An odu is a miniature universe
Gabrielle Felder
- kinda hard to explain but i want to build a server that hosts a website that takes in user input and spits out a message based on the Yoruba divination system
- the Yoruba divination system is based on binary code so i like the connect between divination and computing
- the divination symbols are called 'odu' which is also the Yoruba word for pot. im currently taking beginner ceramics and i have this idea to house the server in a ceramic pot that i could make
- i somehow want to create a community altar in some way. June had the idea of having a video stream to see the physical server in the pot. i want to find some way to expand off of this and potentially make it somewhat interactive
- i thought about asking users to upload an image or share a story as an offering before their divination so maybe more like a digital community altar?
Lots of updates since I last wrote here
- so far i'm up to date on all the class hw except for playing around with Lichen-Markdown
- my project idea is shifting a little bit based on my own capacity but I'm thinking of doing something similar to this (thanks to Meghna for sharing with me)
- I dont have a lot of experience with html and css but I'm excited to see what I can come up with
- for now it may be more of a write up exploring technopaganism, Santeria in Los Angeles, and the history of psychics and divination in LA and how all of this creates a unique culture and community both AFK and online
- currently in the process of writing up my html
- I also threw a pot in my ceramics class that wont be done by next week but I do have a picture of the progress that I'll include on my website
Final Blog Update
A few months ago while I was working at a popular bookstore in Los Feliz, I came across a small, spiral bound book with iridescent lettering. The book titled The Moon and Stars Can Be Yours: Notes on Subway Psychics by Magali Duzant is an investigation into the world of contemporary spirituality in New York City. As I flipped through the book I was drawn to the colorful flyers advertising various psychic readings and services that Magali sprinkles throughout the text. Los Angeles, like New York, has a long history with spirituality and occult practices.
Growing up in Southern California, I was always drawn to the spiritual and the occult. My personal spiritual practice incorporates philosophies, rituals, and teachings from West African, African American, and Buddhist traditions. Isese (traditional) Ifá, the West African tradition of the Yoruba people from modern-day Nigeria and Benin, serves as my main spiritual practice and the inspiration behind this project. Ifá is a nature-based tradition that heavily relies on the use of divination as a way to communicate with spiritual forces known as orisha (also spelled orisa). Ifá is often used as an umbrella term that encompasses a wide variety of traditions practiced across the African diaspora. Isese refers to the traditional practice of Ifá most closely linked to how it is practiced in modern-day Nigeria and Benin. In Spanish-speaking Latin America, Santeria (also known as Lucumi or Regla de Ocha) refers to the version of Ifá created when enslaved Africans were transported to Spanish colonies. In Los Angeles, most of Ifá practices fall under the Santeria/Lucumi/Regla de Ocha category. You can find little botanicas selling votive candles, soperas (pots to hold the orishas and other sacred objects), and spiritual baths. It's not uncommon to see people wearing their elekes (sacred beads) or to run into a congregation of people dressed in all white (the traditional ceremonial color). These traditions are shaped by colonization and the stigma associated with them is rooted in anti-Blackness. That stigma remains, pushing many people to conceal their involvement in African Traditional and Diasporic Religions or to deny the African roots of these traditions.
An odu is a miniature universe or energy field that encompasses a particular person, plant, or time period. The word "odu" literally translates to "pot" or "container". In Ifá cosmology, the larger universe of Olodumare (the creator which is the personification of the universe itself) is made up of smaller universes called odu. When a divination is performed for an individual, they receive an odu that governs that particular time period or area of their life. Every person has a broader odu that governs their entire time on earth. This odu stays with you for life unless you initiate into the tradition, in which case another divination is performed and you are given a new odu. The new odu represents the new path you are on following initiation. Each year in June during Yoruba New Year, a divination is performed in Ile-Ife, Nigeria and the odu for the world for that year is determined.
A digital resting stop, coined by Gabi Abrão, is a cozy corner of the internet that encourages users to pause from the scrolling and subsequent overstimulation, encouraging them to slow down and relax. Videos of a rainy afternoon, a beautiful river, or waves lapping the shore are common examples of digital resting stops.
I wanted to create an altar that invites users to pause and meditate on whatever they feel called to focus on. This altar contains two oracles that use binary code to interpret the universe: the raspberry pi server and Orunmila. Both are housed in sacred containers as is the tradition within Ifá. The raspberry pi is housed within a calabash, which is said to be the container that holds the universe in Ifá cosmology.
As a participant in this digital ritual, it is important that you respect the sanctity of this space. The ceremony performed is known as "making ose". It involves invoking the orisa Orunmila and offering prayers for abundance and prosperity. The darkness of the ritual space is intended to conceal aspects of the ceremony. Not all ceremonial rites were recorded. The videos are unlisted and are therefore not accessible outside of this website. This website is only accessible as long as the server is maintained. These serve as different methods of protecting the ritual space and ensuring that the ritual remains within a closed community.