Dɔté: The Art of Spiritual and Physical Alignment
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Please read the whole article. In our fast pace lives, we tend to scan over very important information and not get the essence of what is being said.
Dɔté Consultation: The Art of Spiritual Direction and Order
In the Afrikan Vodún tradition, as relayed from the Ajã culture of Southern Benin, SW Nigeria, Togo, Southern Ghana, we have the ancient practice of Dɔté. Dɔté literally means “upright, balance”. It is the science of arranging edifices (temples, houses, palaces, markets, kwk) and shrines in their proper directions, building them at the right time, kwk. It additionally deals with properly clearing clutter and spiritually maintain one’s personal life. It is a science of plants, air quality, balance, direction, and harmony. It is about living in harmony with your environment, with nature, and with spirit. Dɔte includes the use of geographical, cosmological, astronomical, architectural and topographical dimensions. Dɔte is particularly concerned with the flow of àṣẹ/àcɛ, which is the divine substance/energy that vitalizes and flows through humans and nature. All things contain degrees of àṣẹ. Outside of humans, plants have some of the most significant àṣẹ for our environments due to them being the basis of all of our nourishment and balancing the air through photosynthesis. Yet, just as humans and plants have àṣẹ, the places where we do business, lay our heads, kwk also contain specific types of àṣẹ. That àṣẹ can flow in a smooth or not so smooth way.
Dɔte takes into account a combination of factors that makes it a potentially powerful source for harmonious communities, peaceful homes, and successful businesses when properly used. One of the elements used in Dɔte is the effect of the for cardinal directions on a home, domicile, person, or shrine. During Dɔte consultation, we take into consideration the direction an edifice is facing and which energies are dominate in each of the four directions surrounding it. Some edifices that are already built, may be facing a favorable or a not so favorable energy direction. In the latter case, we use our tools to make the spiritual position of the edifice as positive as possible to increase the positive dissemination and flow of àṣẹ. Why is this important? Amerikkka is a country with a facade of success in the guise of big buildings and aesthetically nice looking houses. However, just one quick peep behind the scenes will show different. A couple of many reasons may be because there is a total lack of culture and spirit employed in the design and erection of these places. This causes a war of energies so to speak. No balance and everything is out of place and in conflict.
Note on Avajà
Disorder is the absence of order. It is an active sign of something that has probably existed for some time. Disorder is the result of the strong insertion of unnaturalness within and without, what is supposed to be, the natural divine order. It is disturbance of spirit. Disorder is likened to placing a rotten apple in a barrel of fairly healthy apples. It is the nature of the rot to spread so that it may thrive/live. If this apple is not removed, if the rot goes undetected, the one apple will spoil the many. With the removal of disorder and restoration of order, we are now poised to be in less stressful mental conditions, especially in those situations that are by nature stressful (major decisions, whether to buy or sell, kwk).
Ancient Afrikans from Ta Mare (Kemet/Egypt) to the Ajã and Yọrùbá of West Afrika, kwk have had these practices for thousands of years. This is not specific to, nor does it come from, Asian cultures. We must quit thinking we have to supplement our culture with foreign ones. If you study your own in-depth, you just may find that your ancestors worked out these concepts on their own 1000s of years ago.
All throughout the Dɔte consultation and assessment, we use the ancient Fá (Ifá) oracular system to guide and root us in our preferred and proper reality. Fá, or Ifá as referred to by the Yọrùbá, is our ancient oracle of wisdom. It contains all things related to life in this world and the universe. During Dɔte, several of the 256 Kpólí Fá (Odù Ifá) are revealed and it guides us through the process.
Elements considered within Dɔte consultation:
- Wεkε zo εnε - the four cardinal directions and their effect; which are Zãnzǎnhwejí (East/red), Totaligbé (North/blue), Gbadahwejí (West/black), Tofɔligbé (South/Yellow)
- A personal Fá reading on the person/family if it's a house or apartment
- A Fá reading on the business if this is a business- In relation to previously occupied edifices, a spiritual check on spirits that may still be present and their nature
- Àṣẹ assessment...the nature and degree of flow of the àṣẹ in relation to the edifice overall and per room and how to redirect the flow of negatively flowing àṣẹ
- In relation to those that have shrines, the best places and directions to place those shrines
- What are the governing spirits of the edifice
- The spirits that are dominate in the area and how to remove unwanted spirits- Proper use of colors- One's birth day, birth date, and time of day one is born (usually reserved for deeper consultation)
- What spirits and ancestors walk with individuals involved. Within the cardinal direction conundrum, certain spirits are more dominant than others per direction and situation. So one building/house may facing the same as another, but let's say 1-2 miles from one another, and yet their eastern directions, for example, may be predominately governed by different spirits - house 1, completely by fire spirits and house 2, a mix of fire and air spirits. We look to see the edifices position to trees, rivers, other buildings, kwk.
In ancient times, when Afrikans ruled the world and were more in their natural state, the Dɔte concept, under various regional and cultural names, was used to plan villages, situate shrines, graves, and the like. The great Benin Empire is a perfect example. The concept of Dɔte is very complicated and would require direct consultation for a deeper overstanding than even the plethora of information given here. At the end of consultation, we look forward to the Fá oracle saying ɖò alɔjí - things are in order. This is when we would do a final consecration of the edifice. It will be left up to the humans involved after that to maintain order.
For those that feel that this type of ancient Afrikan science can enhance their living spaces, their family order, their businesses and business spaces, for those that want to know the spiritual energies that may be surrounding spaces they frequent and more, please feel free to contact us at ekaabokilombo@gmail.com
By Ayìnɔ̀n Àgɛ̀lɔ̀gbàgàn Jǐsovì Azàsinkpontín Àgbɔ̀vì I
Addendum
The west has invented this "discipline" called Environmental psychology which is supposed to be a multidisciplinary social science that examines the relationship between human beings and our surroundings. It considers how we as people shape our natural world and built environments – and how those environments shape us in turn. This is a very weakened and left brained approach to this ancient more detailed science of Dɔte.