After my shift in relationship to nature I began to look at things differently. I wanted to learn more about this spiritual world and how it was connected to so many things, specifically IFÁ. This practice of the Yorùbá people now had my complete attention however, there was one thing that was a clear barrier for me, the language.
Due to the benefit of being around my father and then my teacher Bàbá Jamel, I had gotten familiar with some Yorùbá prayers to work with my Òrìṣà however, I wanted to learn more. There were some phrases I learned to repeat…I just didn’t know what the words meant, and this made me uncomfortable. How could I fully embrace a practice where I didn’t know what the words meant.
This led me to Song of the Spirit, an institute founded by my friend B. Anderson. Song of the Spirit is all about work that honors all Earth-based practices and cultures. Fortunately for me this work also includes honoring language, specifically by offering a course to learn Yorùbá. I felt called to do this class and I even got my father to take it with me. The experience was nothing short of amazing.
This entry level course was taught by an IFÁ priest (Bàbálawo) named Shittu. Bàbá Shittu had an approach where rather than giving you vocabulary to memorize, he would focus on the tonal aspects of the language. We spent a fair amount of time on the vowels and consonants of Yorúbá, as well as the tonal marks and pronunciation. All of the tonal marks you see in this writing are a result of my studying with Bàbá Shittu.
The community in the class was also very special. It was a mixture of IFÁ practitioners, priests, and folks just curious about the language and culture of this West African people. In class I learned that the tones of Yorùbá are based on the musical tones of Do Re Mi and that they correspond in a low, medium, and high tone. I also learned about the connection and power of language in expressing spirit. That the sonic vibrations in language have an impact on our being, and the elements in our body that make up our being. This was no simple language course. And since Bàbá Shittu was teaching us via Zoom straight from Nigeria, it felt like I was getting a glimpse of what Yorùbáland was like on my computer screen ever week.
All in all I ended up taking two courses with Bàbá Shittu. I never wanted to miss a class. During one of the courses, I took a trip to Puerto Rico for a retreat with Bàbá Jamel. At that retreat I learned about various plants which hold spiritual significance (including callaloo aka tete), medicine making, and how to use these plants to enhance ritual. And even though I was doing all of this, I still logged into class to get what I could. I would tell Bàbá Jamel about what I was learning in the class and he would show me how it would enhance my spiritual studies. It all worked together and still does.
I also got to bond with other members of my spiritual house or Ilé as we call it in Yorùbá. On this trip I got to spend time with Bàbá and Egunfemi (my old friend) and to meet Crystal (who would later become Ṣelewa), the sweet Iya Falake and the big personality of Banjoko. This would also be the trip where Ṣelewa suffered from asthma and we used reiki to keep her from having to go to the hospital. You can read about that on the testimonials page.
We had fun on the trip and we were tested. We had to find herbs using verbal descriptions and our sight without Bàbá’s help. It wasn’t easy but we got it done. We also went into the rainforest for some swimming and learned some new Yorùbá songs. I even played a Yorùbá instrument for the first time ever. Great times had by all, and if you think I’m kidding check the video below. Watch til the end for the impromptu dancing. 🙂
