Babalawo . It is the Priest initiated in the mysteries of Orunmila , Deity of Divination , who uses different means to perform divination.
Babalawo
The Babalawo (“Father of the Secret”) , is a person initiated to a deity called Ifá and is one of the highest titles in the Yoruba Pantheon. Interpreter of duties and teachings. They have a massive knowledge coming from a multitude of former Ifá Priests and their ancestors, versed in a multitude of things, spiritual and material. A Babalawo is one who believes in Ifá and practices the paths that our ancestors took when there was a problem or an imbalance in some life. People not only go to Babalawo when there is a problem but also when they want to make an important decision in life. When things change quickly and they want to know why and how to change them or do better things, it is another cause to see the Babalawo. A Babalawo honors Olofin , nature, and their ancestors every morning. There is no difference between the way in which an Ifá Priest pays honor and prays to the Supreme God and another priest in any other religion or tradition.
They constitute the highest hierarchy within the Ocha and the Yoruba – Lucumí Religion , since they are the depositories of the closed knowledge of the sacred scriptures of Ifá, the most complex oracle of which there is knowledge. The Babalawo, according to cultural orthodoxy , is in charge of delivering the Warrior Orishas, the first step in consecration within Santeria .
This priesthood imposes certain social and personal conduct, but what distinguishes it the most is the constant study of nature and the Universe , but above all of Sacred texts or Treatises of Oddun, an extensive work in which symbolism and an intricate language predominate. Yoruba, which often makes their performance difficult and intricate. Hence the obligation of the Oluo (sage, as the Babalawo is also called) to study Ifá. Believers come to Awo to solve all kinds of problems (personal, health , spiritual, economic, marital) because in Ifá all situations of life and their solution are reflected. One adept theory states:
“Everything has already happened in the world once, and it was collected in the Sacred Book of Ifá. Now we only need the matter or the action that fills again, for a moment, the space we inhabit.”
The Ifá priesthood can be reached after doing Ocha or directly, if so ordered by the oracle, and the consecration also lasts seven days, although with very different characteristics in the rituals. In order to be admitted to that higher order, the applicant must undergo a training course. In the case of a babalawo, this process is long and expensive. No one has been known who has been able to follow such an extensive and tedious course that allows him to perform the task of reciting, from memory, the 4,096 stories of Ifá.
Other aspirants or novices undergo training shorter in duration. In the case of would-be priests of Aaron and Oshasin, this is considered indispensable.
Only heterosexual men can reach the rank of Babalawo or Oluo , Orunmila does not accept within his homosexual , bisexual or female priests . Although, unfortunately, cases have been heard where the person who has money pays his right and Ifa is consecrated, regardless of his sexual tendency.
Among the Egun, in Badagry , a neighborhood close to the Yorubas, the priesthood is well organized and the training period was some years ago, it was approximately seven years. The youths take a course in paganism , which is now completed in three to five years. This training is carried out so extensively and deeply that more than a century of Christian influence and Mohammedan infiltration has been almost imperceptible, while the pagan temples far exceed the other buildings of any place or town, the priests exerting their influence over the others. religions through propaganda in their temples, homes, public places and even in the streets themselves.
The functions of the Babalawos
- The priests act as intermediaries between the Orishas and the men, offering them prayers and sacrifices.
- They act as diviners, belonging this work, very particularly, to the priests of Ifá (Babalawos). They must master the instruments of divination.
- They conduct and direct prosecutions in order to create a greater sense of morality; they also prepare charms , amulets, and other items related to the spirit world they wield.
In order to perform these important and delicate ceremonies in a satisfactory way, priests are considered sacrosanct and their persons are inviolable. Any insult or violation against you is severely punished. The office of priest or priestess of Ifá is hereditary, and is considered an honor in any family. In the particular case of Orisha Oko , it is entirely mandatory, and the iron stick or stake , the symbolic emblem of the god, must always remain in the family, without being able to get rid of it.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the practice of the priesthood in public does not interfere at all with the family practice of the same. Usually, in each family, there is always a member who must take charge of this work, and the oldest is almost always chosen.
