DID YOU KNOW???

Iyawo-wife


Did you know that the original word for
wife in Yoruba language is AYA and not
IYAWO? The latter is quite commonly used
nowadays than the former. I would take you
through how Iyawo came about;

Wura who was at the phase of choosing a
spouse was faced with the task of selecting
the most suitable one for herself, she was
the first child and the daughter of the King
of Iwo (A Yoruba town)
Yoruba deities like Sango, Ogun, and other
known male deities went to Iwo to seek her
hand in marriage. Wura mistreated them,
Wura was very rude and uncouth. She
meted the worst behaviour one can think of
onto her suitors.
Everyone of them failed to accomplish the
prospect of marrying her because they
could not withstand her behaviour, they all
abandoned their mission on their first day,
that was how tough Wura was. However,
when it was Orunmila's turn, before he set
for Iwo, he sought wisdom from Olodumare
through Ifa. He was duly informed that no
matter the treatment Wura might subject
him to, he must not react accordingly, he
should have patience and lots of endurance.
He was highly warned to expect humiliation
from Wura but must not be provoked.
When Orunmila got to Iwo, Wura looked at
him scornfully, she did not welcome him,
she hissed at him, called Orunmila all sorts
of
name, she did not even give Orunmila any
food or entertained him. Orunmila just
ignored her attitudes. The first day, second
day, till about the seventh day. To cap it all,
Wura took Orunmila's Opon-Ifa [divination
board] and used it as firewood, she took
Orunmila's Pouch [Apo Ominijekun] from
him. This angered Orunmila greatly but he
still conducted himself alright. he refused to
react to her behaviour having been warned
the consequences of not heeding advice.
In the long run, the King noticed that
Orunmila was humble and well behaved, he
was amazed that Orunmila did not react or
show any sign of anger towards his
daughter despite the humiliation. Orunmila's
behaviour gave him the assurance that he
would take good care of Wura his daughter
if she became his wife. All along,
unknowingly, Wura's behaviour had been a
test for all the prospective suitors. The King
eventually summoned Orunmila and handed
Wura over to him as his wife and he divided
his property into two. He gave Orunmila half
of it, Orunmila thus became rich and had
Wura as his wife
Upon Orunmila's arrival back home, his
people welcomed him enthusiastically for
his accomplished task, they asked for some
details of his new wife, his answer was
direct: Iya-ti-mo-je- ni-Iwo (the result of my
indignation at Iwo town). Th  is eight syllable
word, "Iya-ti-mo-je- ni-Iwo" became known
as Iya-Iwo, and now Iyawo.

#Arobanibabaitan#
By Sunday Toluwalase Olorunsola

(image from Google Images)