ODUDUWA: THE ANCESTOR, THE DEITY
Primordial divinity, deified ancestors of Ọmọlúwàbí
Ọlọ́fin Àdìmúlà , olden pride of Ifẹ̀ Oòdáyé.
Emperor of Ifẹ̀ Ǹlẹrẹ and primal suzerain of Ifẹ̀ Oòyẹ̀lagbò.
Untethered elephant of the forest expanse
The MYSTIC.
Atẹ̀wọ̀nrọ̀, the one who descended in to the void by the chain,
Supervisor of earth’s actuality: He whom the five-toed rooster obeyed,
scratching the loose earth to fill the vastness of the biosphere.
Mythic power of the womb and harbinger of existence.
The MYSTERY.
Ancient father of Ọ̀kànbí, lover of Ọmọnidẹ the favoured one,
and the progenitor of ancestral dynasties.
Oòduà, the mystic and aura of consummate eminence.
The numinous transmogrifier of the corporeal realism.
The WARRIOR.
Ọlọ́fin Ọ̀tẹ̀tẹ̀, guardian of the basket of existence.
Ọ̀kànràn Ọ̀wọ́nrín is the existential corpus
That tells of the primeval forebear of Adẹ́tù abìwà pẹ̀lẹ́
The LEGEND .
“Odù tó dá ìwà”; the codified essence that fashioned the realities of our confederacy.
FOOTNOTE:
Ọmọlúwàbí – the original name and essence of the Yorùbá people of Western Nigeria
Ọlọ́fin Àdìmúlà – a moniker for Odùduwà, meaning the king who’s the saving grace of the people
Ifẹ̀ Oòdáyé – one of the expressions of Ifẹ̀ as the source of existence
Ifẹ̀ Ǹlẹrẹ – another expression of Ifẹ̀ as the place where the earth spread from
Ifẹ̀ Oòyẹ̀lagbò – an expression of Ifẹ̀ as the source of light, where the dawn break
Atẹ̀wọ̀nrọ̀ – the one who descends with a chain
Ọmọnidẹ – counted as the favourite wife of Odùduwà
Ọlọ́fin Ọ̀tẹ̀tẹ̀ – the founder-king. The King who established nativities or is the first settler on earth.
Ọ̀kànràn-Ọ̀wọ́nrín – the ifá literary corpus that revealed the matters and ways of Odùduwà
Adẹ́tù Abìwà pẹ̀lẹ́ – a cognomen for the mild-mannered mankind typified by the Yorùbá personage.
Odù tó dá ìwà – as explained in the poem.
