The Worship of the Spirits/ the Dead and the Worship of the Òrìşà and Ifá:

The Worship of the Spirits/ the Dead and the Worship of the Òrìşà and Ifá:

Teaching given by Bàbá Odùdúwà through his medium/Ẹlẹ̀gún.

Yorùbá Olófin Tradition. ẸGBẸ́ ÓDÙN ỌLỌ́FIN The Spiritual Family of the Secret of Olófin. November 2024.

Awo Idelkis: I have a question from a controversial Odù, Òtúrúpọ̀n Ogbé/Òtúrúpọ̀n Bekonwao regarding a person who has Ifá and can work with the spirits - Egungun and Nganga. There is an Ìtan/Pataki of Òtúrúpọ̀n Bekonwao, that there was a village with that name, that there they concentrated to work with Ancestors, spirits, deceased of Nganga. There they did not know about the Osha/Òrìşà tradition, until Ẹlégbára and Şàngó went there and taught her about the drums, and about the Osha/Òrìşà tradition. Then the townspeople were initiated into Osha/Òrìşà. It is said in the Lukumi that in that Ifá sign a person is forbidden to work with the dead of Nganga.

There is another story of that sign, where a person, it is said that it was Shango, and he leaves that town to another town where the wheel did not exist. In the Lukumi it is said that in that sign the Wheel descends to the Earth. Then the oxen, the cows, the horses pulled the carts without wheels. Then the hero falls asleep and the dead tell him about the existence of the wheels, and what a wheel is. The man wakes up and tells of the existence of wheels, and they put the wheels on the wagons, and the man becomes rich through the advice of the dead.

So there is a controversy with many Babalawos, many elders because some say that it is forbidden to work with the dead or they say that working with the dead does not bring prosperity, and others say that it is good to work because through the dead, through the dreams that the dead gave to the human was that they were prosperous. So there is this controversy. Some elders say yes, others say no. I want to ask if it is right or not. I want to ask if it is good or not, and should the cult to the Òrìşà and the cult to the spirits or the dead be at the same level or not?

Odùdúwà: The controversy arises from lack of understanding but the mystery reveals that in order for the person of that Ifá sign to prosper and be well/Odara with his destiny, he has to put both the Òrìşà and the ancestor on the same level of worship.

Ifalenu: He has to give equal attention to both,

Odùdúwà: In that Ifá sign, he cannot choose only one, because the Òrìşà brings greatness, but not prosperity, and the Ancestor brings prosperity but not greatness. He who has that Ifá sign and manages to balance both cults, will obtain the two benefits of the sign itself, which are greatness and abundance.

Just as IFÁ reveals certain mysteries for humanity, the ancestors reveal certain mysteries for humanity, mysteries that neither the Òrìşà nor IFÁ reveal. In the same way, inversely, everything in this universe has to keep the sacred guidelines of balance.

It is bad for a person to evoke only his spirituality and leave aside his mundane life, likewise it brings negativity to live the mundane life and leave aside the spiritual life. Everything is part of an equilibrium and what IFÁ teaches in this sign is that equilibrium that must be possessed to obtain both greatness, both virtues, both blessings.