Ifá Divination, Knowledge, Power, and Performance

Jacob K. Olupona, Rowland O. Abiodun, Jacob K. Olupona, Rowland O. Abiodun

• Publisher: Indiana University Press
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN: 9780253018908
• eBook ISBN: 9780253018960
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Performing Arts

This landmark volume compiled by Jacob K. Olupona and Rowland O. Abiodun brings readers into the diverse world of Ifá—its discourse, ways of thinking, and artistic expression as manifested throughout the Afro-Atlantic. Firmly rooting Ifá within African religious traditions, the essays consider Ifá and Ifá divination from the perspectives of philosophy, performance studies, and cultural studies. They also examine the sacred context, verbal art, and the interpretation of Ifá texts and philosophy. With essays from the most respected scholars in the field, the book makes a substantial contribution toward understanding Ifá and its role in contemporary Yoruba and diaspora cultures.

PART I.

IFÁ ORATURE: ITS INTERPRETATION AND TRANSLATION

1Ayajo as Ifá in Mythical and Sacred Contexts

Ayo Opefeyitimi

IF AYAJO (MYTH-INCANTATION) is Ifá in the mythical and sacred contexts, the best angle from which to begin this essay is the definition of myth. In Sacred Narrative: Readings in the Theory of Myth, Lauri Honko gave a definition of myth that he regarded as descriptive and concise, and in which the gods, fundamental events, nature and culture, order, and continuity are foregrounded. According to Honko, a myth is “a story of the gods, a religious account of the beginning of the world, the creation, fundamental events, the exemplary deeds of the gods as a result of which the world, nature and culture were created together with all parts thereof and given their order, which still obtains.” (1984, 49). Honko believed that this definition was “built on four criteria: form, content, function and context” (ibid.). Here, form is explained in terms of myth as sacred and symbolic narrative. Its content implicates the articulation of figures and deeds as verbalized in a narrative or poetic medium. The functions of myth are predicated in its ontological view of the world as it describes aspects of life and the universe. And the context of myth is ritualistic, wherein events once possible and operative can be exerted anew.

To complement the above, Harold Scheub wrote that:

The ancient myth has to do with the supernatural, with gods and with transcendental wisdom, with mystical behavior, and awesome activities. . . . Regularly, ritualistically, through the theatrical re-enactment of the myths, we revisit the ancient times . . . the contexts for our lives. What we do occurs within the context of the ancient myths. Nothing is new; we only routinely re-enact the ancient myths, moving in the paths of our gods. (2002, 185)

Special attention is called to the issue of awesomeness and reenactment (implicating performance) as the wisdom of the great beyond. These issues are reflected in Ayajo myths of Ifá. In the following discussion, attention is given to salient passages where the nature, content, functions, and theoretical angles of Ayajo evince it is a Yorùbá type of sacred myth.

Specifically, the case of Ayajo as Ifá in “sacred” contexts concerns the use of symbols—verbal symbols and objects or materials—in the performance of the genre. O’Keefe described the material objects as “‘anointed’—to symbolize that old feeling, that immanent excitement of power . . . objects that have become symbols of society” (1979, 248). According to Duncan (1961), they relate to the order of the society itself. Whoever controls such symbols must be obeyed, for in obeying we uphold the structure of our society. Thus, it can be said that one reason for the awesomeness of the contexts of Ayajo performance is the use of anointed symbolic objects and utterances.

Preliminaries to the Text of (Ayajo) Myth-Incantations

In Ifá divination contexts, the diviner uses the sacred chain (opele) or palm kernel (ikin) to find odù in connection with an inquirer’s request. The verses of the odù (as related through the signatures of the material objects used in Ifá) are chanted in full. More often than not an appropriate sacrifice is performed; this depends on the urgency, prejudice, and readiness of the inquirer.

After the performance of the sacrifice, the diviner and inquirer assume that all will be well as far as the treated case is concerned. Meanwhile, if the inquirer keeps complaining about the same or a similar issue, the diviner arranges to tackle the problem the Ayajo way. Here, the diviner arranges with the inquirer to invoke the mythological events as contained in the original odù, since it contains the initial sacrifice performed. In other words, the process of borrowing (yiya) the events of a (primordial) day (Ojo) for use (lo)—that is, yiya + ojo + lo = ayajo (lo)—begins. This is premised upon the belief that any problem facing an individual in contemporary times has an equivalent in the past life of our ancestors, as read by Òrunmílà who was the first literary expert on earth in the Odù of Ifá.

Ayajo Myths as a Case Study

In Yorùbá orature scholarship, Afolabi Olabimtan has defined Ayajo Yorùbá sacred myths partly as “a word generally used to refer to the past in relation to the present . . . attachment to a divinity—Òrunmílà, associated with a particular odùifá, relate to an incident in the past, feature some lines of ofo in some instances . . . ancient Ifá priests are appealed to in Ayajo to help the reciter to achieve the purpose of the incantations” (1971, 4). In this excerpt Òrunmílà, the corpus of Ifá, relationships between past and present incidents, and the pragmatic achievement of purposes are mentioned. However, as I stated elsewhere:

Ayajo ni Imo asiri oruko, isele, Itan Iwase, majemu ayeraye ati ijinle akiyesi nipa iwa ewe, egbo tabi eda miiran, ti a n lo lode oni fun ifare, atubi ati abilu, gege bi a ti se awon asiri wonyen lojo sinu odù-Ifá, eyi to fa a ti a fi n kape Òrunmílà bi eleriiki o le fase si atubotan ti a n lepa.

Myth-incantations are the knowledge of secret names, events, myths, old covenants and deeply rooted discoveries about the essence of herbs and roots or any other creatures, which are recounted in contemporary times for luck, as neutralizers and for evil, as those secrets are kept in the corpus of Ifá, which accounts for why we call upon Òrunmílà as a witness to accent the desires in view. (2010, 10)

This statement incorporates a number of aspects of the same genre, but does not reflect that the narrative is usually poetic in presentation.

Because the academic study of Ayajo is still in its infancy, this essay will undertake a proper definition of Ayajo so that readers can identify it whenever it is found or heard. Taking an example of Ayajo from the three broad types, this paper also aims at a critical analysis of representative examples. Specifically, the articulation of the following themes in the example under analysis will be treated: power of invocation, precedence, symbolic objects and covenants, the place of Ayajo in the odù of Ifá, the typology of Ayajo, the essence of primordial origin, verbal law, and the babalawo as a personification of the word in the society.

Typology of Ayajo (Myth-Incantations)

Broadly categorized, there are three types of Ayajo: luck attractant, neutralizers, and spells. Under the luck attractant are subtypes such as those meant for quick sales, soliciting love, and so on. The neutralizers comprise three major subtypes: cases (Aforan), protection against spells (Isasi), and witchcraft (Eleye). Each of the three subtypes has its own subgenres. The third major type is the one used for “spells” (or “evil-works” to employ Verger’s [1977] language) to designate.

A close examination of the names in each category reveals their functionality. In other words, Yorùbá myth-incantations are typologically categorized and named in accordance with the notion of the functions performed.

The Thematic Content of an Ayajo

Of the three subtypes of Ayajo, witchcraft will serve as a case study. In the Yorùbá cultural worldview, once you are in sociological tune with the witches, you stand the chance of living a good long life and getting rich. This is in light of the fact adduced by O’Keefe that “a great deal of ‘magic’ (which I prefer to call ‘myth-incantations’) is little more than a defense against witches . . . the very opposite of every value the group stands for” (1979, 550).

	Ayajo Atubi Eleye
	Ela ro waa
	Ela ro waa
	Ela ro waa
	Alagada-nla loruko a a paye
5	Arabatasi loruko aa pele
	Bi a ba fi efun fun aye
	Ara aye a ya gaga
	Bi a ba sepe so Ogun
	Ara ogun a le koko
10	Ogun a sege
	Omo won nile Ife
	Oun ni o bi Atepe
	Bi...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half title
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Foreword / His Royal Highness Oba Okunade Sijuade Olubuse II
• Preface
• Introduction
• Part I. Ifá Orature: Its Interpretation and Translation
• Part II. Ifá as Knowledge: Theoretical Questions and Concerns
• Part III. Ifá in the Afro-Atlantic
• Part IV. Sacred Art in Ifá
• List of Contributors
• Index