Curing àmódi has never been a bone of contention among the babaláwo. They believed that Ifá literary corpus contains both the diagnosis and the prescriptions for treating every kind of disease. What the babaláwo does in treating àmódi is to follow the lead of divination through the relevant Odù, after which he follows the prescription found in the Odù. ―All his remedies are set in the context of the Odù‖ (McClelland, 1982:104).
The prescribed treatment may consist of herbal remedy, which usually contains both healing abilities as well as spiritual significance. In traditional Yoruba healthcare paradigm, it is believed that difficult illnesses do not occur without traceable causes, which may either be through spiritual or social imbalance.
―On many occasions, the message of divination does not only concern the clients, but also their friends, acquaintances and relatives, including their ancestors. The babaláwo takes into consideration the clients‘
life and the entire family as well as social setting‖ (Tella, 1978).
Mbiti (1969) noted that, ―diseases attributed to both naturalistic and supernatural causes can be treated by traditional healers who exist in each African village‖ (p. 160). Given this belief, a traditional healer is seen as:
a person who is recognized by the community in which he lives as competent to provide health care by using vegetable, animal and mineral substances and certain other methods based on the social, cultural and religious background as well as on the knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs that are prevalent in the community regarding physical, mental and social well-being and the causation of disease and disability (Ampofo and Johnson-Romauld, 1978:39).
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From the findings of this study, curative treatment of àmódi is in three major parts. All the babaláwo that were interviewed for this study have knowledge of these three levels of treatment. Abimbola (2011) described these three levels as three siblings in the Yoruba medical paradigm, bọ l‟ẹgbọ n (ẹbọ is the oldest), òògùn l‟àbúrò (òògùn/medicine is younger), Ifá dídá/ọgbọ n/ojú-inú l‟ọmọ iyèkan won lénjẹ lénjẹ (inspiration).30
(1) ẹbọ (sacrifice) (2) òògùn (medicine)
(3) ọgbọ n/ojú-inú (inspiration)
(1) Ẹb (sacrifice): According to Ifasesan Ojekunle, (2011) Ifá literary corpus teaches that ‗Ifá kìí bale kí o má yan ẹbọ‟ (there must always be a recommended sacrifice for every time divination is made). Offering of sacrifice is a very important aspect in Ifá divination practice. Whether the message of Ifá is good or bad, the inquirer must offer a sacrifice, because it is believed that a sacrifice will help the inquirer dispel the evil. In most cases, the clients perform prescribed sacrifices so that they may have the support and approval of the deities in their undertakings. When divining for a client, the babaláwo, in the course of narration comments on the client's compliance as follows;
O gbọ ríru ẹbọ O rú
O gbọ eru atukesu O tu
5 O gbọ ikarara ẹbọ ha fun un He was asked to perform a sacrifice He performed it
He was asked to make a sacrifice to Èsù He did so
5 His sacrifice was readily accepted (Abimbola 1968:21.39).
The material constitution of ẹbọ, can consist of goat, dog, pigeon, fowl, red-oil, beans, eggs, piece of white cloth to keep the soul at rest and in agreement with the ancestors and gods. (Abimbola, 1983:7) Ẹbọ, in particularly is why babaláwo cannot be called ―adá un se‖ (one who acts alone). They are known as olórìsà (one who relates with the divinities). According to Abimbola, (2011) ―ẹbọ jẹ ohun ìránsẹ , ẹbọ jẹ ìtọrẹ òrìsà, tí a ma nfi lo àwon òrìsà tí ó jáde nínú odù (ẹbọ is a code of communication, it is used to ask for help from the divinity prescribed in the Odù).31 With ẹbọ, it is strongly believed that whatever is sought will be received.
30 Interview with Wande, Abimbola at his residence in Oyo, on the 23rd of Feb.,2011.
31 Interview with Wande, Abimbola at his residence in Oyo, on the 23rd of Feb., 2011.
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Ẹbọ is a sacrifice offered to a chosen deity on two grounds. First, as the quota or contribution of the patient to his/her process of healing, second, it is to acknowledge and appease the divinity that Ifá would have chosen as aládìmú (witnesses to the affliction).
Ẹbọ may be àkórú, this means that all the stages and sacrifices mentioned in the àsẹ-odù must be performed, but if it is ọ gángán, that is, a specific sacrifice in the narrative of the àsẹ-odù is what is prescribed.32 With ẹbọ, Ifá directs the patient to appease the òrìsà who has been identified as the aládìmú (witness), this is because the chosen òrìsà would have witnesses the affliction of the patients and so knows what to offer to appease the forces responsible for the disease. Once the òrìsà is chosen, Ifá will also direct on what to offer to the chosen òrìsà.
Obì, epo, ẹ kọ are always present, then any other specified things will be added and the procedure to follow will also be given with regard to how, where and when the sacrifice is to take place. According to Ifatayo Awogbile (2011) ―ìyọ nú lọ run ni ènìyàn ma ntọrọ pèlú ẹbọ‖ (humans look for favour from Olódùmarè with ẹbọ). This is possible because, as Ifatayo noted, no deity speaks like Ifá, Ifá sends or instructs one on which òrìsà to appease, because it is believed that ajogun will always act with the knowledge of at least one òrìsà.33
When ẹbọ is being prepared, the chosen òrìsà is invoked, and as soon as the presence of the òrìsà is felt, the babaláwo begins to narrate the story of the patient, he calls the patient by his/her name alongside the mothers name (e.g. X ọmọ Y); tells the reason for which they have invoked the òrìsà, (to grant release and ease the suffering of the patient) and then, appeal is made to the òrìsà to accept the items that have been brought as ẹbọ, stressing the past occasions that such had been used and accepted.
After that, the babaláwo knowing that he is not alone in the process of offering the ẹbọ, takes the ẹbọ to the prescribed venue, so that, the other agents of sacrifice can partake in the offering and join in pleading for the release and healing of the patient.34 Èsù is seen as the go-between for humans. He mediates between either the òrìsà and àwon ìyà mi or between heaven and earth, he is responsible for taking ẹbọ to all. Èsù will only refuse ẹbọ when the ẹbọ is not good enough or if either the òrìsà or àwon ìyà mi refuse to accept the ẹbọ.
32Interview with Ifalowo, Ifakayode Oyasogo, on the 7th of March, 2011.
33 Interview with Ifatayo Awogbile, on the 8th of March, 2011
34 Once ebo is offered, it is expected that, agents like the air, rats, birds, dogs, lizards, even man (especially mad people and beggars) will assist in taking the ebo to the òrìsà by partaking of it. Once this happens, they join to plead for the patient‘s release. This process is believed to have been witnessed by the agents that took part, the earth and heaven (the chosen deity and Olódùmarè)
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Ẹbọ is very efficacious. Abimbola, (2011)35 noted that, àdúrà l‟ẹbọ, kò sí ohun kan tí a rú‟bọ sí tí kìí dèrọ . (Sacrifice is prayer; there is nothing that is not resolved after the required sacrifice is properly offered.) Ètùtù or ẹbọ cleanses out the owó ayé (influence of the witches) before the administration of medication. It is believed that without ètùtù, the medications will not be at its best in treating the patient.
For the babaláwo ‗ẹbọ jẹ nkan ìránsẹ tí a fi má ngba ìrànlọ wọ àwọn òrìsà.‘ (Ẹbọ is regarded as a messenger that is sent to seek favour from the divinities). Ẹbọ is not offered to ajogun (evil forces), it is meant for the òrìsà (divinities) that help to deliver patients from evil forces and diseases. Yoruba traditional medicine places a huge emphasis on ẹbọ because the babaláwo involves òrìsà in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases.
In this study, all the patients that were observed performed ẹbọ (sacrifice) as part of their treatment. The ẹbọ that were performed during this study took different forms but most of them took the form of ìpèsè (feast) to appease. The findings of this study find expression in what Awolalu (1979) had given as an example of ẹbọ, according to him, a child that had been afflicted by àwon ìyà mi, was cured on the advice and guidance Ifá. The father of the sick child and the babaláwo prepared some water in which special leaves had been crushed. Late at night, the father took his sick child together with the concoction and few days old chick and went to oríta meta. There the sick child was bathed with the concoction, the chicken was swung around his head three times with prayers uttered asking the chicken to take over the sickness and die instead of the child, after the prayers, the father dashed the chicken against the ground. As soon as this was done, they both walked away without looking back (p. 135).
In this case, the chicken was used as ìpèsè (feast) for the forces responsible. This was to appease them, and make them release the child. It was meant to offer some kind of life in exchange for the life of the child.
The chicken that was offered, substituted for the child, the chicken died instead of the child.
(2) Oògùn (medicine): This is the second stage of the process of treatment. It comes after ẹbọ. Every babaláwo is regarded to be a physician. He knows oògùn such that he can prescribe medication ordinarily without divination. After ẹbọ, the babaláwo draws from his knowledge of medicine to prescribe herbs to the patients as part of their treatment. This is done ordinarily along with the prescriptions that are revealed with divination because it is believed that the whole person should be treated; that is, both body and spirit.
It is important to note also that a babaláwo never believes that he has reached the apex of knowledge; he keeps learning. That is why medicine is described as Oògùn gùn (literally, ‗medicine is endlessly long‘);
one does not stop learning medicine and divination.
Àkọ fámọfá, l‟a o Àkọ fámọfá
35 Interview with Wande, Abimbola at his residence in Oyo, on the 23rd of Feb., 2011
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Àkọ -oògùn-mọ-oògùn, l‟awo Àkọ -oògùn-mọ-oògùn Babaláwo tó kọ ‟fá kọ ‟fá tó ní ò n ò kọ ‟fá mọ Ti inúu rẹ ni yíò run
5 Oníșègùn tó kọ oògùn mọ oògùn, tó ní òun ò kọ oògùn mọ , Ti inúu rẹ ni yíò run.36
Àkọ fámọfá is the diviner to Àkọ fámọfá
Àkọ -oògùn-mọ-oògùn is the diviner to Àkọ -oògùn-mọ-oògùn If a babaláwo stops learning how to divine,
The knowledge he already has will diminish 5 If a healer stops learning the use of medicine,
the knowledge he already has will diminish.
In the case of àmódi, this second level is not only the oògùn that the babaláwo knows. Oògùn here is known as àkọșe Ifá. Àkọșe-Ifá is the prescription, as contained in Odù-Ifá, which may be supported with the babalá o‟ general knowledge of oògùn. This may include herbs, animal parts or anything else that was used in the case recorded in Odù-Ifá.
Àkọ șe Ifá (medicinal ingredients prescribed by Ifá) is known to only babaláwo. This may also include Ifá/Ìyẹ rẹ osùn. According to Awo Ifas san j k nlé, there is a story about
ọ rúnmìlà and ọ sanyìn in Odù ọ bàrà-Ìwòrì. ọ sanyìn was said to have outwitted
ọ rúnmìlà while coming to the world. He collected all the herbs from heaven, brought them to the earth for his use. (That is why he is regarded as the patron of herbalists and he is believed to be the first herbalist on earth.) When ọ rúnmìlà discovered this, he went to Olódùmarè and reported that ọ sanyìn had taken all the herbs. Olódùmarè instructed
ọ rúnmìlà to go to his backyard and there, Olódùmarè gave ọ rúnmìlà Igi Asàjẹ . Every
part of this tree is useful but the most important is its powder, because it has the power to activate and make other herbs potent.
It is the powder that this tree produces that is called Ìyẹ rẹ -osùn . Ìyẹ rẹ -osùn is regarded as magical powder. This is one of the things that make the babaláwo more equipped than the adáunșe. It is the Ìyẹ rẹ -osùn that is also called ‗Ifá‘. It is believed that when a
36Ibid.
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babaláwo prepares Ìyẹ rẹ osùn (divining powder) and gives it to the patient to use, the purpose must be achieved. This is considered to be ― ajẹ bí idán” (works like magic).
37(3) Ọgb n/ojú-inú (inspiration): Ifas san
j kúnlé,38 referred to gbọ n/ojú-inú as the ọgbọ n àt‟inú dá, which is inspiration that helps to call into action, past experiences that one feels will help in the present context; it may not necessarily be the content of the prescription from the Ifá literary corpus.
According to Abimbola (2011), Yoruba traditional medicine attempts to eradicate diseases from the source, unlike the Western method of health care which just kills or heals diseases in particular bodies, without protecting it from future attacks. Yoruba traditional medicine has ways of curing and preventing diseases from afflicting a patient a second time. They use b and gbọ n-inú (experience and Ifá).39
In the following excerpt, the role of
ọ
rúnmìlà in human life is likened to that of the calabash-mender. This is because he daily protects man from danger, he could therefore be said to mend human life as one mends calabash.Pá bí ọsán jí;
san já,
Awoo won lode Ìtóri.
Akàtànpó jákùn, 5 Ó dòbììrì kalẹ .
A díí fún
ọ
rúnmìlà,Ifá ńlèé t‟áyé Olú fè, Orò o Bí eni tí nsogbá.
Ta ní ó á ni t„áyée a ọ nyí so?
10 Ewé òpèpè tilẹ so.
ọ
rúnmìlà ní ó á bá ni t„áyée a ọ nyí so.Ewé opepe tilẹ so.
Ifá ní ó á bá ni t„áyée a wọ nyí so Ewé opepe tilẹ so.
15 Baraapet ní ó á bá ni t„áyée a ọ nyí so.
Ewé opepe tilẹ so.
Sudden as the snap of bow-sting;
The bow-string snaps,
Their Ifá priest in the city of Itori.
37 Interview with Awo Ifasesan Ojukunle, at his residence in Ibadan, on the 23rd of June, 2011
38 Interview with Awo Ifasesan Ojekunle, at his residence in Ibadan, on the 9th of May, 2012
39 Interview with Wande, Abimbola at his residence in Oyo on the 23rd of February, 2011
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When a cross-bow loses its string, 5 It dances all over the ground.
Ifá divination was performed for
ọ
rúnmìlàIfá was going to mend the life of the king of Ife As one mends a broken calabash.
Who then will help us end our lives?
10 Palm-tree grows leaves right from the ground.
ọ
rúnmìlà will help us mend our lives.Palm-tree grows leaves right from the ground.
Ifá will help us mend our lives.
Palm-tree grows right from the ground.
15 Baraapetu will help us mend our lives.
Palm-tree grows leaves right from the ground. (Abimbola, 1996:154-155)
gbọ n/ojú-inú guides the babaláwo through the diagnosis and treatment. It is believed to be the third and essential part in the treatment of somatoform disorder/àmódi