Healing Our Fathers

I walked stealthily and adorned my head with a befitting crown
I walked quietly and adorned my neck with Ejigbara and Okun beads
I know nothing and I am ignorant of all things
Nonetheless, I ascended the throne of the market leaders
The youths of Ife saw me and they put on befitting garments
The elders of Ife saw me and they put on gorgeous dresses
May evil not set me in contention with Gunnugun (the vulture)
May I live and grow as old as the vulture
May evil not set me up against Akala (the hornbill)
May I become as old as the hornbill
Elders do not make forceful sounds like the closing of the main entrance door Ifa, please turn me into a Babalawo
When a Babalawo becomes a full Babalawo
He will have a pony in front of his house
Ifa, please let me have a pony in front my house
Ifa, please turn me into a Babalawo
When a Babalawo becomes a full Babalawo
He will have a galloping horse in the backyard of his house
Ifa, please let me have a galloping horse in the backyard of my house Ifa, please turn me into a Babalawo
When a Babalawo becomes a full Babalawo
He will be blessed with 1,460 women in his house
Ifa, please let me have 1,460 women in my house
Ifa, please turn me into a Babalawo
When a Babalawo becomes a full Babalawo
He will have 1,460 children in his house
Ifa, please let me have 1,460 children in my house
Ifa, please let me live up to their expectations as their father
Alofoun of the farm land
You are the father of all grasses
Ifa, please let me live up to their expectations as their father
Torofinni is the head of all rats in the forest
Ifa, please let me live up to their expectations as their father
Alofoun of the farm land
You are the father of all grasses
Ifa, please let me live up to their expectations as their father
Odosu is the head of all ikin
Ifa, please let me live up to their expectations as their father
Alofoun of the farm land
You are the father of all grasses
Ifa, please let me live up to their expectations as their father
Akaraba is the head of all fish in the deep
Ifa, please let me live up to their expectations as their father
Alofoun of the farm land
You are the father of all grasses
Ifa, please let me live up to their expectations as their father
The Peacock is the head of all birds in the forest
Ifa, please let me live up to their expectations as their father Alofoun of the farm land
You are the father of all grasses
Ifa, please let me live up to their expectations as their father
- Holy Odu EjiOgbe*

Fatherhood is the greatest mission that the ancestors can give to a man. The legacy of eternity is bound up in the teachings fathers bestow upon our children. Of course, every father is unique. And so, there can be no one-size-fits-all recipe for fatherhood. Some of us talk a lot. Others barely utter a word. Some are handy with tools. Others are brilliant organizers. It is not merely a question of occupation that distinguishes fatherhood. It is your loving presence that validates the children and inspires them to be courageous in their walk of life. The elders say that it is the wisdom of the father that makes the child walk upright. So, no matter your marital status, occupation or economic position, if you are a man, you are the father. We look to you for guidance and orientation. You are the sun at the center of our consciousness. If nothing else, show up and shine brightly! 

In the book, Transforming the Mind: The Father, Peter Shepherd writes, "The father archetype personifies as the Elder, the King, the Father in Heaven. He is the living myth, legend and dreaming embodiment of the Logos principle: his word is law. As Defender of the Faith and of the Realm he is the guardian of the status quo and bastion against all enemies. His attributes are activity and penetration, differentiation and judgment, fecundity and destruction.“  As such, the spirit of fatherhood, which governs the institution of manhood in general, is instrumental in establishing, maintaining and sometimes restoring collective vision and direction. Fathers show us where we're going.  Without the father there is chaos, conflict, and sadness. 

Fortunately, Orisa Lifestyle teaches us that when we feel the confusion of a fatherless life and wonder where he could be, all we need to do is to evoke the father through ori baba and, no matter what your relationship to your father has been - or NOT been - his soul will find its way back to you. And in reuniting with you, both will be healed. To best understand this, you must consider that the Divine Father - Ori Baba - is one whose perspective and knowledge are rooted in the underworld and tied to the forefathers; those who have gone before and have created the culture that the father now takes into his hands.  A father’s wisdom and moral sensibility find their direction from voices that no longer belong to this life.  His initiators are both those literal fathers who have created the culture and his own deepest reflections. Hence, Ori Baba is the direct pathway to Egungun, the pantheon of ancestors. 

In this regard, Ori Baba has a distinct relationship with what Carl Jung calls the shadow of the child.  The father must, therefore, be aware of his own shadow in order to effectively and momentarily shield his children from internal and external harm.  He protects the body and the soul through personal and ritual sacrifice!!! But the father must also eventually initiate the child into the darker ways of the world, helping him or her begin to know the shadow within and without, removing their protective parental barriers.  Fathers empower us to go out into the world on our own terms, making strategic use of EVERYTHING we know. 

In the Orisa Lifestyle Retreat, we will devote special attention to healing trauma associated with Ori Baba, the spirit of fatherhood. Please join us as we learn new ways to live the medicine that will heal our lives and the lives of the people we were born to serve. 


Aboru aboye abosise, 
Obafemi Origunwa, MA


*IITI Module 22 page 23

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