Oyimbo Diary: Chapter 6

In the summer of 2006, Rainer Doost and his wife Valeria Watson-Doost spend three weeks in Nigeria as house guest of Chief Ifagbenusola Atanda. In this series of 9 weekly installments Rainer a videographer will share his experiences in words and video.


Odunfa

Tonight is Baba’s Odunfa, a yearly celebration of his initiation to Ifa. I know the light will be minimal so I don’t take my camera. When we assemble on the third floor I regret my decision, realizing I am uniquely privileged to be included in this family ritual of thanksgiving. Kunle is there with his camera. His camera's low light performance is worst than mine. I hope he will get something. For this occasion Baba’s wife, two sons and two daughters have arrived from other parts of the state. Four Babalawos perform the ritual for the family. In the next three hours, life force offerings of a guinea hen, a rooster, a large snail, and a goat are made. We all taste the blood by dipping a finger into it. Valeria respectfully asks if I am to be included in this sacred process. Baba responds, “Rainer is my friend and a family member, he shares in everything.” In the days to come, he makes sure I am included by calling to me to him or saying, “Give my friend some.” Periodically Baba stops the process and explains to us what is going on. Balancing formality with informality, all the rituals that I witness are remarkably inclusive and welcoming. In comparison Euro-centric rituals tend to be more rigid and exclusive. Here explanations are readily given and there is always room for humor. It is after midnight when we go down to our beds.

Baba’s Birthday Party

On one side of the temple is a large yard that serves as a parking area for the adjacent clinic. It also contains one of the community wells. It is here that I watch from our bedroom window, as men at dawn bush their teeth and take a "shower". The "shower" is a water kettle filled with water from the well. Standing or squatting they pour water over their head and lather their bodies and then rinses off. While this process is going on women and children from surrounding houses come and draw water from the well. Full buckets are lifted on the head and carried back home.

Today this space has been reserved for Babas birthday party. Tables and chairs arrive by truck. Others bring cases of beer, wine, soft drinks and water. Soon the whole space is filled with seating for at least a hundred. Several women are busy in the outdoor kitchen. Late in the afternoon a stage with loud speakers is set up right under our second story bedroom window. That means no sleep tonight! Security staff guards the entrances to the temple and party space. Guests begin to arrive around eight PM. They mostly wear colorful embroidered traditional robes. By ten PM the tables are full. Service staff bring food and beverages. They don't speak English. Valeria and I try to get our server to understand we would like a bottle of wine. Nothing happens, so we ask for beer. Soon two bottles of wine and several bottles of beer arrive. I guess she understood us after all!

I had hoped for traditional un-amplified music. Baring that I had expressed to Baba that I hate loud amplified music in the hope that the volume would be kept to tolerable levels. No such luck. Just like in the US, if loud is good then louder is better. Hearing damage soon will be universal. I dig out a tissue, dip it in water and stuff it in my ears.

Nobody dances for the first few hours. How boring! Several individuals make speeches in Yoruba. Seyi, who also speaks translates what he has said into English expressing his heartfelt welcome to all of us from overseas.

Late in the evening Baba honors Iyanifa, his wife, by placing many nira notes against the side of her head. The two then dance as guests approach dancing to honor them similarly. Their youngest daughter, who has come home from the University for the occasion collects the money from the heads of her parents. After midnight a few brave souls go to the dance space in front of the band. Valeria and I give it a try but the loudspeakers, close up, are intolerable and I retreat to our distant table.

In the early hours of the morning when the crowd has thinned out, we guests from distant lands, get up to the microphones and extend our heartfelt birthday wishes to our Oluwo, my new friend Chief Ifagbenusola Olalekan Atanda. It once again is dawn when we make our way to our beds.

I didn't take a camera but Kunle did so I can share little bit of dim footage here.