By Samuel Olanrewaju Bill

Aboru, Abose, Abosise! Has two meanings, literally meaning and meanings according to Odu Ifa(Ifa Corpus).

Literally meaning and the layman's definition;

Aboru (Ebo Aru) meaning May sacrifice be successful.

Aboye (Ebo Aye) meaning May sacrifice be accepted.

Abosise (Ebo adi sise) meaning may sacrifice do what it was intended to do.

So Aboru, Aboye, Abosise literally means May sacrifice be successful, may sacrifice be accepted, bring life and may sacrifice do what it was intended to do. That is according to the common man(Non initiate).

What is Ebo? Ebo means sacrifice, oblation, offering or something offered to God/gods to appease him or beg him or to seek favor and mercy. We also use it to plead to God/gods, It can also be termed as a praise offer to God/gods that is Ebo ope(Sacrifice of praises), it is also a religious ritual.

What is the real meaning of Aboru, Aboye, Abosise according to Ifa priest and devotee? It is a greeting used by initiates and practitioners of Ifa divination such as a babalawo and Iyanifa It is usually responded with the greeting ogbo ato. It is an appropriate and acceptable way of greeting Ifa priests.

In Odu Ifa (Ifa Corpus) precisely 'Odu Ifa Ogunda Meji', narrated the stories of three women; Aboru, Aboye, and Abosise who were believed to have rendered special assistance to Orunmila. In order to see Olodumare these three wonderful women were said to be like an intercessor and ombudsmen that need to be appeased. Orunmila made sacrifices to these divine women and obtained their favor, kindness and had an easy passage to Olodumare.

Orunmila later marries the three women and loves them dearly. In honoring these powerful women, Orunmila declared and commanded that anyone who wants to see or greet any Ifa priests (Babalawo or Iyalawo) must first pay homage to Aboru, Aboye, Abosise and that is how it becomes sacred words and greetings amongst Ifa devotees and before you greet the Babalawo himself, you must first greet this three important women by saying "Aboru, Aboye, Abosise". And the Babalawo or Iyalawo will reply with "Ogbo ato o!"

According to the interpretation of some other Ifa priests as regards to 'Odu Ifa Ogunda Meji'. Aboru, Aboye and Abosise were said to be three important women that helped Orunmila when he was in despair and hopelessness. Whatever the narration or interpretation, these women were kind to Orunmila and played an unforgettable role in his life adventure.

Back to Tope Alabi, based on literal meaning, she says "Aboru ni mi, Aboye ni mi, mo di Ebo" That is, I am Aboru, I am Aboye, I am the sacrifice. Then she may not be wrong as many think. She is metaphorically saying she is the Sacrifice "Ebo" offering to Olodumare, Ebo in this context stands for praise offering "Ebo Ope" and herself as a vessel used in offering sacrifices to Olodumare through praising. She was convinced the praise(Ebo) was successful, this is "Ebo ru/Aboru" and that Olofumare accepted the praises (Ebo) 'Ebo ye/Aboye" and that is why she call herself "Aboru and Aboye"

If Tope Alabi call herself Ebo.(Sacrifice) she is very right after all the bible says in Romans 12:1 "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. King David always offer God praise offering and that is reason the Bible calls David “a man after God's own heart”

Likewise praising Olodumare and offering praise is not alien to Yoruba traditional religion. Before the foreign religion came, our father always offered praise to Olodumare before anything we did or said, we started Iwure (prayer) with thanking and praising Olodumare. No religion came to Introduce our father to Olodumare but they only came to introduce their own culture and try to kill ours.

According to Odu Ifa Irete-Ofun, which says:

"Nje won ni ope nii pe ni s'aiye, Awo ile Alara.

Iyin nii yin ni sile alaaye, Awo ode ijero.

A dia fun Oromodimodi;

To n fojoojumo beere oore.

Sugbon, ti kii f'ojo kan dupe……."

-Thanks brings life, the divination of Alara.

Praise makes us alive, the divination of Ijero.

Make a divination for Oromodimodi;

That asks for goodness daily.

But never for a day say thanks…..

The above Odu Ifa shows how important it is to praise and thank Olodumare.

On the other hand, These women were powerful, saints and divine beings according to the narrative of Odu Ifa. So if we can see a man named Micheal, Gabriel, Rafael and other names after angels and saints then nothing wrong if Tope Alabi too calls herself these reverent names. We have names like Moremi who were named after the heroine/gods that liberated Ile-Ile, we also have uncountable Yoruba names that were tagged after Yoruba deities and gods. So if she decided to adopt these beautiful titles then nothing wrong.

Some claim the words used are strictly means for the initiates and ifa devotees, these words are Yoruba greetings and a way to greet Babalawo or Iyalawo just as we say "Arepa ni ti ogun/Arepa ogun" to hunters, "Aroko bodun de'' to farmer, "Oju gboro o/eku ewa o" to hairstylist, "Awaye o/Oko are fo" to drivers. Even we greet the pastor/prophet as "Eku ise oluwa o, oluwa yi oso agbara di otun" Yes, the words Aboru, Aboye, Abosise originated from Odu Ifa. Just as all Yoruba proverbs and sayings have origin. We have what we call "Itandowe/Itan di owe"(History turned proverbs), those are proverbs that have their roots from a particular history. Aboru Aboye Abosise can also be tagged as "Itan di Ikini" (History turn salutation) that is greetings or salutations that had his root from history. Until recent Yoruba history has had two sources; oral history that is from mouth to mouth, from a generation to generation and second source is Odu Ifa(Ifa oracles). Aboru, Aboye, Abosise was not the only Yoruba history traceable to Ifa as majority of our history was in Ifa account. What I am saying is that no one should demonize these beautiful and reverent names/words as they have done to many Yoruba words and names such as the translation of "Esu, laaroye, olola ilu'' to Satan. Yoruba names are not demonic but meaningful and beautiful.

Tope Alabi is a blessing to Yoruba race as a whole being a Christian, Muslim or Traditional religion practitioner. Her deep knowledge of Yoruba language and literature beyond elucidation. She is the best of its version and style. Her rendition is obviously conspicuously unique. He has promoted the beautiful Yoruba language far and wide and deserves our accolade.

She is so rich in words, her lyrics are delighted to the soul, deep in thoughts, philosophical in composition, stands out amongst all and she is beautiful to behold. She is second to none in using Yoruba figurative speech, master in usage of 'Iforo-dara, Iforo-sere, Iforo-yaworan, Ifohun-dara and Akanlo ede. Tope’s lyrics are deeper than sea, her choice of Yoruba words are astounding and prodigious. Her phenomenal way of praising Olodumare is mind-blowing, dumbfounding and no one close to her in that aspect. Tope Alabi has aggrandize herself to the highest level of Yoruba literature idols. In her own line she does it better.

My encomium and laudation is not to say she is beyond correction, criticism and condemnation but on this current issue there is no reason for denunciation, opprobrium or disapprobation of her. Let her breath and allow her to continue the task Olodumare assigned to her, let us give her the adulation and panegyric she deserves in order for us to see more of her. We need more beautiful names of Olodumare from her. Let her play her roles without hindrance while we continue to be blessed by Olodumare through her.

Aboru, Aboye, Abosise to all Ifa priests and my homage to all elders.

Note! I am not an Ifa priest nor a pastor. The write up is just my own personal opinion and basic knowledge.

Samuel Olanrewaju Bill.

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