She was angry and many questions quickly crossed her mind: Why did they not consult her before making a decision that affected her own domain? Was it because they thought she was powerless, therefore they could just do anything they wanted without involving her?
Her mind was agitated. She therefore decided to prevent Eledumare and the other divinities from establishing human life on earth. She decided that she was going to flood heaven with her waters, to demonstrate her powers to the others, who seemed to have for- gotten that she the goddess of large salt waters. She decided that after flooding Eledumare and the other orisas from heav- en, she would later allow them back, if and only if they promised to abandon the project to establish human beings on earth.
Olokun personally did not like the few human beings that she had seen. And Olokun knew that, just as the other orisas, Obatala was far from per- fect.
The human beings that he created therefore had all the flaws of the gods. In addition, they had other profound physical and emotional weaknesses and illnesses, and totally relied on the orisas for everything. Their ranks included liars, thieves, murderers, adulterers, debtors and lay- abouts. The few honest ones are not enough to redeem the warped ones. Yet the orisas insisted on populating the earth with people.
Heaven will still remain their home. Heaven is our home. Olokun grew even more furious when she learnt that people would turn the earth into a market place. But Olokun also needed the earth for her studio, for Olokun was an amazing bead maker. She spent her time in solitude, making beads, combining dyes and pigments to make amazing beads of dazzling hues.
She knew that she would lose her entire bead business once humans came to live on earth with her. She knew that some will steal her beads. Some will vandalize her studio. Some might even begin to steal her bead making idea, and start to make beads themselves. Because she had no faith in humans, and because she was not consulted before the decision was made, Olokun refused to accommodate hu- mans on earth. Now Eledumare could sense that Olokun was not happy about the plan to establish the human settlement on earth.
All the orisas decided that a special messenger should be sent to Olokun to convey the decision to establish the human abode on earth to Olokun. Eledumare then called forth Orunmila, the orisa of divination. Tell us what will hap- pen after we send an emissary to Olokun. Will she agree to our plan, or will she remain adamantly against it? And who should we send to convey the message to Olokun.
Because the message is as good as the messenger. Orunmila asked them to allow him to consult his Ifa divination system. He then brought out the entire Ifa paraphernalia, including the opele, iroke, opon and agere ifa. He placed his divination tray on the floor and cast his opele string on it.
The Ifa divination signature that the opele forms is oyeku meji. Orunmila recited the at- tached odu verse as follows: 7. Was crying due to barrenness Won ni ki i se ti igbin It is unlike the sanil Ko dubule lai ni ikarahun To sleep outside of its shell Won ni ki i se ti oka It is unlike the viper 9 Ko dubule lai loro inu To sleep without its poison Won ni ki i se ti ire It is unlike the cricket Ko dubule lai han gaaraga.
To sleep without making grating noises Won ni iran oga Not a single chameleon Ki i rin lai ni igba aso. He listened to call to offer sacrifices and offered sacrifices O gbo titu atukesu, o tu He paid attention to the needs of Esu O gbo ikarara He heard ikarara, the sound of good fortune Ebo ha fun un. His sacrifices worked for him 12 Bi iyawo ti n ti owo ala bo osun As his younger wife bathes her newly born baby Ni iyale n bi were So does the senior wife deliver her own baby Ijo ni n jo He began to dance Ayo ni n yo He began to celebrate Ese to na He stretched a leg 13 Ijo fa a.
Dance tugged at it O ni be ni awon awo oun He says that that is exactly how his diviners Ti n fi enu rere pe ifa. Give thanks and praise to Ifa divination Iwo yeku, emi yeku I dodged death, you dodged death 14 Oyeku di meji Two oyeku verses combine Gbogbo aye lo tu ni lara. And the entire world is happy Orunmila said everything will be fine. The outcome of the message, Orun- mila said, will depend on the presentation of the messenger.
Directly in front of him was Ega, the chameleon. Orunmila pointed at the chameleon, who was surprised by the choice. Everybody was also surprised. Obatata expressed disappointment by the choice of Chameleon. Olokun will simply drown the poor fellow. It stands no chance. At least send someone who is a little more handsome to do the job.
She might fall for the looks and charm. It walks slowly like a tired and senile fellow. You should find someone who looks more healthy than the chameleon, who walks more smartly and thinks more quickly. Not a slovenly fellow like the chameleon. But Eledumare insisted that they must listen to the voice of Orunmila. So they all agreed to send the chameleon to Olokun to convey the news to her. Most surprised was the chameleon itself. Slowly, in its ponderous manner, the chameleon crawled forward, one foot at a time.
It flickered its tongues seven times as a sign of greeting to Eledumare and the dinities and said: After all, the oracle is simply the voice of one divinity, and only one divinity, that is Orunmila.
How can the wisdom of just one divinity be more important than the wis- dom of the entire group? Everybody here is saying that you need to choose someone much stronger, faster, quicker and more appealing than my poor self, for this most important as- signment.
Yet you insist on listening to the voice of only one divinity. Is the Ifa divinity infallible? Why must the voice of one divinity take precedence over the voice of the others? Two heads are better than one. And when you listen carefully to what everybody is saying, you will un- derstand that nobody is being malicious towards me.
I am kind of slow of move- ment. It takes me a long time to get from one point to another. The distance between heaven and earth is enormous. Even for the fastest of fellows, it will take some time to get from here to earth.
Now imagine someone like me. It would take for ever. Secondly, it is no lie that I am not handsome. There are many fair gents here. There is Ogun, most ruggedly hand- some, whose look has never failed to charmed female divinities. Olokun would not be able to resist his masculine charm. I strongly feel myself that you must not send someone as ugly as myself to a vain character such as Olokun.
She would be utterly disappointed by my looks and would not grant me any serious audience. Finally, is the issue of my slow thinking. It simply takes some time before things sink into my head. It is not my fault. This is simply my nature. Some people think fast on their feet.
It simply takes a moment and a while before the profundity or meaning of things before apparent to me, even though others understand immediately. Now everyone knows that Olokun is a sophisticated divinity. It would be a disaster for the entire human project if Olokun were to ask me an intellectual or philosophical question. I would not even know where to begin to answer her question about any- thing.
Please, Eledumare, this choice of me is not reasonable. Choose some- one else who could get the job done, and stop listening to the voice of one divinity, and denying the opinion of the others. You have presented a convincing and moving argument. I am inclined to simply accept your argument to appoint someone else to replace you. But I will not do so for one reason. You asked whether the Ifa oracle is infallible? The answer is simple. Yes the Ifa oracle is infallible.
You cannot hear a lie uttered from the mouth of Ifa divination. Whatever the divination says is the truth and entirely the truth. The divination knows no lie, cannot lie and will not lie, because it is found- ed upon veracity 9. The oracle is the epitome of the truth. No one must call the oracle a liar. To call the oracle a liar, is to be spreading lies and to have no care for the truth.
The Ifa divination is therefore not the voice of one fellow, but the fact of all life. To deny the truth of Ifa is to deny the essence of life itself. Because only the Ifa divination has the record of the very beginning, and has kept the record intact since then. Ifa divination knows the present most clearly because it is the embodi- ment of all knowledge. Ifa divination tells the future without fail because the divination exists in the future, even though it caters to the past and the present.
Because it exists in the future, it will always live, and doubtlessly con- tinue to bring the future and the past to the present. That is why the voice of the Ifa divination must be heard and obeyed beyond and above the voice of any other, or any group, large or small. If we ask the oracle for guidance in whatever we do, it will surely guide us, based on what will be to our benefit in the future. Because whatever we do or fail to do now will affect what will happen or fail to happen in the future.
That is why we need to ask the oracle before we do anything, because we must not do regrettable things. Now that the oracle has chosen you to go on this journey, you have to go, because you are the choice of the oracle. Ordinary wisdom says you are the wrong choice. But the wisdom of the oracle is not ordinary, but based on a vision of the present, past and future.
It is the difference between sleep and death. We must be careful not to doubt the wisdom of the oracle. But in the wisdom of the oracle is the key to the future. It is like asking the snail to do a one-hundred meter sprint. Eledumare then said. Now that the oracle has chosen the chameleon to go on this important assignment, it is best for us to respect the wish of the oracle.
Not respecting the wish of the oracle is deadly. What we need to do, rather than doubt the oracle, is begin to prepare the chameleon for this most important journey.
It will take the chameleon forever to move from heaven to earth.. To solve the problem of speed, we will endow the chameleon with the power of Egbe, the divinity of speed. What do you say Egbe? Egbe will deliver the chameleon to and fro heaven, a zillion-trillion times faster than the speed light. To solve the problem of sluggishness, we will endow the chameleon with the spirit of brother and sister divinities, Gaga and Sasa. Gaga the brother will provide an agility of body befitting of a professional wrestler.
What do you two say, Gaga and Sasa? Olokun, on the other hand is a beautiful woman, even though she is the vain type. But it all makes it the more difficult to send someone as ugly as the chameleon to Olokun. To solve the problem of ugliness, we will endow the chameleon with the beauty of Egbin, the embodiment of beauty itself. Here, tell me, Egbin, what do you think? Now, you need a companion on this journey. You may choose anyone you like as your companion, so you may not feel lonely.
To the utter surprise of everybody, the chameleon pointed to the snail. They all remarked that the snail was even slower than the chameleon, more timid, perhaps even a lot less intelligent. But they were relieved because of the special endowment that the chameleon now had, thanks to the divinities.
These endowments, naturally, would reflect upon the snail too, and the mission might be saved. But it was a totally transformed chameleon that set out on the journey Its entire body was transformed by the powers of the various divinities who endowed the chameleon with their special attributes.
Olokun, the goddess of the sea, the owner of all the riches under the oceans, the greatest bead maker, the most powerful orisa whose mantles are the roll- ing waves of sea water, is a most beautiful divinity to behold. Her long, braided hair flows with the waves of the undulating waters, her ebony dark skin glistening like priceless pearls under the motion of ceaseless seas.
Olokun heard about the plan to establish human abodes on earth, and became angry. She pretended that she did not hear anything while she waited for the news to be formally brought to her. She was fully prepared to turn down the request to use earth for the human project mainly because she was already using the space for her bead-making studio. She made beads of all colors and shapes, but her favorite bead was the in- digo colored, tubular shaped segi bead, so luminously dark that it seems to capture light within its luxurious entrails.
It was her love for bead making that caused her to move her seat to the depth of the ocean, which nobody wanted at that time. She found the human project totally unacceptable if it would be at the ex- pense of her own studio work of bead making.
It was totally unacceptable for the divinities to take her sanctuary away from her, and populate it with strangers. She sat down in a reflective mood in the midst of her vast collection of beads. She calmly picked up some of the most colorful and exquisite beads ever made, and slowly rubs the warm gems against her dark brown skin. She would not give up her craft, she resolved.
She would fight for every cup of water in the vast ocean of the earth. Why did the divinities not pick any other spot in the universe? They could have picked Mercury, or Mars, or Jupiter, or any other planet or star to locate their project on?
It was clear to Olokun that they chose earth because she had developed it so artistically that nobody could take their eyes away from it. But they also thought that she had no fighting power.
It was only if the power of the others overwhelmed her that she was going to surrender. But she was certain that only a few of them could come from the other world to earth, because of journey hazards in those days. She could take on any small number that came at any one time, and she was determined to do so. Her secret contact in heaven informed her that they were sending the chameleon to her.
She considered that to be a sign of their contempt for her, because they could not be sending a more inferior fellow as an emissary. She knew that every act is a sign of another thing. They were telling her that she was ugly, slow and contemptible, and the chameleon would be a clear deliverer of the message. They were telling her that she was beholding her own reflection in the mirror when she saw the chameleon.
That message totally made her even more angry, and she resolved to teach them a lesson, emissary by emissary. She prepared for a war. She was not going to be fooled. They were using the chameleon as a metaphor for a real army of warriors and diplomats that would arrive with the chameleon.
It was clearly going to be an invasion, and she was ready for it. But to her utter bewilderment, just as she was speaking, she saw the cha- meleon right in front of her. She was startled. Was she dreaming? What was going on? To make things even more bewildering, the chameleon was riding the snail as a horse.
To her astonishment, the skin of the chameleon glistered with a lustrous light that radiated around it. Olokun, to her surprise, wanted to touch it, but she quickly checked her impulsive spirit.
The chameleon falls flat on its face in prostration before her. I simply wish it and it happens. It is now the way of Orun. Olokun became even more puzzled. Overcame by her vanity, Olokun decided to retire into her chambers. She went into her chambers and began to attire herself in her gorgeous garments, woven in multicolored patterns, using different yarns and textures. She then looked for various combinations of beads, both brilliant and dull beads, large and slim, round and angular shaped gems, and she wore them.
She then reappeared before the chameleon, to show off herself, and display how beautiful she looked. The only exception is that the mirror even looked more splendid than the original, which puzzled Olokun, who excused herself and went back into her chambers to re-attire herself. But she be- came even more amazed, as the skin of the chameleon changed again, and mirrored the colors of her new dress, with the mirror image looking even more beautiful than the original.
So she returned inside to re-dress. These are my own robes. I brought a lagre wardrobe, before I reckoned that I might be staying long. Olokun thought about these things and decided that thy were too bizzare for her to deal with. Certainly, things have changed in Orun, and they were no lon- ger as they used to be, if the ugly chameleon could look so beautiful, and the snail could be as swift as a horse..
She decided that she had underestimated thepower of the forces of Orun. But you cannot take all of my space. Tell those who sent you that you can have some of the planet, which you may turn into solid ground for human habitation.
But I will still continue to reign over the larger portion covered by the waters. I believe they will be pleased. Bye- bye now and remain well. They left Olokun wondering whether everything was just a mere dream , or whether it actually happened..
And her word remained that she consented to the establishment a human colony here on earth. So she has to honor and keep her word, for that is the nature of her own graceful iwa, or character. That same day, Eledumare gathered the entourage of orisa to move to aye or earth, to colonize and domesticate it for human habitation. Eledumare called each one of them one by one, and each one stepped forward, as he or she is called.
Ele- dumare first called Obatala forth, from the magnificence of his throne. White and black threads do not argue with each other. They collaborate. Do you hear the sound of my voice, Obatala, you always clad in your creative garbs of white, upon your dark- blue ebon skin? You will all descend down the metal chain of wisdom. You will take charge of earth, control it, create it to your own specifications and beautify it.
Then create human beings to inhabit it and control it before returning here to orun. It will contain its own beginning within its end, therefore it will become a dose of eternity, whose capsule is contained in a perfect gourd. They will need you far more than we do need you here now.
Orunmila agreed. Ogun, do you hear the sound of my calling voice? Are you able to make this journey? Will you go with the divini- ties to establish the earth?
Specifically what will be my role? You will let the right hand know what the left is doing, so that they are not duplicating or counteracting each other. Eledumare called out the names of four hundred and one divinities, and gave them the charge of moving from orun to aye. The last to be called was Esu.
Eledumare hailed Esu. For you nothing is sacred, nothing profane, nothing is dangerous, nothing safe. You are the embodiment of power itself, from whom all others must generate energy.
You are the heart of the fire, forever warm. You shall keep the others ignited. You are the bearer of ase, the supreme veto. Whatever you wish done must be done. Whatever you ignore must stay shunned. To you must come anyone who desires or aspires, for without your consent is nothing done.
You, the center, are also the margin. The light, you are also the shadow. The master, you are also servant of all and sundry who beseech you for favors and quests. From gods and goddesses to mere paupers will seek you out on a constant basis, and you will attend to each according to the goodness of his or her person. The wicked you will treat without mercy, and the good person will receive your favor.
To each you will cast his or her lot, without fear, without favor or fervor. Eledumare then asked Ogun, the smith, to forge a chain long and strong enough to support the four hundred and one divinities, who would swing down to the earth from orun. Ogun called Sokoti, the most skilled blacksmith in the whole of orun, and both of them retired into the forge to cast a steel chain without a begin- ning or an end.
Between the two of them, the work did not take long, and soon, the chain was ready to support the divinities. Eledumare himself took hold of the chain and let it down until it touched the surface of the water in aye.
Then one by one, the divinities descended down the chain, with Eledumare holding it. The first to climb unto the chain was Obatala, the leader of the delegation, fol- lowed by Oduduwa, the chief administrator.
Obatala took with him a snail shell containing some sand from orun, with which Obatala would build solid ground from the salty body of the ocean, for divinities and people to walk on and dwell in. He called the spot on which he landed Ile Ife, meaning the house from which we will spread to rest of the world.
As he landed, he fell down on his buttocks, crawled to his knees, rolled left, and then rolled right, before gathering himself to rise to his feet, even as Olokun watched with fascination from the splendor of her palace at bottom of the sea in Ile Ife. As he or she slid down the chain, each divinity thus fell on his or her but- tocks and goes through the motion of crawling on the knees, rolling to the left and then to the right, before Obatala helped him or her up.
That has now become a custom of greeting the orisa, the king, the chief, the head of household, the father, the mother, the elderly person, or anyone in a position of authority in Yorubaland till today. It happened that long before they landed at Ile Ife, an event of particular importance took place, in which the administrative skills of Oduduwa was put to task. It was also an event that was to define the character of Obatala as the lead- er of the immigrants to the earth from orun, heaven..
As everyone knew, Obatala liked to drink. It was his way of relaxing after doing his creative work. The day before starting out on the journey to aye, Obatala went to see Orunmila, the divination god, to seek guidance, in anticipation of the precarious trip ahead. Orunmila brought out his divination implements and spread them all out on the floor. The journey was going to be smooth and successful.
But there might be temptations along the way. Orunmila therefore asked Obatala to offer his favorite keg of wine as a sacrifice. It was a small keg with dark gourd pati- na, which Obatala carried with him wherever he went. In the keg, he always carried palm wine, which he shared with his friend. He was given the keg by Eledumare himself, and he held the keg very dear indeed.
He was therefore unwilling to give it up as a sacrifice, when Orunmila requested it as a sacrifice. But Obatala said that Orunmila was a liar, who was in collusion with Esu to scam everybody gullible. Obatala therefore called Esu a thief, an extortion- ist and a gangster on the loose. Obatala therefore did not make a sacrifice as advised by Orunmila, and kept his precious keg to himself. He washed it and sanded it down, both in and out. Then he poured the fresh palm wine that he tapped from his favorite plant into the polished keg.
He slung the keg across his back with a specially constructed belt. He was going to allow the wine to ferment, and share it with the other divinities, in a ritual celebration, as soon as they got to Ile Ife. But well after the journey started, and he was beginning to feel thirsty, Esu came up to him and asked for a drink.
Obatala explained that he was reserving the wine for a celebration. Obatala wanted to celebrate the safe passage, as soon as they arrived on aye. Esu said that it was stupid of Obatala to store wine all that way and not at least take a drink himself, to slake his thirst.
Yet Obatala refused saying that the wine was still too fresh and young. Esu shrugged his shoulders, con- curred, and departed. He therefore decided to take just a sip from the wine. The sip proved the wine to be really fruity and sweet, so Obatala took a full swig from the keg, before returning it to his belt. He felt reju- venated again, with his thirst gone. Then he took another swig after a few more moments.
Soon he could not keep his hands off the keg of palm wine and kept tak- ing swigs, until the keg became empty. He was also by this time stupendously drunk. But soon after, Oduduwa noticed that Obatala was beginning to spill the sacred sand that Eledumare gave them to build the earth from. The more of the sand that Obatala spilled, the less sand there would be left to over the ocean and build solid ground. It got to the point that Oduduwa was afraid that Obatala was going to drop the entire snail shell containing the sand, and that all would be lost, because there would be no sand to build solid ground, and people would have to swim about like fishes.
Oduduwa therefore intervened and rescued the snail shell from Obatala, who was too drunk to care. With the help of Ogun who cleared the path for the entire group, Oduduwa led the entourage to the earth. Obatala got so drunk at some point that he fell asleep.
He had to be carried along by his friends including Egungun, Obaluaye, and Oro. But by time, it was already too late. The divinities were already loyal to Oduduwa, who they regarded as saving the world and provid- ing leadership when they needed one, and Obatala was intoxicated. When Obatala woke up and realized that he had drunk the entire content of the keg all by himself, he blamed it on the prettiness of the gourd, and smashed it to pieces.
Thus completes is the story of how people came into being in Ile Ife. He decided to throw a feast To celebrate the achievements of his oracles. He therefore decided to send for all his children Who were rulers and princes In various cities and domains. All his children immediately responded They were on their way to join Orunmila To celebrate his festivity, in Ile Ife.
When the day of the festival arrived Orunmila had prepared all assortments of drinks And all assortments of food For the enjoyment of his visitors And to welcome his children. The first to arrive was Owa Obokun Who is the undisputed ruler of the Ijesa and surrounding region. Owa Obokun went before the throne of Orunmila Owa Obokun removed his crown He is the undisputed ruler of Ila and its environs Owarangun Ila removed his crown He is the undisputed ruler of Ikerre and its environs Ogoga removed his crown He is the undisputed ruler of Ilaramokin and its environs Alara removed his crown He is the undisputed ruler of Ijero and its environs Ajero removed his crown He is the undisputed ruler of Ketu and its environs Alaketu removed his crown Orunmila wore a large garment of linen Olowo also wore a large garment of linen 2.
Orunmila wore a pair of sliver shoes Olowo also wore a pair of silver shoes Orunmila carried a flywhisk with an intricately beaded handle Olowo also carried a flywhisk with an intricately beaded handle 5. Orunmila wore a crown of precious beads Olowo also wore a crown of precious beads. You, Orunmila, carry a flywhisk with an intricately beaded handle I, Olowo, also carried a flywhisk with an intricately beaded handle You, Orunmila, wear a crown of precious beads I, Olowo, also wear a crown of precious beads.
And it is said that no one wearing a royal crown Bows down to another. Orunmila was mad because of this disrespect. He went to a palm tree With sixteen fronds And instantly disappeared into orun. There was nobody to advise people Or caution them about their lives. When things began to go bad There was no one to consult The world began to turn upside down And there was no one to save the world. Women no longer menstruated Men no longer produced semen Plants did not flower or fruit Leaves lost their green The sky lost its blue The rain no longer fell And the sun did not rise in the morning Children were dying And the elderly were sick.
Medicines did not work Poisons had no antidotes. Rivers that had been flowing for thousands of years Suddenly ran no longer and dried up. Mountains that had stood proudly for thousands of years Suddenly fell down and became valleys.
Spiders could no longer weave threads Fishes knew not how to swim Even big birds started falling down from the sky 3. Because they had forgotten how to fly. Butterflies with beautiful colors Suddenly appeared with gray wings Cocks forgot to crow in the morning 5. And the fowls would not lay eggs. Because crops were not growing There was no food to eat Even the tall palm tree Failed to produce any palm wine To quench the thirst of young men Busy burying old folks who were too weak and tired To bear the heavy stress Of a world without Orunmila.
If anything could go wrong It promptly went wrong. People therefore came together And went to the palm tree with sixteen fronds And begged Orunmila to return home. Life without you is impossible You are the magical spirit in the mammoth That makes the elephant move Please come home. Orunmila said it was too late. After you have climbed the sixteen-frond palm. You are all free now And whomsoever you please You may now call your father.
All their pleadings fell on his deaf ear. Finally he took pity on them. When you want to be rich This is who to ask. When you reach home When you want children This is who to ask.
When you reach home When you want wealth This is who to ask. When you reach home When you want power This is who to ask. When you reach home When you want knowledge This is who to ask. When you reach home 5.
When you want anything This is who to ask. He says whomsoever you please You may regard as your father. The Portfolio Accordion to Obatala 1. I was there when it began, and my eyes saw it happen.
It all happened right there, in my very presence. He was the one who separated darkness from light, and named them night and day. We had no time. We had no space. All that existed were we. Nothing was before us. We had no knowledge or wisdom, because knowledge and wisdom exist only within time and space.
We had no time to think. That was when we all began to know each other and one another, each different, each related, each descended from the same root of divinity. Eledumare became the lord of the divinities. I, the god of whiteness, am his able deputy. When we saw ourselves within the vast expanse of space, we counted our numbers in trillion upon trillions.
Several trillions of us were male. Many trillions were female. Uncountable were the trillions of us who re- mained androgynous. Each one had his or her colors and insignias. My color is simple and plain white, because of the simplicity of my mind. I am not complex, even though the gifts that I bear and embody are quite com- plex and rare.
My mind is not limited in its capacity to think and create. My brain moves in limit-less leaps and bounds. Even time is no barrier to my mind, as it roams from past to present and future. My only flaw is my own shadow, which falls over a tiny ground through which I am unable to see within the perspective of time. Therein lies the tragic margin of my error.
I was the one to whom Eledumare turned when time was born. Time went ticking along in its busy fashion, and it flew like a tireless bird from night to day. It is not to be wasted.
You will regret every second that you waste, because it will be duly cred- ited to you and promptly deducted from the balance of your time. Every second is precious, for your time shall me measured in moments. Those who fail to use this moment think that they will make use of the next. Will the same monster that prevents them from using this moment not also deter them from using the next? We will make them look like us, think like us, eat like us, and do everything else like us.
The only difference between us and people will be death. They will not see death as long as they can keep the omi iye water of life from spilling. But being human, they will not be able to keep the water of life from spilling, and death will visit humankind.
Their lives will therefore look like a tragedy, because try as hard as they could, they will finally die. But for them, death will not be the end of life. Death will only transform them to a higher plane of existence, where they will be reborn and recycled into life. Eledumare charged me with the task of making people.
To make my task easy, I chose Ajala, the one who knows the secrets of clay work, and does won- derful life-size portraiture, and named him my assistant. Ajala is an extremely talented and observant portrait sculptor. He could make or copy any head in clay, with which we modeled the entire human body.
I make the rest of the body. The process starts with me. That was our proce- dure, and it worked well for us and everybody else for several generations after we arrived at Ile Ife and began the task of populating the land with people.
I had decided to focus on creative work, and handed all administrative and political duties over to Oduduwa, who was reigning as the first Oba or king of Ile Ife. He seemed quite happy doing the administrative work, and I am quite happy doing my creative work.
We are both doing what we are best at doing. Because I work so fast, I am able to make hundreds of bodies every day.
Thus I place a lot of pressure on Ajala, who also has to make hundreds to heads to keep up with me. His work is therefore often of uneven quality. Most heads are perfect, that is they are finely molded and well fired in the kiln to the precise temperature for firing heads.
But many are heads that are under-fired, that is they were fired at a tem- perature lower than the recommended degree for firing human heads. Other heads are totally unfired. Some heads were over-fired, that is they ei- ther stayed too long in the kiln, or they were fired at a temperature higher than the recommended degree for firing human heads. I have noticed that Ajala tries to make enough perfect heads to go around all the perfect bodies that I make, but the bodies themselves sometimes chose the wrong heads.
And everything went well, I discharged my duties excellently well, and produced perfect people with perfect bodies. One day, I decided to drink again, just to enjoy the warm feeling of alcohol down my throat. I asked my tapper to supply me with a particularly large keg of palm wine that day. He arrived early with a fat keg whose content was frothing with fermentation. He assured me that he had tasted it, and that it was excellent wine.
I took a swig, and confirmed his word: the wine was full in spirit and delicious to savor. I soon dragged the entire keg into my studio, and began to drink from the palm wine as I worked. The wine was not only delicious but highly intoxicating. Before long, I was drunk. That was when it occurred to me that I could began to experiment with the human bodies that I was making. Nothing stopped me from making asymmetrical figures, I decided.
I could just as easily make people with two noses, and so on and so forth. It would only make these people a lot more interesting to see. I began to fashion people with all sorts of experimental body parts. But I was too drunk to realize the implications of what I was doing at that time. Some were cripples, others hunchbacks, deaf and dumb, blind or even albinos. There was a little child with two heads growing out of a space meant for only one neck.
But when I was making these characters, it seemed like tremendous fun, because I was too drunk to realize the enormity of my action. It was not until the following day, when the wine had cleared from my mind that I could really understand what had happened. At first, I did not remember anything about my drunkenness. It was not until I saw a little girl with four legs and only an arm that I became suspicious. I was truly puzzled, and asked Orunmila what had happened.
Did you not argue that people looked too ordinary when they resembled divini- ties like you and me, and that you would like to make people look more interesting? Have you forgotten, when you were making that little girl, that I asked you why you were giving her only one hand, and you argued that you would compensate her with four legs, instead of two?
Why have you now lost all sense of recollection? Could it be because you were drunk? Is it not clear enough to you that you cannot handle alcohol? Until now, your alcoholism affected you only. But at this point, your alcoholism is seri- ously affecting the lives of other. You have ruined the lives of many of the unfor- tunate people whom you managed to create with physical and emotional handicaps when you were drunk.
You cannot take back their lives. They are already alive. You cannot unmake what you have already made. The tragedy of their lives will also live for ever after them, for many of them will marry and have children. Their strange genes will mix into the general gene, and alter the blood of all and sundry. Should you not really be ashamed of yourself?
Should you not hang your head in shame and weep? Should you not fast, and beg for forgiveness? Should you not abstain from sex for a long period of time? Should you not offer as sacrifice the biggest of your she goats, the one pregnant with heavy foetus?
Should you not hide your face in shame? And should you, most important of all, not consider abstaining from alcohol for the rest of eternity, seeing that the liquor drinks you, and you do not drink the liquor?
I tore my robes into shreds and cried like a baby when Orunmila said these things to me. I had no excuse for my irresponsible actions. There was no reason for me to fall so low as to do what apparently I did. The result of my char- acter slip was right there before me for all to see. And even more tragic is the fact that more and more people were going to be born in the future with deformities as a result of the slip that I made in only one afternoon of drunkenness.
It all depends on the density of your brain mass, and the flow of your blood. Obatala you must give it up. Your brain is too light. Alcohol is not for the likes of you. There was no more need for him to appeal to me. It is all too clear by now. Alcohol is the shadow in my life that falls upon some of the most impor- tant matters in my life. Perhaps the most important task that I have ever tackled in my entire life was the movement of the orisa to aye from orun. But I almost botched it, thanks to alcohol.
My thanks to Oduduwa, who took command of the expedition when I was drunk. They saved all of us. There was no doubt about it: mine is not the type of head that mixes with liquor. My high is natural. It comes from life itself. So I called together all my family, friends and acquaintances, and they all came to my house.
I then took the biggest of my pregnant goats, and offered it as sacrifice to Orunmila. I then slaughtered two tall he-goats with long red beards, and cooked the meat as a feast for everybody, in celebration of my ori. I therefore took the opportunity to announce that I was giving up drinking.
It was making my life so miserable. They all cheered and congratulated me. They therefore understood why I did not serve alcohol during the entire feast.
There was much eating and only water was drunk throughout the period of feasting, which lasted several days. And never will I accept any alcoholic beverage from anyone anymore. No- body in my household will henceforth touch alcohol.
I forbid any of my fol- lowers to drink. It is not part of our ori. We shall leave the drinking to those whose heads allow for drinking, and whose stomachs easily carry drinks.
Since that moment, I have never touched alcohol. The very thought of palm wine turns my stomach. I no longer remember what I found so attractive in drinking, because my entire life has changed for the better since I stopped drinking wine. The people who I make have become even more beautiful. Ajala the por- trait artist who assists me continues to make heads for the bodies that I make. He also continues to produce under pressure, in order to match my rate of produc- tivity.
His products therefore remain uneven. He still makes incredibly amazing heads that are perfect in all respects. But he also continues to produce pieces that are not fired at all, under-fired, or over-fired. All these defective heads appear perfect to the ordinary, untrained eye, even though Ajala who makes the head, and is the supreme master of the art of portraiture, knows exactly where the faults are. The unfired and under-fired heads are really porous, even though they appear otherwise.
The over-fired clay heads also have hidden cracks that are impossible to detect with the ordinary eye. But Ajala and I know where the cracks are, while the bodies choosing the heads usually have no clue. I have instructed Ajala to always stay around in his studio to direct those who arrive looking to choose their heads. If these individuals get excited about mere physical attraction and chose the defective heads, the repercussions are enor- mous. They will suffer on the way to aye.
Because on the road to aye it is always pouring heavily with rain, to wash and clean the bodies of the travelers. They must have a clean start on earth, so it is im- portant to thoroughly wash them.
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