The Difference Between Aṣọ-ẹbí & Aṣọ-ẹgbẹ́jọdá

What is aṣọ-ẹbí? Kí ni à ń fi aṣọ-ẹbí ṣe? What is the difference between aṣọ-ẹbí and aṣọ-ẹgbẹ́jọdá? 

Yorùbá say; 

"àgbà kì íwà lọ́jà kórí ọmọ titun wọ́, bí orí ọmọ titun bá wọ́, a jẹ́ wípé àgbà di àgbà òṣìkà nìyẹn". 

(an elder is never in the market and a baby's head is slant on the mothers back, if a baby's head is slant in the present of an elder, then the elder is a wicked one).

Nítorípé orí ọmọ titun ti ń wọ́ ni mo ṣe ní kí n pè yín s'ákìíyèsí kan. The head of a child has become slanted, that is why I am writing to adjust the slanting head. A saying goes thus "ẹ má pe Òjó ní òjò, pe ojo ní Òjó", à ń pe aṣọ tí a bá mú fún ṣíṣe ní aṣọ-ẹbí. We are fond of calling Òjó; a name òjò; rain and call ojo; cowardice Òjó. 

It has become a common place these days, my people mince things up, they say aṣọ-ẹbí, when they mean to say aṣọ-ẹgbẹ́jọdá, this post is to shed light on the differences between aṣọ-ẹbí and aṣọ-ẹgbẹ́jọdá.

Without much ado, what makes aṣọ-ẹbí different is that òkú àgbà ni wọ́n fi aṣọ-ẹbí ṣe; it is clothing materials necessary in Yorùbá for interment of a deceased. Nígbàtí aṣọ-ẹgbẹ́jọdá ni à ń mú fún onírúurú ṣíṣe èyíówù tí a bá fẹ́ ṣe, ìbáàjẹ́ ayẹyẹ ìṣílé, ìwúyè, ìgbéyàwó à.b.b.l.

To further explain what aṣọ-ẹbí  is all about, let me dissect the term;
 Aṣọ-ẹbí; aṣọ means clothing material/fabrics, whereas ẹbí is used to mean family, relatives, kin, as a compound word aṣọ-ẹbí implies fabrics bought by the deceased family that is buried together with the corpse. If the ìwàlẹ̀ and ìsun are of significant numbers, they put money together to procure the attire for wrapping their late father, or maybe mother. If 20 materials are available for the ìsìnkú, non will be exempted, all will go to the grave with the òkú (dead). Yorùbá call the sons of the egúngún the ìwàlẹ̀ (ìwa ilẹ̀; to dig the earth), while ìsun (ìsun ẹkún) are daughters. 

"Mọ̀lẹ́bí òkú lè dáwó ra aṣọ-ẹbí yìí bí ẹnu wọn bá kò. Aṣọ ńlá-ńlá olówó iyebíyé oríṣìíríṣìí tí ọmọlẹ́bí mú wá fún dídi òkú kí a tó ó sin ín ni aṣọ-ẹbí. Àṣà yìí jẹ́ ìkẹ́, ìgẹ̀  ìkẹhìn fún ẹni t'ó papòdà, bí ọmọ olóòkú bá ṣe pọ̀ àti lówó tó ni aṣọ tí wọn yóò fi sin òkú yóò ṣe pọ̀ tó. B'ó ti wù kí aṣọ tí ẹbí ó pọ̀ tó, a kìí yóò yọkan'lẹ̀, gbogbo rẹ̀ la ó fi wé bọgidi olóògbé kí a tó tari eèpẹ̀ sí sààrée".   

Now to the next, aṣọ-ẹgbẹ́jọdá, what do we call aṣọ-ẹgbẹ́jọdá? Ẹgbẹ́jọdá is a contraction of three words, the words are; ẹgbẹ́ (peer, group, team), jọ (together, oneness), dá (make, sew). The meaning of aṣọ-ẹgbẹ́jọdá is uniform attire, gear worn by a group of people. Most of the time, aṣọ-ẹgbẹ́jọdá is bought for an engagement, ceremony, festival, activity e.t.c.

"Ẹgbẹ́jọdá ni aṣọ ànkóò tí a mú fún ayẹyẹ káyẹyẹ.  A pe aṣọ onírúurú ṣíṣe ní aṣọ-ẹgbẹ́jọdá (aṣọ tí ẹgbẹ́ jọ dá), bí a ránṣọ́, a dá a ni. Látàríi wípé lẹ́gbẹ́lẹ́gbẹ́ ni a dá a ni a fi pè é láṣọ-ẹgbẹ́jọdá, a lè mú aṣọ mẹ́rin ọ̀tọ̀ọ̀tọ̀ fún ayẹyẹ kan ṣoṣo". 

Níparí, èyinì t'ó yẹ kí a pè ní aṣọ-ẹgbẹ́jọdá ni a wa ń pè ní aṣọ-ẹbí. We should henceforth cease to call plastic iron, the right word should be used for the right thing, aṣọ ẹ̀yẹ ìkẹhìn tí ọmọlẹ́bí fi fún òkú, tí òkú yíó gbé wọ ibi-ojì ni aṣọ-ẹbí, a ceremonial attire is the "aṣọ-ẹgbẹ́jọdá" and not "aṣọ-ẹbí" which is for wrapping the dead.

Látònìí lọ, kí a yé e pe aṣọ-ẹgbẹ́jọdá ní aṣọ-ẹbí nítorí wọn ò jọ ra wọn, gedegbe ni wọ́n wà, àjà yàtọ̀ sí ajá.
Ire o!!!

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