Another Oríkì (praise poem) dedicated to the Yorùbá goddess of trade and wealth, Aje (see also Salute to Aje, Goddess of Wealth).
The man who poverty makes a beggar among friends
Knows how the world dodges the needy…
Oral Poetry from Africa
Filed Under: Poems of Gods & Ancestors
Another Oríkì (praise poem) dedicated to the Yorùbá goddess of trade and wealth, Aje (see also Salute to Aje, Goddess of Wealth).
The man who poverty makes a beggar among friends
Knows how the world dodges the needy…
Filed Under: Poems of Gods & Ancestors
Filed Under: Poems of Gods & Ancestors
A previous poem for the Yorùbá trickster god Èṣù, or Eshu (see Eshu, God of Fate) describes him as a deity who loves disrupting the laws of probability and creating impossible contradictions of time and space. As an Òrìṣà who crosses boundaries, his shrines are usually located at crossroads and at the entrances to homes. Another important station for Èṣù is the marketplace.
People of the market, clear the way!
We are coming through the market gate…
Filed Under: Poems of Gods & Ancestors
Filed Under: Poems of Gods & Ancestors
The following Iremoje was part of the dirges chanted at the funeral of a deceased hunter, Ogunjinmi, whose name means “the god Ogun blesses or favours me”.
Ogunjinmi, you have caught your father’s dog.
A needle that falls into a pit is lost forever…
Filed Under: Poems of Gods & Ancestors
The following poem is part of the dirges chanted at the funeral of a deceased hunter, Pa Ogundele, by Atoyebi at Agunpopo, Oyo in 1975. Pa Ogundele was a member of the hunters society, the Asipade, (see The Asipade) for whom magical charms are an essential tool for capturing animals and surviving in the forest. However, whilst these charms are highly prized ultimately no magic can defeat death.
Ajuwon Akanbi,
Hunter, I thought you had egba magic…
This site opens a window on something that will be new to most people, namely, the vast amount of superb poetry hidden away in the 3000 different languages spoken in Africa … More