Iroso Iwori

Path 1

1.- Aggayú and Oduduwa.

Aggayú, without knowing it, had lain with the most powerful woman of those lands: Obatalá, who had the gift of transmuting her person, appearing at one moment as a humble maiden and at another as a fierce chimera, implacable in acts of valor, haughty in command, and merciless with the enemy.

The boatman was not pleased with that affair, which, as he saw it, humiliated him in his condition as a man, for he believed it was only right that he should have taken the initiative in courting the woman, as is the custom. So from then on he changed his ways with those who came asking him to carry them to the other side of the river. He would ask each one who they were and where they came from, and after their answers he would demand the tribute to ferry them across. Without these requirements, he would not carry them.

Aggayú would cross his arms and turn indifferent to every plea, and when they insisted he would tell them: «Find a man and pay; otherwise, you are wasting your time.»

One day an omo keke (a small child) came before him and said: «Aggayú, I want to see my mother, who is on the other side of the river.» «What is your name, boy?» asked Aggayú. «I have no name,» the child answered. «Then I cannot oblige you,» said Aggayú. The child began to weep and replied: «It has been a long time since I saw my mother; perhaps after this occasion I shall never see her again. I have nothing; I am very poor.»

The boatman stared at him and said: «Look, boy, go back the way you came, for I cannot change my principles and ferry you across for free.» «Then carry me on your shoulders — until now you have never said to anyone: ‘I charge this much to carry you on my shoulders.'»

The boatman looked at him intently and said: «Boy, you have a good head; I will carry you.» Aggayú set the child on his shoulders and stepped into the river, and no sooner had he begun to walk than he noticed the boy growing gradually heavier until he became an unbearable load. Making a tremendous effort, Aggayú, holding the child on his shoulders, said: «What is happening, that you have become so heavy?» «Do not complain, and keep your word,» the boy answered. «But I can bear no more,» replied Aggayú. «Then look at me.» Aggayú turned his face toward the boy and, letting him fall into the water, cried out: «Oduduwa!»

The child, floating on the water, said to him: «For your effort I give you dominion over the river,» and thereupon he disappeared.

2.- When Shangó hanged himself.

Shangó went to see the king of Oyo, who was in conflict with his subjects, having been repudiated by them. In view of this, he departed of his own will and, in despair, hanged himself. His friends established the cult of Shangó over his tomb and returned to the city, forbidding everyone to say how he had died.

Shangó discovered how to make lightning fall, but by misfortune an electric bolt struck the palace, killing women and children. Shangó, distraught, hanged himself from an ayan tree, from whose wood the pieces of the Orisha Shangó are made to this day.

3.- The woodcutter.

This story is about a man named Juan, who had always wanted to be rich. One day he met a wise old man who promised to make him rich in exchange for his soul. Juan, greedy and desperate to succeed, accepted the bargain.

The wise old man handed Juan a small bag of seeds and told him to plant them and tend them with great care. Juan did so, and as the seeds grew he saw that fruit trees of every kind had sprung up: apples, pears, mangoes, bananas, and much more. Excited by his success, Juan began selling the fruit at the market, and in a short time he became very rich.

But one day, while sitting in the shade of one of his trees, he realized he had forgotten about his soul, and he began to lament his mistake. It was then that the wise old man appeared before him and told him he had never asked for his soul, but for his heart. And he explained that his true success lay not in wealth, but in the kindness and compassion he carried in his heart.

Juan realized he had been so obsessed with material wealth that he had forgotten what truly mattered in life, and he resolved to change his ways and use his riches to do good for others. From then on, Juan was remembered as a man of great heart, more than for his material wealth.

4.- How Yayu Orozun was able to prevail.

In those days there were no steamships or other ways of crossing the sea from one place to another. Yayu Orozun was a person with an important business, but he found himself at a standstill because of his disputes with enemies both known and hidden. This kept him from moving forward and doing what he truly wished.

One day, weary of this situation, he went out into the street with bad intentions and met Okananko, a messenger of the roads like Elegbá. On learning of Yayu Orozun’s situation, he sent him to the house of Orunmila, who revealed this Ifá to him: he had to obtain palmiche (palm fruit) in order to prevail, and though it was unknown to the people of his town, he would find it on the other side of the sea. But first he had to perform the prescribed ebo and take everything to the sea after Orugbo.

On reaching the shore, he met Aggayú, who on seeing him said: «I already know why you have come.» He asked him for the ebo, lifted him onto his shoulder, and carried him to the far shore of the sea. There, where a palm stood, Yayu Orozun left the ebo and climbed the palm to gather palmiche. Aggayú carried him back across the sea and told him to offer whatever he could to Yemayá, since he had passed through her house. And so he did, finally prevailing in his struggle.

A small bunch of palmiche is taken and placed before Shangó for some days and then before Aggayú for other days. It is prayed over on the divining tray and placed in the mouth in order to prevail. Kaferefun Aggayú.