DOMUS FIDEI

With my eyes closed

my mind still

heads bowed and hands akimbo

In the mist of your blessings

I stretch forth my heart to thee

On a chariot of humility 

To you my spirit soars

towards Eternal epiphany 

In my darkest hour

When I lay in stasis

My weary heart

And dripping eyes 

Tell a tale

A song of lamentation

And I turn away 

from your light 

You babtize me with

An oil of salvation

I feel your spirit

dance upon my soul

And I know thou at with me

In tune, my body shivers

in the cool embrace

of your loving kindness

In my loneliness,

you send an emissary of heaven

to commune with me. 

Her tender words and kindness

Comforts and crowns me

with an halo of enlightenment

When My lips are perched in hunger and thirst

From your bossom's compassion 

You cause milk and honey to flow

On land and high mountain

to feed me full

When I am Lost

In the darkness 

Of worldly lust

And desire's transgression

your eyes of mercy finds me

With a hand full of grace

you guide me back to life

And set me on an high plain

Now i can see

Above the crowd

I can see

Above the cloud

Yes! I see

the wonder of your works

With my cracked cup of joy

I sip from the fountain of praise

To you, kindred spirit

I lift up my voice

To write this ode in gratitude 

Of your Everlasting love

 

Enemy Of State

Neither a politician nor honest man

Neither spiteful nor kind

Neither a rebel nor a saint

Neither a hero nor an ant 

I am as I am.

Who am I? 

"Who am I?"

You ask like it matters

What concerns you with

A faceless fameless stranger

Living in an Underground system

A regime that forms a loch ness

Cold, Nasty and brute;

Looking at the world through 

crack, needles, smokes.

Once,

Not long ago

I was a man

Full of grace 

living a Life of ease

And a home oozing lavishly,

The ceaseless chattering

of the squirrel

Attracts it's hunter

By the good of my hand

And the gluttony of my 

once Bulging belly

With my untamed rod

With which I strike 

Every skirt I fancy

 I condemned myself

To wildering wretch

The day the squirrel feeds

are few and far between,

It's days of hunger longlasting.

Like an angel

I have been casted down

Into a well.

Friends, family, lovers

That licked my oilly hands

Have all flown far away

Like Flies leave shit

At the crash of a big stone

Poverty's manignant claws

Has stripped me bare

Of garment, crown and glory

I have grown frail from hunger 

I am a scarecrow

An object to scorn

Oh the Peril!

Oh the anguish!

So Unfortunate I am

to be tormented by desire

For a memory that is out of reach,

If my misery is put on scale

It will outweigh the sands of Sahara

All my attempts at redemption

Meets rock at the bottom

My hope constantly

shattered to pieces

My soul robbed of its peace

I feel the spite brewing

Like a pompous thunder

with no rain

I am enraged by envy

Ambition's scorching lust

Keeps me up

counting sheeps,

Terrifying dreams drags my night

Dawn never coming

A captive of desire

I have grown ill natured 

from dense longings.

A thousand ways to die

I have tasted them all

Iku,

why have thou forsaken me

to rot alive?

Stretch forth your hand

In mercy and crush me

In the hay days 

Of my great decline

Into this sunken place, 

Its darkness overwhelmed me

Till it possessed me completely

Withering away my colourful petals

Now my heart is a grey, brutal place;

I am a stem, with branches covered in thorns;

an evil lurking

In the shadow of light, 

Preaching disdain with an accent of love;

In flattering insolence

I find my strength;

illusion of power

courses through my vein

It is the one with a head 

That suffers an headache,

One who has,

Has something to lose,

Like an infuriated bull set loose,

Into self destruct

I charge with my horns down 

Into the regime that has exiled me to hell.

"TRIBAL" Mark

Sacrifications are scars left by an accident, penance or purnishments even surgery. Marks whose intent is not the mark it self but it been a resulting consequence of an action intended for other purpose are scarifications. Marks left on the skin by boiling water or hot rod; whips and slashes of knives are scarifications. Traditional African incisions are made to achieve various valid purposes which may include historical, cultural, medical, religious and aesthetic reasons. Tribal incisions have been widely used by many West African ethnic groups to mark milestones in both men and women's lives, such as puberty, marriage, status. Besides being a means for beautification and identity, traditional incision marks have very strong medicinal and spiritual ties

There is evidence of the healing or curative role that this incisions play in our diverse ethnic groups. Various Marks come with thier own names and purpose, we have the Kalunga markings of the Fulani people, we have the various Abaja markings of the Oyo tribe, etc. In Yoruba it is known as "Gbere" and the process of making one of such incisions is "gbere sin sin" They vary in depth, length and strikes. 

The WHO. defines traditional medicine or health care as the total combination of knowledge and practice, whether explicable or not, used in diagnosing, preventing or eliminating physical, mental and social diseases. This practice exclusively relies on past experience and observation handed down from generation to generation verbally or in written form.

Withregards, Our shared knowledge of medicine played a vital role in our health care before colonization and foreign religions invaded our way of life and castigsted against everything foreign to them. With our vast knowledge of herbs we were able to heal the sick, cure numerous diseases including malaria, diabetes, sterility and barrenness; mental and spiritual ailments were also cured using herbs. Across Africa, every language and ethnic kingdoms have a diety to whom they pay reverence to in terms of medicine and health care. Among the Yorubas, the secrets of traditional medicine lies in the bossom of Osanyin who is the patron deity of herbs and health care, his priest are said to have vast knowledge of plants and their health benefits. It is this great men and women that know how to administer a large number of medicines into the bloodstream via incisions on the body. The incision maybe made on the face, neck, arm and abdomen down to the legs and private parts dependant on the purpose of the incisions.  In some cases, short vertical incisions are made under the eyes and other body region of some children with special spiritual connections to prevent the child from sicknesses clike pneumonia and measles. Also to stop them from reacting to elements that triggers epilepsy or convulsion; uncontrolled anger and other ADHD related illnesses. It is also used to protect the child against the sicklecell causing Abiku  by making incisions on their face and body, in Ghana, one of such marks is called Donko Markings done on a Kosanma. According to Wiki, among the ethnic groups in sub-Saharan Africa that traditionally practice scarification are the Gonja, Dagomba, Frafra, Mamprusi, Nanumba, Bali, Tɔfin, Bobo, Montol, Kofyar, Yoruba, and Tiv people of West Africa, and the Dinka, Nuer, Surma, Shilluk, Toposa, Moru, Bondei, Shambaa, Barabaig, and Maasai people of East Africa

Please share your personal experience with African medical insicions and knowledge of it. if you have one to share.

Photo credit 4toscenethesis

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Real Situation

Let me turn on my stoicness and extract a quote that was translated from the bottomless well of stoic philosophy. This quote was made by Marcus Aurelius, he says:

"Keep in mind how fast things pass by and are gone-those that are now, and those to come. Existence flows past us like a river: the 'what' is in constant flux, the 'why' has a thousand variations. Nothing is stable, not even what's right here. The infinity of past and future gapes before us-a chasm whose depths we cannot see. So it would take an idiot to feel self-importance or distress. Or any indignation, either. As if the things that irritate us lasted."

With this in mind, let me tell you a true story. I met a dear lady a while ago, we hit things off and the sailing was smooth, I like her persona and I believed she liked mine too. We began dating, I did enjoy the moments we shared. On one dark night, the demon in me crept in and I channelled that energy into breaking the lady's heart by quitting. She had absolutely nothing to do with it and I didn't do it out of contempt. But it was a colourless time and such times often turn into a vessel to project one's accumulated hexes outwards. So this was what I did. I took the easy way and poured out some untrue lines as an excuse to get out easy and not face her. Immature right?

Being human, when the cold grip of depression lashes unto my mind, I tend to lash out at any prick that pokes me. I become a terror not only to myself as an individual but also to those that surround me or try to come close. This I never considered, not until I came across a study in Psychology on Psychological Projection and its effect on relationships and socialization.

When in distress, the fear of vulnerability activates the mind's defences, psychological projection is a defense mechanism we subconsciously employ in order to cope with difficult feelings or emotions, it is when you put your ill feelings or thoughts on another as though they are the ones who conceded such ill thoughts. For example a bully may project his or her own feelings of vulnerability onto a weaker target.

To cope with our pent up emotional hexes, we create an arsenal of psychological projection to shut Adam and Eve out of the Eden of our minds forgetting that a pepple that is tossed into a pond begins a reaction from the point of impact to the bank of the pond, unsettling the leaves and sticks floating peacefully on the surface of the pond.

Also, "Men are disturbed not by the things which happen, but by the opinion about the things." we sometimes accuse others of the same mental imbalance we ourselves are suffering from. Someone who feels the compulsion to steal or defraud often projects those feelings onto others. He might begin to fear that his wallet will be shatched or property is going to be stolen or worse he is going to be shortchanged by the woman that sells cigarette up the street. A man who cheats on his wife notoriously, may begin to accuse her of cheating when he senses or dreams of it, If a man is insecure and projecting, they may throw accusations at you out of nowhere. A woman is anxious that she is wasting the best years of her career at a dead-end job. She accuses her artist boyfriend of sitting around wasting his life building castles of art in the air and never trying to change his life for the better by getting a real job or joining the fast-track hustle of youths of his peers.

Depression creates a barrier to communication and social interaction, one who is overwhelmed by it, may begin to slowly withdraw from the external world and recede into the cacoon of one's solitariness chosing to stay unbothered by others and not be a burden to them as well, when they try to come close we show significant irritability and sometimes aggressive behaviour. In times like this, a faithful friend is hard to become or find; harmless interactions, common questions and simple show of love becomes repulsive and we react to them like a threat. We become opportunistic, trying to suck the sweet juices out of any form of relationship, you pass an air of negativity outwards and you inhale the replusive air and blame it on friends and partner. When will you realise that you are the "bad vibe that needs to stay faraway."  Your partner may feel like you are the most attractive person that they've ever seen. But if you don't see yourself as attractive, you may accuse him/her of not finding you desirable, because you are projecting your insecurities onto them, they become the projectee. 

If we want to have a meaningful, authentic and loving relationship, we have to learn to be aware of our Projection when it occurs. This also involves an effort from both partners, the projector ato be patient, mindful and respectful toward each other. Nothing can get solved unless the Projector is aware he is projecting. Things get worse if the projectee reacts to the blame. To conquer a demon you must know its name, to heal ourselves of this plaque, we ought to access our inner turmoil, accept that they exist instead of denying them and release them by sharing with our partner instead of using the 'Fine" line...I will conclude with these wise words, my boy Epictus' "If you wish it, you are free; if you wish it, you'll find fault with no one, you'll cast blame on no one, and everything that comes about will do so in accordance with your own will..."

ÀMÚLUDÙN

From a seed
Iroko's life begins
deeply rooted,
it grows to great heights;
Towaring highabove its neighbours
In contempt powerful wind
tempt to break
Iroko into submission
Its root held firm
Against drastic odds
Iroko towers resolute.
A lighthouse
That sits on solid rock
Will endure raging storm
till the battle is worn out
And its light
Will call lost ships home.
Mirror child of celestial light,
upon your broad shoulders
I rest
May I not fall

If the boisterous blue sea takes
away ancestral wisdom
A river without a source I become,
Slowly evaporating in the heat.
In the abscence of the cat,
The house is invaded by the rat
Who carts away with ancestral mask
A Child keeps the house
Till its father returns
A house a negligent one
Inherits to build
Will lay in ruin,
A child that honours his Egun
Will not suffer neglect
Upon such child,
Clouds of gloom
Shall pass

The celetial òrí
has long melted,
We have offered offerings
To the ancestral alter
Our calabash has been refilled.
New wine deserves new skin,
See the regalia we made in your likeness
Aso Ofi, Aso Oke, Adire and Damask
A regalia of many colours it is,
As flamboyant and graceful as you

Arise
Ancient One,
Saint of celestial order
We have gathered to celebrate you
In one accord;
With ancient tongues
Our Elders are chanting your oriki,
Your children sing your praise
In joy and high spirit
Mothers gather outside
Geared to dance with you
hear the gangan's voice
Mother Rat does not disregard
the call of its offsprings
Hearken to the sound of the gong
Come,
fill us with your prescence

Cool air,
Sweet water,
Bountiful earth.
From darkness comes light
a thunderous roar awakens,
the rythm
Of gongs and gangan
Songs of praise in mother tongue
Fills the mouths of the crowd
Children run around in elation
Àmúludùn the joyous one
As emerged
Her Majestic dance
fills the yard with Grace,
showers of blessings poured
From this benevolent one
Like a pregnant sky,
Long life, peace and wealth
filled our bodies, soul and spirit.

ISESE L'AGBA

Ifa is the knowledge, philosophy and wisdom of the spirituality of Orisa, the mystery of life is unraveled in spiritual calculations and interpretation which brings accurate messages that give warnings, propound solutions, and guidance from ancestral and premodial energies (this include Orisa, Iyami, Egun etc and Irunmole) for human.
The quest for the knowledge of the mysteries in Ifa is an unending journey one can not grasp the entirety of Ifa as the knowledge is very wide and its depth very great, it is a continuous education that one studys till he/she returns to his/her ancestral haven. The quest and practice of Ifa is Isese and Isese comes first in all human pursuit.

IFA says in Osa Irete a verse in the sacred Odu that Tradition is what's needed to have alignment in our lives. Tradition gives us order, it teaches us to respect and honor our Parents and Elders, how to attain a prosperous destiny, as well as Olodumare and Orisa. If we are looking for alignment it is Isese we should search for. The fundamental goal of our practice in Isese is to create heaven here on earth, not just for us but for the sake of generations to come. The Orisas represented by the people in this photograph were once humans that attained greatness in thier life and were deified after thier death because thier accomplishments deserved to be worshipped.

In our quest to fix our sole into tight and painful shoes to climb up the congested ladder of societal ideology of success, we have lost our divine affinity and oneness and become insensitivity to things divine, moral, pure and true. We have pushed Isese aside and trampled upon it with our iron stods and hard boots. We have neglected the source of ancestral wisdom and light. Isese has ceased to be a living reality, power and person in our lives who has the right to command our obedience, loyalty and dedication. We now live a life of strife, aggression, deception, poverty, cheating and fear, we have become spiritually malnourished and morally ill as a result we have become stepping stones and slave for the rise of other nations. The way onward as a nation is to remove the veils of division, rekindle our faith in tradition and its ever flowing stream of wisdom and spiritual consciousness and practice isese with honesty, compassion and justice for the benefit of the great nation of Africa and all of humanity. Black lives can only matter if African culture and traditions are brought back to life in the mind and lives of Africans to become our backbone and wings.

ODE APERIN

The trend of existence is to attain the height in ones undertaking. To keep keeping on regardless of what factors and fate awaits one on the journey to the peak, to manifest the idea boiling within and to influence the world as we know it or to create another instead. The higher the climb the more demanding the weight of gravity pulling you down, you would have to battle physically, mentally and spiritually against nature, phobia and time to kiss the peak. The brave man, as a proverb goes is not he who has no fear, but he who conquers that fear. The most important weapon in the battle against fear is the application of wisdom, it is with wisdom the underdog deals a mortal blow to the champion. Without the application of wisdom, bravery leaves you without guard.

With this in mind, the story I was told of Akiti the Hunter comes to mind and i thought i should share it.

A FAMOUS hunter and wrestler named Akiti boasted that he was stronger than every other man or animal. He had easily overcome a giant, a leopard, a lion, a gorilla, and a boa-constrictor, and as nobody else opposed his claim, he called himself “the King of the forest.”Wherever he went, he sang his triumphant wrestling-song, and everyone feared and respected him. But he had not fought the Elephant, who is a very wise animal and knows many charms. One day the Elephant challenged him and declared that he had no right to call himself “King,” as the Elephant himself was the monarch of the forest and could not be defeated. Akiti there upon flung his spear at his enemy, but because of the Elephant’s charm, the weapon glanced off his iron thick hide and grazed him not . Akiti next tried his bow and poisoned arrows, and his hunting-knife and gun, but still without effect. However, the hunter also possessed a charm, and by using it, he shape-shifted into a lion and leaped at the Elephant, but the Elephant swatted him off. Next he became a gigantic anaconda, but he could not succeed in crushing the African Elephant to death. At last, he remembers a scene were a fly took down his dog by flying into the dog's ear, it was indeed a sight watching his dog, running through heaps of dead leaves and head first into a tree opposite the one he rested under and decides to use the same tactic with the elephant, so he changed himself into a fly, and flew into the Elephant’s large flapping right ear. He went right down into the elephant's guts until he arrieved at the heart. There, he changed himself into a man again and cut up the heart with his matchete. At last the Elephant fell dead, and Akiti stepped out of his body in triumph, for he was now without question “Ode Aperin, the King of the forest.”