A Reflection on Omoluabi

Dr. Gbadegesin's lecture on omoluabi was actually much more interesting that I thought it'd be. He began talking about the term ashae and the significance of the research question and later began talking about what omoluabi essentially means and its ancient origins. But for me, the most interesting thing he mentioned was the yoruba poem and its emphasis character.

Ashae was a term first used in Dr. Carr's lecture last week. According to Dr. Carr, it means to "let it be." He went over it quickly but he gave us all the general idea of its meaning. This time, Dr. Gbadegesin spent much more time describing and giving us the essence of the word. He went down a list of paying homage to our ancestors, our environment, and, of course, the class of 2015, and with each statement, the students would answer ashae in acknowledgement. I really liked that the lectures were not isolated lessons on our history and the state of black culture because it makes it easier for the students to keep their thoughts attached and reinforced which would ultimately help them answer the research question. That question, "how have scholars across the various fields of study advanced and transformed academic knowledge related to enduring problems of the human condition," was touched upon in the first week of Freshman seminar as well as this week's lecture. Dr. Gbadegesin again gave us some more insight into its relevance. what he mentioned that hit me the most was the bit about acknowledging the human condition. I immediately began to think about what I could do, in small or large, to relieve some of these enduring problems mankind has had to deal with since the days of Eve. You know you're listening to a good lecture when you start thinking about how you want to change the world.

Dr. Gbadegesin eventually gets to the definition of the main word in title of the lecture: Omoluabi. The history of the word was pretty funny to me. A Yoruba entity, Orunmila, the God of Wisdom was married to Iwa, the entity of character and existence. But eventually, out of impatience, Orunmila lost Iwa. Losing the good of existence and character, Orunmila lost everything he had and desperately tried to get her back. The point of the story is that character is indispensable. Being an omoluabi, meaning a child begotten of the source of Iwa, is essential to fulfilling ourselves; to be a person of character. I was so interested in the Yoruba people's emphasis on character that I decided to look up the entire Yoruba poem mentioned by Dr. Gbadegesin:

Maintain your character my friend

Honor can leave from the house of a person

Beauty can leave from the body of a person

However a person’s character will go with a person to the grave

Character is like smoke, eventually it will rise (to the surface)

A person lives off in the distance in honor

But with closeness we learn of a person’s actions

Character will not leave its owner alone

It is a child’s character that gives the child a name

Even if the child seems fine, there is still a need for character

Even if the body looks fine, there is still a need for clothing

Even if the feet work fine, there is still a need for shoes

If a person seems fine but doesn’t have character

He/She is missing something very valuable indeed

Good character is a person’s bodyguard

Patience is the progenitor of character, Character is the progenitor of blessings

(Kambon, O. (2009, August 16). abibitumi kasa afrikan language and liberation institutes. Retrieved from http://www.abibitumikasa.com/forums/yoruba-language-resources/36993-toju-iwa-re-yoruba-poem.html)

To the Yoruba, character was everything; without it, you have nothing. So the only word I can think of that is appropriate to reflect my thoughts on this beautiful poem is "ashae."