MECHANICS OF ÌWÚRE (Prayers) IN THE YORUBA SPIRITUALITY
IWÚRE is a spiritual connection to the “god self” possessed by every Ènìyàn¹, i.e “The Orí²”, to actuate their wishes by sending it in positive words and vibes into the Ether.
The word literally means conjuring goodness or positivity. It could be directed to oneself or directed at another party.
The direct antonym of Ìwúre is Ìg’égùún, Ìfiré or Èpè. These two spiritual tools work on the basis of a pointed finger, i.e If you use any of them on people, you get your fair share of it.
Ìwúre works in the spirit world, thus, it needs a channel/Interface to reach this realm, luckily for you, you have an Orí, the spiritual version of you, this entity transverse the spirit world to make your pronouncements come to fruition.
The Yorubas invoke possibilities by talking about other possibilities in their prayers, stating laws of nature like ” Ìràwé kìí d’ájọ́ ilẹ̀ kó sùn’nà, which is the Yoruba version of the Newton’s First Law of Gravitation”, these laws are lavishly used in prayers as Ọfọ̀³, Àyájọ́³,and Ohùn Ifẹ̀³.
The destination of all Ìwúre is Ọ̀run, and the answerer of all Ìwúre is OLODÙMARÈ, but there are are entities that convey and receive petitions according to the Yoruba spirituality, one of these have been mentioned earlier, it is the Orí, your spirit self. Another important entity in the voyage of your petition to Ọ̀run, the abode of OLODÙMARÈ, is Elegbara, also called Èsù, and then there is Àjàgùnmàlè, the Olúwo of Ọ̀run.
The process of Ìwúre is aided by actively working towards achieving your desires [You don’t pray for peace and start throwing stones on your neighbours’ rooves] and good deeds such as; helping the less privileged and being of a pure heart.
EXPLANATIONS OF WORDS USED
¹ Ènìyàn: Chosen one (Yoruba word for Humans, corroborated by the Science of the Sperm race that precedes conception)]
² Orí: The spirit self, the guardian Angel, the knower of the path to success (Ìpín / Àkúnlèyàn)
³ Ọfọ̀, Àyájọ́,and Ohùn Ife: Group of words structured and learnt, used to invoke possibilities.
