Welcome to the Study Center of Yoruba Spiritual Traditions of Awo Study.  A part of the study of Ifá/Orisa involves memorization of oriki and orin.  Oriki are invocations of spirit usually spoken by those who are initiated and Orin are songs sung by the entire community.  For the unitiated I recommend a careful study of the text for oriki in English as a way to understand the traditional character, role and function of Forces in Nature called Orisa in the Yoruba language.  For those who are initiated the oriki are an essential tool for divination, making offerings, leading public rituals and for performing initiations.  They should be memorized.  In traditional Yoruba culture oriki are chanted, meaning they are sung but with no specific melody.  The chanting is what is frequently referred to as a heart song, meaning the melody is motivated by the consciousness of the person doing the singing.  These invocations are used to invoke altered states of consciousness, and as the Ori (consciousness) of the person chanting becomes elevated there is a distinct change in the power the song which potentially as the ability to place others in altered states.  Orin are songs with specific melodies that are sung by a community in which the melody is predetermined.  In this section there is a selection of melodies that are commonly sung in the Diaspora.  There is a wide variety of melodies for these sungs and no “right” way to sing them, only traditional ways based on a specific lineage.  The material is presented so the worlds can become familiar making it easier to learn the different melodies that are used in various communities. 

Ire
Awo  Falokun Fatunmbi