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egbe Ogun Tradition
by Baba Awo Falokun Fatunmbi
open discussion w/ Born Divine (Ogbe’sa) of Egbe Ogun Si Wa

egbe Ogun tradition has the role of guarding the rural villages. Prior to colonialism it was taboo to enter a village after sun down and the consequences for violating the taboo were server.

To train in the responsibility of guarding the village egbe Ogun developed a system of marital arts called Aki which is the Yoruba word for courage. A martial artist is called an Akin meaning person of courage. The system has three components, wrestling, machete fighting and the use of firearms.

The system of wrestling is best described as a combination of Judo Jujitsu and Akido all based on a world view that is similar to the Tao of Ti Chi. The wrestling component of Aki is sometimes referred to as Gidigbo. The word Gidigbo essentially means lets fight. At the annual Ogun festival in Ile Ife held in June which is the Yoruba new years, the Ogun gather in a large circle and dance. There are at least a hundred or more dancers in the circle. When the dancers start to go into possession someone yells Gidigbo Gidigbo and the dance changes into a martial arts competition. The competition is similar to king of the mountain, the last man standing wins. It is a wrestling match which means no hitting or kicking. When your opponent hits the ground they must step out of the circle. If you have taken down an opponent you can move on to your next opponent even if that person is fighting with someone else. The last man standing then fights the Oni of Ile Ife and by tradition the Oni always wins as a symbol of the spiritual power of the will of the people.

Gidigbo has two key components. First is the ability to fight while in possession. Ifa Orisa spiritual tradition involves learning how to go into possession during initiation, and then the oriki for possession are repeated every four days for the rest of your life. As these oriki are spoken the Ogun initiates use certain body triggers that allow them to go into possession quickly. For example when you say oriki Ogun you slap your left bicep to go into possession and you slap your right bicep to return to normal consciousness. There are two reasons for going into possession; first is that it slows down time and everyone who attacks you appears to be moving in slow motion. Second while in possession you can bi locate your line of sight meaning you can see what is in front of you using normal vision and while at the same time you can view the fight from about twenty feet above your head looking down. This makes it impossible for anyone to attack you from behind. The more advanced fighters can bi locate physical which means they can image being some place else and appear at that spot. So during a fight you can see people appear and disappear in various locations within the circle. Possession also gives the martial artist the power of the word. So the real power of Gidigbo is the ability to take down an opponent without actually touching them. This involves the use of oriki that are called igede meaning invocations of power. There are igede that are used to make a person unconscious, to disorient them, to make them temporarily blind and there are some designed for real combat that are fatal.

To protect them from igede prior to a fight the participants chant odu (verses of sacred scripture) into a jar of palm oil then cover their bodies with the oil. They also wear charms that are sown inside their clothing and they ingest various medicines that give them specific abilities. For example there is a green sauce that is placed on snails that makes you invisible to your enemies. Then there is a wide range of medicine that is placed on leaves and the leaves are burned. The black ash is then placed in tattoos on the body. They take a knife and peel back a small piece of skin, the ash is placed under the skin and when it heals there is a pump that forms. These scars are usually placed on the body in patterns that have spiritual significance. I have seen Aki with as many as 800 scars and each scare contains a different form of protection.

Because Ogun also has the communal responsibility of slaughtering animals that are eaten, they use igede to kill animals without using a knife. I have seen Akin kill water buffalo by speaking directly into their ear. When I asked the Akin how he learned the igede without getting killed he told me that his teacher told him the first syllable on Monday the second syllable on Tuesday until he learned the entire igede.

The knife fighting art involves the use of a short machete with a blade that is about 16 inches long. The knife fighters carry two machetes and the art is similar to Indonesia Silat. The knife fight art includes all the aspects of Gidigbo with the addition of the blade.

The last aspect of Aki is a relatively recent development in Ogun tradition. When the British invaded Nigeria they brought with them muskets. The blacksmiths of egbe Ogun examined these weapons and learned how to make them. Members of egbe Ogun can go into the forest with nothing and use natural materials to make a knife. Once they have a knife they can make a rifle. They take the knife to dig iron from the soil which they smelt in a small fire. Then they take bees wax and make a mold for the barrel and the firing mechanism of the rifle. The barrel and firing mechanism are attached to either wood or bamboo. The gun power is made from chicken excrement and the bullets are usually balls of led or stones. These guns vary in size and some of them shoot bullets the size of a basket balls.

In Oyo the Great Grandfather of Wande Abimbola was the chief of egbe Ogun. When the British invade Nigeria they set up a military camp in Oyo. The servant for the British General in charge of the camp entered Oyo at night and was captured and killed by the members of egbe Ogun. When the British demanded to know what happened, the Chief of the egbe took full responsibility for the incident and insisted that he had done nothing wrong. The Chief was ordered to a firing squad that shot the chief numerous times. The Chief prostrated praised Ogun stood back up and told the firing squad that if they wanted to execute him they would have to do a better job of shooting. They quickly reloaded and fired a second round that proved fatal. The Alafin of Oyo honored the chief’s bravery and to this day there is a sign marking the place where the execution occurred.

When I first learned Gidigbo my opponent was a short teenager. I am six and half feet tall and at the time I weighed 300 pounds. I thought I need to be careful not to hurt this kid. Then I found myself flying through the air and I thought if I haven't hit the ground yet this is going to hurt, then I thought I still haven't hit the ground this is going to really hurt, then I though oh my God I still haven't hit the ground where is the nearest hospital.

Which brings me to the last part of the art; members of egbe Ogun are also trained healers they know how to use herbs as medicine, they use spider webs to heal open cuts and even are trained in brain surgery. When out in the forest hunting Oguns have a taboo against hunting female animals to preserve the food chain and they know how to aid in the birthing problems of animals that are having a difficult labor. So they are both medical doctors and veterinarians.

I was once at the home of an Ogun blacksmith who was making bullets for one of his hand made rifles. The bullets where in the fire and each bullet was red hot. When I realized what he was doing I stepped away from the fire and I said, is that safe. He said don’t worry Ogun is my protection.

ire
Baba