Hanging with the Saints

Nigeria was a holy walk. The tour followed ancestral footsteps as I moved between shrines and holy spaces, spaces blessed by history and faith and indigenous practices. (Though the language was inaccessible, the) spirit was alive and tangible as Ifa and Orisa manifest in song, dance and spectacle.

When the young king walked in, he was greeted like the rock star he is. Folks pushed past the human barrier. If it was already hot, the temperature rose even higher. Pressed between men on all sides, someone helped me start my recording as we respectfully tried to not block each other's recordings. I was the only woman there in the mix. Visibly different, the priests looked out for me and gave me access. It would have been great to get an interview with his highness. He is a real estate developer and employer who works with youth. We passed by a housing development. From what I read it is for low income persons. The houses looked really nice, a page out of A Wrinkle in Time (the film). Remember the part where all the house are the same, the kids bouncing balls to the same rhythm? The development looks like that. I didn't see any kids with balls. That would have been creepy (smile).

We passed by a huge hill with the King's name on it on our way to Ile Ife. There seemed to be a palace behind the hill and walls. Much controversy surrounds this Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, especially his divorce after two years of marriage to Benin City native and Human Rights activist, former Queen of Ife, Olori Wuraola, now Zaynab Otiti-Obanor.  She handled the slander and character assassinations well, as she pushed her agenda against domestic violence and spousal abuse. A beautiful woman, this was her second marriage. See http://dailypost.ng/2017/08/30/marriage-ooni-ife-crashed-queen-wuraola-speaks/

Rev. Esther Ajaji with Queen Wuraola Zaynab Ogunwusi

Queen Wuraola Zaynab Ogunwusi

I watched a few interviews with the former queen. An interesting segment of Face 2 Face with host, Rev. Esther Ajayi, looks at Queen Wuraola Zaynab Ogunwusi's Christian roots, specifically the "white garment churches."  Nigerian Christians wear a bonnet and white dress for worship. I noticed many women on Sundays dressed in these garments-- the Queen's garment was fancy with jewels. It was lovely. The TV host, also an evangelist, dressed similarly.

I thought Olori Wuraola, still queen at this time, would reference Obatala, the god of the white cloth. She did not. When she talked about her belief in god, I thought she would reference Oludamare, when the host mentioned Jesus. Oludamare is not Jesus, rather God the Father. Jesus is orisa.

Back to Ile Ife on New Year's Eve

Everyone is reading kola nuts and pouring gin, drinking gin and making ebo. I hope folks have stock in "Lords of London." There were folks who could not hold their liquor. I wonder when gin replaced palm wine. Clearly gin is a colonial relic. There was no Seagram's, Lords. . . branded gin before the white man arrived in Yorubaland.

When I asked Baba Ifasola if he knew any Muslims he told me no. There is a mosque across the street from the Indigenous Temple. I wanted to visit a mosque, but in Africa, it is hard to visit a mosque unless you have an escort. In some places women are no encouraged to attend. It was this way in Zanzibar.

It would be great if at future Orisa World Festivals other religions were invited as witnesses. I can understand the absence of translation--it would complicate an already lengthy ceremony, but between the sections perhaps there might be a way to summarize what we witnessed as we waited for the next part.

The program was complete and very detailed, which I appreciated. I read it later on.

Here is a link that explains the reading: