Ìwuré: Medium of Communicating the Desires of Men to the Gods in Yorubaland

Author(s): Ayọ Ọpȩfeyitimi

Source: Journal of Religion in Africa, Vol. 18, Fasc. 1 (Feb., 1988), pp. 27-41
Published by: BRILL
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 Journal of Religion in Africa XVIII, 1 (1988)

IWURE: MEDIUM OF COMMUNICATING THE DESIRES

OF MEN TO THE GODS IN YORUBALAND
BY

AYO OP1FEYITIMI
(Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria)

In practically all known forms of religious belief and worship in

Africa, two principal media of ritual communication have been
recognised. There is the "verbal" or oral aspect on the one hand
and there is the "non-verbal" or material sacrifice on the other.
Among the Yoruba people of West Africa, the prayerful aspect of
the oral medium of communication between man and the gods is
known as iwu're.Iwure is the totality of the Yoruba traditional prayer
par excellence.
To date there has been no special academic treatment of iwure;
all we have can only be described as passing remarks. To quote
Shorter (1975: 1): "Prayer is the central phenomenon of religion,
and although the study of religion has received increasingly serious
attention from social anthropologists, it would seem that less than
justice has been done by them to the subject of prayer". Truly, ex-
cept for the efforts of the present writer, no one has researched the
subject of iwu'rein the Yoruba thought system. The focus of this
paper, therefore, is an attempt at a purely descriptive account of
iwure with particular emphasis on the petitionary aspects of the
prayers from man to the gods and the subsequent blessings return-
ing from the gods to man.
Yoruba thought sanctions three major hopes and aspirations of
men which manifest themselves in the following words:
Ire mqtalwa' n wa'.
Awa' n wowd.
Awadr wdmo.
Awa' r watubotdnaye'.
Translation:
We are aspiring towards three good things
We want money.
We want children.
We want everlasting life.

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28 Ayo Qpefeyitimi

The above three principal forms of the good things of life, known
by the Yoruba as ire, are representative of their hopes and aspira-
tions. Two points are worthy of note about the three main ire under
review. One, that other forms of ire are derived from or allied to
them. Two, that the third type, styled "atubo.tdnaye", has the con-
notations of long life, good health, peace and a good end to one's
life.
Meanwhile, one needs to discuss the belief of the Yoruba with
respect to the giver of ire and examine their practice of obtaining
the latter. In Idowu's words (1962: 53), "Ol6diumare is the foun-
tain of all benefits. He is the author and Giver of all the good things
that man can possess - wealth, possessions, good living, good char-
acter, everything that exists for the benefit of man... " Yet it is also
true of the Yoruba what Mbiti (1969: 68) has remarked more
generally: "It is a widespread feeling among many African peoples
that man should not, or cannot, approach God directly, but that he
must do so through the mediation of special beings".
Every Yoruba adult who is a devotee of one form of Orisdor an-
other believes that whatever form of ire he would have resides in-
alienably in the custody of the Orisd, and that the latter is ready to
give it out on request through the prayer known as iwure. The
following excerpt illustrates this belief.
Ire gbogbo ti n o nil.
N be lodd Sdngo...
A land-te'.r(kdn aye.
A ldnd-t'erfkanrun.
Isola (1981: 339)

Translation:
All the good that I am expecting is from Sdngo
He who makes a narrow path to the earth
He who makes a narrow path to heaven.

Quite apart from the fact that every Orisd is believed to give
whichever ire are desired by their devotees to them, the notions of
"a narrow path to the earth" and "a narrow path to heaven" im-
ply that the Orisa has the power to pass freely from earth to heaven
and vice versa. And this is true of all other Orisd since all are
ministers of Olddumare,the Yoruba High God.

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 Ju7llre 29

The next issue concerns the link in the medium of communica-

tion between man and the Orisa. In Yoruba religion the priest is
known as Aword. Truly, each Orisd has his or her own Awodr, that
is, priest or priestess whose basic status and functions as a mediator
is to offer up man's prayers and rituals as well as to bless man in
the name of the Ortsa.
As a matter of fact, the power of the aworo',that is priests and/or
priestesses, to act as genuine arbiters between man and the Orisdis
essentially due to their spiritual discipline and training which equip
them with the ads, the symbol of command in possession of the
Orisd. Hence the popular saying during worship by the aiwordthat:
Asf Orisaqnuu mi o.
AsqOrisd fnu u mi.
Eyz ti mo bd ti wi.
N'Irunmol d gbd.
Asf Orisadnu u mi.1
Translation:
The ads of Ori'sain my mouth.
The dsf of Orisa in my mouth.
Whatever I say,
Is what the divinities will sanction.
The ads of Orisa in my mouth.

First, it should be noted that Asf,2 the symbol of command in

possession of the orisa, is believed to have both physical and
metaphysical forms. In this context, however, the chanter of the
above quotation is invoking the spirit of the metaphysical ase of the
orisd to come and bear on what he would say.
The point is that, for iwure, like other forms of religious specialis-
ed utterances to be realised in concrete terms, it has to be
transformed by ads. That the priests possess asf should not surprise
us since according to Abimbola (1981: 122) it is believed that:
"When Olodumarecreated heaven and earth, it was with adsthat he
accomplished the task, and he gave a copy of this original asf to the
divinities. It is through the Orisa that the Kings and the traditional
leaders of our society acquire their own Asf ... Asf therefore is a
command system which goes from Olodumareand the divinities to
the human beings". It is the understanding that the religious
leaders possess ads that makes the people believe that they are able
to help them use iwzureto ask for their desires from the gods.

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30 Ayqo pefeyitimi

Experience shows, however, that the first act of liturgical per-

formance before the actual iwure in drisaworship is the act of giving
the orisa something to 'eat'. Each orisa has its own taste3 and the
trouble taken to give the appropriate food loved by individual orisa
to the appropriate divinity, will go a long way to help someone
realise his objectives formulated in iwu're.In addition, it should be
added that besides the animal sacrifice which often accompany
iwurein Orisaworship, certain ingredients or elements are common-
ly used. For instance, obi (kolanut), fyele(pigeon) and igbin (snail)
are common ingredients. The point is that every element or ingre-
dient is symbolic and the Yoruba also believes that:

Sdngdki i kop'hunorogbd.
Orisa ki z ko'hun obi.
Obdtdldki i ko'hun se'sffun.
Translation:

Sdngo does not refuse the voice of bitter-kola.

Orisd does not refuse the voice of kola-nut.
Obdtdladoes not refusethe voice of sesf'fun.

It is the conviction that their iwurewill be better communicated with

the aid of such ingredients and sacrifice that make the Yoruba use
them to aid their petition in Orisa worship.
The following pages provide some examples of iwure to selected
Orisa in Yoruba tradition.

SANPONNA

Sdnponndibd re.
Qbaluaye,iba re...
Awon nnkan etuztuniyz.
J gbd a Idyoo.
Oldwoo mi ddkuno.
Are tete ni tekuteile..
Eni to n womo lo.wo.
Ki e bd won wo d.
Lnitz ko tailri b'.
Ki won 6 ri b'.
/ni to ni b'i bikzu.
Kz won 6 mda bi abOye.

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 iwu re 31

ftni to ru eru.
Ki won o so. o ldy o.
Qbalu'aye,Ad6gbond.
Qwo ldraa mi o...
Tgb.onti ki i jf
Kebi 6 pa abudro
Md j kebi 6 pa wd.
Babad mi Aragdld wonu-epo.
Jk ki a mdaafi id ra sin Q.
Mda ran iko reresi' wa o.
Ki dwon to laye.
Mda gbe wadlyin o.
ini to ba dojiuburu'kule wa,
Bd wa se e bi os' se n se oju.
(pyin ol.mo wiwf
f gbomoyin wa)
Orin Lile: Kdje md womo (igba meji)

Mo jrii' Sinponnao.
Egbe: K6 je md womo

Ase dowo f o.
Qbaluaye.
Okoo mi.
Addgbond.4

Translation:

GOD OF SMALL POX

Sanponnd, homage to you.

Obaluaye,homage to you...
These are elements of ritual.
Accept them in good faith.
My owner, please oh!
Fastness is that of mouse...
Whoever is nursing (children)
Help them nurse the children
Whoever is yet to nurse
Let them get children

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32 Ayq Qpefeyitimi

Whoever is suffering from abiku'5

Let them deliver safely
Those who are pregnant.
Let them deliver safely.
Obaluayenicknamed Adogbona.
Let me be honoured...
Brother, who does not eat,
While his junior suffers hunger.
Don't let us be hungry.
My father, nicknamed One-who-walks
inside palm-oil majestically
Let us worship you with ease.
Send good Messengers to us
Let those who control the Universe
Be by us.
Those who plan evil against us
Help deal with them as soap
deals with the eyes
(Those with small children
Bring your children here).
Song: He cannot but deliver children (2ce)
I trust Sdnponndoh.
Chorus: He can't but deliver children

Sanction, is in your hand

The King-who-owns-life
My husband
One-who-stands but controls the road.
This iwure to the divinity of SSnponndsupports the view of Pember-
ton, contrary to that of most people about the divinity: "Sanponnd
is not 'evil' in an ontological sense... Sndnponnd
can also give children
to the barren, protect against witches, and stay the powers of illness
and death" (Pemberton 1977: 15). Sanponndis one of the principal
orisd worshipped in some Yoruba families. His main duty is to
punish non-adherent offenders especially with the dreadful disease
of small pox. While he is justifiably feared for this kind of power,
he is nevertheless believed in for his generosity by his strict
adherents.
Our next example is deliberately taken from a female divinity,
Sdnponna being male. Osun is believed to be one of the wives of

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 Iwure 33

Sango (the god of Thunder). She is normally referred to as the

mother of children. The Osun river especially at Osogbo (a town
north of Ibadan in Oyo State) is regarded as her symbol. Hence she
is worshipped yearly by all her followers throughout Yorubaland at
Osogbo supposedly her initial place of abode.

IWURE DURING THE ANNUAL OSUN

WORSHIP

Ooreyeye, Omi Qsun

Ka'b'yesi, Omi a-rin-md-sun
Abideremoobi re re' o.
K6 o bi iku'sfyin.
Kd o bi aruins&yin.
Kd o bi of6 sfyin.
Kile md gbond.
Kdon ma gbodna.
Kdya ma gboond.
Komo ma gboond.
Ooreyeey o.
Kd ma'tri gbaso loj'
aipe o.
Yeye os nle o.
Addtn re ree o.
Je kye' wa o dun kale.
Kd tutu bi omi a fowu'r pon.
Epo ati ziy re ree o.
Abideremoowo. ir. o.
Yeyelodmi.
A ki z bo'miisota'
Kdye wa dfrutn.
JEranodun re ree o.
Omi arin-mosun.
iro owo fro..
Yye' abz'derfmo.
Kara ma'ni wa o.
Kd segun ota'o.
Jmu re ree o.
Kd o mu'iku ku'ro.
Kd o mu drun ku'ro.

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34 Ayq Qpefeyitimi

Kd sowo.
Kd b6depade'o.
Kdboyu'nile 6 bi tibitire.
Kdgan 6 towo bosuin.
Kdjinideo je gbogbowa.
A ki i rz'di Okun.
A ki i r'di' Osa.
Kdso md rldii wa.
Kdjef ma ridii wa.
K&lbo-lo'ogunma'tokere
wo omo re o.
Kyea ma mu-un wa.
Ooreyeye.
Omi arinmosun.
Gbareon' o.
YeyeQOmo.
Ey' a wi
Omi Iddoo gbo
Abiderfmo.
Ooreyeye o. 6
Translation:
Great Mother, the Osun water.
Greetings, the waters that walk
Abidfermothis is your kola
Drive death away
Drive disease away
Drive loss away
May our house not be 'hot'7
May our paths not be 'hot'
May out wives not be 'hot'
May our children not be 'hot'
Great Mother Oh
May we not die prematurely
The mother of QOs,8 greetings
This is your aadun9
Let our lives be sweet.
Let it be cold as early morning water
Here is your palm oil and salt
Abideremo,let there be peace
The mother, who owns water

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 Iwure 35

We don't make enmity with water

Let our lives be peaceful
Let it be sweet
This is your yearly animal
The water that walks10
Peace the hand of peace
Mother, Abidfermo
May our body be well
May we conquer enemies oh.
This is your wine
May you remove death
May you remove disease
If we engage in business
Let us be prosperous
Let the pregnant deliver peacefully
Let the barren nurse children
Let all of us be healthy
Nobody can know the secret of sea
Nobody can know the secret of lagoon
May wizards not know our secret
May witches not know our secret
May the medicine-men not covet your
children from afar.
May 'life' not trap us.11
Great Mother.
Water that walks
Bless today's petition
The mother of children
That which we have said
Water in the river you've heard

Abideremo
Mighty Mother.
At this point two things are worthy of note. First is the question
of 'Or'ki' or 'praise names' and its significance. In the iwu'reto
Sanp.onndwe came across such words as 'Adogbona', 'Obaluay'e and
agglutinating words like 'Ardgda'ld-wonu-epo' and 'Arepo-wf-md-
wdgbo'. In the latter iwure to Qsun we encountered compound words
like "Omi-a-rin-mosun", "Yeye-ldmi" and such words as Abideremo,
Qso, to mention only a few. Such Oriki form a general feature
YeyeO

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36 Ayo Qpefeyitimi

in all iwure and serve two principal purposes: First, to conjure the
spirits of the Orisa to come nearer the place of worship; secondly,
as Babalola (1966: 13) has rightly observed: "It is traditionally
believed that the correct performance of Orz'kiin honour of a pro-
genitor gladdens the progenitor in the world of the spirits and in-
duces him to shower blessings on his offspring on earth".
The second thing to note is the presence of songs which are com-
mon to most iwure as evident in the ones just read. The mode of oc-
curence of such songs is described by Mbiti: (1975: 2): "The leader
may intone the prayer while the assembled groups responds in song
or recitation, generally repeating some of the phrases uttered by the
leader or a well-known formula". I should add that the song that
occurs in an iwureperformance is an integral part of the iwurepoem,
bearing a general relevance to the theme of ire (goodness). Occa-
sionally, however, apart from the juxtaposed occurrence of songs
within recitative forms of iwure, it is possible for an entire iwure to
be essentially sung.
Meanwhile, to do justice to the hierarchical structure required
within the medium of communication between man and the sacred,
one cannot but mention the concept and position of ones own Orn
in Orisdworship, as it relates to the efficacy of any iwure. To justify
the belief that "the Or' in heaven helps a person to realise his
destiny" on earth, Awo Yfmi Ilfbuuibon argues that in iwzurewhat
we are doing is calling upon Orl in heaven either to instruct the
other Orisd to shower the blessings entrenched in such iwtureon us
or to do so himself. He uses an Ifa verse to explain it in this way:

Orunmildd1dohun d-dun-hun-un
Emi ndcdI dohun d-dun-hun-un
Orunmildni bfgbefni bd ni ldwd.
Ba a badd tt i ni zn.
Ifd ni kd md dun huun-htuun-huun,
Orl elomaimd.
Orn'ni ni ka'mda ddn huun.
Qrunmildni bfgb fni ba' nnre gbogbo
Bd a bd a ti i ni an...
Ornini ni ka maa din hun-un.
Orzi mi gbdmi
Mo dun huun aje mo o.
Orz'imi gbdmi.

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 Iwure 37

Mo dun huun omo mo o.

Orz'imi gbdm'.
Mo dun huun ire gbogbomo o.
Or' pe're'.
A-sadkra-m ol6kf
fni Ori ba 'gbfbo' rf
K6 y6 ssi.

Translation.
Orunmildsaid complaint, complaint etc.
I said it is all complaint
Orunmiklsaid if ones colleagues are rich
If we are not yet rich
Ifd said we should not complain
To another person's Or(
We should complain to our own Or.
Oru'mildsaid if one's colleagues are getting
all the good things of life
If we have not got...
We should complain only to our Orn.
My Orl, deliver me.
I complain of money to you.
My Ori deliver me.
I complain of all the good things
of life to you.
Ori nicknamed pe're'.
Nicknamed A-sidkdr-mol6kf.12
Whoever Or' accepts its "sacrifice",
Should really rejoice.
In addition, to show that "what Ori refuses to grant, the gods
cannot confer", the Yoruba are fond of uttering a poetic chant
derived from an Ifa verse thus:
K6 soosa,
Ti zi dcni i gbe.
L~yin Ori Eni.
Translation:
No divinity
Can help, deliver or bless one
Without the sanction of one's Ori.

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38 AyQ Qpefeyitimi

But whenever ordinary men, as opposed to traditional leaders,

want to worship their own or', they follow the normal order of wor-
ship as of the other drisd, that is, through recognised priests.
Before the discussion is closed, it is essential to mention the
divinity Ezsu. As the policeman of the earth and the messenger of
OlodumareEsui necessarily has a hand in the efficacy of any iwure in
Yoruba Orisaiworship; and this fact is adequately taken care of by
the priests. To follow Idowui (1962: 81), Esu' by virtue of his office
needs to deal with other orisa who are his colleagues on the one
hand, and Olddumareon the other as well as human beings, so his
task necessarily requires a considerable degree of diplomacy and
tact. Hence he is a trickster by nature. EsuZ"by virtue of his office"
as a middleman between Olodimare and the divinities themselves
"holds the power of life and death over them as prosperity or
calamity for them depends upon what reports he carries to
Olodumare".
In the light of the above consideration, therefore, if the mid-
dleman role of Esu between the divinities and Olodumareis noted,
especially with regard to the efficacious need for iwure, the hierar-
chical structure which develops could look something like this:

OLODUMARE
T1 as ,
ESU IPONRI

OOSA //

AWORO

ENIYAN

Fig. 1

KEY:
OLODUMARE = Supreme God
Esi = Trickster God
Iponri = Guardian Soul
Oosa = Divinities
Aworo = Priests
Eniyan = Man

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 Iwulre 39

The above diagram is to stress the comprehensive and relatively

complicated structure of communication of iwturebetween man and
the gods in Orisa worship. It is to be understood as follows: Eniyan,
man, is at the bottom of the ladder of life. When the orisa worship
is congregational, the aworo (religious specialists or mediums) pre-
sent the adherents' supplication to the drisawho accordingly inform
EsMufor onward transmission of the requests to Olodumare(the
Supreme Being) in heaven. That is the essence of the arrows which
point upwards.
Before the ire contained in the iwure can be granted, however,
Olodudmare will normally ask the individual iponri (the orisa of or0) if
the latter has the desired ire in store for its possessor. If the Iponr'
answers Olodumare'squestion in the affirmative, the latter will in-
form Eytsu (the special divinity messenger) who delivers the message
to whichever orias originally received the request. More often than
not, however, the aworo'(taking the intricacies involved in the deter-
mination of the efficacy of the iwure request for granted) blesses the
adherents in such a way as to say that the processes described above
have taken their normal course. That explains the function of the
arrow pointing downwards from Oldduimare to man.
It should, then, finally be stressed here that, in spite of the seem-
ingly rather complex hierarchical structure in the medium of com-
munication through iwZure between man and the gods as exemplified
above, the relationship is felt to be a particularly close one. This is
especially clear in the light of the swift efficacious nature of most
iwure utterances. Indeed, this fact, which sustains the hopes of the
orisa adherents, is an important reason why orisa belief and practices
still continue despite the challenge of foreign religions.
My concern has been with the mediating significance of iwure as
the sole liturgical language in Yoruba traditional religion, and its
capacity, based on belief and conviction, to make tolerable the ten-
sions in human experience. Among the Yoruba, as elsewhere,
ritual behaviour is a way of communicating with the divine for the
purpose of ameliorating the human situation.

NOTES
1. The iwuire song is recorded from Awo Yemi Elebuubon, a renowned Ifd priest
at Osogbo in Oyo State of Nigeria. It is the answer he gave to a question about
the essence of the 'aworo' in iwzure liturgical chant. This was sometime in
September, 1981.

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40 AyQ Qpefeyitimi

2. For a detailed description of Ase: See Opefeyitimi, J. A. (1986) "Authority

and Efficacy in Yoruba Incantatory Poetry" Journal of Cultureand Ideas, Sociology
Department, University of Ife, Ile-Ife, Vol. I, No. 2, 1986.
3. For the special kind of taste for certain divinities of the Yoruba, see Abim-
bola, Wande (1969), Ijinle Ohun Enu Ifd, Apa Keji, Collins, Glasgow, p. 57.
4. Recorded from Iyasanponna, priestess of Sanp9nna at Iragbiji near Osogbo
in Oyo State of Nigeria during the annual Sanpqnna worship in 1982.
5. Abiku literally means 'born to die' children. When a child dies in Yorubaland
he/she is regarded as dbz'kt.The word consists of three syllables as follows:
a - one who is
bi- born
ku - dies
6. Recorded from Osuntunde and Omikunle, priestesses of Osun, during the
annual sun worship at Ifewara near Ile-Ife, Oyo State, in August 1982.
7. Heat: In the context of this paper, 'heat' is contrasted with peace, calmness
and wetness characteristic of a riverine premises. Since the symbol of Osun is a
very big river, the sense is that Osun would transmit some peaceful and calmness
aspects of her nature to the abode (i.e. members of the families) as well as the ways
and places of sojourn of her 'followers'.
8. Mother of Oso; Oso means the act of being fanciful. Osun as a female divini-
ty is said to be noted for her act of dressing gorgeously while living on earth as
a physical being before she became deified. Hence the reference to her as one who
has set up a model for women to follow.
9. Aadun is the acknowledged favourite food of Osun, hence an essential ingre-
dient required to evoke her spirit in order for her to listen to her 'children' and
grant their requests.
10. "The water that walks" is a reference to a mythological tradition which has
it that in the distant past, the spirit of Osun which lives in a river known by that
name at Qsogbo used to come out in physical form to receive her ritual items from
the Ataoja (Qba of Osogbo) during QOun's annual worship. Hence the reference
to her as the water that walks.
11. "May life not trap us": "Life" here is metaphorically used to mean
'enemies'. Hence the sentence can better be read to mean 'may our enemies not
succeed in their evil plans against us'.
12. "Ori nicknamed apere. Nicknamed A-sakara-moleke".
Among the Yoruba as in other African cultures, the concept of Oriki (praise
poetry) occupies an important place in their oral tradition. It is believed that the
correct performance of oriki in honour of a progenitor gladdens the progenitor.
In the above context, one of the praise names of "ori" is ".apere" which literally
means something that enables its bearer to prosper while A-sdkdrd-mdolekmeans
one who roast beans with palm oil to become what the Yoruba people call dkdrd,
often used to eat pap. She also makes beads ileke as part of her profession while
living as a being on earth. Hence the compound nickname/praise name A-sakara-
mdlekemeaning one who
sakara - roasts beans into akara balls.
mo - as well as
iliek - makes beads

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Abimbola, Wande
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