06/10/2023
The Spirit-Man/ Eleda/ Chi
In most religions, there is a belief that everyone has a spirit. That is, apart from the physical body visible to all , there is also the spirit or inner-man inside of everyone. Naturally this supernatural spirit-man is expected to be wiser, stronger and more self preserving than the physical man, more like one's guardian Angel abi na Spiritual P.A , wo i no know past there jare!
Anyways the Igbos call this spirit- man Chi( meaning head) while the Yorubas call it Eleda and sometimes refer to it as Ori ( head) because it is believed that the head controls the whole body and it carries a person's glory(aisiki), take off the head and the person is finished!
It isn't uncommon to hear the traditional Yorubas saying things like:
Eleda sa'anu mi ( my spirit-man have mercy on me)
Eleda mi jowo ma sun( my spirit-man please don't sleep)
Eleda mi ma gba abodi (my spirit- man don't betray mi)
Ori mi la' no fun mi ( my head/ spirit man pave way for me)
All these point to a belief in the potency of the Eleda/ Ori/ Chi in the life of a person. It is the reason why most Nigerians and albeit majority of Africans will not allow you touch their heads anyhow. To them the head is their personal deity and some even make sacrifices to it, that is why you hear some Yorubas say- mo fe bo Ori mi ( I want to offer sacrifices to my head)
There is a story about a man in a commercial bus whose head was accidentally touched by the conductor and he retorted : ki lode to fowo gba Ori mi, see o fe gba aisiki mi ni? ๐ค๐(why did you touch my head, are you trying to steal my glory?). The conductor with a typical foul-mouth replied: E ko'si danu pelu aisiki iranu t'on sare gan Moto lago marun, nigbati eleda yin sun fonfon sile! ๐คฃ๐คฃ๐ญ( Get lost, with your miserable glory that is rushing to jump on a bus at 5am while your spirit man is fast asleep at home).
So by now I believe you all should have a clear idea of what I'm talking about whenever I mention Eleda or Chi without the translations, because my next story, which is even more hilarious and is a true life story is base on that!
So do you have a concept of the Spirit man in your religion or culture, What is it called in your language? I'd like to hear from you.
Free gifts for the best 10 responders.... let's roll!
ยฉ๏ธ Oluwatoyin Isijola
