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 The
name Yourba in Africa encompasses a group of
people that speak the same language and live within certain boundaries in
West Africa.
 If
we take the Creation Myth of Ifá, Obatala
climbs down the chain from Heaven to Earth. The chain is symbolic of the double
helix which is the form found within genes used to store DNA (Also known as
Hermes Staff, the Staff of Tehuti Or the Caduceus).  Left: Ifa Bowl; Bottom
Left: Yoruba depiction of Obatala.
The
journey from Heaven to Earth is a reference to the emergence of hidden or
latent potential into manifest reality. When you are in the womb you would
have invisible potential as a child, and after you are born that potential
becomes manifest. The womb is the passageway between heaven and earth; it
is the doorway that allows for reincarnation. To learn more please click here to link to
the website dedicated to these articles.
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Orisha Myth Ile Ife, Ministry of Education Western Nigeria |
 In the
beginning there was only the sky above, water and marshland below. The chief
god- Olorun ruled the sky, and the goddess- Olokun ruled what was below. Obatala,
another god, reflected upon this situation, then went to Olorun for permission
to create dry land for all kinds of living creatures to inhabit. To
learn more click here
Sources:
Ifa Links; cultural-expressions
Ministry of Education Western Nigeria Primary School Leaving Certificate Examination
1961 YorùbáYorùbá:
Wákàtí Kan àti ààbò.
English, meaning Wákàtí (Hour), Kan (One), àti
(And), ààbò (Half), one and half-hour. |
Yoruba Primary School Leaving Certificate Examination 1961 |
 Yorùbá:
Ko àròko lórí okan nínú àwon
wonyí
English, Ko (Write), àròko (Essay), lórí (On),
okan (One), nínú (Any), àwon (Of), ìbéèrè
(Questions), márùn (Five), wonyí (These). Write one essay
on any of these five questions.
·
Yorùbá: À?fààní ti à n rí
nípa sísan owó-orí
· English: the benefit we see from paying income tax
· Yorùbá: Owo ehìn tàbí owó
àbetélé
· English: bribery money or corrupted money
· Yorùbá: Ise eran-sísì ní ilè
wa
· English: the business of animal domestication in our land
· Yorùbá: Òtító ni olórí
ìwà
· English: truth is the unicorn of behavior
· Yorùbá: Àsà ilà kíko ni
ile Yorùbá
· English: the tradition of tribal marks in Yorùbáland |
  Note:
The Yorùbá language has special symbols on top and below certain
Yorùbá alphabets. For example, the Yorùbás has
two sets of (O) and (E), first, O pronounced as O, then there is (O) with
a dot symbol underneath pronounced as Or. Secondly there is (E), pronounced
as A, then there is (E) with a dot symbol underneath pronounced as Err.
The markings
on top of the words, is to help with the pronounciation as well as differentiating
between similar words, when speaking Yorùbá language. For example
these words (Oorun) Sleep, (Òórùn) Smell, (?run) Sky,
(òrùn) Sun, (òru) Night and (Oru) Heat
This symbol (`) is pronounced (Do), then this symbol (´) is pronounced
(Me) and if there is neither symbols on the word, it is pronounced (Ray).
Therefore
the word Yorùbá will sound like, (Ray), no special symbol on
top, follow by (`), pronounced (Do) and (´) pronounced (Me) making it
sound like (Re-Do-Me). Due to symbol limitation in Microsoft word 2000, the
word (Òrun) Sky, should have had this symbol (`) Do, above it, as well
as the dot symbol below the letter O. |
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