A core function of culture is to build wholeness and self-reliance by protecting the essential quality of being human. OLA16 introduce developmentally-appropriate challenges that progressively encourage initiative and self-direction as your practice grows, over time.
- Obafemi Origunwa, MA
- Obafemi Origunwa, MA
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16 Agreements
- We agree to sustain the standard practices of òrìsà lifestyle. We believe in spiritual assessment, sometimes called divination, using, cola nuts, cowries, opele and ikin. We believe in performing transformative work, sometimes called sacrifice, according to the dictates of said assessment. We believe in sustainable practices, including observances of taboos.
- We agree to consult with qualified priests and priestesses to install shrines dedicated to our ancestors (opa iku), our internal spirits (ile ori) and our spiritual path (isefa). We believe each lineage has an Ancestral Promise, which guides every generation towards to completion of a specific objective. We believe identity is destiny. We believe in the Holy Oracle of Ifá as a means to outline best method to deliver on the Ancestral Promise, as well as realize our personal destinies.
- We agree to participate in òrìsà lifestyle in order to master the four-day worship calendar. We believe that adherence to regular worship cycles will ensure spiritual connectedness and elevation.
- We agree to participate in òrìsà lifestyle to understand, honor and continue the efforts of American African elders and thought leaders. We believe that Marie Laveaux, Mary Ellen Pleasant, Martin Delaney, and Kudjo and Abache Kazoola paved the way and laid the foundation for other pioneers, like Fashina Falade, Medahochi, Fagbemi Ogundele, Baba Ishangi, HRM Oba Adefunmi, Mama Keke, Iya Olabunmi and others. We believe that honoring them is essential to building a brighter future for òrìsà lifestyle.
- We agree to participate in òrìsà lifestyle in order to learn original Yoruba language and culture. We believe that language organizes thought. We believe that òrìsà consciousness is encoded in Yoruba language and in order to think as the òrìsà thought we must speak the language of òrìsà lifestyle, which is Yoruba.
- We agree to actively seek out the common history, practices and shared destiny of all legitimate, African-descended lineages of òrìsà lifestyle. We believe that African descendants who practice òrìsà lifestyle all belong to a single religious family.
- We agree to participate in òrìsà lifestyle to enable us to practice physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual freedom. We believe that Black people will be free to the extent that we actively work to reinforce our chosen destiny.
- We agree to participate in òrìsà lifestyle in order to practice social, economic, environmental and cultural sustainability. We believe òrìsà lifestyle is uniquely qualified to teach its members and the world how to coexist with nature and the cosmos.
- We agree to participate in òrìsà lifestyle to create sustainable food sources. We believe that practitioners of òrìsà lifestyle should grow, distribute and prepare our own food. We believe our food should be our medicine.
- We agree to participate in òrìsà lifestyle to create home economics, cottage industry and family management training for every Black youth. We believe that Black people should be adept at home making, which will enable us to nurture and empower ourselves to be the best people we can be. We believe that the greatness of a nation starts in its homes.
- We agree to participate in òrìsà lifestyle in order to create full employment for practitioners of òrìsà lifestyle. We believe that òrìsà lifestyle has the resources necessary to empower every practitioner to create businesses for ourselves and to employ one another. We believe that the practitioners of òrìsà lifestyle can create zero unemployment within the òrìsà community.
- We agree to participate in òrìsà lifestyle to end the cycle of squander within the Black Community. We believe that, spending money within the Black community at least 8 times before it leaves will generate billions of dollars of wealth for Black families every year.
- We agree to participate in òrìsà lifestyle to create high quality, shared housing for all practitioners of òrìsà lifestyle. We believe practitioners of òrìsà lifestyle will benefit from creating various forms of cooperative living so that our community, can create decent housing and build authentic community for our people.
- We agree to participate in òrìsà lifestyle to create age-appropriate and gender-specific education (egbe) for our people. We believe the egbe should develop the head, heart and the hands according to the organizing principles of the agbole, and in accordance with the everyday local realities. We believe in an educational system that will give to our people knowledge of self.
- We agree to participate in òrìsà lifestyle to create emergency preparedness training for every Black youth. We believe that Black people should be adept at emergency preparedness, which will enable us to respond appropriately to emergency circumstances.
- We agree to participate in òrìsà lifestyle to create neighborhood watch and legal defense teams. We believe that we can protect and inspire members of the Black community by organizing community-based groups that are dedicated to eliminating every form of illegal and self-destructive activity.