Tuesday, 25 January 2011

ÒYÍGÍYIGÌ ỌTA OMI : THE INDESCRIBABLE IMMENSITY OF THE DEPTHS





Those aspirations that transcend what the mind can fully encompass,
that continue to unfold even to the aspiring mind within the creative dynamism of the self.

Will you black out against the awesomeness of infinity
as the true nature of that seed you have nurtured begins to emerge?

The indescribable totality

the irresistible power of the pull within you emerging from what is outside you.
Where do inside and outside begin and end?

Stability across eons of time.
The rushing flow that transforms everything.

You cannot see it the way you see water
but it is demonstrated by the fact that everything is in motion
nothing remains the same forever
neither you or the air you breathe
transformed as you breathe it in and out.

The sun above you might not be there billions of years from now.

You and your fellow creatures that walk the earth
human and animal
might not have been here billions of years in the past
those who were here before you : the plants,water, the earth,might not always have existed.

Your thoughts change from moment to moment.

Situate yourself within this progression
so you gain strength from change
wisdom from transformation
power from torbulence


And yet
within this ocean
there are islands of relative stability :
the self that enables continuity from moment to moment
the peak that pierces the onward flow
intimating the possibility of soaring beyond time and change,beyond being and non-being

but do you really want to transcend change?

does death not heighten the meaning of life ?

If time were to stop, what would you do with it?
If you had the chance to return to the past, what is gained from reshaping it to suit yourself?
Would the sweet tang of living not be stolen by being able to manipulate the future?
are uncertainty, finitude, limitations, not knowing all possible outcomes, not part of the vitality of living?

Tomorrow does not exist except as a possibility.
The past does not exist except as a realised potential.

The present is all.

Play this game, Komolu, without fear of outcomes.
All possible outcomes are transcended in the ultimate transformation from being into mystery
the jump from life into the ultimate unknown.

Shall we meet again?
I do not know.
But for now,let us play the game
with vigour and lust,with daring and vision,with hope and fear.





Text credit

Yoruba text by Kayode Gbadebo.

The conception of “oyigiyigi” in terms of an indescribable immensity is by Rufus Orindare at OmoOdua Yahoo group on 30 December 2010 in the thread “Òyígíyigì Ota Omi : The Sunken Depth of the Peak of the Great Mountain”


Image credit

Aso Rock,Nigeria at the site of Golden Age Hotels http://www.goldenagehotelslimited.com/tour.html

“Aso Rock and Cave : This is the largest of the rocks within Abuja ranging about 936 meters above sea level, overlooking residential quarters and office buildings like the National Assembly, the presidential villa, etc. Aso means victory in Gbagyi dialect. The environment sorrounding the rock is serene and very natural”.

Accessed 2.10.2011

More on this rock from the Embassy of the Federal Repuiblic of Nigeria,Sweden.

“The rock is the largest rock outcrop within the Abuja metropolis, ranging about 936m above sea level, dominating the landscape of the capital city and overlooking residential quarters and office buildings like The National Assembly, The Supreme Court and The Presidential Villa. The rock has become synonymous with the nation’s seat of power. It has some caves within the structure which can be visited by tourists with the permission of the local priest. Aso people used to take refuge in the cave during intertribal wars. The rock is a sight worth seeing for every visitor in Abuja”.

http://www.nigerianembassysweden.se/nigerianembassy/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14&catid=10&Itemid=8

Accessed 2.10.2011

Friday, 31 December 2010

ÒYÍGÍYIGÌ ỌTA OMI : UNDYING STONE POTENT WATER by Toyin Adepoju and Noyo Edem







                                    Òyígíyigì ọta omi o, òyígíyigì ọta omi


The unyielding
The untwistable
The twisting
The yielding
I am that and yet not that

The unbending stone in the enveloping water

The immobile rock in the living water

What do the potent forces of mountain and water have in common?

 One is static and seemingly immobile
the other is a liquid- full of life and elasticity, ever flowing in its natural state.
 The water must flow, because the natural course for water is to flow through objects.
The mountain may be sorrounded and the water eventually flows through it.

The ultimate authority that emanates from the Creator ensures a fulfillment for each species in accordance with its overall cosmic purpose.

Any attempt to prevent the natural flow of water through the mountain
 down to the valley
 and into the river
 will cause the water to  burst loose like an avalanche.

What can contend with the powerful force of water?

Not even the mountain-water will gradually exert pressure on the mountain and erode the mighty mountain into tiny rocks.

Yes, this is the true force of water: silent, yet powerful.

I bear witness to the true force of water.

I salute you, serene and awesome one.

A d'òyígíyigì a kò kú mọ́ o. Òyígíyigì ọta omi.

We are dissolved into grains of sand by the irrestible flow, and yet we do not die.

The sand that was once mountain now carpets the sea bed.

Nothing in existence ever ceases to exist.

I was sand before I became mountain.

I was then dissolved from mountain to sand across eons of time.

Formation,transformation,
Eternal Mind's eternal re-creation

Ike di na awaja na awaja: Power flows in many channels





Image credit

“Diamond Fuji” by MAS (nmsmm)

on  Flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/no13_fotologue/4309230032/

Accessed 28/12/2010

This photo was taken on 27th Jan. 2010 with the following photographic and camera specifications: D300S + SIGMA 30mm F1.4 EX DC /HSM

MAS on this image:

In Japan we call this phenomena "Diamond Fuji"[with] the sun setting…into the top of …Mt.Fuji…the very last moment of the sun setting into the back of the mountain. At this moment, the sun shines like a diamond, hence this is called "Diamond" Fuji. This shot was taken from the lakeside of Yamanakako (山中湖). Speechless beauty of nature.

Text credits

Yoruba lines in the first and fifteenth stansas kindly provided by Elegbe. Personal communication.

Igbo text in the last line from “The Igbo World and its Art” by Chinua Achebe in Hopes and Impediments, Igbo Arts: Community and Cosmos and African Phiolosophy: An Anthology by Emmanuel Chukwudi Eze.

Stanza one : adaptation of Pastor AIO:
“I thought Oyigiyigi was the name of the stone.  Especially when it says [A d'òyígíyigì a kò kú mọ́ o.] 'We have become Oyigiyigi, we will live forever.'  I didn't imagine it was being referred to as an adjective.  
I've heard it explained as something that will not yield or cannot be turned or twisted (hence -yi- in yoruba) while the -gi- sound expresses it's hardness or resilience.  Like Igi in wood.

Then again it is a combination of yielding and unyielding (yi and gi).  A marriage of opposite characteristics”

Stanzas five to six and eight  to thirteen  by Noyo Edem posted to  Edo-nationality@yahoogroups.com and Edo_Global@yahoogroups.com under the thread Òyígíyigì Ọta Omi : The SunkenDepth of the Peak of the Great Mountain”,on
28 Dec,2010.
Slightly edited.

Stanzas four inspired by Noyo Edem. posted to  Edo-nationality@yahoogroups.com and Edo_Global@yahoogroups.com under the thread Òyígíyigì Ọta Omi : The SunkenDepth of the Peak of the Great Mountain”,on 28 Dec,2010.
Stanza seven from Mazisi Kunene Anthem of the Decades : A Zulu Epic Dedicated to the Women of Africa.London: Heinemann,1981.xvii.

Stanzas twenty one from Faust Part 2, Act I, scene 5 by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe translated by George Madison Priest from The Alchemy Website at http://www.levity.com/alchemy/faust25.html.Accessed 29/12.2010.

The total progresion of meaning in the poem is assisted  by translations  of Yoruba text by Awo Falokun Fatumnbi from "Awo Training Part 1" at Scribd at http://www.scribd.com/doc/7135229/Awo-Training-PART-1 and Bolaji Idowu Olodumare: God in Yoruba Belief and "The Yoruba Names of God" thread on the social network Nairaland at http://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-238418.0.html . Accessed 28/12/2010.




 



Tuesday, 28 December 2010

ÒYÍGÍYIGÌ ỌTA OMI :THE SUNKEN DEPTH OF THE PEAK OF THE GREAT MOUNTAIN



Òyígíyigì ọta omi o, òyígíyigì ọta omi

The impenetrable power, the unshaken rock in the great waters.

Majestic, sublime, unmovable, eternal.The immense waters derive power from the great rock.

Mountains flowing and water not flowing.
An immobile avalanche of rocks comes down the mountain in a deafening silence.

I am nothing but blocks of stone on pieces of gravel.I am nothing but weight, silence,inertia and density.Nothing will ever learn my secret.The only thing that can penetrate me is the strident cry of the cicada that pierces the heart of summer.

A d'òyígíyigì a kò kú mọ́ o. Òyígíyigì ọta omi.

We become the Ultimate.Death is no more.
Salutations to the eternal stone in the mighty ocean.



Image credit

Flickr.

Accessed 28/12/2010

This photo was taken on March 22, 2006 using a Nikon D70.

Can Bacioglu on this image:

This is from the famous Japanese rock garden at Ryōan-ji temple in northwest Kyoto, Japan. Ryōan-ji is a temple belonging to the Myoshin-ji school of the Rinzai branch of the Zen sect, famous for its Zen garden.

The garden is constructed in Karesansui style. It is 30 meters long from east to west and 10 meters from north to south. There are no trees, just 15 irregularly shaped rocks of varying sizes, some surrounded by moss, arranged in a bed of white gravel/sand that is raked every day. It is a simple rock garden, consisting of nothing but white gravel/sand and rocks, laid out just after the Onin Wars in the late 15th century. This rock garden is acknowledged to be one of the absolute masterpieces of Japanese culture.

Although most of my photos tend to be colorful landscapes, cityscapes etc, this one happens to be one of the photos I like the most, if not the favorite. Just looking at it has a soothing effect somehow. It is also one of the few photos of mine that I have framed for my place.

Text credits

Yoruba text kindly provided by Elegbe. Personal communication

Stanzas two and three are transpositions of the meaning of the Yoruba text aided by translations from "Awo Training Part 1" by Awo Falokun Fatumnbi at Scribd, Bolaji Idowu Olodumare: God in Yoruba Belief and "The Yoruba Names of God" thread on the social network Nairaland. Accessed 28/12/2010.

Stanzas four and five are from Reading Zen in the Rocks: The Japanese Dry Landscape Garden.Francois Berthier. Trans by Graham Parkes. Chicago: University of Chicago Press,2000.22,42,87.

Monday, 27 December 2010

OYIGIYIGI OTA OMI : THE DEATHLESS STONE OF THE WATER (S)






                                                               Oyigiyigi ota omi


The eternal rock of creation in the waters of being

The eternal rock of creation in the waters of genesis

The eternal rock of creation in the waters of becoming

The mighty, immovable rock in the waters of being

The immense power in the depths of being

The mighty rock emerging from the depths of being

The great stone in the waters of being



                                                          Awa di oyigiyigi. A ki o ku wa.


We become the eternal, immovable rock. We do not die.








Image credit

Detail from Tokai-an garden,Myoshinji temple,Kyoto,Japan from Reading Zen in the Rocks: The Japanese Dry Landscape Garden.Francois Berthier. Trans by Graham Parkes. Chicago: University of Chicago Press,2000.75.

Text credit

Yoruba text from "Awo Training Part 1" by Awo Falokun Fatumnbi at Scribd.
Translation assisted by Falokun's translation,Bolaji Idowu Olodumare: God in Yoruba Belief and "The Yoruba names of God" thread on Nairaland