Oríkì Òrìṣà: Ọ̀ṣun, Yemọja and Ọya
The three water divinities' praise texts, including a case where a scholarly translation of Osun's oriki was found repackaged online without credit to its actual author.
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The three water divinities' praise texts, including a case where a scholarly translation of Osun's oriki was found repackaged online without credit to its actual author.
The Yorùbá wey dem quote, the proverbs, oríkì, ẹsẹ Ifá, word list headwords, Odù names and citations dey exactly as the corpus record dem, for every language.
06-orisa/13-osun.md, 23-orisa-deep/04-osun.md, 06-orisa/14-yemoja.md, 23-orisa-deep/06-yemoja.md, 06-orisa/06-oya.md and 23-orisa-deep/05-oya.md hold the theological and biographical treatment of dis three water divinities. Dis file present the oríkì texts, and one case wey good make dem state clearly: the same Ọ̀ṣun text, word for word, appear for dis harvest wey dem credit once to one named scholar monograph and once to one web compilation wey no get credit, wey be direct, documented evidence of how published scholarship on oríkì dey lose its attribution as e dey circulate online.
Ọ̀rẹ́ yèyé Ọ̀ṣun! Ọ̀ṣun Ṣèégèsí, Ọlọ́ọ̀yà iyùn, Arẹwà obìnrin, Ọ̀ṣun oyèyéé ní mọ̀, Awẹ̀dẹ wẹ̀mọ́. Yèyé mi olówó aró, Yèyé mi ẹlẹ́sẹ̀ oṣùn, Yèyé mi àjímọ́rọ́rọ́, Yèyé mi abímọ má yànkú, Yèyé mi alágbo àwòyé, Elétí gbáròyé, Ọ̀gbàgbà tí ń gba ọmọ rẹ̀ lọ́jọ́ ìjà.
Most gracious Mother Osun! Osun Seegesi, owner of the comb made of coral beads, the beautiful woman, Osun full of profound knowledge, spirit that cleans brass and cleanses the child inside and out. My mother with hands colored by indigo dye, my mother with feet beautified with camwood...
Diedre L. Badejo translate am, inside Ọ̀ṣun Ṣèègèsí: The Elegant Deity of Wealth, Power, and Femininity (1996), one scholarly monograph on Ọ̀ṣun .
The same text, differently credited. Dis harvest independently bring out wetin be, if we allow small orthographic variation (ooyèyé for oyèyéé, and small spelling differences), the same Yoruba text and one English rendering wey dem closely paraphrase, wey no come from Badejo but from "Yoruba Library Editorial Board / Adepoju & Cultural Literature Studies," for one general Yoruba cultural website . The web version own English differ from Badejo own mainly for word choice ("Mother of mystery" for the general sense wey Badejo translate as "gracious Mother"), wey match wetin paraphrase of Badejo published translation go look like, instead of independent translation from the Yoruba.
Wetin dis document. Dis na direct, comparable evidence for the pattern wey oriki-collections-and-archives describe in general terms: scholarly translations of oríkì dey circulate online without their original attribution, dey appear under generic institutional or website name instead of the scholar wey actually do the translation work. Dis corpus present the text under Badejo name, since her monograph na the identifiable original scholarly source, and e note the web version existence as a documented instance of the attribution problem instead of a second, independent source wey dey confirm the text.
Significance. Badejo Ọ̀ṣun Ṣèègèsí na dedicated scholarly study of the divinity specifically, and dem present dis oríkì there as central liturgical material; the title Ṣèégèsí itself, wey roughly mean "person wey dey dress elegantly," anchor the text emphasis on beauty, adornment (coral, indigo dye, camwood) and healing knowledge together, wey different from the fertility-multiplication register of the Ọbàtálá material for the previous file.
Dem dey perform am. The yearly Ọ̀ṣun Òṣogbo festival, morning invocations, river offering rituals, and initiation ceremonies for priestesses .
Ọ̀ṣun, ooyèyé ní mọ̀, ó wa yànrìn wa yànrìn kówó sí, obìnrin gbọ́nà, ọkùnrin ń sá, Ọ̀ṣun abura-olú, ògbàdàgbàdà lọ́yàn, ọ̀yẹ́ ní mọ̀, ẹni idẹ kì í sú. Gba-da-mu gba-da-mu obìnrin kò ṣeé gbámú. Ọ̀rẹ́ yèyé o, Oníkíi, a-mọ̀-awo-má-rò, Yèyé Oníkíi, Ọba lódò.
Osun, who is full of understanding, who digs the sand and buries money in it. The woman who commands the road and makes men flee. Osun, the inexhaustible river of the king. One who has large, robust breasts. Possessor of wisdom, one who is never tired of wearing brass ornaments...
Rowland Abiodun and Diedre L. Badejo translate am jointly, inside "Hidden Power: Osun, the Seventeenth Odù," one chapter inside Osun across the Waters: A Yoruba Goddess in Africa and the Americas, wey Joseph M. Murphy and Mei-Mei Sanford edit (2001) .
Wetin e talk. One register wey clearly more assertive and martial pass the first Ọ̀ṣun text: money wey dem bury for sand (wealth and secrecy together), men dey run from her front, woman wey "dem no fit take by force." Dis text highlight Ọ̀ṣun's connection with Odù Ọ̀ṣẹ́ Tùrá inside the divination corpus and her position as power wey dey command instead of to just dey nurture.
Significance. Dis na documented case of the same divinity wey carry two distinct praise registers, healing-and-beauty for the first text, wealth-and-unassailability for dis one, inside scholarship by overlapping authors (Badejo appear for both), wey confirm say dis no be difference between careless and careful sources but genuine range inside Ọ̀ṣun's own praise tradition.
Wen dem dey perform am. Ifá and Ẹẹ́rìndínlógún (cowrie) divination consultation-dem, Odù Ọ̀ṣẹ́ Tùrá prayer invocation-dem, sacrifice for river side, and coronation plus annual festival-dem .
Àgbè ní ńgbé 're kí Yemọja, Ibi-kejì odò. Àlùkò ní ńgbé 're kí 'lọ́sà, ibi-kejì odò. Ògbó òdídẹrẹ́ ní ńgbé 're k'ọ́níwò. Ọmọ a t'ọ̀run gbé 'gbá ajé ka 'rí w'áyé. Olúgbé-rere kò, Olúgbé-rere kò, Olúgbé-rere kò.
It is the blue touraco bird that takes good fortune to Yemọja, the goddess of the waters. It is the crimson touraco bird that takes good fortune to Olosa, the spirit of the lagoon. It is the aged parrot that takes good fortune to the King of Iwo. It is the child who brings the calabash of wealth from heaven upon their head into the world.
Na John Mason translate am, inside Orin Òrìṣà: Songs for Selected Heads (Brooklyn: Yoruba Theological Archministry, 1992) .
Wetin di text dey talk. Three bird wey get name, each of dem dey carry blessing go give different-different person wey link wit water, Yemọja, di lagoon spirit Olósà, and di King of Ìwó, followed by di picture of birth wey child dey come down from heaven wit calabash of wealth for head. For di way dem arrange am, dis text work like small catalogue, di kind pattern wey oriki-typology document for oríkì generally, no be like one continuous story.
Wetin make am dey important. John Mason book na one songbook for worship wey dem dey use well-well inside diaspora Òrìṣà-worshipping community, and as e mention Olósà (di lagoon, wey different from Yemọja, di river) beside Yemọja show say Yoruba water cosmology dey separate many water spirit wey relate but different from each other inside single praise structure, instead of treating "water goddess" like say na just one category without difference.
Wen dem dey perform am. Daily household prayer, initiation ceremony-dem, prayer invocation for river or ocean, and annual festival-dem .
Different version-dem. Di source note one dialect version wey put k'ọ́lọ́wọ̀ ("to the venerable one") take replace k'ọ́níwò ("to the King of Ìwó") .
Yemọja a gbalúgbú omi. Ayaba tí ńgbé inú omi jíjin. Ó sọ igbó di ọ̀nà. Ó mu ọtí líle nínú igbá. Ó dúró gbanyin níwájú ọba. Yemọja nira nígbà tí àfẹ́fẹ́ ńlá bá ta. Ó yí ká, ó rọ́ yípo ìlú. Ó jẹ nínú ilé, ó jẹ nínú odò. Ìyá mi olóyàn arùn.
Yemoja who expands in broadness. Ayaba who lives in deep water. Makes the bush become a road. Drinks schnapps in calabash. Remains whole in the face of the king. Yemoja swirls when the whirlwind surges. Swirls and spirals around the town. Eats in the house, eats in the river. Mother, lady of the weeping breast.
Na Adriano Moraes Migliavacca translate am from Pierre Verger 1957 field collection and Antônio Risério Portuguese translation .
Wetin di text dey talk. Di tone here wild and get physical power well-well pass di bird-messenger text: strong liquor, storm-dem, spinning movement, and to stand "gidigba" or "whole" for front of king instead of bowing down give am. Di last line, wey Migliavacca translate as "lady of the weeping breast" and wey dis place explain more directly as "one with flowing/full breasts," get double meaning wey translator must resolve one way or di other.
Wetin make am dey important. Di fieldwork wey Verger do across West Africa and Brazil, wey pass through at least two other translator-dem (Risério into Portuguese, Migliavacca into English) before e reach dis corpus, dey show di translation-chain problem wey dis corpus point out clearly: text wey dem translate two times, from Yoruba to Portuguese to English, dey carry plenty interpretation choice for each stage, and make reader-dem treat di final English as something wey dey two steps far from di original, no be just one step.
Wen dem dey perform am. Possession trance-dem, annual Yemọja water procession-dem, and ritual libation ceremony-dem .
Note-dem on di translation. Di double meaning for di last line, "weeping breast" versus "full/flowing breasts," dey important to mention directly: olóyàn arùn for di most literal sense dey point to breast wey get some quality wey dem explain as arùn (wey fit mean illness, but here e make more sense as word to show fullness or abundance for di kind tone wey dis type of maternal praise dey use for other place inside Yoruba oríkì). Dis corpus no choose one published translation over di other; e report di two of dem.
Ọya Òpèré. Ọya lóyàn. Ọya onílé Irá. Aláfẹ́fẹ́ ìránṣẹ́ òjò. Ọya olówèe Ṣàngó. Ṣe pẹ̀lẹ́ pẹ̀lẹ́.
Ọya Òpèré (praise name). It is Ọya who succeeds. Ọya, who makes her home in Irá. Controller of the wind, messenger of rain. Ọya, Ṣàngó's favourite wife. Keep cool.
Na Táíwò Abímbọ́lá and Amanda Villepastour translate am, inside Ancient Text Messages of the Yorùbá Bàtá Drum: Cracking the Code, with the drummer Chief Alhaji Rábíù Àyándòkun credited as co-author for the musical example wey dem transcribe and translate .
Wetin e talk. One short, standard salute wey mention Ọya's cult centre (Irá), her role on top breeze and as person wey dey bring rain come, and her marriage relationship with Ṣàngó, wey end with the particular ritual phrase "ṣe pẹ̀lẹ́ pẹ̀lẹ́," wey be one formula to beg for gentleness wey dey appear again and again, according to the source, inside bàtá praise for divinities wey dey hot-tempered.
Significance. The way dem take collect this text special well-well inside this section: dem bring am out from one book wey focus specifically on to decode wetin the bàtá drum dey talk musically, with one living drummer wey dem name, Chief Alhaji Rábíù Àyándòkun, credited as co-author, meaning say person fit cross-check this text against oriki-drummed-and-dundun and 13-oral-literature/11-drum-poetry.md to see how dem go beat that same message for drum instead of to talk am with mouth, even though this corpus never do that kind cross-check here.
How dem dey perform am. Devotional drumming festivals, bàtá musical salutations, and yearly religious rites wey dey honour Ọya .
Àjàláiyé, Àjàlọ́run, fún mi níre. Ìbà Yánsàn. Àjàláiyé, Àjàlọ́run, fún mi ní àlàáfíà. Ìbà Ọya. Àjàláiyé, Àjàlọ́run wínniwínni. Mbe mbe má Yánsàn. Àṣẹ.
The winds of Earth and Heaven bring me good fortune. Praise to the mother of nine. The winds of Earth and Heaven bring me good health. Praise to the Spirit of the Wind. The Winds of Earth and Heaven are wondrous. May there always be a Mother of Nine. Ase.
Na Awo Fa'lokun Fatunmbi translate am, from one devotional prayer-book source, "Oríkì: Praising the Spirit of Nature" .
Wetin e talk. One direct prayer structure, wey dey beg for good fortune and health one by one, with the homage formula ìbà wey dey repeat, addressed to Ọya under her praise name Yánsàn.
The English translation "mother of nine" for Yánsàn dey follow one etymological explanation of that praise name wey dey circulate well-well (as mother of nine children, or nine market days, story dey different for wider literature) wey this corpus never independently check against scholarly etymology; dem report am as wetin the translator choose instead of confirmed fact. Level of confidence on this text generally: medium, because the source na devotional prayer book instead of academic publication, even though dem call the name of the translator.
How dem dey perform am. Morning prayers, liturgical propitiation, festival openings, and offerings to Ọya .
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