, Oye) HOO descended to become Hoo-ro (I can’t help but notice the similarity between Hoo-ro and Horus) Ela made Oro digestible and useful to human needs
Ela is the manifestation of the primal urge to communicate. It is the link between human and God; human and human; and human and the universe. This extensionistic conception, prevalent in all religions, is Oro, which manifested is Ela. Its individual manifestation is Ori. The Snail can be viewed as the principle of natural extensionism which forms a basis for that which can be seen and that which cannot; the physical Ori (your skull), and Ori-inu (consciousness, soul). There is a Yoruba phrase, Ori-Ooro, which means, “head at dawn,” dawn being the beginning obviously. Thus, Ori is Oro, and Oro is Ori:
Ori lo nda eni Esi ondaye Orisa lo npa eni da O npa Orisa da Orisa lo pa nida Bi isu won sun Aye ma pa temi da Ki Ori mi ma se Ori Ki Ori mi ma gba abodi Ori is the creator of all things Ori is the one that makes everything happen, before life happens He is the Orisa that can change humans No one can change the Orisa Ori, the Orisa that changes the life of man with baked yam (abundance) Aye*, do not change my fate (* Aye - unity of the forces of good and evil) Ori do not let people disrespect me Ori do not let me be disrespected by anyone My Ori, do not accept evil
This extensionalistic concept (from God to human), that our Ori is composed of a portion of Oro (each Ori receives a portion with its own special combination of elements contained in the earth-dust – oro - from the snail shell, thus each ori’s individuality) is further elucidated in the sayings, Ori lo da ni, enikan o d’Ori o (It is the Head that created us; nobody created the Head), and Ori eni, l’Eleda eni (one’s Head is one’s Creator), and also in the following oriki:
Ori lo da mi Eniyan ko o Olorun ni Ori lo da mi
Ori is my Creator It is not man It is Olorun (Olodumare) Ori is my Creator
Olodumare made Hoo, which is comprised of three of the most powerful elements contained in the “earth-dust” sprinkled from the Snail shell – Ogbon (wisdom), Imo (knowledge), and Oye (understanding). “Ro” means descend, as in the chant, Ela ro, Ela ro, Ela ro. It is said that Olodumare created Ogbon, Imo and Oye as an intermediary force for creating more beings. IT tried to find a place for them to live, but they came back to IT, humming, and Olodumare swallowed them. They hummed inside IT for millennia, so IT had to get rid of them. Olodumare ordered them to “ro” descend, saying, “hoo-ro.” Oro, the solid matter, melted and was suspended in mid-air like jelly. Oro then dropped and “la” cracked into a new state called E-la, or Ela. Ela (the Spirit of Purity) functions in the Ifa divination complex as the embodiment of Ogbon, Imo, and Oye. Ela is the recognized authoritative source of communication and explanation of the nature of Olodumare and all ITs creation (Abiodun).
Who was the first to speak? Ela was the first to speak. Who was the first to communicate? Ela was the first to communicate. Who is this Ela? It was the Hoo which descended That we call Ela.
In Odu Ogunda Ogbe, we find more references to Snail and Oro:
He Made Divination for the Snail in Orun
Aba she kere mu legun, Odifa fun ibikunle to ma nu kan kunle ara le The-umbrella-tree-is-short-when-young-but-a-little-later-it-will-become-taller-than-the-roof-of-the-house. That was the name of the Awo who made divination for Ibikunle, when she was single-handedly going to populate her house by herself. Ibikunle is the heavenly name of the Snail and it means the one who produced enough children to fill his or her house. She was advised to make ebo with hen, rat and fish. She made the ebo and began to produce children to fill her house. When it appears at divination for a woman anxious to have children, she will be advised to make ebo because she will have so many children that she will eventually be tired of having more.
He Later Divined for his Friend Oro
Okon kpoki, Erigidí kpií, adita fun Oro nijo ti Oro wo orun kenge kenge. One-sharp-sound and one-loud-sound (“Ku” and “Ke”)are the names of the Awos who made divination for Oro when he was so ill that he thought he was going to die, (figure of speech) when he was looking forlornly at Orun from his spot hanging in the air. He was advised to make ebo with eko, akara, rat, fish and a chicken. After preparing the ebo, the Ifa priests told him to carry it on his head (ori) to Esu’s shrine. He was further told that on getting to the shrine, he was to back it and incline his head backwards in such a way that the ebo would drop on the shrine (acknowledging Esu as that liminal space between orun and aiye, dark and light). As soon as he allowed the sacrifice to drop on the Esu shrine, while still backing up to Esu, a voice instructed him to stretch his hands and feet forward. First, he stretched out his left limbs and next his right limbs (with Esu’s help, he makes the transition from the invisible plane to the visible plane. Left limbs darkness, right limbs light). The moment he did that, the disease that had afflicted his body to the point of incapacitation suddenly disappeared. From the shrine, he began to dance and sing towards the house in praise of the Awo. The Awo praised Ifa, and Ifa praised Olodumare. When he began to sing, Esu put a song in his mouth:
ljo logo ji jo, erigidi kpii, erigidi. ljo logo ji jo, erigidi kpi-kpi-kpí, erigidí.
He was singing in praise of Orunmila and his two surrogates for the miraculous healing he had just experienced. When this odu appears at divination in ibi (negative manifestation) the client will be told that he or she is suffering from a disease which he or she is concealing, but will be advised to make ebo to get rid of it. If the indication is ire (positive manifestation), then the person will be told to be expecting some gift or favor.
In the ese (verse) above regarding Snail, we see that Snail is also known as Ibikunle, “the one who produced enough children to fill his or her house.” This is a praise name. It refers to the the Snail’s role in creating everything in the universe, in this case the earth including humans. In the verse following the one about snail, regarding Oro, we find in the names of the Awo, reference to the sounds of Oro dropping and becoming Ela (the Spirit of Purity which represents Ogbon, Iwo and Oye).
Ela speaks through Owe (proverbs, Odu, oriki, chants, ofo ase, etc.), and Aroko (coded symbolic messages- drums, sculpture, dance, song, poetry, etc.). Owe is the horse of Oro; if Oro gets lost, Owe is employed to find it.
ORÍKÌ ELA Ela ro, Ela ro, Ela ro (ro – descend) Ifa please descend Ela, please be present If you are in the Ocean, please come If you are in mid-lagoon, Please come If you are on the hunt, Please come Even if you are at Wanran in the East Where the day begins Please come Come urgently, Ela ase
The awo, or diviner, must develop the ability not only to invoke Ela, but to align Ori with Ela. Ela is that substance that is extensionalistic; that connects our inner self in the visible plane with our higher self on the invisible plane. The historical prophet Orunmila was an incarnation of the Spirit of Ela and the alignment of Ori with Ela is known as returning to the time when Orunmila walked the earth. This alignment occurs as a result of consistent attention to the Ifa discipline of chanting oriki (communication). Alignment with the Spirit of Ela is the blessing of Ifa and chanting is the road to that blessing (Fatunmbi). In order to work with one’s Ori, Ela must be invoked first.
In fact, and perhaps from the whole text on that site, we can see Genesis 1:1-2 and John 1:1-10,14 in detail.
It can thus be seen also that Light consists of knowledge, wisdom and understanding, while John testifies that the Messiah (Jesus is not His name)is the true Light. Interestingly, the Toltec say that Light contains information.
