THE CHILDREN OF IWA

1. Last week Dr. Carr taught us about Africa, he let us know that Africa was the origin of all human knowledge. This week Dr. Gbadegesin elaborated on this concept by introducing us to the Principles of Ma’at. The principles of Ma’at originated in ancient Egypt before any other principles or laws, including the Ten Commandments. The principles of Ma’at, “taught Egyptians the importance of truth and justice, and how to maintain order, balance, and harmony.” Another topic of discussion was the importance of homage, which is like paying respect. Dr. Gbadegesin gave us a few examples of paying homage which included paying homage to, “the flatness of the foot.” Some people were confused as to why it was important to do this but I understood this concept, for our feet, whether big or small or odd looking, take us everywhere and without them life would be extremely difficult thus they deserve to be paid homage. This also showed me how important the little things in life are and how being respectful is an extremely important characteristic to have.

2. The ancient Egyptians also had their own philosophy, one of them being the importance of Iwa, or good character. Dr. Carr touched slightly on the topic of good character, but exclaimed on how he was excited to hear Dr. Gbadegesin elaborate on the topic. Dr. Gbadegesin did just this by telling us the story of Iwa and Orunmila. In this story, which I found to be extremely interesting, Orunmila mistreats Iwa, causing Iwa to leave, and when Iwa left, Orunmila lost everything. Therefore Orunmila in order to restore his life searched for Iwa. This story lead us to Dr. Gbadegesin’s key points about Iwa, which were;

a. Iwa is the good of existence

b. Iwa is beauty

c. Iwa leads to wealth

d. Iwa is the essence of religion.

3. We the students of Howard University are all, “Omoluabi, or a child begotten of the chief (or source) of Iwa.”(Omoluabi Power Point). Because of this we shall not only be internally motivated but also externally motivated, which entails us to be;

a. Responsible for the self

i. Remake self through good education

ii. Beware of miseducation

iii. Be appreciative of our University education

b. Responsible to the community

i. Serve community well with education

As children of Iwa we know the importance of wisdom and the difference between wisdom and knowledge which is, a wise man knows what to do with his knowledge. Also a wise man searches for a good a character and once that is obtained he has it all including immortality. as children of Iwa we shall do just this!