Ko gbe Apetebii, ko gbe Akapo
Bless the Babalawo's wife, bless the Babalawo's disciple The Babalawo who teaches you is called your Oluwo. To be an Oluwo, however, is more than the mere dissemination of knowledge. As you can see from the prayer above, he is a purveyor of blessings. In this regard, your Oluwo is also your protector. When you are an apprentice, you are routinely covered in prayer and shielded by sacrifices made by your Oluwo. The Oluwo is committed to refining his apprentices by testing them in order to discover their potential. He encourages the apprentice to aspire to a practice that can be considered complete, both inside and out. When treated well, the apprentice will transcend the ups and downs of the learning process and reach an exalted state. In return, as an apprentice you are expected to pledge allegiance to your Oluwo. You show your Oluwo deference and respect in his presence and demonstrate the highest cultivation of his teachings in his absence. While the apprentice is loyal to the Oluwo, the Oluwo is loyal to the teachings. Together, Apetebii, Akapo and Oluwo uphold the highest principles of Ifa. Join me and Chief Lanre Okemuyiwa for an INVITATION ONLY conversation about Akoda & Aseda.
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 Onibata igan
Olele ngan Odi-seere mese, the awo of Ori They cast Ifa for Ori When lamenting that he had not be able to site any Ire with his eye He was advised to offer ebo He complied Ori it is high time for me to have financial success It is financial success that one needs to possess Ori it is high time for me to have compatible spouse It is compatible spouse that one needs to possess Ori it is high time for me to have good children It is good children that one needs to possess Ori it is high time for me to have all Ire of life It is all Ire of life that one needs to possess It is through the power of 200 Akisan leaves All my matter shall not but turn to success - Holy Odu ObaraIrete Mental energy is the matrix for physical, emotional and spiritual energies. It is symbolized by orí, the head. Here, it is important to note that “the Yorùbá do not use orí in entirely the same way as the English word head is conceived of by [the native] speakers of English. In fact, apart from its conceptual meaning of head, orí has no direct translation in English. Thus, any understanding of the ‘phenomenon’ beyond the physical and literal meaning would be achieved only through recourse to the cultural perspective – the viewpoint of the present description.” Thus, there are two dimensions of orí, which are known as orí ode and orí inú. Orí Ode is the physical head. It is highly valued because of its social and biological importance as a site of perception, communication, and identity. Orí ode is regarded as the outer shell for orí inú, the inner head. While orí ode governs everything anatomical and psychological, orí inú governs every- thing subtle, energetic and metaphysical. Likewise, orí inú is synonymous with ìwà, or nature/character. Ultimately, òrìsà lifestyle seeks to establish and maintain harmony between the two aspects of orí. However, there is a frequently recited prayer that reminds us that orí inú is the greater of the two; it says Ori inu mi ko ma ba ti ode je, which means “May my inner head not spoil my outer one.” Orí organizes mental energy primarily through images that carry meaning, facilitate imagination and enable learning. Images provide frameworks for perception. We hold mental images of how we want to perceive ourselves and our environments. Similarly, we hold mental images of how we want to be perceived by other people. Here, it’s important to note that orí ode gathers and organizes images from the external world. Likewise, orí inú images gathers and organizes images from the internal world. [1] Obafemi Origunwa, MA | ObafemiO.com [1] Origunwa, Obafemi. Fundamentals of Orisa Lifestyle Pg 40 
APPRENTICESHIP MINDSET: THE STUDENT LOVES THE TEACHER
I will never forget the day I met my first teacher, Babalade Olamina. I had just finished running scales on my cornet at Pasadena City College. At that time of my life, I had been avidly reading anything I could about Yoruba civilization. Even more importantly, however, I was expecting my first child. The ancestors knew I would need someone very special to escort me into the realities of becoming a BABA, and so they sent Babalade, the best teacher in the world. He had travelled the country as a jazz musician, hung out with Fela Kuti in Nigeria, learned to carve in Oyotunji and was well-versed in Eastern philosophy. Babalade was the only person I had ever met who fully understood the scope of my thoughts and ideas. He would answer my relentless torrent of questions and listen to my far fetched ideas about Yoruba identity. When I would get too far out there, he would say something like, "That and a plane ticket will get you to Paris" or "Oh, you're being creative again..." Not surprisingly, the name Babalade means, "Father confers a crown." Babalade conferred upon me the highest crown any man could ever bear; fatherhood! To do so, he taught me so many important lessons, the most memorable of which was a simple statement he made in passing one day: "The first person I ever saw wear an agbada was my daddy!" 
On the day of my own naming ceremony, Babalade and my father sat on the couch talking, while I scrambled around, looking for the ingredients that Babalade had told me to gather for the occasion. Somehow, their conversation descended upon Viet Nam, where Babalade's elder brother had given his life in the armed services. As fate would have it, they discovered that my father had prepared his corpse.
And so, on the day that my teacher was preparing me to guide my first born son, I learned that my father had supported my teacher's elder brother on his way into the realm of the ancestors. The admiration, love and respect that I have for Babalade extends to my feelings about Orisa Lifestyle overall. As my first teacher, he is synonymous with the tradition in my mind. The teachings of Holy Odu OwonrinMeji inform us this way: Iba Baba Iba Yeye Iba Oluwo Iba Araba l'ale Ife Mo juba Ogubona Afeyiti mo dase - Odu Mimo OwonrinMeji TRANSLATION: I pay homage to my father Homage to my mother Homage to my Oluwo Homage to Arábá of Ife Homage to Akoda Homage to Aseda I pay homage to Ojugbona Unless I act without recognition and homage to elders and spiritual forces May I succeed in all I do - Holy Odu OwonrinMeji 
AKODA & ASEDA: Chieftaincy Tiles
In the kingdom of Ile Ife, there are sixteen preeminent babalawo, called the Awoni, priests of the Oni. Every Yoruba kingdom has its own cadre of babalawo, who rank above all others. In Ife, an Awoni must be an indigene of that kingdom. Each Awoni bears a title and carries out specific spiritual duties in service to the palace. Among them are the Akoda and Aseda. AKODA & ASEDA: Praises of Olodumare By some accounts, Akoda and Aseda are oriki Olodumare. This is further reinforced with the opening lines of Ijuba, which say: Mo júbà Akoda Ayé I pay homage to He who created earth Mo júbà Aseda Orun I pay homage to the controller of heaven AKODA & ASEDA: Orunmila's Sons and His First Students According to other accounts, Akoda and Aseda are Orunmila's first students. The Holy Odu OgbeAte says: Ogbe waa te k'ara o ro wa Ogbe, come be initiated in order to be comfortable Mo gba, mo te ni iregun Ifa To take the hand of Ifa and then be fully initiated is the pride one has in Ifa Dia fun Orunmila Cast ifa for orunmila Baba yoo te omo re ni ifa... baba planned to initiate his child into ifa The verse goes on to say: Orunmila lo te Akoda Orunmila initiated Akoda Orunmila lote Aseda Orunmila initiated Aseda... The Holy Odu OgundaBede goes on to reinforce the idea that Akoda and Aseda are, in fact, the sons of Orunmila: Oju ririri, oju oku irikuri Enu fofofo, enu oku ifokufo Adifa fun Orunmila, Nigba ti baba foju sogbere omo, ebo won ni ki baba kowase baba gbebo, orubo Nigba ti o maa bi Obi AKODA Obi ASEDA Obi ARIWONIYANGI obi AGBONGBON ofi se ekerin won. Nje ari AKODA ari awo Ari ASEDA ari awo Ari ARIWONIYANGI ari awo Nigba ti ari AGBONGBON lawo pe. TRANSLATION: The eyes have witnessed many bad things The mouth has mentioned many rubbish words Cast ifa for ORUNMILA When he had no children He was advised to make a sacrifice and he did When he was going to give birth, He first gave birth to Akoda Next he gave birth to Aseda Later he gave birth to Ariwoniyangi And lastly he gave birth to Agbongbon Therefore whenever you see Akoda and his other brothers, then you have seen it all Where ever you see the four combination Ifa is complete Wisdom is complete CONCLUSION If we accept the assertion that Akoda and Aseda praises of Olodumare, chieftaincy titles or sons of Orunmila, it is clear that they are essential to the structure and practice of Ifa. This is underscored by the way that Akoda and Aseda are mentioned in an oriki Ifa, which tells us: Akoda ti nko gbogbo aiye ni Ifa Akoda, who taught Ifa to the world Aseda, ti nko gbogbo agba ni imoran Aseda, who taught understanding to the ancients In the spirit of teaching, please join Obafemi Origunwa and Chief Lanre Olaifa Okemuyiwa in an exclusive conversation: The True Identity of Akoda and Aseda: Rediscovering the Apprenticeship Mindset |
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