Yorubaland: Land of the Orishas

Land is the spiritual foundation of all rituals and the anchor to determine one’s way and power, it is a spiritual asset and the number one economic factor. You must understand the power of land. We, Yoruba people must understand the power of land!

Every indigene of a place are attached spiritually, culturally and emotionally to their land. Lands are birth rights (this is why some people do not sell their lands to outsiders). It belong to the ancestors, for us as Yoruba people, it is the land of the Orishas permanently.

Land is sacred!

In Yorubaland, no city was founded without Ifa guidance, in fact some cities were given their names by Ifa Oracle, they all have their Odu Ifa which is used to establish the culture and traditions of the land, all the towns in Yorubaland have Ifa verses that speak about them.

Let me digress a bit, you have noticed Ifa has been popping up in this write up right? Yes, Ifa is the Yoruba divination and ancient information retrieval system given graciously to us by Olodumare, same way you can retrieve information from computer data base or use Chat GPT and the likes now, Ifa will help you gain insight into your life and circumstances past, present and future and also advice on steps to take. Wait, you have been told that it is demonic right? LOL, same way they programmed you to believe everything about your root is demonic.

Back to the topic of the day, as stated earlier every city in Yorubaland have their Ifa verses that mention them, I will write out a few of these as written by Oluwo Jogbodo Orunmila

IBADAN

Sekube awo won l’ode ibadan, adifa fun won l’ode ibadan

Won nmenu serahun aje, Sekube ma ma de awo won l’ode ibadan

A se b’eni o sise, eni kii la.

ADO EKITI

Ogunda Sorire

Alubata ni i fegbe wo’lu, adifa fun orire ti’n t’orun bo’waye

Alubata ni i fegbe wo’lu, adifa fun Oba Ewilado

Won ni ko ru’bo, ko le ba a bi orire lo’mo

O gbe’bo o ru’bo, o si bi orire l’omo

IJEBU ODE

K’agbe igi l’egi kato ge igi n’ima n ni igi lara

Adifa fun iwori ti n se egbon ayoka lojo ti won nsawo lo si ile ijebu

Nje owo po ni ijebu, omo po ni ijebu, ire gbogbo po ni ijebu

Iwori ijebu ayoka eje kin bawon ni temi.

OFFA

Mimo yereyere l’ooko a a pata, apamaluwa l’ooko a a pobi

Ogbogbo yaayaa l’ooko toti, adifa fun olohundundun ti n s’omo bibi inu

Agbonmiregun ero Ipo ero Offa. Eyin o mo pe Ifa ni’kan lo’to gbe ohun to dun fun wa…

I have just written a few out of hundreds, different settlements in Eko (Lagos), have Ifa verses that speak about them, Ile-Ife, Oyo, Iwo, Ikole Ekiti, Ikirun, Osun, Imesi Igbo, Abeokuta, Ilu Igodo, Ode Eju, Ode Ifon, Ode Ikole, Igbonna, Ikirun, Ile Igbon, Ode Emere, Ilu Ota, Ikoyi, Isheri, Osogbo, Ilesa, Ilorin and so on.

Our lands are sacred and inhabited by ancestral spirits and deities. Every inch of our land is a fundamental aspect of our indigenous identity and they give us a sense of belonging. Our elders and priests possess traditional ecological knowledge and practices that promote environmental sustainability for peaceful habitation.

We have our sacred sites all over Yorubaland, from our part of Kogi state, to Ile-Ife the cradle of humanity, and, all the way to Eko by the Atlantic Ocean and beyond it. Our creation stories originate from these lands, reinforcing the spiritual connection.

Our cultural practices are deeply tied to our lands, from Eyo and Oro festivals in Eko-Ile to Ojude Oba in Ijebu, Osun festival to Ijakadi festival in Offa Ilorin. In our folklores, we often reference specific landscapes, features, and animals peculiar to our land.

This vast and fertile land that Olodumare has given us, is our source of comfort, healing, and emotional well-being.

Our civilization is built on it

We will not cede any of it to outsiders, it is our most essential value, the most concrete, It represent our power, achievement and dignity and those of our ancestors as well. we will also hand the land over to our children after us. What you are seeing in Eko-Ile (Lagos) is mere child’s play, Ogun State is rising, Oyo State is coming. The whole of Yorubaland is rising, our ancestors are with us. Ase

ILE YORUBA, ILE ORISHA

YOURBALAND, LAND OF THE ORISHAS.

IRE O.