The implication here is that, in spite of its biologicalaspect, procreation has an artistic dimension as well. The human body (ara), the handiwork of Obatala, is much more than blood and flesh. It is a kinetic sculpture, activated by ase, the vital force, concealing and revealing the soul in the phy sical world, enabling an individual to have iwa (phy sical existence). Iwa denotes both the fact of being and the distinctive quality or character of a person. 9 Its preeminence in Yorubaaesthetics is clear from the following poem often recited by Yorubaelders to educate the y ounger generation:

If a child is beautiful but has no character,He is no more than a wooden dollGood character is the beauty of a personA woman can be as beautiful as the Egbara, if she has no characterShe is no more than a wooden dollA man may be very , very handsome, like a fish in the waterIf he has no characterHe is no more than a wooden doll.

Yoruba text:Omo t’o dara tiko n’iwaOmolangidi ni iIwa rere l’eso eniy anB’obirin dara bi Egbara, bi ko n’iwaOmolangidi ni iB’okunrin suwon, suwon, bi eja inu omiBi ko n’iwa rereOmolangidi ni i.

Omolangidi doll with shell lack

zemanek; additionally : a simplifieddoll with rectangular body and sty lized facialfeatures, wearing a string of red glass beads aroundthe neck, min. dam., slight traces of abrasion, on wooden base; H:20 cm; these traditionaldolls were called "omolangidi" - "wooden child". They are carved rather simple and frequently they are made by an apprentice. Young girls used to stick them into their clothesas if they are babies, they are caressed, fed and decorated.

Source: Cameron, Elisabeth L. (1996) "Isn't S/He a Doll?", Los Angeles, UCLA Foler Museum of Cultural History .page 70Yoruba dolls called omolangidi (child of wood) are play things fory oung girls, who carry them on their backs held inplace by a baby wrapper. The heads range in form from highly abstract to very naturalistic.

The dolls are limbless with flat, generally rectangular torsos that allow them to rest comfortably against the child's back. According to Rosly nWalker (1994:80), these dolls also cross functional boundaries: "In addition to being toy s, omolangidi may also be used as substitutes for memorial figures representing deceased twins (ere ibeji). " The torsos of many figures are undecorated, while more elaborate examples may feature relief carving on one side.

A number of the latter depict rows of the writing tablets used to teach children Arabic and the Koran. The more abstract omolangidi are clearly derived from these writing tablets, their schematic shape undoubtedly an accommodation to the Islamic proscription against the representation of the human form.

Mary lin Houlberg describes a similar simplification of form from the ty pical ibeji as an adaptation to both Islam and Christianity .The writing-tablet shape as either a free-standing doll or as relief carving on a doll also emphasizes the value placed on the education of children in Yoruba society .

Francesco Pellizzi - 2006 - Voorbeeld - Meer editiesOmolangidi are often roughly hewn from a single slab of wood, flat and rectangular, with a head indicated by a simple ...

omi Bíkò n'íwà rere Omo-langidi ni I10 If a child is good-looking but has no character He might as well be a wooden doll.

... This translation, inspired by Lawal's (1996:28), is my own and departs from his.

By Chief FAMA

A verse of an Odu Ifa say s in part: Difa fun ỌbatalaTi y oo fi ọmọ rẹ obinrin kan sṣosṣoFun ọkọ mẹtaWọn ni “Bawo ni o sṣe maa sṣe?”O ni, “Odumare ti o da ay eKo ni jẹ ki wọn ri idi ay e lai-lai….”

Divined for ỌbatalaWho would marry his daughter to three husbandsWhen asked, “How would y ou do that?”He said, “Odumare’s secret in the creation of the worldWould forever remain secret.”

PS/ Obatala breathed life into two omolangidi, and the omolangidi became additional brides who were then married off alongside his daughter.

Toy is as ancient to mankind as human evolution itself. For instance, there was omolangidi, a wooden toy of the Yorubas. As doll for children, omolangidi had all the features of human that will make sense to a child--nose, mouth, ey es, ears, etc. By y anking off the future of that ancient concept in the form of colonization and off-shoring of the y ounger minds of that civilization, omolangidi never made it past that earlier, ancient concept. However, the entire world has benefited from the earliestinvention of omolangidi through modern mega-businesses of toy s. Rain, a natural phenomenon that used to beckon children outside for the pleasure of natural rainfall splashes, is probably viewed by our twenty first century children with disdain.

For lack of first-hand experience, the children have probably associated rainfalls with media hy ped “storms.” Paradoxically , these same children are programmed to regard heavy hy drogen-doused, collected water as the best water inside which toplay and experience their innocent, childhood ecstasy . In our present world, some natural endowments have acquired bargaining power that has "free market" appellations to them. Of course, water is one of them. Water is no more as free as it used to be: water has become multi million currency businesses all over the world. For instance, a bottle of water costs more than that of beer, juice or soda in some places. Competing with water for that basic human need, however, is air. For now, air is generally free for breathing except for few people with medical conditions. But, who knows, by the turn of the century , air might become a mega-million currency business, too, just as water has become, andjust as omolangidi has metamorphosised.

Truly , modern marvels have provided comfort; however, with the comfort also comes distance from naturalness. These day s, we are almost as unnatural to each other just as the un-naturalness of our invented machines—our modern marvels. There was a time a child's fear was simply that of the unknown--ghosts. During that time, the sight of any adult was reassurance of security to the scared child. In the fear-studded, semi-natural “safe” world we have created, adults are leery of each other; children are trainednever to trust, for good reasons, though, as a result of the decadence of the minds of some adult. In turn, we have become victims of the insecurity we have created. Gone were the day s whenchildren can play safely in their y ards, in neighbors' y ards, in the streets, even run around neighborhoods in peace. Gone were theday s also when attention was focused on conceiving a child naturally through the in-expensive, un-invasive, and un-hy ped divine route of appeasement to natural energies such as Osun, as opposed to the mega-currency , highly invasive, over-hy ped robot-like humans and machines. Just like our modern marvels, Odumare's natural gifts to us are being shaped daily . We continue to think more of machines and act like programmed machines (robots) towards one another.

What is marvelous in our twenty first century life is that we are witnessing the creation of different marvels. By the end of the twenty first century , perhaps to the beginning of the twenty second century , history would have attested to the success of our present ambition to create “clone” a fully functional human being in the laboratory . As it is, the “cloning” of body parts has begunand is being perfected. But, that of blood is top secret. Once thecreation of blood is perfected, future commercial production of human species will probably rival the current production of our modern machines. By then, the world would have come full circle with its modern marvels. Then, naturalness would become a second choice when making decisions. To conceive babies naturally would require big pay outs just as women are being paid in few countries presently tohave more babies. Regeneration and degeneration will become brisk businesses and mega businesses. May be, Odumare herself (Oops “himself”) will marvel at that modern version of his old creation.For now, however, let us marvel at our scientific feat, let us reminiscent at the naturalness we are leaving behind, and let us stoically wish that future mankind will find their own comfort in the modern marvels we will be bequeathing them.

With all said and done, and because we are still much of flesh-blood- and-intellect than machines, let us remember the times, too, when water, Odumare's endowments to us his creatures, was naturally offered to one another. At the time, the first thingfrom a hostess to a visitor would be a calabash (cup) of cool, freshly drawn water.

The water will be followed by an offer of obi abata from the host to the visitor, obi abata being a significant gesture of peace. By the time the visitor had rested enough, food, steaming hot and served inside the most desirable calabash bowl in the house, wouldbe offered to the visitor with sincere joy . This used to be the case in Emure Ile, it used to be the practice among the Yorubas, and it is still the preferred welcome in most homes, villages and towns in all or most African countries. To a greater extent, this was, and still is, the practice in almost all native cultures around the world where naturalness and value for the essence of mankind is still the norm.

Parallel to Obatala’s response in the above quote, perhaps, the secret to “Odumare’s creation of the universe would continue to elude mankind, even with mankind’s modern marvels. Until such catch up, though, let us act more humanely and less robotic towards each other. Abọru abọy e.

Chief FAMAIleorunmila. com

a doll with cowry shells , looking like ibeji dolls .M

omolangidisometimes lookedlike writingslabs/boards.

Sometimes they were like flat mother and child statuettes.All to learn the children things in life that were important.

Fowlercollectionomolangididoll.

Small contribution to the understanding of the y oruba omolangidi I dolls, by Madrason 11 okt 2014 Bois le Duc !

# Finis