Ika Meyi

Where Orunmila danced with the heads of his enemies

Olofin kept many animals in the courtyards and gardens of his palace, but his enemies had grown used to stealing from him. One day Orunmila discovered them, and for that reason they all turned against Orunmila and began looking for a way to destroy him; in agreement with one another, they watched him day and night.

It happened that Orunmila’s wife became pregnant, and one day she had a craving for peanuts, and Orunmila, to please her, went to Olofin’s granaries to take a few. But as he came out, he was caught by his enemies, who, conspiring together, said: «Look at honest Orunmila, stealing from Olofin.»

Orunmila, seeing himself discovered, and to keep Olofin from finding out, went straight to him and said: «Father, in the forest they are stirring up a great revolt against you, and the ringleaders already have almost everyone on their side.» Then Olofin asked him: «And what must be done?» Orunmila performed osode for him, and this Ifá came out, marking ebó with all the ringleaders, to be given afterward to the saints.

So Olofin ordered that what Ifá marked be done without delay. Orunmila instructed Elegbá to bring him the animals, but with their mouths tied shut so they could not speak; and each time Elegbá brought an animal to Orunmila, he sacrificed it, and after killing them all he danced with the heads of all of them, who were his enemies. Thus Orunmila danced with the heads of all his enemies after having defeated them.

The miserly woman

There was a woman who was very rich but very stingy with food. When a visitor came to her house, she covered the food, even if it was her own family. When she finished eating, she threw everything left over into the trash, and for that reason she always woke up with a swollen belly.

One day a relative of hers went to visit her, and before going to her house, he went to consult Orunmila. He told him that the woman had to spend a great deal of money on food and share it out over 5 days to everyone who came to her house. If during those 5 days no one came, she was to share it among her neighbors.

The woman refused to do it and said Orunmila was a charlatan. Oshún heard of what was happening and went to ask the woman for food, but she refused her. Then Oshún disguised herself as a vendor and returned to the woman’s house to offer her Eleguá for 8 pesos. The woman argued with her, saying it was far too expensive, and Oshún began throwing Eleguá at her belly, raising a tumor with each one.

The woman turned into a monster and went to see Orunmila, who told her that the food she denied and threw away every day was the cause of her illness. The woman denied it, but on consulting Orunmila a third time, he confirmed to her that it was the truth. The woman had to give food to Oshún five separate times in order to recover her health.

Even though the woman was grateful to Orunmila, people still refused to believe in him. But since the woman was not yet completely well, she had no choice but to feed Oshún, and so she recovered her health entirely.

Nono means woman in Arará. Nono ogueno guaguano means: an ambitious, gluttonous woman.

Olofin’s granary

Once upon a time, Elegbá had a craving for peanuts and asked Yemayá to go with him to steal some from Olofin’s granaries. Yemayá, frightened, answered: «That cannot be, because Olofin sees everything and will find us out.» But Elegbá persuaded her, saying: «If we do things the way I have them planned, nothing will happen.»

When they reached Olofin’s granaries, Elegbá told Yemayá to carry him on her shoulders, that he would be the one to take the peanuts and hand them down to her. So they did, and they stole a good quantity of peanuts.

The next day, during his rounds of the granary, Olofin detected the theft and summoned a meeting of all the saints to unmask the thieves. Olofin questioned each saint, and each one gave his excuses, but Olofin knew who was telling him the truth.

When Elegbá’s turn came, he asked him about the theft, and he answered: «My father, with these feet that the earth shall one day consume, I have not entered your granary.» Then Olofin asked Yemayá, and she answered: «My father, with these hands that the earth shall consume, I have not touched your peanuts.»

Olofin, wishing to be just and weighing the answers that Elegbá and Yemayá had given him, had no choice but to forgive them.

The seven tools of Oggún

Ika Meyi had five brothers and was the youngest of them all. They were orphans, and his brothers always looked down on him and told him to leave the house and go learn a trade. They did it because they envied him and wanted to be rid of him. Ika Meyi always answered that he alone decided what he had to do.

One day, his brothers threw him out of the house yet again, and he put what little he had into a sack and set out on the road. After walking a long way, he came to the house of an old man who was hoeing a field planted with potatoes. Ika Meyi asked him: «Sir, may I help with the work?» The old man allowed it, and when the day’s labor was done, the old man invited him to bathe and to eat in his house. As a reward, he gave him seven iron tools and said: «With what I am giving you, you will come to be rich if you do what Orunmila commands.»

The boy, still almost a child, asked the old man: «Sir, who are you? And who is Orunmila?» The old man answered: «I am Oggún,» and told him all about Orunmila. Ika Meyi set out on the road in search of Orunmila, and after walking a long way he came upon an old man near the road cutting grain and stacking it in little piles. Ika Meyi asked him: «Sir, may I help?» The old man accepted the help he offered, and when they had both finished the work, the old man asked: «Boy, may I know where you are headed?» He answered: «In search of Orunmila, so he can tell me what I must do with these tools that an old man named Oggún gave me.» The old man said: «I am Orunmila,» and set about consulting him. He saw this Oddun and told him: «Your enemies are your brothers, and you must make ebbo with what Oggún gave you and with an Ounko, two akuko and two eyele, so that you may have a house of your own, many women, and people at your side to attend you. But your brothers will envy you for all that you will have in life.»

After the ebbo was made, Orunmila gave him back the tools Oggún had given him and said: «Now go, without looking back. And when you reach the seashore, build a dock and a hut to sleep in, for there you will find your fortune.» Ika Meyi did so. Seeing that he could walk no farther because he had reached the seashore, he saw some abandoned planks and timbers that the waves had washed up there, and he immediately built a platform to sleep on, so as not to have to sleep on the sand and in the grass for fear of harmful animals. There he slept that night.

A few days later, while sitting on the shore watching the rough sea, Ika Meyi saw a boat crewed by an old man and a girl. The old man was struggling to bring the boat to the coast, but because of the heavy waves the boat capsized. Ika Meyi, who was a good swimmer, threw himself into the water and righted the boat, saving the girl and the old man, who turned out to be the king of that land. The king said to him: «Ask for whatever you wish and I will give it to you.» Ika Meyi answered: «I wish for you to build me a dock with a hut to sleep in.» The king ordered the dock built, and Ika Meyi earned a great deal of money running that structure.

Another version of the same story

There was a family with several sons, and the youngest, named Oggún, decided to leave home to seek his fortune. He came to the house of an old man and asked him for work. The old man, who turned out to be Orunmila, gave him the work and handed him seven tools so that he could labor. When Oggún grew tired of working, he told the old man he was leaving to see his family, and that if his luck there was still bad, he would return.

Orunmila gave him the tools as a gift and told him they would bring him good luck. Oggún began to walk and came to a beach, where he kept the things the sea washed up on the shore. He began building a platform to sleep on, so as not to have to sleep on the sand or in the undergrowth for fear of animals.

While he was building the platform, he saw a boat that was sinking because of the heavy waves. In the boat were an old man and a girl, who fell into the water. Oggún, who was a good swimmer, threw himself into the water and saved the girl and the old man (Maferefun Yemayá and Oggún).

The old man turned out to be the king of the land, and he asked Oggún what he wanted as a reward for his heroic act. Oggún asked him to build a longer dock, and the king granted his wish, sending him servants, timber and everything needed. Oggún made ebbo to the dock, and from then on, all the ships moor there and pay tribute for unloading their goods.

The ship and the dock

Orunmila ordered the ship to make ebbo, but it did not, because it was too happy sailing the seas. Then Orunmila ordered the dock to make ebbo, and the dock did. Time passed, and a storm on the high seas caught the ship, which had to take refuge at the dock to keep from foundering. As a result, the ship had to pay tribute for its stay at the dock.

When Ika came down to earth

When Ika arrived in the city, there were three great kings who ruled everything: Oro in the sea, Olofin in the air and Ejemu in the river. But they had three aides-de-camp — a dog (Aya), a ram (Igbo) and a goat (Owunko) — who gave the king of the city no peace and had brought his house to ruin.

Ika Meyi went looking for the king of the city, and after going through the 16 palaces, he finally found him performing divination, for the king was Orunmila; his hands were full of Ikines and Okpeles, and on his head he wore a beautiful cap threaded with silver. He also had three small masks at his side.

On seeing Ika Meyi, Orunmila recognized him and greeted him, saying: «Igboru, Igboya, Igbosheshe.» Ika Meyi told Orunmila to take the three animals and give them to the ruin of his house, to make ebbo with their heads, and to build three temples where he would always worship Oro, Olofin and Ejemu. In this way, he could always remain the king of Ifá Ilu. Moreover, to remember this, Orunmila would always dance the heads of the animals before Ika Meyi. Then Ika Meyi returned to Oide Orun.

Adirere and his two friends

Adirere and his two friends decided to go to another land in search of prosperity. There, the king asked them to plant pumpkins to be eaten that very same day. While his friends worked, Adirere would strike the ground once with his pick and fall asleep, but when he awoke, the plants had already grown and borne fruit, ready to be harvested. This miracle led the king to ask him for help solving impossible problems.

One day, Adirere decided to consult with Orunmila to learn what the future held for him. Orunmila marked an ebbo for him so that he would leave his friends, who would compromise him, and go to another land to rule. After the ebbo, he was to have his head rogated.

When the king of the land where Adirere worked missed him, he asked Adirere’s friends where he was, but since they did not want to give him up, he had them flogged. The friends lost their nerve and told the king everything about Adirere. The king had a wooden box built, put him inside, and threw it into the sea.

The box was carried by the waves until some fishermen found it, and when they opened it, they heard Adirere singing. They took him to the palace, crowned him king, and asked him what he desired. All Adirere wanted was for them to send for the king of the other land.

The king of the other land arrived at Adirere’s palace, and Adirere asked him to plant pumpkins on a hill. The king ignored Orunmila’s warning and died on striking the first blow with the pick.