Don’t cut your bèlúbèlú!

Last week, I noticed slight pain in my throat whenever I try to swallow spittle and when I eat or drink, I didn’t take it serious until Thursday the 17^th of September 2015 when the pain became on bearable, by this time I know what is wrong. I need no doctor to tell me is a uvula pain, called bèlúbèlú.

Bèlúbèlú

Mo kàn máa ń gbọ́ b'ó ṣe ma ń ṣ'èèyàn ni, kò ṣe mí rí, àfi lọ́jọ́ Àlàrùba t'ó kọjá, ó pé ọ̀sẹ̀ kan gbáko tí kiní náà sọ mí wò fúngbà àkọ́kọ́.

I have never experienced bèlúbèlú in my life, until last week, for 5 days ending Tuesday 22^nd of September.

My neighbours said to me, “you need to cut it, that’s the only remedy”, another said, “go to the doctor, a medicine will be prescribed”. I appreciated their concern, but I didn’t buy their idea.  Why?

Not that seeing the doctor is bad, but to me cutting my bèlúbèlú is not the best solution, I would rather do it the African way, without any artificial antidote or treatment. Some said swollen bèlúbèlú is caused by bacterial, others say climate change and irritation, whichever it may be, the traditional way kills it, that I know.

May Elédùmarè bless màámi, she supplied me the ancient remedy, and right about this moment, barely a week, and the bèlúbèlú is healed all with the efficacy of 5 different things.

Want to know?

Pepper heals wounds, sores and it is requisite when one is ill to eat pepper to quickly recuperate, aside the ògógóró, the other 4 natural materials contain pepper, I mean are pepperiness when inserted into the mouth.

The sure remedy for swollen bèlúbèlú:

• Atare
• kànnáfùrù
• Ata ìjọ̀sì
• Èpo ẹ̀hin òrin àta
• Ògógóró

All one needs do is grind the atare, kànnáfùrù, ata ìjọ̀sì and add the back of the àta chewing stick, pour into ògógóró,  shake and leave it to extract the contents of the spices.

The patient should take a little portion of the concoction and gaggle it in the throat for a minute or 2, spit out or swallow, it peppers the uvula, tonsil and throat but it is worth it. Repeat this as many times as possible, watch the bèlúbèlú shrink and pains withdraw. Do it for 2 weeks so as to completely destroy the irritation from its root.

Surgery is never the best solution; do not cut your bèlúbèlú.

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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!!!

Check out www.yobamoodua.org for more on Yorùbá education and information.

Yorùbá Ronú - tribute to Hubert Adédèjì Ògúnǹdé

In 1964, Baba Adédèjì Ògúnǹdé wrote Yorùbá Ronú.

The play is a satire meant to expose the political rivalry between Olóyè Obáfẹ́mi Awólọ́wọ̀ and his protégé Olóyè S.L. Akíntọ́lá, the later Yorùbá chief betrayed the former. 

Awólọ́wọ̀

Akíntọ́lá

The play is set in the village, of a king and his reagent, Ògúnǹdé aims at criticizing the reagent (Akíntọ́lá) for leaving the old political party for a new party. 

Follow the pictures story, enjoy Yorùbá Ronú. 

A

B

D

E

The rivalry came after a split up that resulted out of betrayal by S.L Akíntọ́lá, when Awólọ́wọ̀; his boss was imprisoned. 

Ẹ

Trouble looms in the village when the king was in locked away, the villagers lived in hardship while their beloved king was away.

F

But the saying that “bí irọ́ bá pẹ́ títí, òtítọ́ yó bá a” came to play, after much protest by his people, the gods intervened and not so long the king was replaced to his rightful position and peace was restored to the village.

G

Yorùbá Ronú o!!!

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How To Make Ọṣẹ Dúdú

Eèpẹ̀ ni a fi mọ ẹ̀dá ọmọ-ènìyàn (man was made out of clay), Ifá confirms this assertion, automatically what our body needs to flourish should come from clay. The weed (koríko), plants (ewé), animals (ẹranko), water (omi) e.t.c on planet earth (ilé-ayé) are made for man  for our well being (ìlera), survival (ìyè) and consumption (ìjẹ), why would some liars tell the world that few of these natural things created by Elédùmarè is of evil forces not fit for human consumption, the work of Aṣẹ̀dá is tagged "taboo", whereas that of man made is promoted. 

We were natural people until we were made artificial, everything about us is natural from what we eat, drink to body wash (kànrìnkàn àti ọṣẹ dúdú). This blog highlights the basic steps in black soap making. You can also check out the video on How To Make Ọṣẹ Dúdú.

                        Bí a ṣe ń ṣe Ọṣẹ Dúdú - How To Make Black Soup

Igi ọ̀pẹ̀ or ọ̀pẹ; palm tree, a very essential plant in Yorùbá land is a major raw material in making the natural ọṣẹ dúdú. 

When palm fruits (odi ẹyìn) is harvested, the prickly parts (ṣọṣọ ẹyìn) of the fruits are burnt, the ashes eérú is the major material needed for our ọṣẹ dúdú production. 


It comes either in dark colour (dúdú) or white (funfun), any of the two are used but in this how to make ọṣẹ dúdú post both colours are missed to produce our natural ọṣẹ dúdú. Let me hard here that the soap is called ọṣẹ dúdú because of its look (dark colour) and nothing more, i have heard all sort of lies about the soap.

Natural things needed for making ọṣẹ dúdú includes the black soap ashes; ìrosùn/osùn; and oyin. One may also add other herbs like ewé ejìrìn; a plant good for skin problems to the items, omi àgbọn (àdí àgbọn) - coconut oil or kernel oil can also be included. 

Now lets start our Yorùbá ọṣẹ dúdú (black soap) production process - 

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1. Mix the ọṣẹ dúdú ashes well

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2. Mix the ìyẹ̀rosùn/osùn (cam-wood) with water

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                        3. Mix the osùn with the ṣọṣọ ẹyìn ashes

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4. Mixture of the ìrosùn/osùn and eérú ṣọṣọ ẹyìn

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5. Pour some quantity of honey (oyin) and mix 

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Mix the items thoroughly so as to blend everything together, add a little lavender oil or perfume if you want to give the soap a scent and there you have your ọṣẹ dúdú. 

Usually, ọṣẹ dúdú is always black in colour, but because white ọṣẹ dúdú ashes is added to the combination, the colour becomes red is due to the addition of osùn.

Now you know how to make the Yorùbá black soap (ọṣẹ dúdú), try it out, do away with artificial chemical soaps, it damages your skin gradually, go natural like me ;).

Check out www.yobamoodua.org for more on Yorùbá education and information.

The real truth about taboo - Yorùbá perspective

Wọ́n ní kò sí èèwọ̀. Wọ́n ní irọ́ ni, síbẹ̀ ayé rí rúdurùdu, ohun gbogbo ò gún régé mọ́ bíi ti ìgbaànì. They say there is nothing like taboo. They say it is a lie, yet the earth is in menace, everything is not in order like centuries past. But the real truth is that taboo exists.

Kí ni èèwọ̀? Èèwọ̀ is taboo in Yorùbá.  It is regarded as "ohun tí kò wọ̀" (èyíkèyí tí kò wọ̀), that is, that which is not accepted. Ohunkóhin tí kò wọ̀ ni èèwọ̀. 

To create law and orderliness in the society, taboo was the panacea recognized everywhere around the globe, all faith; religious belief laid down various taboos to curb the behaviour, way of life of its members. Èèwọ̀ pé oríṣìíriṣìí, ṣàṣà ni orílẹ̀-èdè, ẹ̀sìn tí kò ní èèwọ̀, ibi gbogbo là ń kó ẹdìẹ alẹ́ ni èèwọ̀. Ìjọ Onígbàgbọ́ kan ò gbọdọ̀ láya méjì, èèwọ̀ ni (it is a taboo for The Anglican Church to marry more than a wife), food also has taboo, my people will say "o ti jẹ èèwọ̀" (you have eaten taboo), a Muslim follower must not eat pork meat or dog, it is a taboo to the religion - Mùsùlùmí ò gbọdọ̀ jẹ ẹran ẹlẹ́dẹ̀, kò sì gbọdọ̀ sin ajá tàbí jẹ ajá.

Ẹnikẹ́ni t'ó bá ṣe ohun tí kò tọ́ ni ó ṣe èèwọ̀. Ẹní bá ṣèṣì ṣ'ohun tí kò tọ́, ní láti rí ohun tí kò tọ́ (wọ̀). Punitive measures not from anyone but by the èèwọ̀ itself abound for one who goes against the èèwọ̀ (norm) one way or another. 

In Yorùbá land anyone who does not keep to order, norm is a bastard because èèwọ̀ is a measure to make one live long once the law (taboo) is kept intact as one. Ẹnikẹ́ni tí kò bá ka ti èèwọ̀ sí kì í ṣe ọmọlúàbí, nítorí bíi òfin ni èèwọ̀ rí; má ṣe é ni.  Kí ẹ̀mí lè gùn ni. Gbogbo wa la ní èèwọ̀, ó kàn dun ni, a ò kà á sí mọ́ torí ọ̀làjú, ó sì ń kó bá wa. We all have èèwọ̀, it's a sad thing civilization makes it difficult to abide by it. 

Bí a bá wò ó, à á rí pé ó ní ìdí tí a fi ka èèwọ̀ yìí lákọ̀ọ́kọ́ (if we check it, there is a reason we have taboo in place). Our gene, as well as DNA is unique, twins seldom have same DNA, mine is not same as yours, we are healthy than ourselves, why? Because our "Orí" is not the same, we weren't born on same day, month or year. Ara yàtọ̀ s'ára, ìlera wa ò jọ'ra, ohun tí Táíyé jẹ lè gbòdì lára Kẹ́hìndé. 

Èèwọ̀ pọ̀ suu. (taboo is in it's abundance), you would have heard a few.

Èèwọ̀ 

The elders say "téèyàn kò bá gbọ́ tẹnu ẹ̀gà á ní ẹ̀gà ń pàáṣó, bẹ́ẹ̀ ohun ẹyẹ rí lẹyẹ ń sọ". -  When one hears the speech from the palm bird one will say the palm bird is blabbing, meanwhile what the bird sees is what its saying (there is always an element of truth behind any rumour). My folks don't just create èèwọ̀, no, there is always a reason behind it.  

Olóyè Adégbóyèga Ṣóbáńdé on èèwọ̀ confirms that in 1929 òyìnbó affirms that the human arm (apá)  has vein and muscle (iṣan) than any other part of the human body, and the arm is electrified by Èlédùmarè so if one puts the hand in rain (òjò) it might cause a thunder (ara) strike. 
Before 1929, our forefathers knows that it is èèwọ̀ to collect rain with the hand "a kì í fi ọwọ́ gbe òjò".

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"Oníkọ́ ò gbọdọ̀ jẹ àgbọn, èèwọ̀ ni bí bẹ́ẹ̀ kọ́, ikọ́ yó fín-in"
Coconut when chewed triggers cough in one who has cough.

"Akúwárápá ò gbọdọ̀ jẹ àkàrà" 

An epileptic person must not eat bean fries.

"Ìran Ìkòyí ò gbọdọ̀ jẹ òkété"
The Ìkòyí tribe forbids pouch rats (why?)

. 

"Ìran Ìṣẹri ò gbọdọ̀ jẹ erè"

The Ìṣẹri tribe forbids eating of boa constrictor (why?).

  "Ìgbín ò gbọdọ̀ fẹnu kan iyọ̀" 

Snail will never touch salt (else it is dead)

"Ọmọ ò gbọdọ̀ já lẹ́hìn ìyá ẹ̀"

A baby should not fall off the back of it's mother (the child may be harmed or die if that happens)

 "Iná kì í lépa omi" 

(Fire shall never attempts harming water, else it dies)

On the other hand, something without "àṣẹ" that can not be/happen  is also known as èèwọ̀. In Yorùbá films you hear Abìjà or Fàdèyí Olóró say "èèwọ̀, kò le è wọlé" or simply "èèwọ̀".

Let us make findings to ascertain why our fathers call somethings taboo for things to work out perfect and well for us.  Ẹ jẹ́ kí a pa èèwọ̀ mọ́, k'ó ba júṣe fún wa, k'á gbà pé èèwọ̀ ni ohunkóhun tí a pè léèwọ̀ èèwọ̀ ní í ṣe. 

We perish for lack of knowledge, further inquiries into certain Afrikan Yorùbá phenomenon is key to our emancipation and development, your fathers are not fools as you were made to belief by the "masters". Re-think.

Èèwọ̀ is categorized, which of its categories do you know? And do you belief in èèwọ̀?

Check out www.yobamoodua.org for more on Yorùbá education and information.