I was inspired to write this new entry into the YSI Blog, after reconnecting with a kindred spirit (as spiritual beings I am hoping y'all feel me). As I'm sure you all can relate, it is always a fulfilling and rewarding connection (sometimes wether you know it at the time or not), but especially when it comes at a time of great distress in your "other" world life (personal, business, financial, emotional, etc) So this "needed boost" truly came at an opportune time, and as a result mo dupe olorun, modupe olodumare for his infinite wisdom and insight into the lives of all humankind, and as a result his suggested "best practices" guide to success through Odu Ifa.. (ase) This "life vest" with its associated fully stocked life boat, could not have come at a better time (no pun intended, as those in the know can attest). Ifa provides that needed hand, when we feel the quick sand of negativity that some of us occasionally fall into, entombs us deep within a permanent grave, with only our fingers desperately grasping in a last dashed effort to unrealistically try to pull ourselves up by our fingertips, despite a lifetime of opportunities to pull ourselves up when both feet are firmly planted on the earth, as provided by God (not as per the Conservatives, Government and the Republican party). I digress... For I am saved. Yes lord. I am saved. Because Ifa has been saving souls prior to Jimmy Swagart & the christian right could figure out a way to profit from our hard earned $$$ (oh c'mon, lighten up, they call us Chicken murderes after all. Isn't that funny??? Land of Perdue, and mass market slaughterers of animals for you supoermarket shopping convenience. Anyway...)So again modupe Ifa, modupe Olodumare, you have saved me at this moment of great despair, and of falling farther, and farhter, and farther, away from where I need to be, which is right here spreading your holy word. Ase
Anyway, getting back to the original matter at hand, this reunion of kindred spirits that inspired me to come back to my audience (you), has in turn stimulated a certain self-evaluation and reevaluation of YSI, and its role in teh Orisa community. We expected a lot more events this year, through divination to Ifa (Ejiogbe) made several plans with several world renowned Yoruba scholars, but for whatever reason (Ifa ni kun lo le mo) nothing to date has come to fruir=tion and as a result we have remained in a sort of self-imposed isolation from the world. As you all know, this is not how a religious and cultural organization should "behave", so this spirit, which so stimulated my own spirits, literally slapped me to my senses, and woke me up from my slumber, and brought this topic to my mind & hence to my fingertips, to discuss with you all. Who Should (and Shouldn't) Be Allowed To Be A Priest? For those just joining us at YSI for the first time, let me reiterate that this section of the website is for the expressed opinions of the elders and scholars of the Yoruba Spiritual Institue, to distinguish it from teh fact and historical sections that are based on several PhD level research level studies accumulated over thelat several decades, and compiled by several renowned international experts on Yoruba philosophy and beliefs. This is just opinion here people, so please just listen to it, and maybe learn something.
Who Should (or Shouldn't) Be Allowed To Be A Priest, and in pareticular a priest of the Orisa???
As anyone who has read any amount of material on this site or any other Yoruba specific belief site, should know that we maintain that the Yoruba belief system is one of the oldest (if not the oldest belief system) in the world, and as a result, historically at the tim eof its inception and original practice, it was limited to a certain peoples of similar culture and beliefs (and language, etc), and as a result maintained a somewhat monolithic perspective in its practice. Clearly as a high priest from that society, it was very easy to speak on issues of the society through ones knowledge of Ifa and have it resonate very powerfully amongst all in the society. It was proximate and relevant and fit in the world of limited outside interference and exposure. The Babalawo or Olorisa was well known in the community. You knew him/her from childhood. You knew his parents and grandparents. You know her husband and extended family. Your kids co-mingle, etc, etc, etc. There was a collaborative clearly established to allow all members of that society to feel comfortable with this persons knowledge of the society as it relates to the teachings and wisdom of Odu Ifa.
Now fast forward to current society, 1000's of years later, and as far removed as let's say, Brooklyn, USA. We are now in a completely different model. We are thrown in a hetorogenous, multicultural, multi religious, hodge podge of 100's and 1000s of differnt cultures and belief systems all mixed together. Our current life is very differnt from original traditional Yoruba society, and as a result, the perspective of the priest must match that of the society to which he/she is practicing. Does that not make sense? In my humble opinion, the differences thast exist in our Western modern society are so vastly differnt than our original society that we can not and should not use the samemyopic viewpoint in analyzing odu Ifa or prescribing spiritual advice or guidance in this part of the world. Again, in my opinion this is dangerous, and subject to serious repercussions to all involved.
I am even going to go out on a limb here and include any and all religious/belief systems in teh world, and include tehm in this discussion by stating, No priest whatsoever practicing outside teh confines of a moniolithic society following traditional practices and beliefs, shoiuld be allowed to oractice unless his/her belief system and EXPERIENCE level matches that of the society to which he/she is practicing. Again, those of us living in a multicultural society cannot promote, guide and teach members of this society based on antiquated monolistic viewpoints. As a result the only people that should be dealing with humans are those who have a human perspective. If you are living in some little village in Italy then by all means you can monolithically express the views of a single traditional cultural perspective, for example Roman Catholicism and be succesful and able to fulfill the spiritual and religious needs of your society/constituents. However, if you are a Roman Catholic priest living in let's say, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, I will argue that such monolithioc traditional viewpoints may not assimilate well into that society and ytou will be gretly at odds with the people spiritual needs. It is not only ignorant, but it goes completely against Ifas own preachings as recorded in odu IfA Otura Irete. Hence, any people who heed the call to be higher level leaders and educators and become priests in a multicultual society must only be ALLOWED to do so if they show a multicultuaral persepctive or ability to accept and understand multiculturalism. So if all you've done in life is be a traditional Yoruba priest, but now have found yourself in Brooklyn, NY, well I will argue that your insight and ability to understnd your audience will be greatly limited by your own limited perspective in life. As a result, you as a priest does a disservice to the client and the community at large. You should find a similarly monolithic society whose culture you understand. It ain't Brooklyn, brother. Any one who continues to practice as a "Priest" in such a society where thier own perspective is woefully limited should not be ALLOWED to practice, and in fact will be at odds with the teachings of Odu Ifa. Which brings me back to odu Otura Irete.
Otura Irete told us how, when Orunmila went to a far and distant land in the East (of the World), he consulted his IFa, and this odu was revealed. It foresaw a trip of great importance to spread the words of Ifa. He was told to make sacrifice to Esu and various other Orisas, which he quickly and thoroughly did. Upon his arrival to this strange land, which as I am sure you can all imagine was quite different from Yoruba land in every way imaginable, and it should come to no surprise to all that he clearly stood out as being different in every form from them. However, due to his extensive ebo he was quickly accepted. Remember during Orunmila's time, there was no world migration and multiculturalism as we know today. You were where you were from and pretty much stayed there for the rest of your life. So plurality was not a well known concept in those days. So monolithicism was perfectly acceptable. So besides seagulls and other migratory birds, and a few native peoples travelling for business and other migratory reasons, no peoples were exploring the world en masse, so rest assured Orunmila stood out as not being from there. Through certain elements of the ebo he was given the ability to allow him to fit into the society without causing a major commotion. As was part of his assigned duties, namely Elerii ipin, he bore witness to God's creations and was observant of all things related to mankind all over the world. So his first duty upon arrival was to observe the practice and customs of the people prior to his declaring himself "priest". He saw the practices of teh local priests and shamans and learned teh cultures and ways of the people. In this odu "afedefeyo" revealed itself, stating Olodumare understands all languages and cultures and prefers no one over the other from those pure at heart.
As he observed the ways of the people and learned their customs, he also noted that the priests were clearly locals, and knew the local customs and beliefs perfectly, making their monolithic perspective well suited for their local practice. However, Orunmila wondered how their far eastern perspectives would work among the Yoruba people, and he realized that although well suited in one place it would quickly miss the point somewhere else. The priests of any traditional society can find comfort in a life 100% dedicated to their spiritual oversight. It makes one wonder how such a priest would fit in in a society such as NYC, dealing with people of varied backgrounds and needs ina non traditional society with multiple (sometimes opposing) spiritual beliefs.
Back to the pataki, Orunmila was eventually brought into the society & based on his ebo he was recognized as a supreme leader and religious head, despite his being alejo (foreigner). His reputation as a well-learned spiritual leader spread far and wide, and it led to many other alejos wanting to similarly attain his success. However, many who tried to follow did not follow the prescribed steps in undertaking such a venture, namely to first receive divination and then make ebo prior. So their successes were mixed and not as smooth. Unfortunately, teh role of elerii ipin implies a certain need to be aware of many things, namely to be open minded, and as a result those seeking to perform Ifas work without such open mindedness, will be severely limited in the scope to which they can aid their respect clients.
So in conclusion, I argue no priest who cannot put aside his/her limited personal viewpoint(s) and perspectives should be allowed to be a priest in a multicultural modern society. As my previous posts on who should be priests
will affirm, this further selects out from the masses in the santo & ifa factories all over the world. Remember. You cannot use outdated technology to fix a new technological problem.
Anyway, getting back to the original matter at hand, this reunion of kindred spirits that inspired me to come back to my audience (you), has in turn stimulated a certain self-evaluation and reevaluation of YSI, and its role in teh Orisa community. We expected a lot more events this year, through divination to Ifa (Ejiogbe) made several plans with several world renowned Yoruba scholars, but for whatever reason (Ifa ni kun lo le mo) nothing to date has come to fruir=tion and as a result we have remained in a sort of self-imposed isolation from the world. As you all know, this is not how a religious and cultural organization should "behave", so this spirit, which so stimulated my own spirits, literally slapped me to my senses, and woke me up from my slumber, and brought this topic to my mind & hence to my fingertips, to discuss with you all. Who Should (and Shouldn't) Be Allowed To Be A Priest? For those just joining us at YSI for the first time, let me reiterate that this section of the website is for the expressed opinions of the elders and scholars of the Yoruba Spiritual Institue, to distinguish it from teh fact and historical sections that are based on several PhD level research level studies accumulated over thelat several decades, and compiled by several renowned international experts on Yoruba philosophy and beliefs. This is just opinion here people, so please just listen to it, and maybe learn something.
Who Should (or Shouldn't) Be Allowed To Be A Priest, and in pareticular a priest of the Orisa???
As anyone who has read any amount of material on this site or any other Yoruba specific belief site, should know that we maintain that the Yoruba belief system is one of the oldest (if not the oldest belief system) in the world, and as a result, historically at the tim eof its inception and original practice, it was limited to a certain peoples of similar culture and beliefs (and language, etc), and as a result maintained a somewhat monolithic perspective in its practice. Clearly as a high priest from that society, it was very easy to speak on issues of the society through ones knowledge of Ifa and have it resonate very powerfully amongst all in the society. It was proximate and relevant and fit in the world of limited outside interference and exposure. The Babalawo or Olorisa was well known in the community. You knew him/her from childhood. You knew his parents and grandparents. You know her husband and extended family. Your kids co-mingle, etc, etc, etc. There was a collaborative clearly established to allow all members of that society to feel comfortable with this persons knowledge of the society as it relates to the teachings and wisdom of Odu Ifa.
Now fast forward to current society, 1000's of years later, and as far removed as let's say, Brooklyn, USA. We are now in a completely different model. We are thrown in a hetorogenous, multicultural, multi religious, hodge podge of 100's and 1000s of differnt cultures and belief systems all mixed together. Our current life is very differnt from original traditional Yoruba society, and as a result, the perspective of the priest must match that of the society to which he/she is practicing. Does that not make sense? In my humble opinion, the differences thast exist in our Western modern society are so vastly differnt than our original society that we can not and should not use the samemyopic viewpoint in analyzing odu Ifa or prescribing spiritual advice or guidance in this part of the world. Again, in my opinion this is dangerous, and subject to serious repercussions to all involved.
I am even going to go out on a limb here and include any and all religious/belief systems in teh world, and include tehm in this discussion by stating, No priest whatsoever practicing outside teh confines of a moniolithic society following traditional practices and beliefs, shoiuld be allowed to oractice unless his/her belief system and EXPERIENCE level matches that of the society to which he/she is practicing. Again, those of us living in a multicultural society cannot promote, guide and teach members of this society based on antiquated monolistic viewpoints. As a result the only people that should be dealing with humans are those who have a human perspective. If you are living in some little village in Italy then by all means you can monolithically express the views of a single traditional cultural perspective, for example Roman Catholicism and be succesful and able to fulfill the spiritual and religious needs of your society/constituents. However, if you are a Roman Catholic priest living in let's say, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, I will argue that such monolithioc traditional viewpoints may not assimilate well into that society and ytou will be gretly at odds with the people spiritual needs. It is not only ignorant, but it goes completely against Ifas own preachings as recorded in odu IfA Otura Irete. Hence, any people who heed the call to be higher level leaders and educators and become priests in a multicultual society must only be ALLOWED to do so if they show a multicultuaral persepctive or ability to accept and understand multiculturalism. So if all you've done in life is be a traditional Yoruba priest, but now have found yourself in Brooklyn, NY, well I will argue that your insight and ability to understnd your audience will be greatly limited by your own limited perspective in life. As a result, you as a priest does a disservice to the client and the community at large. You should find a similarly monolithic society whose culture you understand. It ain't Brooklyn, brother. Any one who continues to practice as a "Priest" in such a society where thier own perspective is woefully limited should not be ALLOWED to practice, and in fact will be at odds with the teachings of Odu Ifa. Which brings me back to odu Otura Irete.
Otura Irete told us how, when Orunmila went to a far and distant land in the East (of the World), he consulted his IFa, and this odu was revealed. It foresaw a trip of great importance to spread the words of Ifa. He was told to make sacrifice to Esu and various other Orisas, which he quickly and thoroughly did. Upon his arrival to this strange land, which as I am sure you can all imagine was quite different from Yoruba land in every way imaginable, and it should come to no surprise to all that he clearly stood out as being different in every form from them. However, due to his extensive ebo he was quickly accepted. Remember during Orunmila's time, there was no world migration and multiculturalism as we know today. You were where you were from and pretty much stayed there for the rest of your life. So plurality was not a well known concept in those days. So monolithicism was perfectly acceptable. So besides seagulls and other migratory birds, and a few native peoples travelling for business and other migratory reasons, no peoples were exploring the world en masse, so rest assured Orunmila stood out as not being from there. Through certain elements of the ebo he was given the ability to allow him to fit into the society without causing a major commotion. As was part of his assigned duties, namely Elerii ipin, he bore witness to God's creations and was observant of all things related to mankind all over the world. So his first duty upon arrival was to observe the practice and customs of the people prior to his declaring himself "priest". He saw the practices of teh local priests and shamans and learned teh cultures and ways of the people. In this odu "afedefeyo" revealed itself, stating Olodumare understands all languages and cultures and prefers no one over the other from those pure at heart.
As he observed the ways of the people and learned their customs, he also noted that the priests were clearly locals, and knew the local customs and beliefs perfectly, making their monolithic perspective well suited for their local practice. However, Orunmila wondered how their far eastern perspectives would work among the Yoruba people, and he realized that although well suited in one place it would quickly miss the point somewhere else. The priests of any traditional society can find comfort in a life 100% dedicated to their spiritual oversight. It makes one wonder how such a priest would fit in in a society such as NYC, dealing with people of varied backgrounds and needs ina non traditional society with multiple (sometimes opposing) spiritual beliefs.
Back to the pataki, Orunmila was eventually brought into the society & based on his ebo he was recognized as a supreme leader and religious head, despite his being alejo (foreigner). His reputation as a well-learned spiritual leader spread far and wide, and it led to many other alejos wanting to similarly attain his success. However, many who tried to follow did not follow the prescribed steps in undertaking such a venture, namely to first receive divination and then make ebo prior. So their successes were mixed and not as smooth. Unfortunately, teh role of elerii ipin implies a certain need to be aware of many things, namely to be open minded, and as a result those seeking to perform Ifas work without such open mindedness, will be severely limited in the scope to which they can aid their respect clients.
So in conclusion, I argue no priest who cannot put aside his/her limited personal viewpoint(s) and perspectives should be allowed to be a priest in a multicultural modern society. As my previous posts on who should be priests
will affirm, this further selects out from the masses in the santo & ifa factories all over the world. Remember. You cannot use outdated technology to fix a new technological problem.
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