Remember, as you intend to feed your divinities and your ancestral energies, you need to feed the mouth that brings the wisdom to your hearing. Without be told, your teachers, your priest and those who feed you with the word of spirit and wisdom have a lot of physical responsibilities to meet, hence, life is a reciprocal. All ifa devotees must take it upon themselves to give out something, most especially money for their respective teachers, master and priests.
The constituent of the EBO may not be physical items in all instances. It may be just be a word of advice, as was given to MAGBAGBEOLA to desist from going after a married women in a verse under the odu Oyeku Okanran. Or as like ITU was instructed not to take anyone on a journey anywhere whenever he was travelling. So, that it would not result in his death as seen under OTUNRUPON OBARA (better known as OTUNRUNPON ODARA). It may just be a situation for no advice or no sacrifice at all, if everything is how it should be as seen in a directive to OLOFIN under a verse in Oyeku meji :
Titiitiloriogbo
Biripelomiokoo da
Dida lomiokoo da
Omioko I Iyi
A difafunolofinatewonro
Wonnibarubo
Odunyiini o gorioyee baba re
Bi o rubo
Odunyiini o goriayee baba re
Translation
The soul of elders is eternal
The water inside a moving canoe splashes about persistently
The water inside a canoe splashes about
It does not spill away
Ifa divination was performed for OODUA (ODUDUWA) who descended from above upon iron chains
They said that whether he performed sacrifice
It was in that particular year that he would ascend the throne of his father
If he did not offer the sacrifice
It was in that year that he would ascend the throne of his father
Therefore, if babalawo continues to offer only word of advice without corresponding materials benefit, how would he fend and feed himself and his family. Would he not be forced to abandon his primary function, which is to sit at home to wait for people for spiritual consciousness and illumination? IFA also warns that any Babalawo who collects more than necessary from his students and his people will suffer a bad end and evil consequence. The student should not need to worry about the things he is giving to Babalawo. He is giving those things for him to obtain other good things from the supernatural and from the spiritual level of existence. Therefore, if he thinks that the Babalawo has collected those things which seemed ‘’abnormal’’, he should not worry. By giving more, the man should be assured that he is not only heaping a huge reward for himself in the quarters of his ancestors in heaven , but the Babalawo on the contrary is heaping for himself losses here or here after unless he is doing charity and utilizing the money well for sake of the less fortunate. Money giving should be divided among the babalawos, and babalawos too will divide the money among his family.
Tack in heaven, the sacrifice offered by anyone is not lost. Above, I said if a man offered sacrifice for anything in his life time, both in the conscious level of life and in the transmutation stage of existence and those things for which he offered the sacrifice was made true. He forgets about sacrifice and rejoices with himself, his ori and his friends. But a verse of IFA says ‘’ ASEGBE O SI, ASEPAMO NI NBE ‘’, meaning, exculpable acts don’t exist, consequential act is what is found whether bad or good‘’. All the sacrifices that man offers in his lifetime are in stacks in heaven; it would wait for him when he returns home to the section of his ancestors. This would also be a gauge of his performance while he was on earth. Odu Otura Irete categorically mentioned that no matter what we offer to IFA, it is not enough a sacrifice to commensurate or equal or corresponding to the good deeds we get from OLODUMARE. But those things we offer are only a sign of our devotion, faith and an arbiter between the man who offered and the negative forces who may be on his trail.
Ojopata pataniiboseole
A difafun Orunmila
Nijo ti nloreejejo Aakapo nile OLODUMARE
Ojopata pataniiboseole
A difafun Akapo
Nloreepe Orunmila lejo Nile Olodumare
Translation
The torrential rain would cover the footmarks of the thief
Cast divination for Orunmila
On the day, he went to answer to the allegation of Akapo in the house of OLODUMARE
The torrential rain would cover the footsteps of the thief
Cast divination for Akapo
On the day he went to level an allegation against Orunmila in the house of OLODUMARE
Akapo (the assistance) had been to the house of OLODUMARE to complain that he had been offering sacrifices for a long time but none of his requests had been granted despite the fact that he had been offering more than necessary. He told OLODUMARE that he suspected that Orunmila did not offer the sacrifices for him. OLODUMARE then sent for Orunmila to defend himself. Orunmila did not argue, he requested rather for the clone or copy (the Akapo) that is the spiritual or heavenly replica or heavenly partner of the Akapo, who was in heaven to be called. Without asking any question, as he already knew what was going to be asked of him, the spiritual double began to talk about all the things which Orunmila had offered as sacrifice which were all in stock in heaven. He said, it was because of the inability of the Akapo to exercise patience that had not made his things improve for the better. He even showed the Akapo the water which Orunmila sprinkled on IFA the same morning he came to level the allegation against his master. With all these, Akapo had nothing else to say other than to beg ORUNMILA. As a punishment, it was ever since then it became impossible for AKAPO to travel to heaven, in order to ask of anything again. They can only go through Orunmila, whom OLODUMARE had appointed for them to their head. Part of this, stacked sacrifices in heaven is also for the person offering the sacrifice as one day, he would return home to find them useful for himself.
Some IFA verses say that it would be those things that would confirm his faith on earth. Some also say he would find them useful in heaven, when there is the need for such articles. But in the most important of all is that these articles are in heaven and nothing would touch them until the return of the sojourner in the city of earth to heaven.
FOOD FOR THE ANCESTORS
This stands for food for ancestors, who had returned home. This does not necessarily say they would not survive without this, but it would make them happy seeing their children continuing with what they started on earth. In some instances these ancestors do come to the Earth, the timing of which is known to IFA and can be used to bless anyone who is fortunate to know when this would be. The facts of spirits coming to the Earth is not only supported by the IFA mythology or Yoruba theology alone, there are several other cultures that vividly believe in the coming to the world of men the spirit of the ancestors.
The Greek mythology has some gods which are reputed to be interested in only having people who would do certain works for them. Bacchus, for instance is the god of wine who sometimes find someone who consumes alcohol, sit beside him and taps his energy of wine from such persons since he cannot drink by himself using his mouth.
Therefore, not surprising to find many poems of Ifa ending with
Riruebo ni igbeni
Airuki igbeniyan
Meaning
It is the offering of sacrifice that profit the man
Refusal does not bring any profit
Or
Riruebo
Eerua tuk esu
Keepe
Keejina
E wa a bani larin ire, tabi laikukangiri , tabi , bayobare abi
Aarin ire laa bani lese oba orisa
Meaning
Offering of sacrifice
And free gifts given to Esu
Not long
And in the nearest future
Come and meet us in the midst of fortune or with old age or joy and celebration
One is usually found in the midst of fortunes at the feet of the king of the divinities
In some instances, the refusal of the people is seen as a function of his or her obstinacy or lack of faith and trust like this Ifa verse
O pawoleke
O pesulole
O worunyanyaanyan bi eni ti o niikulaye
O kotiogboohinsebo
Translation
He called Ifa priests liars
He called Esu a thief
He looked disdainful up the skies as like someone who would never die
He turned a deaf ear to the call of sacrifice
In offering the prescribed sacrifice, everybody has one thing or the other to gain. The person afflicted gives out something; he receives his good fortune of riches, health or long life. The babalawo who chanted the verse of IFA has something to feed his family, the spirit have something to lay hands on as the exchange which the afflicted man gave ; the animals have something to eat and life becomes a better place for all of us.
Sacrifices maintain the complete circle of life, and connect both the spiritual level to the physical level and the physical back to spiritual upward to the divine intelligence.
Hence maintain and do your sacrifices, initiations and other spiritual steps without delay.
All shall be well with you
Alafia.
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