Ofun Ogunda

The ten cents

Barakayi and Eyigey were two close friends who shared both the good moments of life and the bad. While Barakayi was a practical man, upright in his dealings, Eyigey was ill-tempered, quarrelsome, selfish, discontented, and immodest.

One day, both friends lamented the bad luck that pursued them. They discovered that each had only ten cents in his pockets. Barakayi decided to seek help from Orunmila to change his luck by having Osodde done. Eyigey, on the other hand, preferred to spend his money on food rather than on any working.

Barakayi visited Orunmila, who performed Osode for him and told him that he had to make Ebbó and afterwards set out with no fixed destination in order to find happiness. Orunmila also returned the money he had charged for the service, knowing how poor Barakayi was.

Barakayi followed Orunmila’s instructions, traveling without a fixed course until he reached a beautiful place with water on both sides. There, as he drank, the money Orunmila had returned to him slipped from his hands. Barakayi gave thanks to Olofin and the Orishas for allowing him to reach that place and rest.

While sleeping on the reefs, Barakayi had a troubling dream in which he was thrown into the sea. The next morning, an ugly old woman in rags approached him and asked whether he had slept well. After speaking with her, the old woman gave him instructions on how to find three güiras and what to do with them.

Barakayi followed the old woman’s instructions and found a fortune inside the third güira. He became one of the richest and most respected men of that land.

Barakayi went to visit his friend Eyigey in his old town. After giving him valuable gifts and conversing with him, Barakayi told him how his prosperity was owed to the work Orunmila had done for him. Eyigey, envious of his friend’s fortune, borrowed 10 cents and went to Orunmila’s house to have Ebbó made. But Orunmila told him he would need 420.00 pesos for the work.

Discouraged, Eyigey made his way to the place his friend had described, and an old woman gave him instructions on how to obtain the help he needed. She told him to take three güiras from the plant, but he decided to take the largest ones instead of the smallest. By doing the opposite of what the old woman had told him, Eyigey was punished for his arrogance and disobedience. The serpents strangled him, and so he paid for his lack of respect and wisdom.

This story teaches that envy and pride can lead to destruction, and that it is important to respect and follow the counsel of the elders and the wise.

In this Ifá the dead also speak. One must receive the Ibeyis, Olokun, and Orishaoko. One must feed the sea and the river, hold feasts for the Ibeyis, and receive Osain. Maferefun the Ibeyis, Maferefun Olokun, lodafun Osun and Osain.

San Isidro the Farmer

On this path, San Isidro the Farmer plowed the earth with a pointed stick. As this tool was not fit for the task, he labored greatly and fell far behind. He went to Orunmila’s house and made Ebbó. He sought out Oggún, who made him the iron plow. From then on, his planting improved and he was able to earn plenty, keeping good company with Orishaoko and Oggún.

The parrot and the elephant

Once there was a parrot and an elephant who had become close friends. One day, the elephant went to visit his friend the parrot and was surprised to find the bird standing on one leg.

The elephant, full of curiosity, asked what had happened, and the parrot answered with great irony that his children had carried his leg off to the forest because it was an infallible talisman for a good hunt.

Upon returning to his jungle, the elephant gathered his children and told them: «From today onward, our hunger will end forever. I visited my friend the parrot, who revealed to me the secret to obtaining all the food we need without great effort. You will cut off one of my legs and carry it to the forest as a talisman.»

Alarmed, the children refused to carry out such a cruel order, but the elephant threatened them with terrible punishments if they did not obey. With great sorrow, the young elephants cut off a leg of their unfortunate father and set out in search of food with the leg upon their shoulders.

But the leg served them as no talisman, and they returned home with nothing. Their terror knew no bounds when they found their father dead, in horrible agony.

With laments and weeping, the father was buried, and the children decided to visit the parrot to learn what had truly happened. There they discovered that the parrot had both of his legs, not one, as their father had told them.

The eldest of the children asked the parrot how this was possible, and the parrot answered with flapping wings and cackles of laughter, saying that their father had fallen victim to the inexperience and childishness of the elephants, despite being the largest of animals.

The disobedient son

There were two brothers who loved to bathe in the river, but one was more disobedient than the other. One day, their mother told the disobedient one not to bathe in the river anymore, because she had dreamed that something bad would happen. Meanwhile, the obedient brother went on bathing in the river without trouble. The disobedient brother, however, grew envious at seeing his brother continue to enjoy the river, and began to curse him, wishing misfortune on him and his family.

Eshu heard the curses and decided to take the matter into his own hands. A few days later, a storm swept through the region, destroying trees and crops and causing floods. Eshu decided the moment had come to punish the disobedient brother, so he stationed himself at the riverbank, stirring the water and drawing everyone’s attention. He summoned the obedient brother and told him to leap into the river, assuring him that when he came out he would possess a great fortune and be envied. The obedient brother leapt in and returned with a treasure, which awakened the envy of the disobedient brother. The latter did not realize it was all a trap and decided to do the same, but he was seized by Oshún, who enslaved him and only allowed him to climb onto a rock in the river to gaze outward.

In short: disobedience brings consequences, and envious, wicked acts often lead only to misfortune. It is also important to be aware of the traps and deceptions that life may hold.

He who imitates fails

There was once a horse that would let no one master him. So stubborn was his refusal to be tamed that the horse-breaker gave up the endeavor and released him into the field to live free. But the ox, seeing that the horse had won his freedom through rebellion, imitated him. His owner fed him and cared for him. Yet as time passed, the ox grew fat, fattening greatly, and his owner sold him to the butcher.

How Olofin made Ofun Funda change his situation

On this path, Ofun Fun dressed in yellow because of his difficult situation; he was beset by hardship, and his brother, Ofun Ofunda, was in despair over so much poverty. Olofin, who watched him, would say: «For some time now I have seen Ofun Ofunda always dressed in yellow,» but Olorun answered that it was because of his poor circumstances.

Olofin then decided to make ebbó for Ofun Ofunda to help him get ahead. The next day, Ofun Ogunda answered Olofin’s call and received the ebbó. Olofin then instructed him to take the offerings to the sea, the adie to the river, and the eyele to the desert.

As Ofun Ogunda was carrying the eyele, they relieved themselves, and their droppings turned green, staining his clothing that same color. Yet Ofun Ogunda’s situation and fortune began to change, thanks to the ebbó performed by Olofin.

Jebioso the jealous

On this path, Ifá had neither limbs nor bones when he arrived in the Land of Ife. He would travel to any place where his counsel was needed, and everything he announced to the people came to pass. But Jebioso, the owner of thunder, grew jealous of Ifá, because the people respected him more and went to him for counsel instead of coming to Jebioso. So Jebioso decided to kill Ifá with a knife.

When Ifá was cut in two, he did not die, for he is immortal. Instead, he decided to create the nuts of the coconut and the Inkin tree, which did not yet exist. The fruits of these trees fell to the ground and were eaten by an animal called Ola, but the fruits refused to remain in his stomach, and he vomited them up. The people gathered the fruits and made them into Okulele and divining chains for consulting Ifá.

This path teaches us that envy and jealousy are no good, for they can lead to the destruction of oneself and of others. Moreover, Ifá is an immortal being who will always be there to guide and counsel us.

The king and the warrior

On this path, a famous king had in his service a warrior equally famous and renowned. The king was at war with another king of a nearby tribe, and both had sworn to destroy each other at their first encounter. One day, each set out from his town and, without knowing it, they arrived at the boundary of their territories, where they met. The encounter awakened in them the desire to fulfill their oath, and they challenged each other to a duel. In the heat of battle, the king who had the famous warrior in his service caught his foot in his horse’s stirrup and fell to the ground, and the other king seized the moment to strike him dead. Seeing this, the warrior threw his own body before the aggressor and, machete raised, stopped him, preventing him from going any further. The king, seeing his intentions frustrated, tried to strike the warrior, but with a single blow the warrior took off his head, saving the life of the one who had placed his trust in him. Maferefun Oggún!

Orishaoko and the farmer

Once there was a farmer who endured many hardships working the land, for he did not know the plow and had to sow and gather his crops with his hands and a stick. Because of this, his harvest was meager, barely enough to feed himself, with nothing left to trade. One day, Orishaoko passed by and, seeing him in that state, offered to help him lighten his burden and obtain a better harvest.

Orishaoko brought him before Orunmila, who, after performing osode and marking an ebbó for him, gave him a plow, an ox, and the other things needed to work the land. The farmer followed the instructions of Orunmila and Orishaoko, hitching the plow to the ox and guiding it to till the earth. In a short time, the farmer’s harvest prospered and filled with fruit thanks to his new way of working.

Maferefun Orishaoko and Orunmila!

The monkey’s luck

The monkey found himself without a home and went to Orunmila to change his luck. Orunmila performed an ebbó for him after reading his fortune in the cowries and promised him that he would soon have a house and money. The monkey made the ebbó and his luck changed. Money began to come to him, and he was able to buy a beautiful house. But he forgot Orunmila and began to speak ill of him.

When Orunmila learned of the monkey’s slanders, he went to complain to Obatalá. Obatalá summoned the monkey and told him that he could not keep his house any longer than the time it had taken him to defame Orunmila. The monkey lost his house and his money and had to return to living in the trees.

May Eshu bless you!

The war between Shangó and Orunmila

At the beginning of the world — that is, in Isalaye, when each of the Ebora Orishas came down to fulfill their missions and receive their powers — Ifá was a great spirit who, as such, had neither flesh nor bone and was carried wherever his predictions were needed. Everyone came before him and he spoke, and everything he announced came true and was fulfilled. This provoked the jealousy of Shangó, also called Jebioso, who said: «I am so powerful, and I make such noise from afar; I hurl my red-hot stones and direct my lightning wherever I please. No one respects me anymore. No one will come to see me. Even to eat, they must consult Ifá. And yet Ifá had nothing before I did. I will kill him, and when I have done it, all men will return to me.»

Jebioso armed himself with a great knife and went to kill Orunmila Afapa. But Orunmila had seen this Ifá and had performed an Ebó. When Jebioso arrived with his great knife, he struck a blow and cut Afapa in two. But it happened that Afapa spoke and said: «I am immortal. From this day on, I am immortal. From this day on, I will live in the nuts of the Ikines of Ifá, in the aniki tree, the mango, in the body of Ola, the crocodile, and in the shell of Tiklosis, the jicotea turtle.»

Then Shangó understood that instead of destroying him, he had granted him a new power. From that moment, the Ovinita tree, which had not existed before, was created. The fruits of the mango fell to the ground, and the oxen and buffalo ate them, but could not digest their seeds, which passed through them whole. People would go and gather these seeds and string them into their nuts — the aguinecas — that is, the Okuele of Ifá, and with them they consulted, as has been done to this day.

After this, Ifá is not seen in himself, but he is felt in all the things that have been spoken. He himself, while still living, announced that he was to be found in the crocodile (Ola), in the jicotea (Tiklosis), in the nuts of the Ikines of Ifá, and in the fruit of the anuki mango. For this reason, Ifá is immortal and no one will ever destroy him. Here was born the two-faced Elegbá called Eshu Bele.

When Oshún went about in rags

Oshún was a daughter of the sea and is a daughter of Olofin. While she was in the sea, Oshosi, Yemayá, and all the other oshas scorned her when she went about too swiftly.