I AM Ìyalájé Ọbàtálá ni Ifè

By Olóyè Adéyẹlá Bennett

My sweet mother, Queen Esther, gave birth to me 63 years ago, in August 1963, at Princess Margaret Hospital in Nassau, The Bahamas. I’ve heard the story of my birth so many times that I could vividly see it in my third eye.

Of Mammy’s seven children, I am the middle one, and the only one she named. Together with my Godmother, a British expat who worked with Mammy at the Guardian newspaper, Mammy named me after the Beautiful Rose of Sharon.

“Sharon” never resonated with me. I always said the name was too common; I wanted a unique and extraordinary name.

When I got married for the first time in 1989, I was honored to accept the Yoruba surname, “Akinde.” That felt right.

In February 19, 1996, my spiritual teacher, The Apena of Ife, Chief (Dr.) Ọmọtoṣo Eluyemi conferred upon me a new name — Adéyẹlá — to reflect my role as a Priestess of Ọbàtálá, the Owner of Purity.

In July 1999, The Apena invited me to Ile-Ife to be initiated to Orunmila, the Witness of Destiny. During that pilgrimage, Baami took me to the Ọbàtálá Temple where I was conferred the title, Ìyalájé Ọbàtálá ni Ifè. My dear mother and two daughters were among the witnesses to this honor. I was age 36.

Honestly, it took me all these years — after the humiliation of my title being challenged — for me to grasp the spiritual responsibility I accepted that summer morning in the City of Love. Those closest to me say: “What does an African chieftaincy matter? You live in the U.S.”

It now matters because I made a pledge to Ọbàtálá with my mother and daughters as witnesses. I have many other pledges that I threw to the wayside. This one to my Creator I now honor.

I AM Ìyalájé Ọbàtálá ni Ifè, The Mother of Wealth in the City of Love.