Fagbemijo
06-16-2011, 08:52 AM
"WHAT IS ORI ALL ABOUT?" excerpt by Baba Falokun Fatunmbe
The emphasis on the head (Ori) in Yoruba goes beyond its biological importance as the seat of the brain that controls the body. It reveals the nature which identifies the Supreme Being, Olodumare, as the head of a of deities called òrìsà, who act as the agents of its enabling power (àse). This Supreme Being is sometimes called Oba Orun, the King of Heaven, and Olu Iwa, Lord/Head of Existence.
Olodumare is reflected in the common 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). As these sayings indicate, the position of the physical head resonates in the traditional Yoruba system of government. For example, all members of an extended family living together are under the authority of the head of a compound (Baálè ilé) in which they live, and all compound heads are responsible to a district head (Olori adugbo). Any matter that the latter could not resolve would be referred to a higher authority such as the village head (Báálé or Olu). At the top of this hierarchy is the Oba, a divine king, high priest, and the ruler of a given town, who is assisted by a council of elders or chiefs. Thus the head is to an individual what Olodumare is to the cosmos and a king to the body politic-a source of power in order to fully understand the significance of this metaphor, it must be noted that the Yoruba creation myth traces the origin of the human body to an archetypal sculpture (ere) modeled by the artist-deity Obatala and then activated by the divine breath (emi) of Olodumare, located in the sculpture's head. This creative process occurs inside a pregnant woman's body and takes about nine months to mature. According to the myth, every individual, before being born into the physical world, must proceed to the workshop of Ajalamopin, the heavenly potter, to choose one of several undifferentiated, ready-made Ori Inu, or "inner heads" on display in Ajalamopin's workshop. Each inner head contains Olodumare's àse (enabling power), and the one chosen by an individual predetermines his/her lot (ipin) in the physical world. Hence the popular Yoruba slogan, Orilonise, "One's success or failure in life depends on the head."
Image of Ile Ori (Ori Shrine) at our home in Santa Rosa.
The emphasis on the head (Ori) in Yoruba goes beyond its biological importance as the seat of the brain that controls the body. It reveals the nature which identifies the Supreme Being, Olodumare, as the head of a of deities called òrìsà, who act as the agents of its enabling power (àse). This Supreme Being is sometimes called Oba Orun, the King of Heaven, and Olu Iwa, Lord/Head of Existence.
Olodumare is reflected in the common 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). As these sayings indicate, the position of the physical head resonates in the traditional Yoruba system of government. For example, all members of an extended family living together are under the authority of the head of a compound (Baálè ilé) in which they live, and all compound heads are responsible to a district head (Olori adugbo). Any matter that the latter could not resolve would be referred to a higher authority such as the village head (Báálé or Olu). At the top of this hierarchy is the Oba, a divine king, high priest, and the ruler of a given town, who is assisted by a council of elders or chiefs. Thus the head is to an individual what Olodumare is to the cosmos and a king to the body politic-a source of power in order to fully understand the significance of this metaphor, it must be noted that the Yoruba creation myth traces the origin of the human body to an archetypal sculpture (ere) modeled by the artist-deity Obatala and then activated by the divine breath (emi) of Olodumare, located in the sculpture's head. This creative process occurs inside a pregnant woman's body and takes about nine months to mature. According to the myth, every individual, before being born into the physical world, must proceed to the workshop of Ajalamopin, the heavenly potter, to choose one of several undifferentiated, ready-made Ori Inu, or "inner heads" on display in Ajalamopin's workshop. Each inner head contains Olodumare's àse (enabling power), and the one chosen by an individual predetermines his/her lot (ipin) in the physical world. Hence the popular Yoruba slogan, Orilonise, "One's success or failure in life depends on the head."
Image of Ile Ori (Ori Shrine) at our home in Santa Rosa.