Iyami

Iyami-Aje - (Iya Mi Aje = My Mother Sorceress) also known as Iyami Osoronga, Awon Iya Wa (our mother), Eleye Aje ( bird of power) refers to the primordial mothers and divine feminine among the Yoruba people in West Africa and adherents of the Ifa Orisha tradition in the diaspora. Iyami Osoronga is sometimes differentiated from Iyami Aje in that Osoronga refers to a supreme mother divinity (Iya Nla). Iya Nla is also referred to as Odu, Odudua, Gbadu, Igba Odu, Igba Iwa. .Aje is the concentration of female vital force and the ability to make things happen. It refers not only to the power but the females that are connected to it. Aje has been translated to be similar to the word, witch (a wise woman) although the term witch is not fully embraced by all because of its culturally derogatory association. Women are said to yield great power because they hold the secret of creation given to them by Olodumare, the divinity as expressed in the Ifa literary corpus. Traditional lore also states that Iyami are the only ones Olodumare trusts when bathing. Iyami used as a common name refer to Orisha, female ancestors, or human. All Birds especially Owls, Vultures, Parrots particularly African Grey are associated with Iyami. The name Eleye means bird in Yoruba and women who possess birds. The male counterpart to Iyami are called Oso meaning Wizard. .

According to the Ifa Literary Corpus in Ose Otura, the history of Iyami goes back to the founding of the world when male immortals tried to form the world without the female immortal, Ọṣun. Ọṣun is identified as the head of the Iyami of women as she gathered the women to protest the formation of the world by the male primordials. The males failed and it was only when they included Ọṣun that the world could be formed. This story is also shared in Osa Meji as Odu or Odudua being the only female among 3 other males imoles and being given the power of motherhood and Aje by Olodumare which carries inherent power of motherhood that must be respected. Other lineages suggest that Yemoja is the leader of Iyami by being the owner of Gelede, a society devoted to Iyami. Ondo state lineages point to the first Iyami when a Vulture visited 2 women who was looking for a form of currency and the Vulture vomited up cowries. As these stories come from ancient Oral traditions, the details and specific Orisha may vary from lineage to individual towns.

The actual societies can be traced to secret women's societies in each town. The literary Ọdus suggest the town Ota is where Iyami was founded. There are Iyami secret societies all over Yorubaland and in the diaspora now. Each is loosely autonomous and has its own governing order and procedures. Iyami women were once openly prominent directing law and order and affiliated with Ogboni, a confraternity organization located in Nigeria. They were also prominent in the marketplace yielding great power and wealth. They went underground upon a change in government as the Oyo Kingdom came into power. They were further suppressed and disbanded as colonial royalty replaced traditionally appointed rulers of the towns. Iyami became demonized as more patriarchal regimes came into power under Abrahamic faiths causing them to go into complete secrecy to avoid persecution and possible death. The influx of Abrahamic faiths and the European Witch hunts of Europe during the 1700s coincided with the influx of Islamic and Christian colonialism and the slave trade in West Africa. Traditional ceremonies once performed by women were then replaced by being performed by men only under masks. Many Kings issued prohibitions for women to ensure they would not participate. As schools were developed under those faiths and made primarily for males, the perception of women as inherently evil followed suit creating an atmosphere of distrust and disdain.

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