Hello, I wanted to know if you have to be a Olorisha to know if you’re a child of one of the deities? Can you be a aleyo and know that specific information? I see some people who are in the beginning stages of their religion and they know, just wanted to clarify.
Alafia!Thanks for asking! This is a such a good question and I’m really glad you asked. I’m going to give a loooooong answer, hope you don’t mind.
There are two different methods of determining which Orisha owns your head.
The first is a head marking divination in Ocha-centric houses with diloggun, the cowrie shells which are the ‘mouths’ of the Orisha. This is different from a regular diloggun reading and must be done with the diloggun of the Godparent’s head Orisha (a very rare occasion - I’ll come back to this).
The second method of determining the Orisha which owns your head is done through Ifa in a ceremony called a bajada, which is done in Ifa-centric houses. It requires at least three Babalawos to be present and is performed using the ikin (palm nuts) and not the opele (divining chain). It is usually done when the person receives mano de Orula - known as Awo faka for men and Ikofa for women (there’s some debate as to which to give trans and non-binary people, very controversial).
These are the only two methods for determining your head Orisha. The Orisha who owns your head CANNOT be determined through dreams, tarot cards, playing cards, misas, I Ching, “throwing bones,” or any other crazy idea someone might try to sell you. If you someone offers to determine your head Orisha in any method except the two described above, RUN. Even when Orisha come down in possession at drummings and say “you’re my child” or otherwise indicate who your Orisha is, that is not considered definitive and must be confirmed through either diloggun or Ifa.
Do aleyos get their heads marked? Yes - head marking must happen before you are initiated. Otherwise how could we plan the ceremony, right? However, this does not mean that anyone can just get their heads marked. Having your head marked is a big deal. It’s not like finding out your astrology sign.
In Ocha-centric houses, the head must be marked by the head Orisha of the Godparent. Generally, normal readings are only done using the diloggun of Elegba because Elegba “speaks for free,” meaning that Elegba doesn’t require the sacrifice of a four-legged animal (an expensive ceremony) in order to speak because his role in the Universe is to be the messenger for all of the Orisha. Any other Orisha requires a major sacrifice of a four-legged animal in order to speak, and because of the rarity of this, their readings are considered much deeper and carrying more weight - they are called itá. To mark the head then is to essentially receive an itá from your Godparent’s head Orisha without having paid them the required sacrifice. The way my Godmother explains it, marking the head is promising to make that sacrifice at a later date when you make Ocha. So this is why it is not supposed to be determined until you are well on your way to making Ocha - which means you should already have received elekes and Warriors and been marked through divination to make Ocha.
In Ifa-centric houses, the bajada is generally done when receiving mano de Orula. This is a ceremony that usually takes place after receiving elekes and warriors (or at the same time as warriors). A person might be marked during a bajada by Babalawos but not necessarily be on a path to making Ocha in the immediate future. There are some complicated reasons behind this that honestly I don’t understand well enough to explain as I am not part of an Ifa-centric house. But it is still not something to be treated lightly.
So, in general, a person does not have their head marked during the beginning stages of entering the religion. And it is absolutely not appropriate for anyone outside the religion to claim to be a child of a specific Orisha.
Why can’t just anyone find out their Orisha? There are several reasons.
First of all, what would the point be? If you aren’t actively making preparations to go through the kariocha ceremony to become an Olorisha, there is literally no legitimate reason why you would need to know who your Orisha is. Most people want to know because it seems fun and they think it will provide insight into who they are. Some people, especially online, just want to kind of lord it over others to make themselves feel special and chosen (never mind the fact that everyone, regardless of whether they are even aware of the Orisha existing, is ruled by an Orisha so it’s not that unique at the end of the day). While often it comes from a place of genuine curiosity, it can often border on being disrespectful.
Second of all, determining your head Orisha without a direct plan to make Ocha can be harmful. Want to know the #1 reason Orisha get angry with aleyos? It’s when those aleyos have repeatedly been told to make Ocha but haven’t done it yet. Go to any drumming and I bet you a chicken that you will find at least one aleyo getting told off by an Orisha for ignoring their repeated demand that the person make Ocha or fulfill another big promise. Marking your head is making a promise to the Orisha that you will serve them, and if you aren’t ready to lay down $10k and give up a year and seven days of your life (plus have your head shaved), then you’re going to break that promise and the Orisha - while normally quite calm and generous - can get very mad about broken promises. You do not want the Orisha to be mad at you!
The third reason is that you are creating a mess of problems that someone will have to solve later. If you get marked by some random priest who doesn’t become the person who makes your Ocha, then you will be breaking a promise to their head Orisha. But it doesn’t stop there. When you go to another house and ask them to do your Ocha, now they’ll have to determine if your original head marking was valid in the first place. And even if the marking was done correctly, your head Orisha might have - in the intervening time - changed. Orisha may fight over your head in some case (especially Yemaya and Ochun, or Yemaya and Oya). Or you might have pissed off your head Orisha and so another Orisha will step in. Or, there are also a range a physical things you might have gone through that are considered automatic signs of Obatala or another Orisha owning your head which supersede a head marking. Long story short: you’re almost definitely going to have to be marked again by your new Godparent, unless it was originally done by Ifa (though I have even seen this redone, but that’s controversial). All of this confusion can create a host of spiritual problems in your life, not to mention a real headache for all of the priests involved.
At the end of the day, I totally understand the curiosity! I was so curious, too! But marking a head is a very serious part of the religion and should be treated with respect. Unfortunately, a lot of people online claim to be the child of this Orisha or that Orisha (almost always Oshun, Yemaya, Oya, or Elegba for some reason) when they have never been marked and it’s really disrespectful. Some of them are later quite shocked and upset when they find out that a totally different Orisha owns their head than the one they thought - so it’s also important not to get too attached to the idea of being the specific omo of an Orisha.
I hope that sharing all of this information will prevent at least a few people from doing that - I’d like to believe that some of those who do it are simply misinformed and perhaps will recognize the wrong they are doing and cut it out.
On the plus side, if anyone outside the religion is curious about which Orisha owns their heads, I can tell you right now with complete assurance: Obatala owns your head (for now). This is 100% the truth. Why? Because Obatala owns all heads! He makes them himself. Everyone in the world is a child of Obatala on some level because he owns all of our heads and is ultimately the ruler of the world. Maferefun Obatala! This is what we tell aleyos - don’t worry about who your Orisha is because until you are ready to make Ocha and have your head marked, Obatala will take care of your head.
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