Iya l’Orisha

Conjure! & the Ile Orunmila Oshun Cemetery Sweeping Ritual

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orin/songs, Fall 2023

Most songs are call and response:
A = Akpon, the Lead singer-Call
C = Chorus, everyone else-Response
A/C – means the Lead singer and Chorus sing the same lyrics.
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Eshu

Open the ritual with
1. Prayers
2. Songs
• Bara su wayo
• Eshu o Elegbarra e

Eshu Songs for closing the Ritual
• Eleggba ni’ta laroye so ku o
• Elegba ‘legba, Elegba, ‘legba o, Bembe ko l’ashe Elegba
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Egun (Ancestors)

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1. A/C: Ahh iba’she, iba’she o, Iba Baba, Iba Yeye, iba’she

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2. A/C: Mojuba o, love and respect to you

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3. A/C: Mojuba fefe iku (4x) iku o, iku o, n’tela si yo ba Egúngun (2x)

__A/C: Mojuba fefe iku (4x) Baba n’la o, Iya n’la o, n’te la si yo ba Egúngun (2x)

EGUN SONGS – TRANSLATION, NOTES & SOURCES
1. Praise and thanks to the ashe (powers) of the Fathers-Baba, and Mothers-Yeye
2. Mojuba = thank you (pronounced moh you bah)
3. This song is praise and thanks to the ancestors, and a prayer for their spirits to be released and fly to Orun (heaven) to join Egúngun-all elevated and revered ancestors.
iku = egun, spirit of ancestor, or death
I learned these Egun songs from Yeye Luisah Teish.
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Oya

3 Songs often sung together.
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1. A/C: Ayiloda Iya o ku o, olomo de ke eyo ayaba

2. A/C: Oya de ariwo, Oyansan l’oro sokoto

3. A/C: Oya mi l’Oya (repeat to raise the energy)
__A: Oya mi lo ya Oga Bembe
__C: Oya mi l’Oya

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OYA SONGS – TRANSLATIONS, NOTES & SOURCES
1. Ayiloda (The Revolver who Twists to create), Iya (Mother) long life to you. Olomo (Owner of Children) arrives, shout for joy.
2. Oya (the Tearer) arrives noisily. Oyansan (Mother of Nine) has the oro (tradition) of Sokoto (trousers—Oya devotees’ wear skirt and trousers).
3. Oya shakes, twists and tears; [she is] the Oga Bembe (Stout Superior: Oya is bigger and stronger than her husband Shango).
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sokoto is pronounced: show koh toe
Teish 1993; Ololade Tape B 1998; Mason, Orin Orisha, Oya Song 3, p. 347-348; Ros, Track 10, Song 1—Ayiloda Okuo; and Song 2—Oyadde mariwuo
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Mason, Orin Orisha, Oya Songs 21 and 21a, p. 354-355; Lazaro Ros, Orisha Aye – Oya (Track 5, Song 4) playlist 7—Oya amiloya
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**Lyrics and Translations presented on this page are based on my research.
Lyric spellings are not Yoruba (West Africa) or Lucumi (West Africa/Cuba) languages: they are based on U.S. English speaking Ifa/Orisha practitioners’ phonetic interpretations. These conventions for writing lyrics this way allow us to learn and transcribe songs from and for audio transcription. It is a common way to create a written version of a song because few of us in the diaspora speak Yoruba and it is useful to have text archives for memorizing, teaching, research.
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