Iwa-Pele: gentle character

[IfasehunReincarnated]

I am an Iyawo ....a Orisa priest in training. lol So, yeah...I am pretty familiar. lmao. I have been an Ab'Orisa (devotee) since 1990.

I also spent some time w/ Ausar Auset Society. They give an excellent explanation of this very topic.

[Exzit]

"(p.s. so my point in even getting into the precision of translation of these two concepts is to not only let you know that a distinction made in Yoruba...it is also to say that this distinction is also useful for any and all Afrikans who know WE are at war to understand...time and time again the concept that everything has its time is a fundamental basis of the Afrikan worldview...otherwise you will find yourself with bad character for being gentle with yr enemy who is committing genocide against your entire race. if you want to think that this would be good character go ahead, and Afrikans today will let you know through 'uncle tom' 'house negro' etc that your character does not fit the context)."

I'm not trying to be arguementive but why would u say this Akyeame_Kwame?
gentleness as I understand it is to be kind to your kin , to treat kin with a respect and love you would not show to aliens. Yt being such an alien would get no love from me.

[Akyeame Kwame]

E kaasan Baba,

cool...so WE should keep rappin' i just started learning Yoruba 2 1/2 years ago now. I'm 25 and I've been an Aborisa for...hmmm...about 8 years (actually first through Akan). look forward to continuing to share our info together on this forum.

Akyeame_Kwame

[Akyeame Kwame]

Originally Posted by Exzit

I'm not trying to be arguementive but why would u say this Akyeame_Kwame?
gentleness as I understand it is to be kind to your kin , to treat kin with a respect and love you would not show to aliens. Yt being such an alien would get no love from me.

htp Exzit,

b/c as i mentioned there is no indigenous concept of "gentleness" in Yoruba that relates etymologically or otherwise to "kin". I think you might be the only person on this forum that has this strong tie between the two words.

But side note...to treat kin with a respect and love you would not show yt's is smart and in my evaluation such a judicious use of gentle character would be one of the times that gentle character would be a manifestation of good character (iwa rere).

m Ma'at,

Akyeame_Kwame

[IfasehunReincarnated]

se alafia ni Akyeame_Kwame,
i am back with a few quotes that i think are interesting and applicable to the many aspects of this conversation. after which i will delve into the topic of Iwa Pele again.

On Warriorship and Character I would relay all of us to the following quote:

Aifagba fenikan, Ko je aye o gun.
Lack of respect for constituted authority, Destabilizes the world.

Now before anyone responds to this quote I would remind you that we are discussing it or the issue of character from the european perspective that character and ethics are "debatable" and therefore "individual" and "private". Your actions can be done in private, but their consequences and the karma that results is never private, unforunately for all of us. lol j/k

The quote above would explain how individualism and unbridled warriorship, independently and combined can be disruptive not only to ones own spiritual development, but also to your community. The instability that is mentioned here is not just the disapproval of others, but also the resulting spiritual chaos that happens in our lives, and then in the lives of those that we love.

Again, we have several karmas - personal, familia, clan, community, nation, racial... anyone that denies these karmas is unaware of their subtle influence on life or is exhibiting a level of stubborness that is often associated with lack of information. there are other types and levels of karmas, but these are the foundation. we should be aware of how our actions reverberate outward, like a wave in water and effect others, causing small and large imbalances. Character is VERY important.

The next quote is very eloquent.

Iwa l'ewa omo eniyan
Good character is the beauty of a person

Again, we see the issue of wording.. "good" and "beautiful" are featured prominently here. I say again, that Character is concept, and many words and their meanings fold into one another.

I had heard the term Iwa rere, and before going to ask on it, decided to check my own sources and find a suitable definition. The definition was as you said, "good character". I can't help but think about the variety of words that refer to the "head" and "spiritual consciousness" or ORI as we have this discussion. The levels, concepts, words, definitions etc are numerous. It would be erroneous to simply say that Ori was "just" the "head" or "just" the "consciousness" of a person. But we could "get away with it" and have sufficiently provided enough information to get someone on their way to understanding the topic. But just like iwa pele, iwa rere and the other terms available to the subject of character, we could go in much greater depth based on our teachers, sources and how far along we are in our path. (I got a book that I am working on that will discuss, at least in part, some of the levels or components of spiritual growth. In the process of writing it I was pretty astounded by how complex or simple our Afrikan science can get and how different teachers hold different parts, so you gotta do a lot of research to get " a lot" of information. anyways, I digress....

Iwa has also been described (by people like Wande Abimbola for instance) as "existence". That is, that ALL living things iwa, the spark of life. We are of course concerned with how people make use of their existence and in a positive and suggestive way it seems that some Yoruba had begun to associate iwa itself with the "pursuit of good", so it became synonmous with "good or gentle character".

here is another quote:

Iwa L'ewa
Character is the essence of beauty

With indigenous quotes like these we see how all of these words come to mean something of the same thing. Humans shorten or paraphrase naturally once everyone is on the same page. So iwa pele and iwa rere and lewa and a host of other words have been commissioned to say the same things, with special emphasis one occasion or another.

So yeah, you're right. The best way, strictly speaking to say "good character" appears to be Iwa rere. But again, all the roads are leading the same way, if we follow the example of continental born Yorubas.

[Akyeame Kwame]

A ma dupe o Baba Ifasehunreincarnated,

I am reminded of what an elder of mine mentioned...that WE must know Our languages from the inside out...if not WE will be completely at the mercy of translators with literal translations, figurative translations, aesthetic license in translations etc.

The first quote is first and foremost about elders specifically and the gerontocracy that exists among the Yoruba (an example of this is how a younger person isn't even allowed to cite a proverb around or to an elder without toto)...Aifagba fenikan, Ko je aye o gun.

ai- not fi- take agba-elder = aifagba

fun- for enikan- someone = fenikan

ko - don't je- let aye- world o- be (in this context) gun- settled = don't let the world be settled...

Baba Obenga mentioned that without knowing Our languages from the inside out WE are left to make conjectures and speculations and draw conclusions out of context and with whatever resources Our (often, but not always) inept translators choose to provide US with. then WE go off like...see! this is what the continental Afrikans say...when the support from continental Afrikans is often non-existent...only to be found in flowery liberal translations that usually have nothing to do with the actual meaning or context in which the proverb is used...

Check out this book Dalit: The Black Untouchables of India and see their take on so-called Karma...according to V.T. Rajshekar this is one of the most evil concepts ever created as justification for the millenia-old oppression repression and genocide against the original Black/Afrikan founders of the Indus River Valley civilization commonly known as Dravidians...they are told because of things that they did in past lives, their aryan oppressors are justified in burning (every week I read an article about a pregnant Dalit woman set on fire) torturing and beating these Black people to death. it's like pie in the sky was over here. or more like y'all were heathens or y'all enslaved the jews that's why y'all went thru the Maafa...intellectual b.s. justification for pure white evil....

but Awise Agbaye Wande Abimbola is absolutely correct...wa- to be/to be at iwa - the noun version rendered best as the process of being...i met him and got a chance to discuss this and other points with him in one of the languages of Our Ancestors, Yoruba...i also did a presentation at ASCAC chicago (available from rivers duplications...check under the name Obadele Kambon) 2 yrs ago with what as the topic? Iwa...and the main point being the difference between Iwa rere and Iwa-pele especially in light of poor inaccurate imprecise translations that cause people to make conjectures and come to conclusions that simply are not there...for example I can name you 50 words in Akan and 50 words in Yoruba that whitey (or continental Afrikans for that matter) would all translate simply as "spirit" whatever in the world that is...why? impoverishment of the target language, lack of knowledge of the target language (usually) or the source languge (usually when u got a whitey translating). WE went over all this in this class called Afrikan literature in translation taught by Daniel Kunene, the Basotho Elder who translated Thomas Mofolo's Chaka. But in all of this the one thing that I want US all to understand is that if WE have not yet taken the opportunity to learn the languages of Our ancestors...hmmm...Kwame Ture used to say...if you are a christian and you haven't read the bible then you are a stupid christian...not b/c of any lack of ability to learn but b/c of having the capacity/opportunity to learn and refusing it...

Lack of respect for constituted authority, Destabilizes the world...somebody could take a translation like that and run with it...just have a field day with it and be like...see...and that's why we should all pay our taxes to the government...

i even hear noted Afrikan-centered scholars falling n to this trap...they'll be like Lagbaja Tamedu Lamorin is a deep Afrikan concept...it means if we don't come together then Black people won't get nowhere in the world...while anyone who understands the meaning of Lagbaja Tamedu Lamorin, which can only be found in the language, would be like...what's she talking about? where did she get that? people be lookin for authenticity but ain't willing to do the work to earn it. what they might be saying in whitey might be a valid point but folk just be scrambling to find a continental Afrikan who said anything in the general ballpark or football field to be like see...even the ancestors/continental Afrikans say what i'm saying...or they just conjecture based on bad info and come up with answers that don't answer, conclusions that don't conclude...

at any rate in all this the one thing i want US to all come out of this with is that Iwa rere and Iwa-pele are not the same thing...if they were WE would've just had one word in the first place...Our people are very practical...and there is a reason why there are different words...there are different contexts in which each is used...iwa rere is much more expansive...iwa-pele refers to a limited set of interactions under specific circumstances...but don't take my word for it...learn the language from the inside out and then you can take the same material that these translators are working with and based on an understanding of the complete system come with your own authentic take on things...

stay BlackNificent y'all,

Akyeame_Kwame

[IfasehunReincarnated]

I agree on all points, with the exception of Karma. All due respect to the author, but Karma was "noticed" not "created" and it comes from Afrikans, not Aryans. Aryans manipulated the issue of Karma to suit their own evil, unevolved, sinister and terrorist purposes. (so often we are throwing out the water with the baby when we talk about Vedic culture. a discerning eye from the point of believer, not academic is required to really discern what's "phat" and whats "wack".) I dont fall into the trap of discussing being reincarnated from chicken to human, or human to dog. lol Afrikans dont believe such things, as I am sure you aware. In fact until very "recently" (that is a relative term when we look at the history of mankind) do we find people even reincarnating outside of their own family lineage, except for especially important occasions. This is a new occurenance and is more an indication of disruption on the spiritual plane than anything else. In any case, I am enjoying the dialogue. I look forward to more and more. I would enjoy hearing more about your experiences in Akan and in what area of the country you attended Akom.

[Akyeame Kwame]

htp Baba Ifasehun,

Dr. Ben has this parable right...it goes like this...if i prepare a huge scrumptious feast and invite some caveboys to eat and they go back to their caves and it up and then go around the world feeding it to everyone else in the world...and because everyone else is in a starving and desperate state, they eat it. and after forcefeeding or voluntarily they come to think it's the best meal in the world...of course you can say that's because of the fine seasonings that the original meal had and call it Afrikan ...but a lot goes on in a caveboy's stomach.

thus it is with christianity, islam, hindu, etc. all of them are the ings of the original meal that Afrikan people prepared.

look at the social function that this use-to-be greens bile infested junk has...WE go picking through the and find something that looks edible...mmm...Karma...but look what it's become...and look at the social function...i don't say throw out the baby (unless its a baby krakkka) with the bathwater...i say return to the source and see what the actual original meal was like...i'm cool with reciprocity...i like justice...punishments and rewards after death you can see in the Kemetic judgment scene...i say fine...also in this context of WAR WE are in, look at the social function of Karma, look at the social function of pie-n-da-sky, of y'all went thru the MAAFA cause y'all were being bad and tell me is sweet...

Akyeame_Kwame

[Akyeame Kwame]

No problem Baba,

i'm more than happy to share my experiences in Akan...and what part of which country have I attended Akom?

AK

[IfasehunReincarnated]

Sometimes Temple Service where an Akan priest might publicly get possessed and do healings or deliver messages is called "Akom". Akom also refers to the act of a priest getting possessed. I was asking "where" you have attended Akom, as in what Akan community you are affiliated with...

==========


Ìwòrìméjì


ÃŒwòrì tëju mï ohun tÃ* nñe ni
BÃ* o bá të Ifá tán
KÃ* o tún iyè è rë tû
ÃŒwòrì tëjú mï ohun tÃ* nñe ni
Awo, má fi ûjá igbÃ* gun îpë
ÃŒwòrì mï ohun tÃ* nñe ni
Awo, má fi Ã*ìmîwû wö odò
ÃŒwòrì tëjú mï ohun tÃ* nñe ni
Awo, má fi ìbÃ*nú yö îbë
ÃŒwòrì tëjú mï ohun tÃ* nñe ni
Awo, má fi kánjúkánjú jayé
ÃŒwòrì tëjú mï ohun tÃ* nñe ni
Awo, má fi wÃ*rÃ*wÃ*rÃ* mkùn ölÃ*

ÃŒwòrì tëjú mï ohun tÃ* nñe ni
Awo, má sèké, sîdÃ*lû
ÃŒwòrì tëjú mï ohun tÃ* nñe ni
Awo,má purï jayé
ÃŒwòrì tëjú mï ohun tÃ* nñe ni
Awo, má, ñe igbéraga sÃ* Ã*gbÃ*
ÃŒwòrì tëjú mï ohun tÃ* nñe ni
Awo, má sö irètÃ* nù
ÃŒwòrì tëjú mï ohun tÃ* nñe ni
Awo, má sán bántý Awo
ÃŒwòrì tëjú mï ohun tÃ* nñe ni
Awo, má bÃ* o bá tëfá tán
KÃ* o tún iyè è rë tû o
ÃŒwòrì tëjú mï ohun tÃ* nñe ni



Translation:
Ìwòrì take a critical look at what affects you.
If you undergo Ifá initiation (Ìtûlódù).
Endeavor to use your wisdom and intelligence.
Ìwòrì take a critical look at what affects you.
Awo, do not enter into the river without knowing how to swim.
Ìwòrì take a critical look at what affects you.
Awo do not draw a knife out in anger.
Ìwòrì take a critical look at what affects you.
Awo, do not be in a haste to enjoy your life.
Ìwòrì take a critical look at what affects you.
Awo, do not be in a haste to acquire wealth.
Ìwòrì take a critical look at what affects you.
Awo, do not lie, do not be treacherous.
Ìwòrì take a critical look at what affects you.
Awo, do not deceive in order to enjoy life.
Ìwòrì take a critical look at what affects you.
Awo, do not be arrogant to elders.
Ìwòrì take a critical look at what affects you.
Awo, do not lose hope.
Ìwòrì take a critical look at what affects you.
Awo, do not make love to your colleague's spouse.
Ìwòrì take a critical look at what affects you.
Awo, when you have been given initiation,
Ìwòrì take a critical look at what affects you.
initiate yourself again by using your wisdom and intelligence.


Ìwòrìméjì........


When we take a look at what Iwá is and the importance of OrÃ* in ones life and its correlation to ÃŽlódùmarè as well as its correlation to and with ourselves and our body. We have to search not only for the meaning of the existence of OrÃ* but its relationship to Iwá ( Character). The first thing to understand is that without OrÃ* we can't be identified or classified. We will not know who we are ourselves. OrÃ* is what gives us our distinctive personality traits. OrÃ* is where we get our instincts to react to different types of situations and sensations. This does not exclude pain, pleasure, love, and lust. Nor is it limited to emotions and temperament. OrÃ* is the foundation of character and therefore has everything to do with everything we do.

If we take the time to define the word character, we will see that character can speak of a great many things or better yet there are a great many things that can be defined as character or character traits. If we go deeper we will find out that character is something that is formed and developed by many things. However, for character to be built, developed, formed and defined there first has to be a correlation between your OrÃ* and yourself. Once this correlation is established it must be made strong. You must be bonded with your OrÃ* with a single link chain and like wise, your OrÃ* must be bonded with and to you using that same single link chain. What this leads to is you coming to know yourself. This will serve as your foundation for you to build your character as well as a bridge from your OrÃ* to your character and character traits. We all have a sense of good and bad, right and wrong. We all have the ability to disseminate that which is of negativity and darkness. However, not all of us have properly built character to make the correct choices. We tend to let greed, lust, pride, jealousy, and selfishness get in the way and take control. Therefore an error is made in ones judgment. Instead of being focused on what is needed for growth, education, development and fortification of the total being.


It is impossible for any being to be absent of any of the above mentioned qualities and criteria. We all have these traits within us if not then we are out of balance.

Ìrosùn Méjì
Aláta tóro ëwön OdùdúwÃ*
Ëni ará rö nÃ* Ã* rÃ*rö mö
BÃ*báláwo réré ló d' Ifá fún OrÃ*
OrÃ* nti örun bö w' áiyé
Wön nÃ* kÃ* OrÃ* rú bö
OrÃ* rú bö
OrÃ* t'ó l' óun ò nÃ* l' ówó
Ã’sùn mo f' orÃ* mi sùn o, Ifá jé kÃ* nl' ówó l'óde ayé
OrÃ* tó w'áyé t' ó l' óun ò nÃ* l' áya tÃ*bÃ* l' ókö
Ã’sùn mo f'orÃ* mi sùn ó, Ifá jé kÃ* nl'áya tÃ*bÃ* l' ókö l' óde ayé
OrÃ* t'ó w' áyé l' t' ó l òun ò nÃ* nÃ* ire
Ã’sùn mo f'orÃ* mi sùn ó, Ifá jë kÃ* nnÃ* re gbogbo k' óde ayé

Translation


Whoever feels comfortable behaves so
rere’ Priest divined for OrÃ*
OrÃ* was coming from heaven to earth
OrÃ* was advised to make sacrifice
OrÃ* made the sacrifice
OrÃ* that comes to earth and says he would not get riches
Ã’sùn (listens and takes good care) , I tell you my destiny, Ifá let me be rich in life. OrÃ* that says he/she would not have a wife or a husband.
Òsùn I tell you my destiny, Ifá let me have a husband or wife in life.
OrÃ* that comes to earth and says he would not have ire
Òsùn I tell you my destiny, Ifá let me have all ire in my life.

OrÃ* relates to Iwá
The way that OrÃ* relates to Iwá (character) is through our thoughts and all those dreams, inspiration, aspiration and desires that are locked away in the sub conscience mind. Whatever it is that is in your conscience mind is what will be and is part of your character. However, these are often potential elements that lay dormant and in a state of hibernation waiting to be awakened and fed. The OrÃ* knows that these potential elements and traits are there. However, the OrÃ* is not going to let this area of the foundation to be built until it has been appeased. What needs to be understood and conveyed here is that it is through OrÃ* that we are able to accomplish any task. Your OrÃ* gives you just enough to get and use a minimum of your total mental and physical abilities. Only when we have made the proper offerings and sacrifices will OrÃ* give us full access to the abilities of our being. These are the basics to the relationship between OrÃ* and character. Ifá tells us that our character is what gives us our personal identity. It makes us who we are. However, character is nothing without OrÃ*. OrÃ* is the life force of character. OrÃ* is the master of Iwá (destiny). Ifá says that if there is something that we want to do we should ask first of our OrÃ* to enable us to do that which we want to do.


IwÃ* kÃ*ni IwÃ*
ènìÃ* ibi bèèrè kÃ*l'o dá Iwá mi
Ifá sö nÃ* bèèrè iwö OrÃ* kÃ*l'o dá a
ÈnìÃ* bèèrè Ifá, DÃ* Or nÃ*?
Ifá sö nÃ* ÃŒwö nÃ*nú OrÃ* I !
Ifá sö ÃŒwo nÃ* fé rÃ* OrÃ*, e maa lè rÃ* I
Ifá sö e fúyé , kò le rÃ* ti ìwö rÃ* I
ÃŒkan rÃ* OrÃ*, ÃŒkan rÃ* Iwá

Translation


Destiny what is Destiny?
An unfortunate person asked what is my destiny?
Ifá said ask your OrÃ* what is your destiny.
The person asked Ifá where is my OrÃ*?
Ifá said that your OrÃ* is in your head!
Ifá said “If you want to find your OrÃ* you will find it.
Ifá said It is not hard, seek and you shall find it.
Once you find it you will find character.

Iwá / Kadára (character/destiny) and OrÃ* are related. Some insist that they are husband and wife and others say that they are siblings. It is true for both cases in the matter of our physical, temporal, emotional and spiritual make up. OrÃ* and Iwá make us what we are. However, on the same note we must as I said before build Iwá so that Iwá and OrÃ* can support us. We must instill goodness in OrÃ* if we want to receive goodness from OrÃ*. OrÃ* directs us to the type of people that we need to be around. The environment that we live in as well as the type of people we surround ourselves with either help to build or destroy our character. Our character is what speaks for us, our character defines our destiny. A persons mode of operation will always tell you what kind of OrÃ* and destiny he or she has.

ÃŽrúnmìlÃ* divined for OrÃ* on the day that he was looking for a wife to accompany him to the world. OrÃ* asked what should I do so that I will have a wife to accompany me to the world. ÃŽrúnmìlÃ* cast Ifá. They saw no one but Ogbè méjì. ÃŽrúnmìlÃ* said that OrÃ* should offer 16 gowns, ÃŽrúnmìlÃ* said that OrÃ* should offer 16 white head wraps, ÃŽrúnmìlÃ* said that OrÃ* should offer tete leaves, eesin leaves, olusesaju, and Efun. OrÃ* heard and made the sacrifice. ÃŽrúnmìlÃ* told OrÃ* that he should walk through the Forest to get home and that he would meet his wife by the river. The next day Iwá came to ÃŽrúnmìlÃ* for divination to know what she should do to have a good husband. ÃŽrúnmìlÃ* cast Ifá. Who did they see? They saw no one but Ogbè méjì on the mat. ÃŽrúnmìlÃ* said that Iwá should sacrifice all the clothes that she had on. ÃŽrúnmìlÃ* said that she should offer 24 Öbi abÃ*tÃ* (native kola nuts) and 24 Orògbö ( Bitter Kola nuts). ÃŽrúnmìlÃ* said she should offer 32.000 cowries. ÃŽrúnmìlÃ* gave Iwá all the herbs and materials that OrÃ* had sacrificed the day before. ÃŽrúnmìlÃ* said that she should offer a goat to the earth and a hen to the river. Iwá made the sacrifice. ÃŽrúnmìlÃ* told Iwá to bathe in the river with the herbs and to prepare the goat and hen before she went home. OrÃ* did as ÃŽrúnmìlÃ* told her to. ÃŽrúnmìlÃ* told Iwá that she would meet her husband at the river. ÃŽrúnmìlÃ* said to Iwá that she should entertain the stranger with the food items. Iwá did as she was instructed. When the stranger walked by, he saw the materials that he offered on the day before laying on the ground. He smelled the food cooking. OrÃ* sat down and began to partake of the food. Just then Iwá came out of the river. Iwá said “ You there who are eating my food, Who sent you? OrÃ* said “No one sent me. I am on my way home from seeing ÃŽrúnmìlÃ*. Iwá said you are eating my food that I have prepared for my new husband who I am to meet today. Do you not have a wife at home that cooks for you? OrÃ* said “ No, I was told that I would meet my wife at the river while I was going home”. Iwá said “Then it is final. Iwá and OrÃ* sat down and ate together. After they had eaten they both fell asleep. They shared the same mat. The morning of the next day OrÃ* took Iwá home to be his wife. Iwá was good for OrÃ* and OrÃ* was good for Iwá. If OrÃ* was hungry Iwá would feed OrÃ*. When Iwá needed direction or support, OrÃ* would give it to Iwá. Whatever Iwá wanted she would ask of OrÃ* and OrÃ* would give it to her. This is how OrÃ* got a wife to accompany him to the world.

http://www.ifajakuta.freeyellow.com/

[Akyeame Kwame]

L L @ Baba Ifasehun...and a country is a large land with people in it and well defined and recognized boundaries...i was asking if you wanted to know about where i have attended Akom in Ghana or amerikkka...

...i'll answer for both...i have attended Akom first at my mother's Sankofa Abusua in raleigh...also later with the first akomfoo that she trained with in Medoma (a small satellite village of Kumase) Ghana, Nana Abass (which is also where i got the title }kyeame as i perform that function for my mother). then with the next group that my mother trained with (and graduated from) Onipa, Nana Dinizulu's group...i've attended other akom functions but these are the main ones...have u ever attended an Akan akom?

AK

(ps what Yoruba font are you using...the characters aren't coming out...might be better characterless like how Yoruba newspapers are...e se for sharing)

[IfasehunReincarnated]

Ase! you were born into the traditions or your mother found her way while you were still young? You have a wealth of experiences right there. I have not attended Akom. I am never on the east coast which is where friends that i have known over the years have always been involved.

I didnt even think to ask if you had travelled to Ghana. lol

[Akyeame Kwame]

Originally Posted by IfasehunReincarnated

Ase! you were born into the traditions or your mother found her way while you were still young? You have a wealth of experiences right there. I have not attended Akom. I am never on the east coast which is where friends that i have known over the years have always been involved.

I didnt even think to ask if you had travelled to Ghana. lol

hmmm...i guess a combo of the two...my mother first went to Ghana and the Akonnedi shrine in 1972 on a trip with Nana Dinizulu...but didn't start training til around the time i was in my teens. a wealth of experiences indeed. in addition to a wealth of experience from the inside i've had the opportunity to meet and interact with some very powerful Afrikans over the past decade or so...

...where r u located? if you don't mind sharing...

yes...i've been to Ghana 3 times...the last time i lived there for a year...this is when i had the majority of my experiences attending the Akwasidae Akom in Medoma...even though they had akom the first two times i went...

...stay BlackNificent

AK

[Akyeame Kwame]

Originally Posted by IfasehunReincarnated

Who is IMALE except OLODUMARE (GOD).

Also Olodumare should never be translated as God or equated with God...God is the eternal enemy and adversary of Olodumare

[Princess Ademide Adinasse]

Alaafia,

I thought you would all find this commentary interesting.

http://www.jendajournal.com/issue7/ademoyo.html

JENDA: A JOURNAL OF CULTURE AND AFRICAN WOMEN STUDIES

ISSN: 1530-5686

Issue 7 (2005)

THE MISINTERPRETATION OF AFRICAN THOUGHT AND AN ILLEGITIMATE APPEAL TO “AFRICAN CULTURE�


Adeolu Ademoyo



Gani Fawehinmi, a respected Nigerian activist-lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, used the death of Mrs. Stella Obasanjo, the wife of the Nigerian head of state, as an occasion to evaluate the political health of Nigeria. He drew an important connection between the circumstances of the death of Mrs, Obasanjo and the immorality and irresponsibility of the Nigerian ruling elite and the middle class. My understanding of Fawehinmi’s position is that it is morally unacceptable for the wife of a head of state to die in a foreign hospital after 46 years of independence. In his view, such a death is not only a damning judgment on the country's medical infrastructure, the sad state of its hospitals, and the pathetic state of the country's medical policies, it is also an indictment on the Nigerian ruling class.

Mr. Reuben Abati, a well-known columnist of The Guardian (Nigerian) news daily, takes issue with Fawehinmi. He believes that Fawehinmi spoke ill of the dead and of those still grieving the loss of Mrs. Obasanjo. According to him, Fawehinmi's assessment is ethically wrong as it unfairly hits President Obasanjo, who is mourning the death of his wife, below the belt. Abati justifies his views by appealing to “African culture,� suggesting by this appeal that there is a consensus on what Africans collectively mean by “African culture.� at least his version of it. I want to quickly state that there is no such consensus, precisely because there is no intellectual tradition or argument that relies on an unexamined, uncritical sense of collectivity.

Thus, I disagree wholeheartedly with Abati's misguided chastisement of Fawehinmi for the following reasons. The African culture that I know has a philosophically coherent, plausible, and sophisticated account of death, the public and moral life. Given that one of the strongest points of this culture, before it was appropriated, disrupted and abused by Africa’s ruling elites, is ethics, it is important to quickly review its philosophical paradigm without boring the reader with unnecessary details. This review is crucial for the collective health of the Nigerian public, which is in danger of being irreparably damaged by its irresponsible ruling elites. We, the citizens, should always critique our public health and accept our shortcomings without passing the blame to others.

The Yoruba intellectual tradition, as an aspect of the larger body of African intellectual tradition, places great import on “Iwa.� Literally “Iwa� is character. Hence the notion of “Iwa pele� which is a positive representation and attribution of goodness of character, is also a moral requirement of “Omoluwabi.� Omoluwabi is one in whom the goodness of Iwa is privileged. But more substantively,“Iwa� is the metaphysical Being of a human; the way one is metaphysically, such that Iwa as character is the outward representation of one’s Being, that is, one’s metaphysical Being. The notion of “Iwa ni ewa omo eniyan,� that is, a person’s Being is her beauty, or the Being of a person is her beauty. In this case, beauty is not physical beauty but an internal beauty that fits one for the ethical life. This internal beauty is eternal hence its moral requirement for a public life because death is a tax every mortal must pay. Because the Yoruba intellectual tradition connects the material with the immaterial world, there is a moral imperative for a good Iwagiven the eternity of Iwaand the eternity of the connection of the material and immaterial world. The moral injunction is for the “evil or wicked person to remember tomorrow� (“Osika ranti Ola�), because Ola, which is tomorrow or the future, is pregnant with today and the present.Before the misadventure of slavery and colonialism and the inheritance of colonial scholarship by our so-called middle class who prefer to look “sophisticated� in alien intellectual garment, and before the corruption of the African (my reference point is the Yoruba intellectual tradition with which I am familiar) intellectual life by colonial scholarship, there is nowhere in the body of Yoruba intellectual life that we glamorize “Osika� (the wicked one) or, are morally bound to not “speak evil�of the wicked person who has passed on. I challenge any of our writers to produce the intellectual reflection in Yoruba tradition where it is claimed that we have the moral imperative not to subject to public scrutiny the evil acts of a dead wicked person. What we will find after interrogation of this intellectual tradition is that we should not uncritically take on the dead, out of moral deference to the dead person who cannot defend herself or himself. It is not the case that we should not speak evil of the dead, neither is it the case that we should not speak evil of the dead person who was evil when she or he was alive. If the dead is evil when she or he was alive, we are morally bound to inspect her or his legacy for the sake of the health of the community. The suggestion here is not about a particular person, neither is it being suggested that Mrs. Stella Obasanjo was evil or wicked. For good reasons I refuse to participate in the debate about the goodness or otherwise of Mrs. Stella Obasanjo. For me, the challenge is the more demanding one, which is about defining the moral requirement of our public sphere within the context of a correct interpretation of African intellectual life and tradition. There is nothing in Yoruba intellectual tradition that says we should not speak evil about a dead person who is evil. On the contrary the moral requirement of Iwa and Omoluwabi puts a moral imperative on us to live a good life and, cultivate and exhibit proper Iwa. This inclines us to be aware of what will happen to us when we are dead. This further gives the ethical license to the living to discuss the evil acts of the evil if she or he dies. The challenge to our so-called ruling elites is this: How many of them are Omoluwabi, that is the one in whom the goodness of Iwa is privileged? That the number will be small is damning for the country. We do not have Omoluwabi among our political elites; and in my view, this is the morale of Fawehinmi’s comments.

Therefore Abati’s reference to “an age-old tradition about human conduct in the face of grief�, as an aspect of “African age-old culture,� misses the point. He could disagree with Fawehinmi as he deems fit. But his appeal to an “African culture� is flawed because African culture is not some unreflective body of thought that hamstrings us from looking critically at ourselves, or that compels us not to conclude that we are wrong even in the face of grief. This is the final point: if Abati is right all Nigerians should stop the public examination and condemnation of General Sani Abacha’s public and private life in the name of that same “age-old tradition about human conduct in the face of grief.� If we are to be consistent, we ought to refrain from critically condemning Abacha’s looting of Nigeria’s treasury.
My intervention is borne out of an intellectual need to defend what I believe is the correct and more morally plausible account of Yoruba intellectual life and tradition. One is also using this opportunity to remind Africa’s ruling class that our hands and tongues shall not be tied by so-called African tradition and their misinterpretation. If that is the only public weapon we have when they pass on, no one and, no uncritical and unreflective interpretation of that culture will stop us from using it. And it is the same African intellectual tradition -which when it is misinterpreted is used to arrest discourse and our development- that we shall correctly interpret and rely on in setting the records straight. To do otherwise is to arrest our thought. And that is morally unacceptable.


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Citation Format:

Adeolu Ademoyo. “The Misinterpretation of African Thought and an Illegitimate Appeal to “African Culture�,� JENDA: A Journal of Culture and African Women Studies: Issue 7, 2005.