Rites of Passage
Artist: Moyo Okediji
Title: Rites of Passage
Medium: silicon on paper
Date: 2020
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Artist: Moyo Okediji
Title: Rites of Passage
Medium: silicon on paper
Date: 2020
Àkòdì Òrìṣà at sunset, Ile Ife, Nigeria.
This is the location of the Àkòdì Òrìṣà, the home of the ancestral orisa in Yoruba country.
The curator of the Àkòdì Òrìṣà sent me this picture to inform me of the treat that awaits me when I return to Ile Ife. I’ll be there soon. Soon.
Do you know why people say Ọbá wàjà (the monarch climbed the rafter) and not Ọbá kú (the monarch died)?
You will find the answer to the riddle in Ìrẹtẹ̀ Méjì.
Orunmila was a monarch, who gave birth to several other monarchs including Alárá, Ajerò, Ọlọ́wọ̀ and several others.
You will also find out in Ìrẹtẹ̀ Méjì why Yoruba people (ọmọ a yọ orù bá wọn tọ́jú) do not die, but climb the rafter.
Artist: Pelumi Ponmile
Title: Portrait of Moyo Okediji
Medium: Collage
Date: 2018
Gbogbo igi kọ́ lejò ń gùn (Not all trees can be scaled by the snake)
Gbogbo omi kọ́ lẹdun ń mu (The colobus monkey doesn’t drink all types of water)
Àyàfi wèrè, àyàfi dìgbòlugi (Only the insane, only the raving lunatic)
Officially, I become a senior citizen today.
I turned 65.
From what my daughter said–and she was giving me professional information as a licensed social worker–I have become an ẹ̀rùjẹ̀jẹ̀ in the eye of the law in the US.
I’m like a baby now.
Can you imagine hurting a baby!
Artist: Moyo Okediji
Title: Why the Tortoise and the Dog Quarrel All the Time.
Medium: Acrylic on Canvas
Date: 2018