Our Mothers, Our Powers, Our Texts: Manifestations of

1. Àjé in Yorubaland

THE POWERS OF THE MOTHERS overview The Yoruba of Southwest Nigeria have many praisenames for the fertile, protective, and creative Mothers who people the earth, protect their children, and ensure evolution: Àwon Ìyá Wa (Our Mothers); Àwon Ìyàmi Òsòròngà (The Great and Mysterious Mother); Yewájobí (The Mother of All the Òrìsà and All Living Things);2 Àgbàláàgbà (Old and Wise One); and, succinctly, Ayé (the Earth). Whatever appellations they are given by their “children,” these women are recognized as the spiritual and terrestrial “gods of society” and “the owner[s] of everything in the world.”3 The Mothers enjoy suzerainty because of a force called Àjf. Although Àjf resists English language de¤nition, as do many African concepts, Diedre Badejo de¤nes it as “an embodiment of power and an expression of the matrix of potentiality from which that power emanates .”4 Yoruba cultural analyst Ayo Opefeyitimi asserts that Àjf endows women with “celestial, terrestrial [sophistication] and unrivaled powers” that surpass “those of men.”5 Henry Drewal and Margaret Drewal de¤ne it as women’s possession of “the secret of life itself.”6 An “always-already” force—that has always existed and is ever prepared for action—Àjf is depicted in Yoruba mythistories7 and Odù Ifá (divination verses of the Ifá spiritual system—the Yoruba Way of Knowing) as a biological, physical, and spiritual force of creativity and social and political enforcement. A vastly in®uential power that is inclined toward paradox and muloh ùn èmi ná à kp. ohùn ìyá mi ni . . . (this is not my voice. it is “my mother’s” voice . . . ) —oríkì àjf 1 1 Àj¡ in Yorubaland tiplicity, Àjf is holistic and neutral and can be used in myriad ways depending upon the entity wielding the power and the circumstances and motivations dictating the actions. In addition to being a cosmic force that originates with Great Mother Deities, Àjf is a naturally occurring property of select human beings. Women of Àjf have many signi¤cant attributes and roles in society. They are bestowed with spiritual vision, divine authority, power of the word, and àse, the power to bring desires and ideas into being. As “children” of Imolg, the Mother of Earth, they control agricultural fertility and plant life. Holistic healing is an important aspect of Àjf, and its wielders use their incomparable knowledge and ownership of ®ora and fauna to create nourishment, healing elixirs, and poisons. Àjf also enact spiritual communication through divination and Qrq, power of the word. Most important, Àwon Ìyá Wa are teachers whose gifts, lessons, trials, and punishments compel their communities to seek higher levels of spiritual evolution and redirect misguided destiny, direction, or power. Part of their evolutionary educational and social work involves dispensation of justice. Àjf are feared for their astral “outings,” which are undertaken largely to punish trespassers of cosmic and terrestrial laws. The following are possible retaliations for offenses committed against the Earth Deity: In addition to cases of inexplicable deaths, a female victim may have her menstrual blood stopped or trickling for years, her foetus may be spirited out of her and hung high over an iroko tree. . . . [A] man’s penis may lose its erections or may be denuded of sperms or active spermatozoa, there may be eruptions of mysterious illnesses, etc.8 Spiritually and physically powerful women using their astral forms to slay offenders and deliberate on communal and political issues may sound harrowing. But it is important to note that Odùduwà, who is regarded (in many circles) as the progenitor of the Yoruba peoples,9 is the tutelary Òrìsà and embodiment of Àjf, and Àjf is one of the original components she used to create the earth. Not only do Odùduwà’s “daughters,” Àwon Ìyá Wa, act under her auspices, they also use their power with discretion and in accordance with ordained rules of which no breech is allowed. In addition to rules involving group consensus for astral punishments, Àjf speci¤cally, and human beings, in general, follow these simple but important terrestrial laws: 1. Do not dabble in herbalism (do not use herbs without thorough knowledge of their nature and use and cosmic approval). 2. Do not display wealth. 3. Share everything.10 14 l àjf in africana orature Yoruba spiritualist Samuel M. Opeola contends that “Àjf balance the social fabric” and are “against class systems” and “exploitation.” He...