Irete Unfa

– Obatalá and the curse upon the cotunto

Obatalá felt sad and lonely, so he organized a singing contest for the birds, offering a prize to the winner. At that time the birds did not sing, but on hearing of the contest they gathered and prepared themselves for the trial. The onlookers eagerly awaited the day of the contest, but they noticed that with only six days left before the competition, the mockingbird was not practicing. He was reserved, and when asked about it, he would answer that he did not know.

Days before the contest, the mockingbird realized that everyone was watching him, and he went to the house of Orunmila, who saw this Ifá for him and told him he had to perform a rogation with a whistle, rope, and other ingredients of the ebbó. Orunmila gave him a whistle so he could play and practice. At last the day of the contest organized by Obatalá arrived, and as the birds came in, each one sang and received a different score.

It happened that the mockingbird did not arrive at the contest, and Obatalá, impatient at his delay, sent Elegbá to his house to find out what had happened to him. Elegbá met the mockingbird on the road, and when they reached the contest, the mockingbird began to sing like the other birds who had already sung.

On hearing him, Obatalá bade him be silent and awarded him the prize. But the cotunto, envious because he had not won the prize, wanted to betray him. That night he hid and waited for the mockingbird to come home. When the mockingbird went in, the cotunto followed him and, with a stick, forced him out of the house, telling him he could never enter there again. That night it rained, and the mockingbird was soaked through because he was left out in the open.

When the rain stopped, Obatalá went out to visit all the birds and was astonished to see the mockingbird drenched. When he asked him what had happened, the mockingbird took fright and nervously begged him not to strike him. Puzzled by this answer, Obatalá told him he had not come to strike him and asked what they needed.

When the mockingbird recognized Obatalá, he calmed down and told him what the cotunto had done, driving him from his house and threatening to beat him if he ever returned. Obatalá went to find the cotunto and knocked at his door. Not knowing it was Obatalá knocking, and believing it was the mockingbird, the cotunto told him to go away or he would give him a beating so he would learn who he was. On opening the door and seeing it was Obatalá, he was astonished and begged forgiveness. Then Obatalá laid a curse upon him: for as long as the world exists, the cotunto would be the wickedest and ugliest bird in the world.

How Orunmila saved his crops

Once, Orunmila was a farmer whose crops were the finest in those lands, but Ozain envied him, and one day, to harm him, he poisoned all his fields with vermin and microbes that swiftly attacked all the vegetation from the roots. Because of this, some crops began to be of very poor quality, while others were lost entirely. Orunmila saw this Ifá when he performed osode, and it directed him to set fire to his crops. When he did so and the fire spread, the vermin and microbes began to come up out of the earth, and as they burned they served as fertilizer for the soil.

Orunmila continued his work: he took several bundles of firewood and akukos, lit the bundles of wood, and poured the eyes of the akukos into the fire so they would burn; then he gathered the ash to perform his workings.

– wrath

There was a peasant who had a planted field, and it was growing, but he grew careless and it began to dwindle under the attacks of weeds, pests, and harmful animals. Instead of being patient and fighting to save the crop, the peasant poured fuel on what little remained and set it on fire, losing everything. He did it out of anger.

This person has not taken care to watch over the moral and material advancement of their own people.

Aginese

In the land of Iyesha there was a person who, thanks to a close relationship with the queen of the tribe, enjoyed great powers. By the queen’s command they called him Aginese. It happened that one day a great assembly was called in one of the neighboring tribes, whose king was an old man named Shokuano. At this assembly, Shokuano allowed all the chiefs of the neighboring tribes to set out the measures to be taken against the sickness that was decimating them. The queen of Iyesha trusted Aginese and said to him: «Put on my crown and attend the conference, but first go see Orunmila so that he may mark ebbó for you, since the meeting is to deal with the sickness».

Aginese went to the house of Orunmila, who saw this Ifá for him. Orunmila said: «The only power you have for attending the conference is the representation the queen has granted you to speak for your people. But before you go, you must perform a rogation with Eya Ederegbe on your head, because where you are going is the kingdom of sickness, and you may fall in love with the crown you wear. But since it is not yours, when you return and give it back to the queen, Arun may take hold of your body. Try to receive an amulet from the old man Shokuano in that land, so that it may accompany you. You must make ebbó with millet, sesame, black-eyed beans, awado, all raw, and the asho ara you are wearing. You must go to the nigbe where Eshu lives and take it there yourself, saying: «Arun, here I plant you so that you may grow and trouble me no more». You must also keep a dog, even a toy one, to gather up all the evil influences. The dog is in case you do not receive an amulet from Shokuano».

Orunmila asked that a rogation be made on his head with fish from the river, so that he would not go to the kingdom of sickness and it would never return to his body or his house. He also pleaded that the sickness not touch his family and that it flee into the bush in the name of Shokuano, and that the dog receive all the sicknesses that came knocking at his door and stop them with its barking, driving the sickness away toward the bush. Orunmila wished that the wind would carry the sickness far away.

The path of disobedience

There was a town that Olofin, as punishment, decided to destroy by means of the Awoses, for its inhabitants did as they pleased. But Obatalá begged Olofin to give them a chance to mend their ways, and he would take charge of rebuilding the town. Olofin withheld the rain, and Obatalá went out in search of Elegbá and ordered him to build the town in the shortest time possible, since he had promised Olofin he would bring about the reform of its inhabitants. Elegbá, however, posted lookouts on the roads to warn him when Obatalá was coming, so as not to be caught in corruption and idleness.

After several visits, Obatalá realized something was wrong, for the works were not advancing as they should. He pretended to leave, circled around, and caught everyone in corruption and idleness. He rebuked Elegbá and said: «I placed you at the head of this town so you would govern it, but you have deceived and betrayed me. You are no longer in charge of this, and you have lost the king’s crown.»

Obatalá chose Oshún to lead the town, though she did not have great knowledge. But by obeying Obatalá in everything, she set the town right in a short time, and it prospered once again. Time passed, and Obatalá had a mockingbird that sang to him until he fell asleep. One day the mockingbird fled, and Obatalá was deeply saddened. Elegbá found it and brought it back to Obatalá, asking forgiveness for having betrayed him. As punishment, Obatalá set him to stand forever behind the entrance gate of the town, to watch everything that came in and went out.

In that town there also lived an Awo named Irete Unfa, who had never concerned himself with the fate of his people. One day, Irete Unfa decided to go to another town to put on a crown of gold. On the road he met Oshún, who warned him: «Son, do not leave your town and do not put on that crown of gold, for you will lose your health.» But the Awo paid no heed, put on the crown of gold, and fell gravely ill. Though he managed to save his life, he lost his health.

– the path of the desperate one

The ox was an animal made of pieces, so at that time he was not very strong and was mocked by the other animals, from the smallest, like flies and mosquitoes, to the largest. Olofin saw the ox and felt pity at his neglected state, for something was missing from his body that would make him a strong animal. So Olofin said to him: «Come see me tomorrow so I can finish my work on you». The next day the ox went early to his appointment with Olofin, but Olofin was late in arriving, which made the ox grow impatient. When Olofin finally came, the ox was annoyed and restless. Olofin began to work, but since all of Olofin’s works take their time, the ox grew tired and decided to leave before Olofin had finished. Olofin warned him that he could not live in the wilderness that way, but the ox paid no heed and left.

As Olofin had foreseen, the ox fell victim to the various insects that dwelt in the wilderness. After a time, the ox appeared before Olofin again, asking for help and forgiveness. Olofin helped him and let him eat and drink something, for he noticed he was famished. When the ox fell into a deep sleep, Olofin seized the chance to finish his work. When the ox awoke, Olofin told him he could now return to his own surroundings, for the insects that had once made his life impossible would now leave him in peace, because with his iruke (tail) he could drive them away.

Along this path, an iruke must be placed with Obatalá (if the person has him), so that it may drive away all evil.

Under this Ifá, the awó must consecrate with Olofin and must not be a desperate one.