Iya Oyo took a slow and long drag on her pipe, and released the smoke in short puffing sounds.The moon was orange bright, a perfect golden disk floating on the clouds.Some insects, hiding behind the darkness, sang in harmony with the frogs serenading the stars from the pond next to the Orisa house.It was the perfect time for me to ask my question: nobody was saying anything.
African Logic of Love
This message is for young people.
And those young at heart.
Do Africans have original ideas about love and romance?
Èdè means language in Yoruba.
In truth, however, èdè means bond.
Èdè is formed from dè, a verb that means, “to bind.”
“Ó dàbọ̀,” which is what stands for the idea of goodbye, actually is the very opposite of goodbye.Why? Because “Ó dàbọ̀” does not say that you are leaving.Rather, as you depart, you are speaking of “àbọ̀,” meaning, “the return.”As you depart, you begin to celebrate your return.
I laff so-tay las’ night my head fall commot my neck.
And I’m not making up this story.
My Chinese friend called me and said her friend, Tunde, who lives in Canada, wanted me to tell her the meaning of “Cat” in Yoruba.
“Why didn’t Tunde just tell you what ‘cat’ means in Yoruba himself?” I asked surprised.
I once visited a rich single lady living in a gorgeous house with the most amazing furniture.
After we ate, I felt relaxed and we started a great conversation, with expensive wine served in elegantly shaped goblets.
That was when wahala started. The expression in her eyes changed. She became slightly alarmed.
“Would you mind not placing your leg on the table?” she requested softly.
When I became the Curator of African art in 1999 for a major art museum in the United States, the irony was not lost on me.How do you steal, loot, confiscate or pillage something, display the stolen or contraband goods publicly in your house, and hire the owner of the objects as the guard for the contraband or stolen goods?
ÀṢẸ, ASHE, AXE, ACHE
ÀṢẸ in Yoruba
ASHE in North America (United States, Europe, Afro-Caribbean, Canada)
AXE in Brazil.
THE GYRATOR: ÒBÍRÍPO Orunmila has a beautiful daughter to give away in marriage. There are three…
Multiverse: Agbedeméjì and Agbédèmejì
A friend just asked me to comment on Agbedeméjì.
But didn’t ask me about Agbédèmejì.
Dede Mabiaku was an undergraduate studying drama at the University of Benin in 1981 when I was a graduate student there.How did I meet Dede?Late one evening, I packed my Volkswagen car, popularly called Bintu, near the University of Benin theater during a drama rehearsal.I was the stage-design director for the Convocation play in December 1982.
Adamants who chase the future are overwhelmed by the past and lost in the present.The heaven you seek lies now under your feet.Take it.