Orunmila and Eclipse : By Fakunle Oyesanya

For a long time, I have been ruminating in my mind what could be Ifa’s point of view about the eclipse. Somehow, my mind got fascinated by a story in Odu Ifa Obara Meji. Orunmila made us aware of what could be regarded as eclipses in our lives in a particular stanza of Obara Meji.




He tells us that no matter how long we experience the brightness in our lives, the brief darkening as a result of eclipse reminds us of that dark moments of our lives which can be brief depending on our actions.


Navigating through this dark period depends on the individual involved. With proper alignment of our Ori and the cosmos, we will move quickly from darkness to light; from ignorance to knowledge.

On the other hand, improper alignment with the cosmic laws is capable of causing permanent mental, social and spiritual darkness. Your actions every minute of the day has a ripple effect on the universe of which we are part of. Are your actions positive or negative? Are you being considerate of others or indifferent to the feelings of others in every action you take? The eclipse is a reminder of something we are doing that may not be right and which requires a change of behavior; to do what is just; show gratitude and respect for others. Think of the consequences of your action before it is initiated. There are many people out there that will be affected directly or indirectly by your actions. Moreover, you may even impair your own in the process.


As we have been advised by the scientists to NEVER look directly at the sun during eclipse: It can permanently damage your eyes!
Let us examine the following stanza of Obara Meji:

... Orunmila lo di gbogboogbo
Ifa mo lo di gbogboogbo
Ela bara a mi Agbonniregun
Gbogboogbo lowo n yo o j’ori
Gbogboogbo lese n yo o j’ona
Gbogboogbo legungun okeere nyo ju ilu
Awon lo d’ifa fun omode kerekerekere Ile-Ife
Won nsawo lo si Ife Akelubebeebe
Won ni ki won gba apa aja
Ki won fi fun Ogun
Ki won gba akuko otan galanja
Ki won fi fun Osu
Ki won gba igbin meji ajira
Ki won fi fun Osun Sengese Olooya Iyun, afide re’mo
Ki won gba eyele meji sisiwowo-sisiwowo
Ki won fi fun Odu-logbo-oje, eleyinju ege
Ki won gba apata okete
Egi aaka
Okoro-koro obi
Alagbalagba epo
Ki won fi fun iyami Okanran ni yee
Ti nje apani ma gbaagun
Ki won gba igo oti male ganranhun-ganranhun
Ki won fi fun omo-Awo
Ki Omo-Awo o rihun je
Ki Omo-Awo o rihun mu
Ki won gba ewure meji abamu rederede labe
Ki won fi fun Orunmila, bara a mi Agbonniregun
Won wa gba apa aja
Won o fun Ogun
Won gba akuko otan galanja
Won o fun Osu
Won gba igbin meji ajira
Won o fun Osun Sengese Olooya-iyun, a fide re’mo
Won gba eyele meji sisiwowo-sisiwowo
Won o fun Odun logboo-oje, eleyinju ege
Won gba apata okete
Egi aaka
Okoro-koro obi
Alagbalagba epo
Won o fun iya a mi Okanran ni-yee
Ti nje apa’ni ma gbaagun
Won gba igo oti male ganranhun-ganranhun
Won o fun Omo-Awo
Ki Omo-Awo o rihun je
Ki Omo-Awo o rihun mu
Won gba ewure meji abamu rederede labe
Won o fun Orunmila bara a mi Agbonniregun
Orunmila ni ki baabaa ja,
Ko bole niwaju
Baabaa ja,
O bole niwaju
Orunmila ni ki baabaa o ja,
Ko bole l’eyin
Baabaa ja,
O bole l’eyin
Ona wa doju olona ru
Oro okukun bee ni o
Oro okunkun l’Edu fi n’bo won loju birikiti ....
Ekun lawo oju
Iwe lawo ara
Ota rodo-rodo inu omi
Won o mo wipe oorun npa iyi ode
Awon ni won tun d’ifa fun omode kere-kere Ile Ife
Won tun nsawo lo si Ife Akelubebeebe
Won wa gba apa aja
Won fi fun Ogun
Won gba akuko otan galanja
Won fi fun Osu
Won gba igbin meji ajira
Won fun Osun-Sengese Olooya-Iyun, afide re’mo
Won gba eyele meji sisiwowo-sisiwowo
Won fun Odu-logbo-oje, eleyinju ege
Won gba apata okete
Egi aaka
Okoro-koro obi
Won fun iya a ni Okanran- ni yee
Ti nje apa’ni ma gbaagun
Won gba igo oti male ganrahun-ganranhun
Won fi fun Omo Awo
Ki Omo-Awo rihun je
Ki Omo Awo rihun mu
Won gba ewure meji abamu rederede labe
Won fi fun Orunmila bara a mi Agbonniregun
Orunmila ni baabaa to ja, to bole niwaju
O ni ko si, ko lo ree bogi oko
Babaaa to ja, to bole leyin
O ni ko si, ko lo ree bo oke mole o
Ona o wa doju olona ru mo
Orunmila ni o d’oriya,
Oro oriya bee ni o
Oriya I’Edu fi n ya won loju peregede


Translation

Orunmila declared that up it went in its tallness
I responded that up it went in its tallness
Ela, my father known as Agbonniregun
Clearly do the hands appear taller than the head
And clearly do the legs appear longer that the foot path
Clearly do the Araba trees from afar appear taller than the buildings in a town
These were the declarations of Ifa to the youths of Ile-Ife
When going on spiritual mission to Ife Akelubebeebe
They were told to take an arm of a dog
And give to Ogun
And a big matured cock
And give to Osu
And two big snails
To give to Osun Sengese, the owner of the comb decorated with coral beads
And she, who uses brass to placate a baby
And two healthy pigeons
To give to Odu logboo-oje,
Owner of the delicate and beautiful eyes
And then two big rats
And two hedgehogs
Strong kola-nuts
And plenty of palm-oil
To give to my mothers, owners of strong plumes
Also known as those who kill without confiscating the victims’ belongings
And then take several bottles of liqour
And give to the Awo
For Awo to be able to eat, and to drink
And take two goats with robust breasts
To give to Orunmila Agbonniregun, my father
They collected the arm of a dog
They did not give it to Ogun
And collected a big matured cock
But did not give it to Osu
And collected two big snails
But did not give them to Osun Sengese-olooya iyun, the owner of comb decorated with coral beads,
And she, who uses brass to placate a baby
They collected two pigeons
But did not give them to Odu logboo-oje
Owner of the delicate and beautiful eyes
They collected two big rats
Two hedgehogs
And strong kola-nuts
Plenty of palm-oil
But did not give them to my mothers, owners of the strong plumes
Also known as those who kill without confiscating the victims’ belongings
They collected several bottles of liquor
But they did not give them to the Awo
For the Awo to be able to eat, and to drink
They collected two goats with robust breasts
But they refused to give to Orunmila Agbonniregun, my father
Orunmila ordered that darkness should fall and cover their lives in the front
Darkness fell and covered their lives in the front
He ordered the dark cloud of disaster to cover their lives from behind
And the dark cloud of disaster covered their lives from behind
They became confused and couldn’t find their way through
Orunmila declared that it was a matter of darkness
It was darkness that Orunmila used to cover their eyes...
We are however grateful to Tears, the Awo of the eyes
And Bathing is the Awo of the body
The small pebbles in the river bed
They are not aware that sunshine affects the pebbles outside the river
They were the ones who cast Ifa for the youths of Ile-Ife the second time
When going again on spiritual mission to Ife Akelubebeebe
They now collected an arm of a dog
And gave to Ogun
They collected a big matured cock
And gave to Osu
They collected two big snails
And gave to Osun Sengese olooya-iyun, the owner of the comb decorated with coral beads
And she, who uses brass to placate a baby
They collected two healthy pigeons
And gave to Odu logboo-oje
Owner of the delicate and beautiful eyes
They collected two big rats
And two hedgehogs
Big strong kola-nuts
And plenty of palm-oil
And gave to my mothers, the owners of the strong plumes
Those who kill without confiscating the victims’ belongings
They collected several bottles of alcohol
And gave to the Awo
For Awo to be able to eat, and to drink
They collected two matured goats with robust breasts
And gave to Orunmila Agbonniregun, my father


Orunmila ordered that the darkness which covered their lives in front
That the darkness should move away
To go and cover the hills in the forest
He ordered the cloud of disaster which covers their lives from behind
That the cloud should move away
To go and cover the hills in the savannah
And they regained their sight and could now find their way though
Orunmila declared that it was a matter of brightness
It was brightness that Orunmila used to open their eyes ...

In the stanza above, there is a story of the youths (young awos) of Ile-Ife when going on a spiritual mission to the land of Ife Akelubebe. They went for Ifa consultation and were advised to offer ebo and to seek the assistance of the Irunmole in making their mission a success. They were however advised to show appreciation to these Irunmole by giving part of their proceeds to them on their return. They agreed and pledged to do so as soon as they return. The Irunmole included Esu Odara, Ogun, Osun, Osu, Iyamis, Odu, and Orunmila.

Fortunately, their spiritual mission was very successful and on their return, they refused to heed the advice and warning of Ifa. Orunmila saw this act as a display of ingratitude, disobedience, disrespect, arrogance, self-centeredness and a negation to the principle of reciprocity.


Consequently, Orunmila commanded the darkness to fall suddenly and cover them both in the front and in the back. As a result, their vision became impaired and could not see their way through. They quickly went to another set of babalawos who divined for them for solution to their plight. They were advised to go and do what is just by redeeming their pledge as the only solution to their problem. They complied. Immediately after, Orunmila commanded the darkness that had covered them in the front and in the back, and which had also impaired their sight to clear out and move away to the deep forest and the wilderness. In the end, brightness showed up and they were able to see again and find their way through.

Eclipse was witnessed on August 21, 2017 across some parts of the globe including United States, South America and Africa. According to The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), an eclipse takes place when one heavenly body such as a moon or planet moves into the shadow of another heavenly body. This means that an obscuring of the light from the sun occurs by the passage of the moon and then cause a total or partial darkness on the surface of the earth. Literally, an eclipse can also mean blotting out, covering, obscuring, or darkening. Incredibly, science has been able to give us the what, when, and how of the eclipse but finding out the why will pre-empt a curious mind to step out of the premise and confines of scientific comprehension.  Sometimes, it is hard to imagine why eclipses do happen but going by Keith Cooper (2015) in AstronomyNow (the UK’s best astronomy magazine) “It is all down to a mix of orbital alignments and cosmic coincidences.”


 In my mind, it will be kind of preposterous to allude the occurrence of a cosmic event of great magnitude and precision to mere coincidences. Orunmila has been able to show us in Obara Meji the significance of eclipse on the planet earth and on every human being in particular.

Are you experiencing some form of eclipse in your life right now which has not only cast thick shadow on your life but disabled you from that action which may propel you to achieve your destiny? Do not despair! Orunmila describes the eclipse as a passing phase which can be overcome shortly depending on how you navigate through the darkening period. Orunmila advises us to consult Ifa whenever we seem to not find a solution to our problem. Ifa is our pathfinder that will take us through the dark moments in our lives. Ase.
Aboru Aboye!

References

What Is an Eclipse? Retrieved August 21, 2017 from National Aeronautics and Space Administration. https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/nasa-knows/what-is-an-eclipse-58

Keith Cooper (2015). Why do eclipses happen? Retrieved online from https://astronomynow.com/2015/03/18/why-do-eclipses-happen/

Oyesanya Fakunle (2014). Itenifa: Essence and Benefits (In Press) Fagbenga Ventures, Lagos.