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Ojewale Ifadare Babalawo, No8 ogunmola Street winners area oyo, Oyo (2026)

Q: What is the address?

No8 Ogunmola Street Winners Area Oyo

21/03/2023

I have reached 200 followers! Thank you for your continued support. I could not have done it without each of you. 🙏🤗🎉

14/01/2023

I miss you dank
Nothing can take your love from my heart ❤️
I’ll choose you over and over again
Keep resting brother

Happy new year to you wherever you are ✊🏿🤦‍♂️ so painful that the good ones die younger 😭😢
God will take control and make everything easier for your family 👏

5-6 years that you’re gone rest well godson so painful till forever Marcus Richardson

24/06/2021

Welcome to Awo Ogbe yeku
Reconnecting Africans HOME OF IFÁ

10 reasons why you need to be initiated into Ifa

Result for ifa initiation

Ifa initiation known in Yoruba as itenifa or itelodu can be said to be a spiritual process which enables one to understand not only what Ifa is but also to illuminate light to one’s life, destiny and to serve as a pathway, guidance to our application to life itself. Itenifa is therefore not limited to the above definition as there are many ways and perspectives to view it according to how the practitioners see it.

Itenifa is advisable for everyone, both Ifa practitioners and non-practitioners, male and female. Without taking much time, because itenifa is a broad topic which I will not delve into.

I decided to come up with the 10 reasons why itenifa is important to you.
Note that the reasons are much than ten but I limit mine to just ten. See below:

1. It gives the initiates Ase (power) in any chosen career

2. It enables the initiates to know the easiest direction to follow in order to achieve their pre-destined desired goals

3. It gives them the opportunity to recognize the originality and uniqueness in their individuality

4. It gives them basis for gauging their achievements in life vis-à-vis their destiny

5. It gives them the capability to predict what their future will look like

6. It assures them the guidance and protection of the Deities

7. It also makes them masters over their destiny and future

8. It guides them against pitfalls

9. It makes them understand and appreciate how their lives and death will be.

10. It becomes easy to know when their times on earth are over.

BABALAWO OJEWALE IFADARE HOME OF IFÁ

24/06/2021

Welcome to Awo Ogbe yeku 🖤
Reconnecting IFÁ AND ORISHAS

Ifa & days of the week PT 2 (how Irunmole picked their spritual/religious days of the weeks)

Yesterday I posted IFA and the days of the week PT 1. Today, I will be focusing on the part ll of this article which is based on how the Irunmole and Orisa picked their days of the week.

IFA explains to us all that there are four days in one religious week. The four days are the days when all Irunmole and Orisa are propitiated. Each Irunmole and Orisa with the exception of Ori, Esu- Odara and Aje (wealth) has a special when its practitioners and believers for its service and propitiation.

In Iwori- Otura, IFA explains that Orisa had four children which were all females. When the gout of them were matured enough for marriage, several Irunmole including Orunmila approached their parents for their hands in marriage. The parents said that only those who know their names would be eligible yo marry them. Obatala tried to know the name of at least one of them but he failed. Sango attempted to know the name of one of them but also failed. Same thing happened to Ogun and several other Irunmole and Orisa that tried.

One day, Orunmila went for IFA consultation in order to determine what he needed to do in order to know the names of these four beautiful ladies. He was advised to offered ebo which the sacrificial items were: 1 bearded he-goat, 1 Axe and money. He complied. The Awo prepared IFA for Orunmila, they cut the head of the he-goat and fixed it on the head of the Axe. They tied the two together and it appeared as if the Axe had developed a head of its own with beard to match. The awo then advised Orunmila to go plant it on the footpath to the home of the Orisa and was also advised to hide somewhere nearby where this mysterious Axe was planted. Orunmila complied.

On her way home, Orisa saw this mysterious Axe planted by the roadside. It was so marvelous that she quickly called her eldest daughter, "Oni, rush here and perceive wonder! An Axe had developed beard!!!". Oni saw this and told her mother that she would not be the only one to perceive this wonder.

Oni called her immediate younger sister, " Ola, rush here and perceive wonder, an Axe had developed beard". Ola came and saw it it was a marvelous sight. Ola called her immediate sister, "Otunla rush here and perceive wonder, an Axe had developed beard". She also came down and saw it. She (Otunla) became intrigued that she beckon on their youngest sister, " Ireni, rush here and perceive wonder, an Axe had developed beard". ireni also complied. The five of them danced home unknown to them that Orunmila lurked in the bush nearby and was listening to all their conversations.

The following day, Orunmila went down to Orisa home to request for the hands of her daughters in marriage. Orisa told him that he could have them as long as he knew their names. Orunmila told her the name of her first daughter "Oni", the second " Ola", the third "Otunla" and the fourth "Ireni". Orisa had no option but to hand over the four daughters to Orunmila.

Knowing that it was an abomination for him(Orunmila) to marry four children of same mother, Orunmila handed over the first daughter, Oni to Obatala being the oldest of all the Irunmole. Orunmila got married to the second daughter, Ola. He gave the third Otunla to Ogun while he fourth Ireni was handed to Sango. The literal meaning of these names is Oni ( Today), Ola ( Tomorrow), Otunla ( Day after tomorrow), Ireni ( the fourth day). When the four women moved into their respective home, the prosperity, achievement and success of their husbands multiplied in several folds. Seeing this, all the Irunmole and Orisa began to affiliate with the four major Irunmole and observe the week along with them. Some of the Irunmole/Orisa who affiliated with the four Irunmole are as follows:
OBATALA ( ORISA NLA)
Yemoo, Ogiyan, Obalufon, Egungun, Oosa Rowu, Oola Agboju, Iyami

IFA/Orunmila
Osun, Egbe, Yemoja (Yemanya), Osumare, Oge/Malamala, Obaluaye/Sanponna, Olokun, Òsanyìn

OGUN
Ija, Ossosi, Buukuu, Erinle/Abatan, Tokpa, Obarooye, Orisa Oko.

SANGO/JAKUTA
Oya, Oramfe/Alafere, Dada, Oganju, Ayan

This is how the various Irunmole/Orisa picked their days of the week. The Irunmole/Orisa that do not affiliate with any other Irunmole/Orisa and who can be served or worshiped any day are Esu-Odara, Ori, Aje, Ibeji and ile (Mother earth). We however need to remember that the four religious days are linked with the market days in any part of Yoruba land. This determined the type of items/wares brought into the market for sale. The wares usually have relevance with what may be used to propitiate the various deities. For example, during IFA week, the market for this day will have all the items which can be used to perform initiation ceremony, rites and rituals for Ifa, egbe, Yemoja etc. Even though the four days are divided among Obatala, Orunmila, ,Ogun, Sango, in the teals sense of it, the four days are essentially IFA days.

This is more so when we realize that Orunmila was it which gave out the remaining three days to the other Irunmole which Iwori- Ogbe stated.
Being a religious/spiritual week, this had more significance to life and essence of Orisa practitioners since it enhances and uplifts the spirituality of the practitioners. Any of the two days of the week used had its significance. IFA is only religion which has only two different weeks I.e. the social 7 days week and the spiritual/religion 4 days week.

Awo Ogbe yeku 🖤
Elérìí ìpín Magazine

24/06/2021

Welcome to Awo Ogbe yeku 🖤
Reconnecting IFÁ AND ORISHAS

Ifa & days of the week PT 2 (how Irunmole picked their spritual/religious days of the weeks)

Yesterday I posted IFA and the days of the week PT 1. Today, I will be focusing on the part ll of this article which is based on how the Irunmole and Orisa picked their days of the week.

IFA explains to us all that there are four days in one religious week. The four days are the days when all Irunmole and Orisa are propitiated. Each Irunmole and Orisa with the exception of Ori, Esu- Odara and Aje (wealth) has a special when its practitioners and believers for its service and propitiation.

In Iwori- Otura, IFA explains that Orisa had four children which were all females. When the gout of them were matured enough for marriage, several Irunmole including Orunmila approached their parents for their hands in marriage. The parents said that only those who know their names would be eligible yo marry them. Obatala tried to know the name of at least one of them but he failed. Sango attempted to know the name of one of them but also failed. Same thing happened to Ogun and several other Irunmole and Orisa that tried.

One day, Orunmila went for IFA consultation in order to determine what he needed to do in order to know the names of these four beautiful ladies. He was advised to offered ebo which the sacrificial items were: 1 bearded he-goat, 1 Axe and money. He complied. The Awo prepared IFA for Orunmila, they cut the head of the he-goat and fixed it on the head of the Axe. They tied the two together and it appeared as if the Axe had developed a head of its own with beard to match. The awo then advised Orunmila to go plant it on the footpath to the home of the Orisa and was also advised to hide somewhere nearby where this mysterious Axe was planted. Orunmila complied.

On her way home, Orisa saw this mysterious Axe planted by the roadside. It was so marvelous that she quickly called her eldest daughter, "Oni, rush here and perceive wonder! An Axe had developed beard!!!". Oni saw this and told her mother that she would not be the only one to perceive this wonder.

Oni called her immediate younger sister, " Ola, rush here and perceive wonder, an Axe had developed beard". Ola came and saw it it was a marvelous sight. Ola called her immediate sister, "Otunla rush here and perceive wonder, an Axe had developed beard". She also came down and saw it. She (Otunla) became intrigued that she beckon on their youngest sister, " Ireni, rush here and perceive wonder, an Axe had developed beard". ireni also complied. The five of them danced home unknown to them that Orunmila lurked in the bush nearby and was listening to all their conversations.

The following day, Orunmila went down to Orisa home to request for the hands of her daughters in marriage. Orisa told him that he could have them as long as he knew their names. Orunmila told her the name of her first daughter "Oni", the second " Ola", the third "Otunla" and the fourth "Ireni". Orisa had no option but to hand over the four daughters to Orunmila.

Knowing that it was an abomination for him(Orunmila) to marry four children of same mother, Orunmila handed over the first daughter, Oni to Obatala being the oldest of all the Irunmole. Orunmila got married to the second daughter, Ola. He gave the third Otunla to Ogun while he fourth Ireni was handed to Sango. The literal meaning of these names is Oni ( Today), Ola ( Tomorrow), Otunla ( Day after tomorrow), Ireni ( the fourth day). When the four women moved into their respective home, the prosperity, achievement and success of their husbands multiplied in several folds. Seeing this, all the Irunmole and Orisa began to affiliate with the four major Irunmole and observe the week along with them. Some of the Irunmole/Orisa who affiliated with the four Irunmole are as follows:
OBATALA ( ORISA NLA)
Yemoo, Ogiyan, Obalufon, Egungun, Oosa Rowu, Oola Agboju, Iyami

IFA/Orunmila
Osun, Egbe, Yemoja (Yemanya), Osumare, Oge/Malamala, Obaluaye/Sanponna, Olokun, Òsanyìn

OGUN
Ija, Ossosi, Buukuu, Erinle/Abatan, Tokpa, Obarooye, Orisa Oko.

SANGO/JAKUTA
Oya, Oramfe/Alafere, Dada, Oganju, Ayan

This is how the various Irunmole/Orisa picked their days of the week. The Irunmole/Orisa that do not affiliate with any other Irunmole/Orisa and who can be served or worshiped any day are Esu-Odara, Ori, Aje, Ibeji and ile (Mother earth). We however need to remember that the four religious days are linked with the market days in any part of Yoruba land. This determined the type of items/wares brought into the market for sale. The wares usually have relevance with what may be used to propitiate the various deities. For example, during IFA week, the market for this day will have all the items which can be used to perform initiation ceremony, rites and rituals for Ifa, egbe, Yemoja etc. Even though the four days are divided among Obatala, Orunmila, ,Ogun, Sango, in the teals sense of it, the four days are essentially IFA days.

This is more so when we realize that Orunmila was it which gave out the remaining three days to the other Irunmole which Iwori- Ogbe stated.
Being a religious/spiritual week, this had more significance to life and essence of Orisa practitioners since it enhances and uplifts the spirituality of the practitioners. Any of the two days of the week used had its significance. IFA is only religion which has only two different weeks I.e. the social 7 days week and the spiritual/religion 4 days week.

Awo Ogbe yeku 🖤
Elérìí ìpín Magazine

24/06/2021

Welcome to Awo Ogbe yeku 🖤
Reconnecting Africans in diaspora & home to their spirituality
If you haven't understand what Ori is, then you should read this

Ori is a person's anatomical head which contains the brain. However IFA teaches that inside this physical head and apart from brain there resided another entity, a psychic impalpable force, that detertmines the individual's fortune in life.

Ori is cognate with the European concept of destiny except that with ori there is a factor of personal responsibility influencing the net effect. Ipin ( a person's lot) Iponri (individual choice) Ayanmo (Allotment) Eleda( creative influence) are alternative names for Ori, describing various facets of this intriguing concept. For this reason it is not surprising that English equivalents offered by writers on the subject also vary in emphasis or nuance..

Lucas calls Ori "The owner of Lord of the Head", " The Spirit which brings Good Fortune", Fagbenro Bayioku calls it "The Real Ego", Idowu prefers " The Essence of Personality ", The Ego", " The inner Person ".

Borrowing from Christian terminology, Ibie refers to Ori as " Our Guardian Angel" but his other phrase "the principal architect of our fortune both in heaven and earth" more accurately reflects the concept as expounded in IFA. Ifa's version is that using clay and material, Ajala the heavenly potter moulds the anatomical head and fires it to produce different sizes and finish. Orisa-Nla provides each finished head with a particular blessing the quality of which is not commensurate with the sizes or finish of the head.

Each individual makes his own choice of Ori in heaven before coming to earth. Now, if greed inclines a creature to choose a big highly finished head he may, in fact, posses very little by a way of blessings compared with a humble man who chooses a small roughly finished.

Here is an Ifa stanza from otura meji in support of the above:

"Every being sent by the Omnipotent to earth must go before Orisa-Nla to choose the blessings he desires with this condition that hr cannot choose more than one blessing. Whatever a man's preference ----- be it wealth, wives, progeny or property ----- the choice is free and unlimited except by the protocol of one kind of blessing to one man, no more.
"That is why, on earth, one who is wealthy may not have children; he who has children may lack money ; he who lives long may not receive honors and so on and so forth".

What a man becomes on earth is said to be direct result of his choice of Ori in heaven:

Akunleyan ni adaye ba,
A dele aye oju npon ni
Translation:
Our destiny choice
Determines our earthly life,
A wrong choice above
Results in suffering below

According to Ifa's teaching the participation by Orunmila as God's vice-gerent or Eleri Ipin ( Witness of Man's Choice of Ori at the beginning of an individual's existence) endoes Orunmila with the knowledge of that individual's Ori. Now, man is held to have forgotten his true choice of Ori and may behave on earth contrary to that Ori. As a result his life becomes a failure. If on the other hand the acts in consonance with that choice endeavor on earth is crowned with success.

Sacrifice then,is believed to propitiate " a bad Ori" or alternatively to help the individual attune himself to his true Ori. This is the underlying idea behind the many recommendation by Ifa to querents to offer sacrifice to their Ori (Ki won bo Ori). So deeply rooted is the concept of Ori in Yoruba psyche that every aspect of life is seen as the theater of Ori's operation.
A man who has had a lucky escape would say:
Ori mi lo yo mi ( My Ori saved me)

One preparing for a difficult undertaking would pray:
Ori mi gbe mi o! (May my ori assist me and see me through).

In effect, while offering an explanation of the inequalities of life in the Yoruba concept of ori at the same time provides a remedial option for unfortunate. In this way, it instills hope and optimism without minimizing the role of contingent necessity.

24/06/2021

Welcome to Awo Ogbeyeku
Reconnecting Africans in Orisha olokun 🙇

A nutshell about Olokun (Sea Divinity)

Olokun is the divinity in charge of the sea. In fact, the world is surrounded by the ocean. Therefore, the ocean divinity cannot be ignored. It is said “gbogbo ola omi to nbe ni ile aye ko lee to t'olokun”

No water can surpass the sea honor”. It is believed that there are abundant wealth, riches and power under the sea.

Some valuable things derived from the sea include the cowries used in the ancient times as money. Most importantly “Aje Olokun” (couch-shell) is a symbol of wealth. Olokun's daughter “Aje is also treated as the divinity in charge of money.

Olokun's Praise Names.
1: Olokun Oba omi ( Olokun, the king of rivers)
2: Oba a gbenu ibu sola (the king who lives in a lot of wealth, fame and honors).

Prayer/Chant to Olokun (Eji-ogbe)

Denden laa Bolu
Denden laa bosin
Denden laa bolorisa toun tiko
Adifafun Olokun
Nijo omi olokun ko to lati we ikasi òwùrò
Gbogbo omí wá gbáríjo, was forí f'ólòkun
Olókun mà làgbà.

Translation:
Olu is usually robed in white garment
Òsin is usually robed in white garment
Devotees of divinity is usually robed in white garment decorated with parrots feathers.
Cast divination for olokun
When Olokun's water is not enough to take bath in the morning
Rivers were channeled towards olokun .
Olokun became the king of them all.

Materials for propitiation
Eyele funfun - White pigeon
Ekuru - Cooked bean cake without salt and oil
Oyin - Honey
Obi - Kola nuts
Orogbo; - Bitter kola
Oti; - Gin
Ede; - Shrimps
Banana

Taboos:
Palm kernel :Adin

Source: IFA: OHUN ENU OLODUMARE (GOD'S SACRED MESSAGE TO MANKIND)

24/06/2021

Welcome to Awo Ogbe yeku 🖤

Reconnecting Africans to know the actually who babalawo his 🙇🙇🙇

Three perspectives of Honesty as a trait of Babalawo

Honesty according to Oxford dictionary described it as the way of “always telling the truth and never stealing or cheating”.

Wikipedia describes honest to a “ Facet of moral character and connotes positive and virtuous attributes such as integrity, truthfulness, straight forwardness along with the absence of lying and cheating, theft etc.

As defined above, the general assumption is that honesty means thinking, speaking and acting truthfully without prejudice or ay vested interest or bitterness. In other words, honesty is thinking according to the injunctions of Olodumare and acting without bitterness, deceit or hidden motive at the back of our mind.

Fasina Falade describes Honesty as “means ability to recognize our limitations, to refuse, to reap where we did not sow and so on. (IFA: The key to its understanding).

As a babalawo Honest should always be part of our habit as we discuss honesty from three perspectives.
1. Honesty of thought (Piety)
2. Honesty of speech (Truthfulness)
3. Honesty of action (Righteousness)

Honesty of thought (Piety):
Honesty of thought entails a lot of courage and fear of Olodumare to be honest in thought as a Babalawo. You must be open minded, rational and realistic to yourself, to others and to Olodumare the Supreme Being. You as a Babalawo must not think evil of anyone or any situation, no matter the provocation or persecution. IFA says that Olodumare sent humans into this world only to do good and nothing more. It is based on this human will be judged.

Let it be always at the back of our mind that no amount of Ebo can change the reward of what you do. In other sense, if you think evil, evil spirit will surely be your companion and if you think the opposite, benevolent spirits will always be with you.

Honesty of Speech (Truthfulness)

The Yoruba would call it “Ooto”, English says “Truth”, Spanish pronounce it as “Verdad”, Portuguese would call it “Verdade” while the French prefers “Vérite”. For every language that is existing on this planet has its on word for truth.

Truth as we all know is a way of saying things according to how it happened without saying the other side of it which is “lying”. There is a saying in Yoruba that “Kókó leegun iyan, suku leegun àgbado, ká baa béè leegun otito”(The lump is the bone of the pounded yam, the cob is the bone of the maize, to speak and be found so after verification is the bone of truthfulness). Let not forget also the popular saying that “Say the truth and it shall set you free”. The truth will always remain the truth no matter time duration, it can never b skipped or surpassed. Therefore everybody living in this life needs to be truthful.

As a Babalawo, you must never add or subtract from what IFA says you should do, you must all time be truthful. The world we find yourself today is a world where we can barely find the truth be cause most people prefer listening to lies to truths which is a bad thing and as we all know that truth is always bitter but it is the way. Even IFA days truthful people are very rare to get. He said that people love to hear what will suit them and make them happy even if it is far from the truth. The moment a person chooses to speak the truth, the person is hated and persecuted. That is why most people prefer lying to others who hate the bitter truth. In the final analysis, the truth will prevail. Those who appreciate the truth will triumph and the truthful person will be vindicated.

Honesty of Action (Righteousness)

Honesty of action entails doing things with righteousness without bitterness or evil designs. Honesty of action also emanates from honesty of thought. It may not be accompanied by honesty of speech . if a person is righteous it is possible for the person to feel he has vested interest. Some may be persecute him for his honesty. IFA says when such happens, the righteous person must continue being righteous with more vigor. He must do it more openly or loudly for the world to see. He must not relent in his effort and must not for that reason refrain from doing good. At the end, his deeds will manifest for everybody to see.

On the other hand, if people repay our good deeds with wickedness or if they fail to recognize our deeds, we must not do wickedness to them. IFA forbids this, Ifa says that it is not for us to be the victim, the prosecutor, the judge and the executioner at the same time. We should leave everything to Olodumare if people fail to recognize our good deeds.

24/06/2021

Welcome to Awo Ogbe yeku 🖤

Reconnecting Africans in The Significance of Blood Ebo and Orisha 🙇

Image result for goat sacrifice yoruba
The blood sacrifice is a process of slaughtering and using the blood of the sacrificial animals such as pigeon, c**k, hen, guinea fowl, duck, tortoise, he goat, she goat, ram, sheep, pig, cow, It should be noted that, as a diviner, you cannot do without blood sacrifice. One is not committing any crime by killing these animals; afterall we do slaughter chickens or other animals for consumption. The reason why these animals have to be killed is stipulated in Irosun Meji where God sent Oodua to the Earth. He gave him a rope so that he can hold the world together .1n order to succeed in his mission, he consulted diviner who advised him to perform sacrifice with two goats., two sheep, food items etc.

He was told he should keep adequate watch over his slaves so that they would not spoil his endeavour, Oöduå had a slave called Arubi while Edu
(Orunmila) had a slave called Öpe. Oodua (olofin) had a special palm tree where he sent Arubi to tap wine. Édü also had special palm tree where he sent his slave Ope to tap wine. Both of them were using the wine for ritual purpose. Oodua's slave Arubi started stealing from Orunmila's palm tree. When Orunmila's slave wanted to tap from the palm tree, he always got nothing and he would come back to report to Orunmila. This situation continued until Orunmila could no longer bear it, this made him consult Ifa. He was directed to perform sacrifice, it, After the sacrifice, he visited his palm tree he saw Oodua's slave Arubi stealing wine from his palm tree. He got annoyed and caused Arubi using his Ase that made him get stuck to the palm tree.

When Oodua did not see his slave, he decided to go to where his palm was, on getting there he saw Arubi on another person's palm tree. He discovered that Arubi had been cursed by Orunmila and he started appealing to Orunmila, that he did not send Arubi on such stealing mission. Other people joined him in pleading for mercy, Orunmila said that sacrifice in form of blood must be performed. He demanded for sheep in addition to rats, fish, etc. This sheep must be killed at the base of the palm tree and that the blood of the sacrificial item must touch the ground ..Oodua complied immediately and started singing:
Eje bale
Arubi a dérö
Ajalu torotoro
Arubi a dero

When blood drops on the ground
Arubi will be relieved
Blood drop slowly on the ground
When blood drops on the ground
Arubi will be relieved

It must be noted that shortened form of 'Arubi' is 'ibi' meaning evils o negative forces such as death Oku) sickness Aruno loss (ofo) Oran Trouble litigation, Fight, paralysis, disaster, and other evils. in order to eliminate these evil forces, is highly necessary to resort to blood sacrifice. After blood sacrifice we usually sing-.
Mo fenu beje morire

I taste the blood and am endowed with blessing
Tasting the blood does not kill or harm one but gives one long success and protection and thereby, one be equipped with immunity.

(IFÁ :Ohun Enu Olodumare)

24/06/2021

Welcome to Awo Ogbe yeku 🖤

Enigma of death: Death a blessing, Curse, Savior or Destiny? An Ifa overview

"It is as naural to die as to born; and to a little perhaps the one is as painful as another - Francis Bacon'

As it is impossible to prevent or stop the manifestation of life in the flesh, so is it impossible to maintain the spirit in the flesh indefinitely. There is a law that governs all' things and the law makes it impossible to stop the spirit from passing out of the flesh whether the human being desires it or not.

There are myths and stories formulated by people which tell about the mysterious experience of death. The mysteries surrounding Death is so grave that people feel chill up their spine at the mention of death. Some regard Death as the great enemy, some treat it as uncanny that it requires strong nerve to enter a cemetry at night. While some have' shown unmistakable tendency to push Death aside, to eliminate it from life. The fear of Death has so gripped us that we intend to avoid direct confrontation with it and thereby using different euphemisms to describe it. For example, we say "he has passed on", or has departed", has' kicked the bucket" or "the demise", etc.

Death; according to'lfa is the first and one of the Ajoguns (Evil forces) who descended to Ikole Aye after the creation of the earth. The Ajoguns include Iku - Death, Arun-Disease, Ejo - Litigation, Ofo - Loses, Oran- Trouble, Ese Affliction, etc.

Death is also a super natural phenomenon which makes life a continous one and also act as a necessary end for individual. The origin of Death is as old as the beginning of life on earth with the, purpose of maintaining continuity of life and also punish those who might violate the laws of nature (God).

Without much introduction on the discourse, i will now go fully into the Origin and purpose of Death to humanity:

A Divine Blessing
In a particular stanza of Oyeku-Pose, Ifa tells us that Death is being regarded as a divine blessing to human beings which is interwoven with the ordinary process of living from the moment we are born. It described life as a continous one which goes out of the body when the cells cannot reprodce Itself anymore. Ifa is also of the view that the body wears out or depreciates like any other piece of machinery. The only difference is that unlike an Organism, an engine cannot repair itself, whereas the body is capable of renewing some of its parts.

As time goes on the cells gradually,show signs of decay, and eventually the spirit passes out of the body when
the latter has become too weak for the former to contain. The spirit then journey back to heaven and take up a new form thus, when the stream becomes stagnant, it becomes filthy and muddy. Ifa says that life would indeed be absurd if we journeyed from nothing to nothing, that's why life has to voyage to and from heaven in order to make it more interesting .

Death as a SIN
The second aspect as regards the origin of Death is SIN, which literally is to disregard God's law or to live and act contrary to the nature, whether it be intentionally or by ignorance of the law. To live according to the law is to obey God and the reward is Ogba-ltero (Garden of peace) here and the hereafter. To disobey God's law is to attract a punishment with death, diseases and other hell conditions.

Some Ifa verses show the origin of Death as a result of sin being committed by humans and how the cells gradually accumulate certain poisons which results in progressive damage and finally culminated in illness or Death. This type of Death accounts for most of the pre-mature death that occur. In Ifa, Sin is also being refered to as Eewo (taboo) as commandments from God while breaking it results tin death.

Death as a SAVIOR
Thirdly, we are made to understand that Death also acts as a saviour from a protracted illness that may not make life meaningful to someone by taking the life of such person and thereby save him or his family from prolonged agony or sorrow which may arise form such illness. Olodumare also made Death to check human atrocities and misdemeanors and possibly check over population which may make life difficult for people to live. In Odu-lfa Ogbe-Alara, a verse reads thus:

"Agbaku mogbe Isele
Adifa fun Orunmila
Baba yoo baku ja yoo si jebi iku
Ara Igbahun da
Iba se wipe aiku o
Ara igbahun da
Ebo kaye o yeni Itaba ma se"

OGBE ALA RA

Meaning
"Agbaku Mogbe Isele (name of a Babalawo)
Made divination for Orunmila
When he wanted to fight with Death and would be guilty as well
Where are the progenitors?
If we had not been dying
Where are projenitors?
We should always make sacrifice for honour"
OGBE ALARA

Death an aspect of Destiny
The fourth aspect is Death by destiny. Under this category death could occur maturely or prematurely but in most cases the pre-mature death also known as oriseku is usually caused by sorcery witchcraft, sin (as mentioned earlier)or Abiku (recurring birth death syndrome).
According to Solagbade Popoola, Abiku is 'a situation where a particular child is born into a family only to die before maturity and then reborn only to die again to be reborn an so on". For further explanation on abiku check issue no. 2 of 'ORUNMILA ' magazine.

Still under destiny . Ifa says that in the
primordial existence destinies are chosen differently including fortunes, failures and even death of humans on earth. Some can choose as part of their destinies long life, while some may prefer to choose short life and so on.
In Otura-Rete, Ifa says.

"Ogbon sawo mawi
Oro ko lu Ogberi mamo
Adifa fun Alukoso aye
Abu fun Aludundun orun
Alukoso Aye se o ngbo o
Otoo to laa yan eda"

OTURA-RETE

Meaning:
"The sage bestowed with wisdom but keep mute
The uninitiated becomes ignorant of wisdom Made divination for Alukoso aye (The Terrestrial) Also did same for Aludundun Orun (The Celestial Behold (Alukoso) human destinies are chosen dif ferently".
OTURA-RETE

In the same vein, people sometimes use supernatural powers to cause death to a particular person. The witches, wizards, herbalists, etc. possess strong and magical powers to operate both in the visible and the invisible worlds and then cause harm or death to others without their knowledge. The Abiku too have powers to come to the earth several times within a short period of years and sometimes do this purposely to torment their parents. In EjiOgbe and Iwori-Wosa, Ifa enlightens the babalawo how the issue of Abiku can be handled and thereby put an end to such premature death.

The inevitability of death
Now that we have understood how and why Death came to this world, let us move to the next stage which is inevitability of death. Death as the inevitable phenomenon is a necessary end that cannot be avoided as long as we are humans: Death is no respecter of anybody irrespective of the personality. One could be a sage, philosopher, proficient western doctor or herbalist, no one can escape the long arm of Death.

Ifa opined that the nature of human creation makes it imperative for humans to replace, reproduce or develop themselves and the physical death is a change towards Which we inevitably tend. It is the climax of our development as an individual.
Ifa tells us that death can not be avoided by humans, because death is one of the forces of energy that humans (matter) were created. All matter is composed of energy which requires two forces, positive and negative, in order to exist. The balance of these two forces is essential and must be adhered to either we like it or not. It is worthy of note that we, humans pray or wish for the good things of life (positive) only forgetting the negative without which life can not be balanced.

Ifa says that we should not be afraid of death, it should be welcomed with happiness and open heart. Ifa describes death as a visitor that must visit man once in his lifetime. In as much as other positive phenomena such as financial success, childbearing, marriage, longevity, victory, etc are welcomed by humans, it is then a matter of necessity to welcome death as well. Death also serve as a boundary between the physical world and the invisible world (Heaven). In Odu Ifa, Ogunda Aiku, Ifa describes how the job of taking one's life was given by God to 'Death. Death then went to a babalawo to divine on method of executing this onerous task given to him by God. Kumo(Sledge hammer) was one of the things he used for sacrifice. All he need to do was to point the kumo to his victim and soon afterwards, the person will die.

In Africa, what happens to the soul of the dead in the next world is also important. That's why certain burial rites or rituals are performed during the burial ceremony. The status of the deceased in the society and the nature Of death determine the type of ritual to be performed. In case of the death of a babalawo, his IKIN will be used for divination in order to hear a message from the departed and also know whether the deceased would prefer to be buried with the whole of his [kin or part of it. In most cases, it is half the quantity of Ikin that's buried along with the deceased.
In the case of the death of an aged person or a high chief in the society who has lived out the portion of his life will be accorded certain burial rites which include the killing of a fowl which is called Adie-Irano. This fowl is used to clear the way for the deceased so that he could be accepted to join the family- ancestral spirits. As the name goes, Adie-Irano the ritual "fowl that buys the road" for the deceased. This fowl is then immolated at the end of professional journey of the undertaker.

Before the co**se is finally intered, it will be washed thoroughly. Sometimes the hair of the male deceased is shaved while the female's is plaited or weaved. After the deceased has been washed. It will then be wrapped in grave clothes. Thereafter, the actual burial is taken place for the deceased smooth transition to the world beyond.
In the case of accidental death, it is believed that the soul of the deceased is troubled and thereby needs to be pacified. Certain herbal concoction with the snail are prepared by the Babalawo and then sprinkled on the floor of the deceased's house and even his grave. The significance of snail here is it's soothing and specifying efficacy. This they believe will put the troubled soul at rest so that it could have a smooth journey to the next world.

Ojewale Ifadare Babalawo

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