Obatala and His Creations (Obatala, Orisa ti o mmo Ipin)
Part of a verse of an Odu Ifa says:
Difa fun Ọbatala
Cast-Ifa for Ọbatala
Ni ọjọ ti o ti mmọ ori
The day that he that building ori [the human form molder, when he was
creating humans]
Ti ori ko gbo
That head not strong [and the creations suddenly started to be
defective].
Quality control in human endeavors goes back to ancient times. The
control in force then was not just on manufactured goods and produce,
it was extended to the ultimate creation on earth—human beings. The
population of the sphere we come to regard as earth was designed in
such a way that the most intelligent of Odumare's creations would be
the first on it. Ironically, these intelligent beings, humans, did
not just evolve! Since the Imaginable Force of Nature called Odumare
was never, and is still not, a do-it-all-by- yourself force, it is
assumed that he had some assistance. In lending credence to this
assumption in Orisa Worship, Ifa reveals that Odumare's Aids included
Orunmila, Obatala, Ogun, Ori, and many others. These Irunmoles were
given unique responsibilities. While Orunmila was the witness and
recorder of all the activities in that sphere, activities that
included Odumare's deeds, Obatala's responsibility was to mold human
forms. On completion, Obatala would send the molded forms to Odumare
who would then breathe LIFE into the lifeless forms. At this stage,
however, the molded form would have been scrutinized for faults, re-
molded if necessary, and passed final inspection.
Obatala and his perfect art went on for a long time until suddenly,
Obatala started to notice some imperfections. The imperfect creation
was initially ruled accidental, but it continued. The unabated sudden
problem became a serious concern of an epidemic imperfection to
Obatala.
In our twenty first century modern world, we are still plagued with
similar problems of perfection and imperfection of our acts and
deeds. Whether it is on a global level like the war in Iraq, the
current worldwide economic crises, or on the domestic and local
levels like dealing with illegal immigration issues, and gang related
issues, a time comes when one realizes that certain things are not
right or are not going the right direction. When things get to this
stage, we should STOP what we are doing, re-access the situation we
are in, or reevaluate our deeds and actions. Most times, solutions to
issues on this level are within reach. On the other hand, solutions
might be out of reach. In which case, it would be time to go the
Ifa's recommended way—seek spiritual guidance. However, if one feels
the problem can be best solved any other way, Ifa does not discourage
such option, either. May we have the wisdom, the ultimate wisdom,
with which to navigate our daily curves in life's terrain, ase.
A ji ire ni oni o (we wake up with ire today—"Good Morning").
Responses or electronic correspondence should be sent to Chief FAMA
at Ifaseeyen@yahoogrou ps.com (http://us.mc01g.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=Ifaseeyen%40yahoogroups.com) or at Ileorunmila@ aol.com (http://us.mc01g.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=Ileorunmila%40aol.com).
Aboru aboye.
Chief FAMA
Ileorunmila. com