26/09/2018
THE DAYS OF THE WEEK AND THE RULLING RULING ORISA (ORISHA)
If you ask many Yorubas today to list out the days of the traditional week, you are most likely going to hear something like this after a confident smile; Aiku, Aje, Isegun, Ojoru, Ojobo, Eti and Abameta. However, those are not the days of the traditional Yoruba week. Those are simply the days of the week made up so as to adapt to the seven day week of the Gregorian calendar. So what are the proper days of the week of the Yorubas? Well, before the colonialists came with the Gregorian calendar, the Yorubas already developed their own advanced calendar system. It was called "Kojoda"
The Yoruba calendar is a calendar used by the Yoruba people of southwestern Nigeria and southern Benin. The calendar has a year beginning on the last moon of May or first moon of June of the Gregorian calendar, and an era of 8042 BC. The new year coincides with the Ifa festival.
As well as the forces of nature , organs of the body,and behavior. The Orisa also govern the days of the week. The traditional Yoruba week has four days. The four days that are dedicated to the Orisa go as follow;
Day 1is dedicated to Obatala, Sonponna, Iyami, Egbe orun, Egungun e.t.c...
Day 2 is dedicated to Ifa, Esu, Osun, Olokun, Aje e.t.c...
Day 3 is dedicated to Ogun, Osoosi, Ija, Orisa oko e.t.c...
While Day 4 is dedicated to Sango, Oya, Bayanni e.t.c...
These days all the worshippers of each Orisa used to make there ceremony on the particular days, they will offer the best thing to their Orisa as an appeasement to seek for guidance, protection, long life, blessings, good luck and to be victorious over enemies. So it is important for everybody to take note of this, not everybody are able to consult IFA always and make necessary sacrifice but with the power of doing these, there is assurance of better life.
But to reconcile with the Gregorian calendar, Yoruba people also measure time in seven days a week and four week a month. The four days calendar was dedicated to the Orisas and seven day calendar is for doing business.
The seven days are;
Ojo aiku (Sunday)
Ojo aje (Monday)
Ojo isegun (Tuesday)
Ojo riru/ Ojoru (Wednesday)
Ojo bo/ Alamisi ( Thursday)
Ojo eti ( Friday)
Ojo abameta (Saturday)
Time also measure in
Iseju aaya ( seconds)
Iseju (minutes)
Wakati (hours)
Ojo (days)
Ose (weeks)
Osu (months)
Odun (years)....
The beauty of our heritage shall not perish.
Babalawo Ifasina