ÒÒYÀ

ÒÒYÀ

Like the comb (ÒÒYÀ)moves smoothly through the knotty hair

may you move without wahala through your days.

Ooya comes from yà, meaning to open up.

This is why in Ifa music we sing:

Òòyà, yà mí lójú (Ooya open my eyes)

kí n ríran, òòyà (that I may see)

Kí n ríran rówó (that I may see wealth)

Kí n ríran ríre (that I may see fortune)

Òòyà, yà mí lójú (Ooya open my eyes)

kí n ríran, òòyà (that I may see)

What we see in the painting is the Òòyà.

Can you see the comb?

May we comb through the knotty issues in our lives.

The painting shows that the Ooya has opened up the way and we can reach the stars.

If your dream is large, and you want to fly to the moon, may the Ooya open the path for you and enable you to get there.

Ooya, the pathfinder, open up our eyes, our imagination, our vision.

Open up new opportunities, Ooya.

Open up avenues of healing, Ooya.

Open up the door that we may reach our full potentials.

(This ÒÒYÀ painting was commissioned by a client, and is on its way out to its new home).