There's been more of that close family feeling with them than we've had with any friends or our natural families.īabalawo: I refer to them as the omo-ile, children of the house. Vassa (Philip's wife): They like to share and give back. They can call day or night, any time they have the need. Within the religion, people respond strongly to the feeling that they are genuinely loved and cared for and that they can return those feelings. Now we live in a totally impersonal society. We knew the people, the merchants, the policeman, the milkman. The place I grew up in was the neighborhood. People respond to this because it has the sense of the close family unit that doesn't exist anymore. I called Phil right away and said, 'I have some delightful news.' "īabalawo Philip Neimark: One of the important things is that the god-children, or omo-ile, are a real support group. In the middle of the opening I heard that there was a huge fire at my competitor's mill. My showroom was so crowded you couldn't get in the door. My competitor's showroom is around the corner and he didn't have a single buyer. The gods said it was fine and Phil went off to do what he had to do. He conducted a divination to see if it was alright. Phil said he had never had that request before. I didn't want him to die, just be miserable for awhile.
But I had a desire to make my competitor suffer the way he made me suffer. Not only did I keep the line, but got a better deal.Įverything was great. You have to understand how unusual this was.
Not only would they give me an exclusive, but a large sum of money as a six month advance. I went to Phil and he said it was time to put my Warriors to work for me. If he succeeded, my business would be ruined. I found out that my competitor down the hall had gone behind my back and was trying to steal the line when the contract came up for renewal in June. My showroom has repped one line for the last seven years. Sharing coffee in her showroom, Stevie told me of an incident. It is only one of the ways the Babalawo has intervened in her commercial affairs. Hidden inside of the showroom ceiling is an osain amulet meant to insure business prosperity. She is one of Babalawo Ogunda Bede's (Philip Neimark's) omo-ile, or spiritual children. She is a vibrant, outgoing, and attractive woman whose showroom carries a line of contemporary design carpets. Stevie Ball owns a business located in Chicago's Merchandise Mart.
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