The African Custom Of Spraying Money

Edited by Azizi Powell

Nigerian's Spraying Money



Chima0bi, Uploaded on Aug 29, 2006

Watch how these people shower my mom with Dollars

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This post is part of a continuing series on this blog about the custom of spraying money.

DISCLAIMER:
I am an African American who has no direct experience with the custom of spraying money. The information contained in this post is gleamed from online articles.

Additions & corrections are welcome.

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GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT SPRAYING MONEY
Definition of "spraying money"
"Spraying money" is the act of placing paper money on the forehead or over the head of a woman or a man or a couple on special occassions such as their wedding or birthday. This cultural practice symbolizes showering the person or the couple with good fortune.

Spraying money is also the act of placing paper money on the forehead or over the head of a singer, musician, dancer, master/ mistress of ceremony, or minister at an event to show appreciation for that person's talent or skill.

Spraying money is a public act. The person spraying money intends to be noticed doing this. Prior to attending an event, persons go to banks to exchange larger denominations of currency for smaller denominations so that the person spraying money may do so for a longer amount of time.

Read this exchange from the viewer comment thread of the video that is given above
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FULVSi6PUvM [hereafter known as "Nigerians Spraying Dollars"].

auntjuicy, 2008
"so is it common to spray with one dollar bills?"
Reply
"divagurl985. 2008
"yes even 5's 10's 20's and so on. but the celebrant of the party always gets sprayed the most. i made $30 dancing*"
-snip-
* Note how people other than the celebrant of the party may also be sprayed with money.
**
Chima0bi, 2008
"Yes.. why would you spray with 100 dollar bills? Sure there are a few people that can and will do it.. but why would you show off? If you change $100 into $1 bills you can spray longer than others.."

SPRAYING MONEY IN AFRICAN NATIONS OTHER THAN NIGERIA
From my online reading it appears that spraying money originated among the Yoruba people of Nigeria, then spread to some other ethnic groups in that nation, and later spread to certain other nations in West Africa. Note these comments from the Nigerians Spraying Dollars video viewer comment thread:

iroc31407, 2009
"do any other countries in west africa practice this, or is it just a Nigerian custom?"
Reply
ConsciousKarma. 2009
"I went to a Gambian wedding and they did it there...not just naija"
-snip-
Editor: "Naija" is a colloquial referent for "Nigeria". "Naija" is often written "9ja".
-snip-
Reply
Aphrocentrik, 2012
"Yea, well other African countries are starting to pick it up now...but it is originally a Nigerian thing."
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Glam Gal, 2010
"Cameroonians spray money" ·
-snip-
Furthermore, from at least one video* that I found of an Eritrean wedding, it appears that the custom of spraying money might also occur among African people who are not from West Africa.

*Click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDQLbFLPuA8 Eritrea: Isaias & Roma´s Wedding, tolo biri, Stockholm, Sweden for a 2008 video of an Eritrean wedding in Sweden. That video and selected comments from its YouTube viewer comment thread will be showcased in a subsequent post in thie blog's ongoing series on spraying money.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SPRAYING MONEY AND THE EUROPEAN CUSTOM OF THE MONEY DANCE
It should be mentioned that spraying money isn't the same thing as the European custom of money dancing. Here's some information about that custom from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Money_dance
"The money dance, dollar dance, or apron dance is an event at some wedding receptions in various cultures. During a money dance, male guests pay to dance briefly with the bride, and sometimes female guests pay to dance with the groom. The custom originated in Poland in the early 1900s in immigrant neighborhoods.

Sometimes guests are told that the money will be used for the bride and groom's honeymoon or to give them a little extra cash with which to set up housekeeping."
-snip-
In contrast to that European custom, the African custom of showering a person with money has nothing whatsoever to do with dancing with the person who receives that money.

ATTITUDES TOWARD SPRAYING MONEY
It should also be mentioned that in Nigeria and probable in other African nations, everyone doesn't approve of the custom of spraying money. For example, some engaged couples request that there be no money spraying at their engagement ceremony. http://omowunmi.blogspot.com/2011/03/nigerian-celebrations-money-spraying.html

Also, note in this news article that Nigerian vocalist King Wasiu Ayinde (K1) initially banned spraying at his concert in the United States because that custom made it difficult for fans to view his performance. However, because Nigerian fans were outraged at this stance, the vocalist changed his mind and allowed spraying at his other American concerts. http://nigeriafilms.com/news/19086/40/fuji-lord-k1-bans-money-spraying-on-him-in-us.html

SPRAYING MONEY AND THE AFRICAN AMERICAN CUSTOM OF PINNING BIRTHDAY DOLLARS
It's my position that the African American custom of pinning dollars on the top of the clothing of a person celebrating her or his birthday derives from the African custom of spraying money. However, beside comments from other persons, I've found no online documentation to substantiate this position.

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UPDATE: 4/29/2013 - THE ZULU UMEMULO CEREMONY
Umemulo, the South African (Zulu) coming of age ceremony for females at age 21 [traditionally at puberty] involves the custom of pinning cash money to the female's hat.*

Click http://www.uiowa.edu/~c07w215h/Cattleculturesite/UmemuloCeremony.htm for information about this ceremony. Here's an excerpt from that article:
"The father or elder brother then leads [the young woman from whom the umemulo is held] to the center of the gathering where she dances with the other girls, carrying a spear.

She blows a whistle in order to ask for monetary contributions, and whenever she blows a whistle she approaches a prospective donor who then puts money in her hat. The hat has many pins with which to clip the money so that it does not get blown away by the wind. The girl blows the whistle and points at each person in turn until everybody has made a contribution. Each of the spectators is therefore expected to carry some bank notes, just in case they get selected to make a contribution. When the hat is completely covered with the bank notes and the girl has received contributions from everybody, she is then led back into the house".
-snip-
This custom may have developed independently from the (probably) Nigerian originated custom of spraying money which is the likely source of the African American custom of pinning birthday dollars.

*Several videos of umemulo are on Youtube. However, because some of the females in those videos are topless, I decided not to post those videos or their links. I made this decision because of the possibility of these post being used as supplemental educational resources and the fact (in the USA anyway) that those types of videos would make those post unacceptable for students' use.

RELATED LINKS
Click http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1188536,00.html"Africa's New Kind of Money Laundering" for one online article on the widespread custom spraying money in Nigeria, West Africa.

http://omowunmi.blogspot.com/2011/03/nigerian-celebrations-money-spraying.html Nigerian Celebrations - The Money Spraying

Here are links to some other pancocojams posts that feature videos of money spraying:

http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/03/spraying-money-at-yoruba-nigerian.html Money Spraying At A Yoruba Engagement Ceremony (Wedding)

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http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/03/seven-videos-of-traditional-igbo.html Money spraying at a Nigerian Igbo Engagement Ceremony (Wedding).

**
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2011/09/pinning-birthday-dollars.html an article about the African American custom of pinning birthday dollars, and a video of spraying money at a Yoruba birthday party

**
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2011/09/why-i-started-wearing-african-dresses.html for a video of a Yoruba Engagement Ceremony.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT & THANKS
Thanks to producer of this featured video and to the authors & commenters that are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the publisher of this video on YouTube.

Thank you for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

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Videos Of Obatala Songs, Chants, And Dances

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post showcases eight videos of Obatala songs, chants, and dances. Obatala is a Yoruba Orisa (Orisha, Orixa). As background to these videos, this post also includes information about the Yoruba religion, with special focus on information about Obatala.

This post is presented for religious, historical, folkloric, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.
Maferefun Obatala!
[Maferefún means “praises to the spiritual energy of” in the Yoruba language.]

INFORMATION ABOUT YORUBA RELIGION
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoruba_religion
"The Yorùbá religion comprises the traditional religious and spiritual concepts and practices of the Yoruba people. Its homeland is in Southwestern Nigeria and the adjoining parts of Benin and Togo, a region that has come to be known as Yorubaland. Yorùbá religion is formed of diverse traditions and has no single founder. It has influenced or given birth to thriving ways of life such as Lucumí, Umbanda and Candomblé.[1] Yoruba religious beliefs are part of itan, the total complex of songs, histories, stories and other cultural concepts which make up the Yorùbá society.[1][2][3]...

An Orisha (Orisa or Orixa) is an entity that possesses the capability of reflecting some of the manifestations of Olódùmarè. Yòrùbá Orishas (translated "owners of heads") are often described as intermediaries between man and the supernatural. The term is often translated as "deities" or "divinities".[8]...
-snip-
From http://www.orishanet.org/ocha.html
"The orishas are the emissaries of Olodumare or God almighty. They rule over the forces of nature and the endeavors of humanity. They recognise themselves and are recognised through their different numbers and colors which are their marks, and each has their own favorite foods and other things which they like to receive as offerings and gifts. In this way we make our offerings in the manner they are accustomed to, in the way they have always received them, so that they will recognise our offerings and come to our aid...

Obatalá is the kindly father of all the orishas and all humanity. He is also the owner of all heads and the mind. Though it was Olorun who created the universe, it is Obatalá who is the creator of the world and humanity. Obatalá is the source of all that is pure, wise peaceful and compassionate. He has a warrior side though through which he enforces justice in the world. His color is white which is often accented with red, purple and other colors to represent his/her different paths. White is most appropriate for Obatalá as it contains all the colors of the rainbow yet is above them. Obatalá is also the only orisha that has both male and female paths."

FEATURED SOUND FILES AND VIDEOS
(The location of these performances are given when indicated.]

Example #1: Tribute to Obatala - God of Creativity [Nigeria]



BrainfolkAfrican, Published on Mar 9, 2012

This is a collection of praise and worship songs to pay homage to Obatala, the God of creativity. The songs on this 2 DVD set were written and sung by Oyelola Ajibola Elebuibon, wife of Chief Ifayemi Elebuibon (Araba Awo of Osogbo Land, Nigeria). When you play the DVD or CD you will feel the energy flowing around you. Oyelola is a widely known and widely requested performer of Orisa Praise songs due to her not just singing, but feeling the words she puts into the song.
-snip-
The English translations of these songs are provided as subtitles in this video. Here's my transcription of the English part of the composer's introductory statement:
"Among 401 Orisas in Yorubaland, Obatala is the oldest. This album is an attempt to preserve and conserve the raw heritage.
It is my pleasure to enrich you with Obatala devotional songs and chants. At the same time, finding its relevance in these modern years - old wine in a new bottle".
-snip-
Additions and corrections are welcome.

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Example #2: Nigeria- Obatala Shrine [Nigeria]



wavawoman, Uploaded on Jun 16, 2009

[©2006 Wavawoman Films, LLC] Devotees inside the Obatala Shrine in Ile-Ife, Nigeria playing bells and dancing for Obatala.
-snip-
Here are several comments from this video's viewer comment thread:
noah295463 , 2012
"Just a question ? what kind of bells are those ? the name ? Thank You.
-snip-
wavawoman, 2012
I was told they were called "igbin" bells. Igbin is the Yoruba word for "snail". I don't know if I heard correctly. They are flat pieces of iron beat with a thin iron rod. They make a lovely sound.
-snip-
Omo Oba, 2013
Igbin (Do Do) is Obatala special drum not Igbin (do Mi) Snail.
-snip-
Editor: Notice how some of the dancers are being dashed with [sprayed with] money. This is the origin of African Americans receiving dollars bills & pinning them on their shirts or the top of their dresses on their birthdays.

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Example #3: Ilu Aye - Obatala video



Dennis Flores, Uploaded on Mar 26, 2006

ILU AYE (Literally, "The Drum of the World" in Yoruba)was founded in 2004, to celebrate the connections between the peoples and cultures of the African Diaspora. Bringing together the next generation of Afro-Puerto Rican, -Dominican, and -Cuban percussionists and singers, ILU AYE is dedicated to preserving and promulagting the rich cultural legacy of Africa in the Americas and the Caribbean, through performance, educational workshops, and community-centered gatherings where the rhythms of the African Caribbean reign. Trained by master musicians from all three islands, and versed in sacred and popular rhythms such as bata, guiro, rumba (Cuba); bomba and plena (Puerto Rico); and palos, salves, and kongos (Dominican Republic), ILU AYE interprets traditional songs and reinvigorates the genres with original compositions by renowned akpwon, Osvaldo "Bembe" Lora. Join IluAye@yahoogroups.com for future events or visit their site @ www.myspace.com/iluayemusic

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Example #4: Obatalá Dance -- Marta Ruiz [Cuban dancer in Russia]


afrocubaru, Uploaded on Nov 14, 2009

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Example #5: "Niños y Orishas" - Obbatala [Cuba]



Antonio Bucanero, Uploaded on Sep 2, 2009

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Example #6: Obbatala II - Abbilona



Alejandro Ayaguna, Uploaded on May 16, 2011

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Example #7: Song and Dance For Orisha Obatala from 17th annual African Street Festival [United States]



ronzta, Uploaded on Jul 20, 2007
-snip-
Here are some comments from this video's viewer comment thread:
Veetuu, 2010
"Baba ofururu" we can translate like "pure/white/no bad thoughts' father" or "father with the breath from atmosphere". 'Father' here means 'lord', 'god'. Elegigbo is the young and warrior Oshala's kingdom (here in Brazil we call him Oshaguian, in yoruba 'Òsògínyón', Orisha who eats yam)"
-snip-
pikedagger1868, 2010
"There are many Avatars and even types of Obatala Dances...for instance Obatala Oba Moro dances and drops to his one knee...There are even older avatars like Obatala Ocha Griñan who needs to have all music played VERY softly and people must be quiet...he is a VERY old Obatala...or Obatala Orishanla who is a trembling old woman who wants to be covered with a
white sheet. I am a child of Obatala...Maferefun Baba/Iya mi modupe Obatala!"
-snip-
Veetuu, 2010
"Yes, there is. There's a difference in how to play and to sing, but the lyrics are practically the same. Search for the video "Oxalufã Candomblé (Ketu)" and you can see the difference. Here's closer from the african's rhythm from Ketu."
-snip-
Here's a link to the sound file that is mentioned in the above quote:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ly2Kx-GFAw4.
-snip-
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candombl%C3%A9_Ketu
"Candomblé Ketu' (or Queto in Portuguese spelling) is the largest and most influential nation (sect) of Candomblé, a religion widely practiced in Brazil. Its beliefs and rituals are similar to those of other Candomblé nations in general terms, but different in almost every detail.
-snip-

Ketu deities are basically those of Yoruba mythology. Olorun, also known as Eledumare, Olodumare, Eledaa and Olofin-Orun, is the supreme God, who created the deities or Orishas (also spelled Orisas or Orixás). The variety of orishas still venerated in Africa were reduced to about 16, of which around twelve are invoked in ceremonies:

[orishas names given, including]
..."Oxalá, the most respected Orixá, father of most other Orixás."
-snip-
Oxalá = Obatala

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Example #8: Chief Aikulola, Odun Obatala (Festival of Obatala)



asaforitifa, Uploaded on Sep 28, 2007

sacerdotizas de obatala y osun en la casa del Agbongbon de osogbo alto rango de Ifa en el pueblo Osogbo con motivo de la celebracion del festival de Obatala del Gbawoniyi de este mismo pueblo chief Aikulola Fawehinmi. Estas sacerdotizas estan realizando Oosa pipe que es la poesia llamatoria de Obatala.

Priestesses of Obatala and Osun at the home of the Agbongbon Awo of Osogbo during the annual Obatala festival of Chief Aikulola Fawehinmi, a babalawo and priest (adosu) of Obatala and Egungun. The women and some of the men are reciting Oosa pipe, the praise poetry (oriki) used to call Obatala.

Más información en nuestro web site..
http://www.Asaforitifa.com

Video tomado por Awo Fasotito Oduola

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ACKNOWLEDGEMNT AND THANKS
Thanks to all those whose articles & comments I've quoted. Thanks also to those who produced and uploaded these videos.

Yhank you for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

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