Those that Orisa climb their heads.

Eri wo ya!!!!!!!

                  Today I want you to get close and personal with me, I want you to feel deep within you as I narrate and share one of my spiritual encounters with you. Retrospect,

 the first time I ever went into trance/possession/egun/emi. 

                  It was 15 years ago, my siblings and I were playing in my dad compound one evening, pretending to be having our own mini festival. We were dancing and singing Orisa songs, imitating the sound of the talking drums by mouth.  And bam! I lose control and the next thing I know I was down at my dads feet hearing fainted noises and people calling my names and my dad reciting incantation on my head.  My siblings said I fainted. Be it I get dizzy and fainted from twirling around or possessed , anyway that was the first I remembered to have an out of body experience. It kept on happening frequently as I mature at festivals, and all I can do at that point is to occasionally cry to free myself , dance vigorously like most people do when they get possessed. At the beginner stage, they will cry , screamed and roll on the floor without delivering any message. That is some people signature possession routine. I suppose the spirit is just test driving the person. (LOL)

   

              This Orisa mounting of a thing begin to dwell well in the kingdom of my body and spirit. It became a part me. I was label as this girl who can never danced to Orisa drums without getting into possession. Sometimes my sister and I joke around with it during festivals , pretending we were been mounted and all. That is besides the point actually. But the thing that happened to me by playing over a decades ago, took my sister another 5 to 6 years to get there. She always wanted to be  mounted by the Orisa but couldn't.  A responsibility which is now avoided possibly. To tell you  that you can't/ shouldn't force it . It may be easy for some and it takes time for this gift to manifest in others.  It is not by initiation, it is not about years of practice. This is a gift bestowed on us by Olodumare. I was no where near been escorted to Igbodu or have any Ase of Orisa on my head besides the one that came to this world with me when I had my experiences. We will call those who could't Bolugi, that is the Egbe society name for a person with no heavenly and earthy peers/mate. They are sometimes refer to as wooden dolls because they cant feel. Which is harsh though, but sometimes propel people to open themselves up, let go and let the spirit move through them.

               Contrary to some people who belief that besides God ( Christianity ) that any human who can see and foretell outside the scope of understanding of Christianity must be a servant of Satan. So when they hear someone been possessed by Orisa their mind is auto tune to biblical demon/evil possession. In Yoruba belief system been mounted by Orisa does not mean the body is been occupied by evil spirit. It is not satanic, it is about been a vessel and corespondent between our Orisa and mankind.  Can it be tainted? sure it can . I am not saying people don't get possessed by some impure spirit even during spiritual gathering. These satanic possession are in my opinion, untamed and misguided spiritual encounters and this not what is been practiced or purported to be experienced during the framework of Yoruba Egun for those who for the good and not the dark side of life.

         I have had several opportunities to share experience with some Olorisa and even people from different spiritual spectrum who also believe in possession. Some response correlate with what I have experienced. Some do get possesses as they wish without use of any element and it can happens anywhere. 

            Some people use it as tool of divination when they pray which allows them to see the issues surrounding their client or anyone in general.This took me back to my high school days, my best friend then was singing in the class one afternoon and started speaking in foreign tongue . She attends one of the Spiritual churches in Nigeria called the Celestial Church of Christ. This religion institution refers to the people who go into trance as Elemi. The one who speak with the spirit ( I stand corrected) Emi is the term use in place Of Egun that the Olorisa in the Yoruba use to mean trance/possession. I digress because of people who may think the concept of Egun is restricted to Olorisa alone.

               I have some who shared that they cannot remember what they saw or said during possession while some can still relate the message after been conscious.  Even though this have happened to me in the past. I do occasionally go blank after possession or not even seeing anything while in trance. It was as if I was in a dark place, all alone trying to make sense of my environment and crying just seems to be comforting and I do that a lot and once calmed (which do take several attempts by people) I lose my voice and feel ached all over my body from tossing and jumping. 

           One occasion that I really went deep, I saw a clear vision, it was like watching a movie, the image of each individual I have message for was showed to me one after the other, I saw their faces and once I was done with one the next image will be inserted. I tried to held my self from speaking but I couldn't.  I can feel these people presence and I can honestly tell you, we are not the same in the spiritual realm. Some people are super spiritual and hard to read and some are as light as a cotton wool and those who have Iyami power are master of disguise. They know how to shut you out and prevent you from exposing their real image.

                That was the breakthrough from the endless cries and blank vissions. I became a vessel. EPA!!!!!

             What is Elegun?     

           Elegun is the Yoruba word for  those who are spiritually possessed by Orisa ( Not to be confused with Eleegun which is masqurade.)They are also known as Ojise. However there are three ways of attaining priesthood for both men and woman;

* Through inheritance

* Through vocation or possession

* Through Age i.e been the senior wife or head of the family.

              In some cases some people become priestess of Orisa in the palace or in the town when they are chosen by divination. After this divination process, they will have to undertake an oath and go through initiation ceremonies.

               In the case of Elegun, the initiation ceremony and power that are transmitted to each individual spiritually differs. The message they bear are usually accurate and true. Each times their prediction comes to pass, they must give thanks to Orisa who is the owner of the Ase and message. 

Trance/ Possession/ Orisa Mounting.

            Possession/trance comes in different forms, there are some Elegun whose spirit descends on them in the course of singing, chanting, listening to drums and dancing to tense Orisa music. The spirit can mount during long recitation of Oriki, which is why it is essential to learn and master Oriki for our individual Orisa. 

    

           Elegun must not hear the sound of snail shell being used to wash, scratch the bottom of the pot because the vibrating sound can make the spirit to mount them and it can take several hours for the person to return to normalcy. For some it is a taboo for them to come near anyone who is cutting wood. When ever the spirit come upon them, they must propitiate the Orisa in order to calm them down. They use element such as water, palm oil, cam-wood, white chalk as ingredient of propitiation.

         I was once asked why people are refrain from mounting sometimes in Nigeria, this is because when the spirit of Orisa possess a person, it uses the whole body. Some may inadvertently lose control of the physical body and hit the ground and sustain injury. Some may expose themselves to the people and some may start revealing personal secret to the people.

   Taboos

         In a nutshell, Elegun of Orisa must abide by all taboo related to that Orisa. For example, in Yoruba land Elegun of Sango is forbidden from smoking tobacco. They must endeavor to practice honestly at all times so that people can take the message sent by the Orisa through them seriously.

Excerpt from

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The Adventure of Obatala ( Revised Edition) by Chief Priest Ifayemi Elebuibon. The Araba Of Osogbo Land.

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