((Ose treats everybody equally - Poverty is no respecter of status - Machete does not respect its carver (manufacturer) - A bad hunger will bring the worst out of a guest (the hunger will make him rampage his host’s house for food) - Divined for Olofin (King), who bartered his beaded crown for food ))
Ifa tells us that at the time of this story, Oba Olofin was in a bad predicament. Things were difficult for him. Olofin consulted Ifa for a spiritual solution to his problem. His Babalawo told him that Ifa recommended ebo to Esu, Orunmila, and his Ori (destiny). Olofin disregarded Ifa’s injunctions. He did not make the ebo. Even though he had a serious financial hardship, getting the ebo’s requirement was not much of a problem as an Oba. Olofin just found it unnecessary to make the ebo. Therefore, he procrastinated. The ebo that Ifa instructed Olofin to make was to help align him (Olofin) with his good destiny, and to drive away negative forces that were working against him at the time. Olofin’s failure to make the required ebo enabled the negative forces working against him to increase their onslaught.
A few days after his consultation with Ifa, Olofin took a walk. Suddenly in front of him were two guinea hens. The sight of the guinea hens reminded Olofin of the ebo he was to make. Therefore, he decided to catch the birds. His first and second moves to catch the birds failed. Further attempts failed also. As the birds kept moving/flying out of his reach, Olofin pursued them. Typical of Esu, he took over the scene mysteriously. Esu pointed his Ase at Olofin, and Olofin lost conscious knowledge of his surroundings; he just kept on running after the birds still trying to catch them. Somehow, Olofin found himself in a strange place, a place that was far from his palace and from his subjects. Close to where he stood was a hamlet. Having been in the forest for days, Olofin was very hungry and since hunger cannot be compromised, he set forth to look for food. He did not have to go far because there was a food vendor nearby in the hamlet. Olofin approached the food vendor. Meanwhile, the food vendor had noticed Olofin, but she could not figure out what was wrong with him. She noticed the royal aura written all over Olofin but the lack of the usual royal attendants, no servants waiting on the man, puzzled her. Therefore, she dismissed her feeling that Olofin could be a king.
Olofin approached the vendor for food. She served him food. After Olofin finished eating, she asked him for payment. Unfortunately for Olofin, he had no money with which to pay, and he told her. The Woman assessed Olofin and told him that she did not believe that he had no money to pay for the food. Olofin told her that he truly had no money. The Woman looked again at Olofin and smiled. She knew she could get more than her money’s worth from any of the royal ornaments on Olofin. Therefore, she suggested that Olofin trade his Beaded Crown for the food. This demand surprised Olofin, but mentally, he was not alert enough to comprehend. Believing he had no choice; he took off his crown and gave it to the Woman. It was at this stage that he came out of his transcendental stupor. He looked around and was surprised to see himself in a makeshift food shop. He was also surprised at the environment he found himself. On top of that, he was sad when he realized that he had bartered his crown for food. With regret Olofin remembered Ifa’s warning and injunction for him to make ebo. He painfully admitted that his negligence brought him the bad situation.
“It Is The Beads That Makes The Buttocks To Shake”
Physical: The beads the waistband is made up of is rubbed with some local herb or made up of some healing stone that is believed to stop menstrual pains or cramps, lower abdominal problems, or womb malfunction. The usage of Beads especially waist Bead in W/Africa is widespread across the various nationalities that make up the nation. There are similarities and peculiarities in their usage.
However, the Africans developed the most varying and peculiar uses for the waist Beads, that cuts across both material and spiritual aspects of the life of the people. In addition, they have also the capacity to produce the Beads for varying purposes ranging from royalty, body adornment, deification, and decoration. Beads are usually small round piece of glass, wood, metal, or nut, pierced for stringing. They are either used for adornment such as the waist, neck or ankle Beads or as decorative ornament in art works or even for royalty purposes. The art of beading is serial in process and serrated in composition. It has a step by step or one by one approach in stringing when traded together, beads stands for unity, togetherness, and solidarity. Beads of the waist is said to possess the power to attract and evoke deep emotional responses, they are a sign of success and affluence as well as spiritual wellbeing. There is however varying purpose for which people adorn the waist Beads. The common users of the waist Beads are mostly the Women folk, only in exceptional theatrical perform as will a Man adorn a waist Bead to symbolize feminism. The Africans have a belief that the waist Beads possess some erotic appeal, they have the power to provoke desire or deep emotional response on the opposite sex.
Beads are a precious ornament to the Africans, hence when adorned by a Women, accentuates her feminism or beauty. Beads also helps to portray the chastity of a maiden or Women sensuality. The Lagidigba or Palm nutshell Beads is used for fecundity purposes. The nuts signify multiple births as they are in clusters, thus one can infer the high incidence of multiple births. Brides seduce their spouses with the Beads they adorn, some Women are said to lace their Beads with charm to make them irresistible to the male folks. The Africans can easily comment on a Woman moral standing in those days by interpretation of the movement of the waist bead adorned by a Women. The way she moves her buttocks can depict her morals either seductive or reserve.
Other users of the waist Beads are the Orisas or devotes of water deities and other priestesses, they adorn the waist Beads for protection against spiritual attacks as well as part of their dress regalia. The waist Bead is also used to adorn the Ere-Ibeji figurine on the death of a twin, there is the belief that when treated well the spirit of the spirit of the dead twin will not harm the living twin and will return to the family to stay. Waist Beads are also adorned and laced with charms to ward away the Abiku spirit (mermaid Spirit) from a Woman. Priestesses of deities also wear the Beads that are always colorful as part of their regalia. They also use the waist Beads laced with charms for birth control.
Waist bead in today’s fashion is relegated, ladies prefer western costumes such as belts, chains, G-strings to the waist Beads. The culture of waist Bead is going down rapidly to extinction. Religion and other spiritual reasons have been adduced for the neglect; however, it must be pointed out that waist Bead usage as practiced in the past is an essential element of African body adornment that is harmless and meaningful a pride and precious item which should be encouraged today. They are used to ward off evil spirits when used with the colors of their deity, birth control , and medicinal purposes like fighting menstrual cramps. A popular reason is to “keep” their husband or entice the one they desire. It also depends on the wearers purpose. Hidden under clothing, own personal secret, and reminder of One's femininity.
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