Letter of the Year 2014 from Cuba
HAVANA TIMES — The Cuban Council of Elder Priests of the Ifa (Yoruba religion) published their “Letter of the Year 2014” today January 1st. The annual message is of great interest to believers of the Yoruba religion and is also widely read by the general population on the island and Cubans abroad. The following is an unofficial HT translation of the entire message:
CUBAN COUNCIL OF HIGH IFA PRIESTS
PREDICTIONS FOR 2014
Sign: Egiobe.
Prophecy: Ire ariku oyale lowo Orunmila (“good health thanks to Orunmila”)
Aldimu: Akara bibo. (Offer Orunmila 16 slices of bread with bits of egg shell and cocoa butter. Accompany with 2 candles).
Reigning saint: Yemaya
Accompanying saint: Elegua
Flag: Blue with a red edging.
Ebo: 1 goat, 1 rooster, sea water, indigo dye, one reef stone, one vulture feather, white and blue fabric, earth gathered from a patch in front of one’s home, earth from the soles of one’s shoes, goat hair, a pomegranate, smoked fish, smoked jutía (Cuban rodent), toasted corn, palm-tree butter, honey, two coconuts, two candles, cocoa butter, Opolopowo.
MAXIMS FOR THE SIGN
1- The butterfly tried to fly before its time and its wings burned.
2- I have everything, I have nothing.
3- God gave beards to the chinless
4- When a king dies, a prince is crowned
The sign heralds the birth of:
The water and the earth
The unity and struggle of opposites
Separation and discord
Coastal flooding and its nefarious consequences
RITUALS:
Bathe in water tinted with indigo dye and pour this water inside the house. Let it sit a while, then wash away.
Plants and fruits of the sign:
Pomegranate, ceiba.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Ifa says: We must be very organized in all areas of our life, so as to achieve a better life.
Ifa says: We must avoid embarrassing situations that can have adverse effects on our health and our relationships with others.
Ifa says: Honor Olokun and Yemaya in accordance with the religious and spiritual instructions given us by our elders.
Ifa says: We must make an offering of porgy fish following consultation.
Ifa says: Avoid the consumption of alcohol, tobacco and drugs.
Ifa says: We must take good care of our elders and maintain close ties with them. This will bring happiness to them and do them much good.
Ifa says: We must all carry out ebo (cleaning, sacrifice) at home to avoid losses and grief.
Ifa says: We must wear white, systematically, to cast out negative energies.
Ifa says: When we invoke an oricha, we must not forget to use water during the rite.
Ifa says: We must consult with our elders before all rites, to secure Olodumare’s blessing.
Ifa says: We must take care of ourselves to avoid digestive, cardiovascular, pulmonary, eye, kidney, spine and sexually transmitted conditions.
Ifa says: We must follow climatic events closely so as to prepare for coastal flooding, earthquakes, rains, floods, hurricanes and other phenomena that can cause damages.
Ifa says: We must avoid eating spoiled food and consuming “sandy” fruits in order to avoid digestive problems.
Ifa says: We must maintain our families and religious communities united.
Ifa says: We must be humble and unassuming, avoid arrogance, anger and impoliteness.
Ifa says: We must try to offer a goat to Elegua, to keep our paths open.
Ifa says: We must take care to keep our bodies and homes clean.
Ifa says: We must avoid becoming involved in illegal or corrupt dealings to avoid any confrontation with the authorities.
Ifa says: Religious practitioners must avoid being disrespectful towards members of our blood and religious families, and even towards workmates.
General Information
A considerable number of Babalawos from Cuba and other countries and the members of the Cuban Council of High Ifa Priests gathered at Cuba’s Yoruba Cultural Association to carry out the ceremonies for the 2014 Predictions on December 1, 2013.
The recommendations made on this occasion were the following:
The 25 fundamental positions were fulfilled. In all cases, the response from the deities was highly satisfactory.
El día 30 de Diciembre del 2013, se hicieron los sacrificios correspondientes a las deidades que se determinó en la Pre-Apertura.
On December 30, 2013, the pertinent predetermined sacrifices to the deities were made.
The ceremonial gathering took place at the Yoruba Cultural Association of Cuba.
“Moses must reject the teachings of Christ” ????
You sir are an idiot. Moses existed long before Christ. How then could Moses have ever “rejected the teachings of Christ”?
Your blatant disrespect is not being overlooked
Live and let live! RESPECT is the issue. If one is disrespectful of another man’s worship and religion one should step back and not criticize that which one knows nothing of. The Bible speaks of burnt offerings and sacrificial lambs, etc. and it also speaks of judgement. I would say if you are not of understanding or willing to understand then why are you visiting if you don’t want to know or participate? Be of good character and respect the ways of another man/woman and move on!
Christian evangelists — you should be ashamed of yourselves coming here to our community to preach to us ORISHA worshippers.
Take your bible talk elsewhere. We do not want it here in our ORISHA community.
Thank you
What does the Bible or Christ have to do with ORISHA and ATR (African Traditional Religion)? Please go take your bible talk elsewhere.
Ashe O
This information is for those who believe in and respect the Yoruba religions…I think those who do not agree with our practices should go post comments on sites befitting to their own belief systems. We should not have to defend ourselves here! Ashe
Amen to that!
Thumping? Reread my comment.
Faith is not fact. Scripture is not fact. Why are you thumping your mythology on this thread?
The devil can quote scripture. Your interpretation is self-serving and lacks even a scintilla of faith. That said, this is HT and this thread is off-topic. You should seek spiritual guidance in a bible-based ministry to address your eternal issues.
Bible mythology is not fact – just religious delusion – christianity is only one of 10,000 religions – to each his own
“It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven”
That’s just about as clear as it gets .
Just how much clearer need it be ,Moses, for you to still be able to twist both the words and meaning of Christ’s primary teaching. ?
If it is not impossible for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle in the thinking of the Christ of 2000 years ago , then what would be ?
He used the terminology that fit the times.
Sure, now we could reduce that camel to molecules and stream those particles through the eye of a needle but that was not what the teachings of Christ would mean at all.
Your post gets even more contradictory to say both that Christ died on the cross to fix things and then to say that he needs to die again to make it stick .
That intervention, that human sacrifice some 100,000 years after humanity evolved /was created is hardly the work of an omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent God given its complete lack of success.
Half the world or better hasn’t gotten that message and are not either Christians or have heard of Christ. .
An all-knowing God would be far more effective in his choice of getting a message across .
Further, it is immoral for a God to tell us that we must accept that death on pain of going Hell .
I could not sacrifice my son and thereby absolve you of your personal responsibility for your own transgressions. The person or persons against whom you sinned would be the only ones who could forgive you.
I could not order you to accept my son’s death for your crimes without being termed a madman .
I full well understand the meaning of Christ .
You, OTOH, sound a bit too much like those millionaire TV evangelists who preach acceptance of Christ as the son of God while simultaneously working in complete opposition to Christ’s teachings and living like Croesus .
Christ NEVER said “the wealthy are going to hell”. He said it would be tougher for them. I don’t reject anything in the Bible. The fact the animal sacrifices did not change the behavior of men is exactly why Christ died on the cross. Only his sacrifice had lasting value. That the nature of man did not change is proof of the ongoing need for Christ’s sacrifice and not the lack of its value. You may be well read in the Bible but you are blind to its meaning.
I agree 200% with you!…
Indeed , to which let me add:
T’was brillig and the slithy toves did gyre and gimble in the wabe .
and all mimsy were the borogoves .
I doubt you can argue with that.
Well, Leviticus lists all the rules for sacrificing oxen and such and the death of Christ was no more than primitive one-upmanship of the then custom of tribes of that time piling the figurative sins of the tribe onto the back of a goat and driving it out into the desert to die of hunger and thirst and thereby absolve the sins of the tribe for that year.
It is from that practice that the still-used term “scapegoating ” comes from and the accepting of the death of Jesus Christ to absolve all the sins of humanity comes directly from that cruel and ridiculous practice.
You can bet that those tribes were no better morally the next year than humanity has been since Christ was scapegoated.
It should come as no surprise to anyone that, because of his unqualified support for the wealthy, Moses must reject the teachings of Christ as regards the wealthy going to Hell along with his open distaste for economic democracy in the form of socialism which, after all, is Christian thinking stripped of the religious nonsense.
“If you refuse those in need , you refuse me”:Jesus
…..and Marx.
.
.
IFA seun. Thank you to IFA.
May 2014 bring us IRE GBOGBO, all the blessings in life. Ase O
Killing chickens and goats to appease your god is rational? I lived in an house owned by a babalao. There is nothing “rational’ about Santeria. Nor should there be. Religion is based on faith and faith is the antithesis of rationality. No need to bash Christians, There is nothing “so-called” about the worship of Christ. To each his own.
This is more rational than so-called christ worshiper