Oríkì Ìbejì: Praise Poem of Twins
Èjírẹ́ Ọ̀kín (the twin which is as beautiful as a peacock),
How precious you are!
If I were chanced to give birth to twins, I would rejoice and dance merrily.
Èjírẹ́ Ọ̀kin of Ìṣokún
The offsprings of Ẹdun that loves leaping about trees;
The offsprings of Òtò that prefers playing on the floor of the forest.
Èjírẹ́ ignored the comfort in the household of the rich;
And chose to stay with the poor man's family.
Èjírẹ́ who transformed the wretched to the affluent;
They elevated the destitute into opulence;
They emboldened the helpless;
They endowed the have-not with fame and riches.
Táyé is walking majestically at the front; Kéhìndé is treading gallantly at his rear.
Táyélolú is the younger, while
Ọmọ́kẹ́hìndé is the older of the twins.
Táyélolú was sent ahead on a mission to reconnoiter the world if it is a congenial place for living.
Táyélolú Onikèsé, the brave, found the world suitable for living.
Táyé kẹ́hìndé, I salute thee!
Èjírẹ́ Ọ̀kin of Ìsokún.
Teeny-weeny to their mother's co-wife; a prodigious feat to their mother.
The birth of the twin harbingered abundance;
they filled their parents' household with plentitude.
Táyélolú is reknown for his garrulous speeches; while Kehinde is reserved.
Evil charms have no power over the twins; enemy's scheme is impotent against the Citizens of Ìṣokún.
As all trees revere Àṣínrín; every powerful being regards Èjírẹ́ with awe and reverence.
Èjìrẹ́ Ọ̀kín the citizens of Ìṣokún who visit the palaces in pomp and pageantry and call at the abodes of elites with a great show of nobility.
Èjìrẹ́ Ọ̀kín, the gentle doves that flock with hawks.
Ejirẹ́ Ọ̀kín, endow me with precious kids like you,
Blessed kids that attract blessings to their father.
Bless me with riches and fortune.
Èjírẹ́ Ọ̀kín, don't ignore my pleas.
— translation by A. O Fadipe(2022).
Oríkì Ìbejì
Ẹ̀jìrẹ́ Ọ̀kín
Èjírẹ́ m̀bá bí mbá jó, jó, jó,
Èjírẹ́ mbá bí mbá yọ̀ yọ̀ yọ̀,
Èjírẹ́ Ọ̀kín ará Ìṣokún,
Ọmọ Ẹdun tí ń ṣere orí igi,
Ọmọ òtò tí ń ṣe ní ilẹ̀'lẹ̀.
Èjírẹ́ wo ilé olówó kò lọ
Ó wo ilé ọlọ́lá kò ya'bẹ̀,
Èjírẹ́ Ọ̀kín ará Ìṣokún
Ilé alákiṣà ló ti kí wọn.
Èjíré sọ alákiṣà di aláṣọ
Ó sọ alágbe di olóúnjẹ
Ó sọ òtòṣì di ọlọ́rọ̀
Ó sọ "kínni o ṣe?" di olókìkí.
Òkìkí owó, òkìkí omó
Bí Táyé ti ń lọ níwájú
Bẹ́ẹ̀ ni Kẹ́hìndẹ́ ń fi pẹ̀pẹ́pẹ̀lẹ́ bọ̀ lẹyìn
Táyélolú ni ọmọdé
Ọmọkẹ́hìndé l'ẹ̀gbọ́n Èjírẹ́
Táyélolú ni a rán ní'ṣẹ́
Pé kí ó lọ tọ́ ayé wò,
Bí ayé dára bí kò dára.
Táyélolú Onikèsé ọmọ Akin
Ó tọ́ ayé wò ayé dùn bí oyin.
Táyé Kẹ́hìndé mo kí,
Èjíré Ọ̀kín ará Ìṣokún.
Yindinyindin l'ójú orogún
Èjì-wọ̀rọ̀ lójú ìyá rẹ̀
Èjíré dé ilé kún fọ́fọ́
Èjírẹ́ kún ọ̀dẹ̀dẹ̀ tẹrùtẹrù.
Táyélolú ṣ'ajẹ́ ko ṣẹ
Kẹ́hìndẹ́ ṣ'ajẹ́ tirẹ̀ gbàráà.
Àgádágodo ko rí wọn gbé ṣe
Àpèpa kò ran ará Ìṣokún
Gbogbo igi ń foríbalẹ̀ fún àṣínrín
T'oṣo-t'àjẹ́ ń foríbalẹ̀ fún Èjíré.
Èjíré Ọ̀kin ará Ìṣokún
Ó dé'lé Ọba tẹ̀rín-tẹ̀rin
Ó dé'lé ìjòyè tayọ̀-tayọ̀
Afínjú àdàbà ti ń jẹ l'àwùjọ Àṣá
Èjíré òkin wá tẹ'wọ́ mi bọ osùn ọmọ,
Afínjú ọmọ tí ńk'óre bá baba,
Jẹ́ kí n rí jẹ́ kí n rí mu,
Èjírẹ́ Ọ̀kín má ṣàì bá wọn yà lọ́dọ̀ mi.
— Daramola, O. ati Jeje, A. (1970) Àwọn Àṣà àti Òrìṣà Ilẹ̀ Yorùbá. (Onibonoje Press, Ibadan).
COMMENTARY
Nearly every culture in the world has produced its own unique form of poetry, whether in written or oral form. The Yoruba, like other African societies, have a rich tradition of meaningful oral poetry. Some of these oral poems are used for religious purpose—like Òrìṣà panegyrics, ifá verses recitation(Ìyẹ̀rẹ̀ Ifá), while some are used for activities unrelated to religion, such as praise names(oríkì), hunter's chants (Ìjálá), incantations(ọfọ̀), bridal songs(ẹkún ìyàwó), epics, etc. These traditional poems, when subjected to literary analysis, usually reveal contents filled with devices utilised in writing contemporary poems. They are embodiments of profound ideas and great works of artistic values. The only hindrance to the full understanding and appreciation of these traditional poems is that they were meant to be performed orally in the source language(which is the only language that can vividly portray the “exact contextual meaning of the original”), not to be read in translation in which the force of the message will be suppressed due to the difficulty in finding linguistic equivalents in the receptor language.
The poem above is a translation of Oríkì Ìbejì(praise poem of twins), a type of Yoruba praise poetry. The translated poem was culled from Daramola, O. ati Jeje, A,(1970) Àwọn Àṣà àti Òrìṣà Ilẹ̀ Yorùbá. Being the tribe with highest rate of twin birth in the world, the Yoruba hold twins in high esteem. They are regarded as “a special gift from God because they are harbingers of good things and possess what other children do not have” hence the reason why many Yorubas want to have them as children. The emphasis is on the uniqueness of the twins and their supernatural power. The poet sees the twins as powerful beings and unique creations, this is why he dedicated much of the lines of the poem to extolling them and, in the last four lines, importuning them to bless him with precious kids like Èjìré-Ọ̀kín. Note the techniques employed by the poet.
Notes
Ọ̀kín: Yorùbá name for peacock, a resplendent bird. The poet likened the beauty and uniqueness of the twin to the glowing splendor of peacock, a bird regarded as the most beautiful bird by the Yorùbá.
Ẹdun: the red colobus monkey (Piliocolobus badius temminckii) Native to West Africa. The Yorùbá sees it as one of the most beautiful types of monkey. The twins are metaphorically regarded as Ọmọ Ẹdun (offspring of the beautiful red colobus monkey).
Read more about Colobus monkey here.
Òtò: another species of ground-dwelling beautiful monkey.
Àṣínrín: one of the iconic African trees, African Baobab (Adansonia digitata L.); towering bulk, drought-resistant, with fire-resistant bark, and can live for thousand of years.
Read more about the African Baobab tree Here
Ìsokùn: the name of a place.
Onikèsé: another adoring title for Táyé, the firstborn of the pair.
Yindinyindin: teeny-weeny. There is a popular variant of this word, “wínní-wínní.”
The Yoruba have the world's highest twin birth rate. Read about a Nigerian town with an unusually high birth rate of twins Here
View the performance of the praise poem of Ìbejì (twins) by Professor Saheed Aderinto at Oje Market in Ibadan, Oyo State through this link.
This is beautiful.
This is culturally beautiful and outstanding. Ọpọlọ yín ò ní dàrú. Àṣẹ!