A Lecture on Oshun and Gelefun: Ara Obinrin Gelefun includes; Oshun, Yemoja and Oya

In simple terms it is the fundamental question: Why is there something instead of nothing? Light from the big bang created photons which are sub atomic particles. Photons are the building blocks of atoms, but in the first fraction of a second of Creation there were no atoms. We’ve got this big cloud of light particles which would be yang energy or expansive male energy. After you ask the question why is there something instead of nothing, you are faced with the question how do we get from pure light to life on earth?

To make a very complicated story a very short story, photons begin attracting each other in polarities of opposites based on the attraction of plus and minus electromagnetic charges. It’s the same idea as the attraction of the opposite ends of a magnet. This process begins to form atoms. The basic structure of atoms is a power of contraction at the center in polarity with a power of expansion at the perimeter. An atom is an energy packet of gradations of expansive and contractive energy. Atoms link together to form elements. There is a power of attraction in the universe that causes opposites to come together. This power of attraction generates something that was not there before. This is a fundamental law in Nature. From the metaphysical point of view, we call that attraction of opposites, or the tendency for polar energies to come together, we call that the allure of erotic. The pre – human universe has an erotic component according to Ifa. The way that this is expressed is the Irunmole, which means “hairs on the house of light,” or “the house of light that formed the earth,” made the journey from Heaven to Earth.

The story says that 201 Irunmole made this journey from Oyigiyigi to planet Earth. The Irunmole were accompanied by one daughter of the Gelefun. If we look at that we could say “oh wow, that’s kind of unbalanced and sexist.” The point is this, 201 is a symbolic number for infinity. It is describing that time in the history of the universe when there was a lot of light and no form, no atoms and no matter. At that point in time, we had mostly expansive energy. We also have one female principle that we call the allure of the erotic and can anybody guess which Orisha brought the allure of the erotic from Heaven to Earth with 201 male escorts?

Answer: Oshun.

Fa’lokun: Good guess. Least you think that I’m tripping and making all this up, does anybody know Oshun’s star?

Answer: Venus.

Fa’lokun: Venus. The Yoruba word for Venus is “Irawoaguala.” “Irawo” means “star” in Yoruba. ” Aguala” means “Anchoring light to the earth.” Amazing. The Yoruba language is metaphysically rich. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if English was as illuminating. “Ala” is “white cloth.” or “white light,” “agu” means “anchoring to the earth.” It is what you say when you tie a rope from the dock to a boat. We have the idea that the allure of the erotic creates form in the universe. Are you with that as an idea? Let me give some examples. Babies are the most obvious. If you go further back, fire and water creates oxygen. Stars implode and generate complex elements. Everything here is made from star dust. We are not stardust because opposites have come together to make something of substance. We call this process Oshun.

Oshun is the archetype of the lover, the allure of the erotic. The Love Goddess is the common anthropomorphic manifestation of Oshun. With all the light at the beginning of the big bang, we have a coupling of the allure of the erotic with a cooling process. The Universe is not as hot today as it was in the first fraction of a second of Creation. In Yoruba we call this process ori tutu. Ori is “consciousness,” Ifa teaches that everything in the universe has consciousness. Tutu is “cool.” As the Universe itself cools, the universe becomes ori tutu.

Getting back to Gelefun, sitting on the earth bringing whiteness means the process of cooling creates matter in the universe. The allure of the erotic coupled with the cooling process is the way in which Nature creates matter. It is that simple. Once matter is created, what do we do with it? Oshun is the power of the erotic that causes opposites to unite. What happens when opposites unite? If you mix water with water you get more water. If you mix water with fire you get steam. Steam is something different. That is called giving birth. Fire and water mate to create steam.

The next phenomena in the function of the daughters of the Gelefun is nurturing. The Orisa of nurturing is Yemoja. This is an elision of “yeye,” the familiar form of “Mother,” “mo” is “my,” and “oja” is “Fish.” “Mother of my fish,” with fish representing the principle of fecundity. The relationship between Oshun and Yemoja is the relationship between the impulse to procreate and the impulse to nurture that which is created. This is a fundamental law in Nature that transcends human relationships. The Earth itself is trying to nurture itself. That is why there are compensating factors on the earth that are trying to close the hole in the Ozone layer. Every time you cut down a tree in South America, the rainforest in Africa kicks out more oxygen automatically. This is the nurturing principle of Nature itself. The consequence of this is that the soil in Africa becomes depilated and you have large areas of draught and famine.

What we have at this point is lover and mother. That puts it in the human realm. Can anyone guess where Oya fits in the mix? Whenever you give birth to something, nothing remains the same. One hundred years ago there were five million Yoruba living in Africa. Now there are twenty million living in the same space. This creates a shift in the environment. What worked in terms of living off the land one hundred years ago, does not work as well anymore because you have fifteen million more people to support. Oya is the idea that nothing remains stagnant in the universe. With Oya we have the idea of change. With Oya we have the idea of the wind, and the whirlwind in particular, and the wind that creates thunder and lightning. In Ifa, Lightning represents Divine Justice, but thunder is the force that generates Justice.

Question: Would you repeat that?

Fa’lokun: Lightning is the Ifa symbol for Divine Justice and it is pure male energy. Lighting is expansive and it is light. The light is generated by wind. Wind is caused by the contraction of air. The male expression of lightning is created by the female contraction of air. We could say that the juice behind Sango’s sword is Oya’s hot air, both cosmically and socially. We have Oya as the warrior. Now this is an interesting paradox. There is very little folklore in this country about Oya in her role as warrior. One of the enigmas of Oya is that she always fights with a dull sword, and in some stories with a wooden sword. If we go back to our original idea of Gelefun – sitting on earth with whiteness – we could also say sitting in the house, sitting on the land, its all the same idea. The feminine principle of the warrior is associated with bringing coolness to the earth. This is a big clue on understanding the Ifa concept of Justice.

Question: Will you say that again?

Fa’lokun: The female warrior incarnates the idea of Justice through coolness as opposed to the Ogun idea of big fish eat little fish. These are different ideas. Big fish in nature are effective hunters, that is a way to do things. I would call this the masculine principle of justice. The feminine principle of justice involves fighting with a sword that has no edge. In other words, finding a non-violent solution. This is a feminine principle that could be expressed by either a man or a woman.

We have lovers, mothers and warriors as daughters of the Gelefun. We’ve talked about this as metaphysical principles that do not necessarily have anything to do with the gender of people. These are principles that describe the way the universe was created. We have discussed the idea that Odu manifest at different levels of Being. In other words the Orisha manifest in different forms at different levels of Being. We have been speaking about the Orisha as they existed before there was life on earth. To show you the power of Oshun and the power of the erotic, I brought in a newspaper. There is a story in it about the Hubble telescope. The story says that scientists used to believe that the earth was the only place in the universe that supported life. I have always considered this a notoriously egocentric idea. The Hubble telescope is now sending back pictures that tell us that there are at least one billion planets capable of supporting life in our galaxy alone. There are billions of galaxies that can be seen from the earth and who knows now many that can’t be seen. We have the idea that these principles have shown up in at least a billion different places in the Milky way alone. This means that Oshun has been spreading her honey far and wide.

This brings us to the historical and social manifestation of these principles. I want to talk about the African idea of the extended family. I want to talk a little bit about the history of some of the changes in that idea. I want to say that some of the ideas that I want to talk about might sound sexist. So let me just go through it so we can see the historical perspective and see where it brings us today.

The extended family in Africa is organized around the veneration of male and female Orisa. On the female side you have the society of mothers or Iyami. They are the council of elder women in the village. In what Yoruba call the old days, the village and the family were considered one and the same. This council of women is made up of female initiates of Oshun, Yemoja and Oya. Usually Oshun is the chief. Without going into a lot of details, the female council of elders worship the spirit of air which is a masculine expansive force. The messenger of the Spirit of air is the bird. The women worship a male force in Nature while the women themselves are initiated into female societies. The male council of elders are made up of initiates into the male mysteries of Obatala, Ogun and Sango. They worship Mother Earth. This council is called Ogboni which means wisdom of the earth. Ogboni is the worship of all the Irunmole as they are linked together through the womb of the Earth Goddess.

The center point that creates balance between these two councils is the Oba. This is a male patriarchy in terms of the passing of the seat of power. So we can ask the question how can there be a balance of power if we are giving the men the responsibility of being Oba? What are the things we fear in patriarchy? Egotism, nepotism and abuse of power. That’s the negative consequence of the abuse of male power. Originally when they installed an Oba, it was for a seven year term of office. At the end of the seven years Oshun sent the Oba into the realm of the ancestors. He went with his head separated from his shoulders, loving every minute of it. He was going to the land of the ancestors as a messenger to report on how things were doing on earth.

This is absolutely the same paradigm as what happened with the Druids in England, the basis for the Tarot deck, the movie “The Wicker Man.” The pre-Christian monarchies in Europe had the same paradigm. Is this a coincidence or were they in touch with the political ideas of Africa? Who knows. But in the old, olden days the negative effects of male patriarchy were kept in balance by the female council in a very direct manner.

Ifa scripture says that at some point historically the women abused this position. The men revolted and said it was time to make a change. This shift is clearly documented in Ifa scripture. In the days when the Oshun initiates sacrificed the Oba, the women where the owners of the mystery of Egungun. When men took over Egungun they put a stop to the seven-year cycle of replacing the Oba.