Alade (Irunmole Saga) Read online

  Jean-Marc Adeyemi Iyeli Akerele The Irunmole Saga Book 1 Alade Copyright © 2012 by Jean-Marc Akerele All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission from the author. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of characters to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. The Author holds exclusive rights to this work. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited.

  Acknowledgements This book would not have been possible without the love and support of my parents, Iyombe Botumbe Akerele and Dr. Flavius Abiola BabaJide Akerele, and of course my big brother Dr. Flavius Abiola Babalola Akerele III. In the Yoruba culture when a person succeeds it is not they who are congratulated but the instead it is their parents, so Mom and Dad, congratulations.

  Author’s Note The Yoruba religion is still practiced today all over the world under various guises and names such as Candomble, Santeria, Lucumi, Umbanda and Batuque, from West Africa to South America, Central America, the Caribbean, and even within the United States of America. It is a profoundly philosophical and beautiful religion and in my use of it in this book, which is a work of fiction, I have taken certain literary liberties. I wish to unequivocally state that if any of the changes I have made to the mythology of the religion causes any offense, that it was not at all my intention. Please chalk up any discrepancies, omissions and any other unpardonable offenses to both poetic license and ignorance on the part of the author. Being a Yoruba man myself, I am extremely proud of my heritage, so rest assured my intentions have been always to treat the Orishas with the utmost dignity and respect and I will be giving libation to them when this book has been written.

  JMAIA

  For Obera

  Notes on pronunciation and brief description of characters

  The Orishas:

  Oludumare (oh-loo-doo-mah-ray)-The Triple Being, the Primal Urge, the Creator of the Cosmos, the One True God

  Esu (ay-Shoo)-The God of Chaos, part of the Triple Being

  Nana Buukun (nah-nah-boo-oo-koon)-The Goddess of Thought and Magic, part of the Triple Being

  Orunmila (oh-roon-mill-ah)-Oludumare’s first servant, the Witness of Fate, the Witness of Creation and the Oracle of the Orishas

  Obatala (oh-bah-tah-lah)- Orisha of Justice and Reason

  Yemoja- (yay-moh-jah)- Orisha of the Fresh Waters and Mother of Creation, wife of Olulukun

  Olulukun oh-loo-loo-koon)-Orisha of the Salt Waters, husband to Yemoja

  Sango (shan-goh)-Orisha of Thunder and Lightning, Master of War, son of Olulukun and Yemoja, husband of Oya

  Oya (oh-yah)-Orisha of Energy, Commerce, and Gatekeeper to Death, wife of Sango

  Ogun (oh-goon)- Orisha of Technology and Master of Iron

  Osun (oh-shoon)-Orisha of Beauty and Sexuality

  Osonyin (oh-sun-yin)-Orisha of Green Things Oko (oh-koh)-Orisha of Farming

  Ososi (oh-sho-shee)-Orisha of the Hunt

  Oke (oh-kay)-Orisha of Rocks, Boulders, Caves and Mountains

  Ori (oh-oh-ree)-Orisha of Destiny

  The Kongo Gods:

  Nzambi (in-zam-bee)-The Creator, Dual Being, One True God

  Lungombe (loo-gum-bay)-The Anti-Creator, Dual Being, One True God

  Nkesi (in-kay-see)-The Gods and Spirits

  Kobayemede (koh-bye-may-day)-King of the Dead, God of Diseases

  Mariguanda (mari-goo-and-ah)-Gatekeeper between Life and Death

  Ma’ Lango (mah-ah-lan-goh)-Goddess of Water and Fertility

  Nkuyu (in-koo-yoo)-God of Woods, Roads, Guidance and Balance

  Chola Wengue (choh-lah-wen-gay)-Goddess of Richness and Pleasure

  Kimababula (kim-ah-bah-boo-lah)-God of Divination and Winds

  Watariamba (wah-tah0ree-am-bah)-God of the Hunt and War

  Ma’ Kengue (mah-ah-ken-goo-ay)-Spirit of Wisdom and Justice

  Sarabanda (sah-rah-ban-dah)-God of Work and Strength

  Lubaniba (loo-bah-nee-bah)-Spirit who sparks communication between the Veils of the world

  Inaffiliated Gods:

  The Interloper-A self-manifested younger God, who wishes to restore the balance by becoming the only servant of Oludumare, the great enemy of the Orishas The Younger Gods -A multitude of Gods who arose from the energies created by the worship and faith of humanity who constantly challenge the rule of the Orishas

  Irunmoles (ee-roon-moh-lays)-The original beings created by Oludumare to aid in creation, from whence the Orishas were derived, many of who did not answer Oludumare’s original summons

  Definitions and other entities:

  The Orishas (oh-ree-shahs)-Messengers of Oludumare, who are worshipped as Gods

  Ajogun (ah-joh-goon)-The beneficial and detrimental forces of the universe, which are controlled by Esu Ase (ash-ay)-The heart of the Yoruba religion, the individual Omo Orisha’s personal spiritual power which blooms and blossoms throughout his or her life as a result of moral behavior, good deeds and service to the Gods.

  Dark Ase- A perverted form of ase which is the result of Alade’s rejection of the Gods and his growing despair.

  Ile-Ife (eel-ay-eef-ay)-A fabled land created from the substance of the dreams of the Orishas to hide and house the Omo Orisa

  Omo Orisa (oh-moh-oh-ree-sha)-Race of beings created by the Orisha to maintain the balance of forces on the Earth, who live in Ile-Ife Mwbiri (mwa-bee-ree)-Central African Demon which possesses people. It thrives on despair such as addiction, and abhors good living, a sure way to drive it out, while rewarding destructive behavior with enhanced strength and physical prowess

  Kpelekpe (pay-lek-pay)-Were-Hyenas from Yoruba mythology, able to compel their victims to voluntarily place themselves in a position to be devoured by them

  Machlyes (mack-lie-ays)-A mythical Libyan tribe of hermaphrodites, who possess strange and unusual powers Bokor (boh-core)-A Vodun priestess who serves both sides of the balance and who is also the leader of the Makaya division of mysteries with the highest rank of initiation coming from the Vodun sect originating in the Congo region of Africa

  Nephilim (nef-ill-im)-A race of half-angel, half-human giants, mostly eradicated by the Gods, the angels and humanity Quandisa (kwon-dee-sah)-A female figure from Northern Moroccan mythology, who was once worshipped as the Goddess of Lust, but due to the War of the Gods, has been reduced to seducing young men and driving them insane. She is a servant of the Interloper and a very skilled temptress

  Leopard Society - A secret society of shape shifters in West Africa, vilified by Westerners for being cannibals, but who were actually not human at all. They were supposedly all hunted down and eradicated by the British and the French colonialists

  Borfima (bore-fee-mah)-A special medicine which was used as a catalyst in the ritual which created the original members of the Leopard Society

  Babalawo (bah-bah-lah-oh)-a priest or priestess of the Orishas

  “You will eat it and you will enjoy it!”

  -Iyombe Akerele

  Prologue I was raised in a spiritual stasis devoid of all refractory ideas and notions. There were no rainbows of new found concepts to be discussed energetically, only the drab grey uniformity of orthodoxy, which made up the flavor of my spiritual life. Yet I cannot say I was not happy; we lived like the inhabitants of Plato’s cave, happily watching the flickering shadows and the deceptive play of light from a fire which kept us warm to the illusion of substance, of reality and a life which seemed to exist within the veil that hides us from the truth. I knew this world well and I too, reveled in its blind histories and hypocrisies, its canon and crucifixions, in the slobbering greed and gluttony which defined each and every step I took towards adulthood. There were no brilliant revelations in my childhood. No great spiritual or
religious insights which gave me pause in my aimless journey down the road predestined for me to travel. No, I was a dutiful son and I would walk the path drawn out for me. One day I would take my rightful place among the other men in my family and play the role that my birth had decided for me.

  So they spoiled me as a child, they spoiled me rotten and pampered me in the ways of royalty, while keeping me sheltered from reality and humanity as only a youngest child can be sheltered, all this in preparation for the day when I would grow strong, the day when I would become a man. Time passed by, as it is accustomed to doing, and I spent an idyllic youth growing strong in body as well as in mind, wanting for nothing, as if I was in Heaven and without a care. Yet despite all this pampering, deep inside my soul there raged a conflict, and for the first time in my life I felt troubled, for I was no longer content with my place in our world and no longer satisfied to play the part that I must, this part which was my destiny, whose song had been sung to me in my blood for as long as I could remember. As time continued its inexorable motions, I began to find no pleasure in my given role, and I found myself desperate for some sort of relief, a balm to heal the wounds which were leaking my life’s blood from my soul. But Heaven had no place set for my deviant palate, and soon enough I was starving, stifled and choking on the cloying sentiments which pervaded the air around my clan, my family and all that I used to love so fiercely. I could no longer follow the voices of my ancestors into the lighted space that had been laid out for me by the Gods, not when all I yearned for now was the darkness of the womb. Once, in those primal waters I had undergone a baptism of a different sort, one in which my priapic soul penetrated everything until it was sated, drinking its fill of a vision of a life unbound by duty, by family, and by morality. I knew now that I must leave my home, the ancient seat of my ancestors. It was time for me to leave the protection of our Gods and everything that I held dear. Something alien was calling to me now and I knew that I had no choice but to answer its command even though it would offend my Gods. I now found myself at once soft, weak and obscene, digesting and juggling a multitude of dismal thoughts. Fortunately, it made me numb so I did not feel much; rather it was a matter of understanding the principle of it, the essence of that sensation of dread. I found the word Absurdity emerging constantly in my thoughts. In fact, all I could grasp beyond my thoughts was the fundamentality of this Absurdity that was my life. It fascinated me, filled my eyes and brought me back unceasingly to my own empty existence. Therefore I had to flee it and as I began preparations for my journey, I felt the world deflating, emptying of meaning and dribbling with the black apathy of my imminent loss. It no longer bombarded me with dread and despair and I began to breathe in a clear and easy rhythm as I got further away from its source. The moment was extraordinary. I was at once motionless, paralyzed, and plunged into a horrible ecstasy, but at the heart of this ecstasy something new appeared and I found understanding. I was possessed and I knew a sacred truth that I could not before formulate to myself. I was the root of my dread and my despair, and I was the source of my newfound ecstasy. These thoughts whirled around me and on these dry hands, enveloping them in whirlwinds of passionate thought. My eyes encountered a clarity of vision; my lips tasted a new lust for life. Everything around me was active and there was no weak moment now. I had changed from potentiality to actuality. My world was now a thing wholly possessed by me and I reveled in it as my flesh throbbed and opened up, abandoning itself to this new universal bludgeoning of my soul. I got up and left my homeland for I had learned all I could there about life’s pretty existence. I was now transcendent and my experience transcendental, so I ascended to the clouds and climbed Jacob’s Ladder until I reached the Godhead where thanks to my arrogance and blindness to the obvious, I promptly fell off and into the gaping maw of the Abyss to live alongside the bottom feeders who have learned to thrive there, which of course, was not exactly my plan. And what did I find there? Well therein lies my tale. Part 1: Separation

  1 The Triple Being known as the One God shook its metaphysical head because without a doubt the war between the Gods had taken its toll upon the balance of creation, and as a result of this, things were changing in the cosmos, changes that could not now be undone. This was a difficult time for creation as humanity itself was constantly waging war upon itself on Earth, the beacon of Order in the cosmos, while the various Gods whose very existence was predicated on protecting this beacon in turn waged war upon each other out of greed and gluttony for the delicious manna and irresistible ambrosia of human worship. All of this was having grave consequences upon the cosmos, causing ripples of causality and Chaos to expand throughout the Great Work but more importantly, in their battle for supremacy both the Gods and humanity had forgotten what was truly supreme in the cosmos and had inadvertently woken the Triple Being from its slumber. As it looked upon its beautiful creation with sadness the one God shook off the effects of billions of years of cold sleep and began to focus its omnipotence on its creation, seeing nothing but problems and imbalance and it was most certainly not pleased. But the One God was if nothing efficient and it was not long before it had formulated a plan with which to correct the deviation of the cosmos and shift it back to equilibrium so that it, the One God, Creator and Triple Being could return to its celestial contemplation and to the cold sleep it needed to continue guiding the evolution of its creation. So the Triple being acted, and split itself into its component parts, each part with a specific task to accomplish in order to push the cosmos back onto the right path, but this time it would put in place safeguards to ensure that this did not happen again. For creation was an ongoing, dynamic and constant process and this particular cosmos was simply one of an infinite number of cosmos, yet the simple fact that everything in creation was the One God meant that the actions in this corner of creation affected all parts of creation. The balance needed to be redressed before the next phase of creation could be undertaken. So two parts of the One God went forth to achieve this while a third part remained aloof and once they had accomplished what they needed to accomplish they would once again reunite but this time they would leave this part of creation forever and in the hands of the caretakers whose creation their present actions would precipitate. Soon these warlike, greedy, and gluttonous Gods would remember that there were things in the cosmos much greater than they.

  Life is an unending cycle of struggle, strife and redemption that we must pass through so that we may bathe in its dark and turbulent waters, and revel in the soothing wetness of its despair. Throughout our individual journeys we are cursed by the need to search for answers to the many questions which plague us in our unceasing curiosity to quantify the cosmos. What created us? What is our destiny? Why do the mysterious forces which control the universe sometimes turn against us? Humanity was not alone in its queries and despite the difference in our origins, my people were no different from humanity in our questioning, though in our unwavering faith to our Gods and our meek acceptance of our place in their world, we were as different from humanity as lions were from rabbits. We were already aware of the great truths of creation and we were deeply intimate with the forces which had shaped both our world and the human world, those cosmic forces with neither name nor form and the anthropomorphic deities who walked openly on our lands. For thousands of years my people had served a large pantheon of Gods who embodied the natural forces of the universe, in accordance with the various myths and traditions of our people which were celebrated through the power of the spoken word. We were an old race, sprung from the roots of a different tree, whose origins were shrouded in myth and mystery in order to protect us from the rapacious lighter-skinned and younger races which had claimed so much of the world for their own. We had no name for ourselves and why should we, for it was for others to name us. Our world bordered the boundaries of the human world, and in this beautiful land we called Ile-Ife, my people continued to thrive. It was a world constructed of dreams and of the memories of things past and things to come; at the
same time, it was grounded by its potent bond with the black and fertile soil of the Earth. We shared the planet with humanity, hidden from their mundane sight and our ability to avoid detection depended on pretense and subterfuge, by playing the role of submissive Africans, and pretending to accept their self-destructive and delusionary policies while feigning subservience. This allowed us to hide our true strength and heritage which was essential to not only the well-being of our race, but to the world in general. For without us to serve the needs of both the Gods and the Earth which is tied to them, the cycle of renewal that Africa embodied would end, there would be no more rebirth and this world would come crashing to end. For the world moved in cycles, in a rhythmic equilibrium that was essential to the survival of every species on this planet and it was Africa, the Dark Continent with its rich black earth that held the seeds to life during this planet’s rebirth as every cycle came to its inevitable end. It was in Africa that life began and it was to Africa that the world would once more turn to when yet another cycle was completed. Whenever the great empires of the human world imploded and left the world in chaos and ruin it was always Africa and its sacred guardians who were responsible for re-seeding it with the life, knowledge, and the strength to endure once more and through the unwavering faith of our race in the Gods that we were bound to and the knowledge of our given place in the world, the balance was maintained and the world continued to thrive. Ile-Ife was a land of magic, where the Gods themselves still walked the Earth and entertained discourse with those who would listen, a land of many colors, sounds and scents which intertwined to make up the fabric of the dream which our homeland embodied. We were a race of beings strengthened and blessed by the Gods and we existed with joy in our hearts because of it. At the center of my people’s strength and integral to our ability to endure despite the many deprivations of the neighboring humans, was our mastery of ase, the individual spiritual power that each member of our race possessed from birth, a power that grew throughout our lives by our diligent and faithful service to the Gods to which we were bound body and soul, by moral behavior, by conscientious sacrifice and most importantly, by obedience to tradition. There was a beautiful reciprocity in this service and the Gods in return granted us superior physical strength, intellectual abilities and an abundance of what could be called magical powers which allowed us to far surpass the humans, while blessing us with a constant renewal and strengthening of ase which in turn enhanced our ability to function as the secret guardians of our continent for the good of all of the Earth’s many inhabitants.