Meaning of Ojuani Ogunda in the Diloggún
- This is the strongest oddun after the meyis; it is used on the board for war.
- Ojuani Ogunda is invincible on earth.
- The awó who faces a war will obtain victory through the consecration on the board.
- Olofin shut himself inside the coffer and is ashere. The secret of Olofin is revealed, and two eggun speak through him.
- When this Ifá appears, the person speaks ill of the babalawos and neither values nor respects Orunmila.
- He has family in the countryside and must make ebbo before visiting them, so as to avoid the legal trouble that is close at hand.
- Under osobo (misfortune), the sick person is not saved.
- Debts owed to San Lázaro must be settled, and he must be shown respect.
- Take care with punctures and animal bites.
- When making the ebbo with akuko, two small drums, two eyele, an ekute and opolopo owo, neither the godfather nor the godchild should get wet in the rain, because it will most likely rain, and if they get wet they will lose.
- Beware of a tragedy that will happen in the street, in which he could become involved.
- He is the target of ogu work.
- Change clothes often, so as not to be recognised by enemies in the street.
- There is envy and rivalry between the man and the woman, even within the family itself.
- Before a year has passed, there will be a death in his family.
- Give thanks to Obatalá, Elegbara, Oggún and Obini.
- Take care with fire.
- He desires what is hard for him to obtain.
- Beware of trouble with women: even if he thinks himself strong, they may attack him by throwing hot grease or water over his head.
- He must also look after his stomach.
- Here the fault of love is paid for through disobedience. If a man, he will find himself obliged to marry. If a woman, she will want to hide an unwanted pregnancy.
- The virtue lies in the hands. Elegbara would stroke Oshún gently with his hands and she would fall drowsy, which stirred Orunmila’s envy.
- Before going out into the street, offer eku, eya, epo and awado to Elegbara.
- Mention is made of a beautiful child who leaned out of the window of a fine house, where the window is now high up but used to be lower.
What is born in this sign
- The secret of Olofin and the closed coffer of oddun. The reason why only the Babalawos have the right to hold Olofin.
- Feminine curiosity.
- Scissors.
What this sign indicates
- He has a brother in the countryside; be obedient, so as to avoid fatal consequences in the family.
- Good fortune is on its way thanks to a woman.
- Witchcraft is being worked against him: keep your secrets and beware of ill-intentioned people.
Advice and warnings
- Do not speak ill of the Babalawos, and show respect to all of them.
- Make an ebbo if you wish to win the lawsuit, but avoid getting wet, because it does not suit you.
- Dress in white for ten days.
- Discuss your affair with a trusted person who already knows your secret, and avoid getting drawn into complicated situations.
Proverbs of Ojuani Ogunda
- Uno tira la piedra y el pueblo carga la culpa. One person throws the stone and the whole village carries the blame.
- Por una mujer se perdió el igbodun. Because of a woman, the igbodun was lost.
- No vayas a casa de nadie para que no sepas lo de nadie. Do not go into anyone’s house, and then you will know no one’s business.
- Es una falta de respeto permitir al manigüero entrar en un pueblo con taparrabo. It is a lack of respect to let the man of the bush walk into a village wearing only a loincloth.
- Si un niño abre una cazuela hirviendo, la vuelve a tapar por el calor. If a child opens a boiling pot, the heat itself makes him put the lid back on.
- Quien no mira hacia delante, atrás se queda. Whoever does not look ahead is left behind.
Patakíes of Ojuani Ogunda
Where the tiger changed his clothes and was saved
Prayer: Apatakin Imalo Alakaiyo Osia Bogbo Imale Olofin Ashore Gungun Awo Umbo Ashire Ila Ifá Igbo Oko Obirio Bidajun Ashiroro Ancha Enshe Turusile Apeto Gorisho Bogbo Kaleno Emokalaba Obini Ojuani Niosi Adifafun Oro Mabinu Ayodo Layede Pa Obini Olofin Isiho Ayode Ile Olofin Gorisha Kaferefun Olofin Lodafun Eggun Meyi.
The tiger, following Orunmila’s advice, made the ebbo and changed his clothes so that his enemies would not recognise him. When he was ready to go out, his wife reminded him once more how important it was to follow Orunmila’s word. Thanks to her warning, the tiger decided not to leave the house at that moment.
Meanwhile, his enemies were lying in wait near his house, hoping to catch him. Seeing that the tiger did not come out, they could not carry out their plan and were left at a loss.
The tiger, grateful for Orunmila’s wisdom and counsel, understood how important it is to follow the guidance of the wise. By not letting his impulse rule him and by listening to his wife, he avoided falling into a trap and kept himself safe.
The old woman and the tiger
Prayer: Oma Koibumoibo Kondayoni Ekun Inlo Ni Igui Inkin Yareko Obini Adi Ina Opa Ekun.
Ebbó: Akuko okan, adie okan, aboreo ni ekun, igui adi, epo, omi Olokun, asho timbelara.
A fearsome tiger came to a village and began to ravage the crops. Fear took hold of the people, who decided to take refuge on an island full of ope de ikines, leaving behind an old woman they could not carry because of the sores that covered her body. They left her in her hut with a supply of water and food, and fastened the door tightly so that the tiger could not get in.
The old woman, aware of the danger around her, decided to boil oil and wait for the tiger to come. The fierce animal burst into the village and sniffed around the old woman’s hut. Unable to get inside, he set one of his paws against the palm-thatch wall and tore open a hole through which he pushed his head. At that moment the brave old woman took the pot of boiling oil and threw it straight at the tiger’s head, blinding him.
The next day the old woman’s relatives came looking for her and learned what had happened. They decided to hunt the tiger down, and in the end they killed him.
The path where the secret of Olofin is born
Prayer: Adifafun Orunmila Omode Ouje Olofin Satiedemu Lodafun Ele Ashiri Ade Oddun.
Ebbó: Akuko, juju of parrot, ewe tete, eku, akara, a piece of asho dun dun, gbogbo ashe, opolopo owo.
Olofin, on his way to his kingdom, fed on human beings in order to preserve the secret of his crown, while Orunmila Eri Kuin was in charge of preparing those human beings for the sacrifice to Olofin.
One day, while Orunmila was out looking for Olofin’s food, he came across a small child and took him to Olofin. Olofin received the child gladly and told Orunmila that it was the most valuable thing he had ever brought him to keep his Ashiri Ade. Then he ordered an assembly of all the nobles of the earth to be summoned, and the law of Olofin was proclaimed.
Yet Oddun’s appetite awoke, and corruption began to spread across the earth, putting Olofin’s crown in danger. Olofin asked Orunmila to look into what was happening, and Orunmila saw this Ifá, which showed that there were beings with crowns of their own who coveted the crown of Olofin. Then Orunmila said: «There are no longer beings willing to beget even a little crown. I offer my son in sacrifice to preserve your crown and save humankind.»
So Orunmila did, and he handed his son over to Olofin, who said to him: «From now on you will be the firm support of my crown on earth, and only your son will have the right to bear it.»
Here is born the reason why only the babalawos have the right to hold Olofin.
The cheese and the guava paste
Ebbó: Akuko, osiadie dun dun, eyele meyi, cheese, guava paste, omi ilé Olokun, bu, asho fun fun, dun dun, abiti, akofa, atitan ilekun, malaguidi meyi, bogbo ewe, otí, obi, itana, eku, eya, epo, awado, oñí, opolopo owo.
Distribution:
Work: The cheese is placed before Oshún and the guava paste before Yemayá; after seven days the work is taken away at the point where the two things come together. These two Saints are asked, and the two people who are estranged are given to eat so that their union returns.
Akuko to Elegbá and eyerbale to shilekun.
Osiadie for oparaldo.
Eyele meyi, sarayeye for the child and for the ilé, to be given to Oggún at shilekun.
On this path there lived a woman with two daughters who were always quarrelling, and this caused their mother great suffering, for she could find no solution to what went on between them. One said she was tastier than the other, and the other claimed she was sweeter than her sister. These arguments always ended in fights.
Yemayá, the elder, claimed she was like cheese, and that this was the most delicious thing one could eat. Then Oshún answered that she was sweeter, because she was like guava paste, and that cheese could not be compared with the sweetness of guava, so the two were not equal.
The mother, seeing that she could not control her daughters, decided to consult Orunmila. Through this Ifá it was revealed that she had two daughters who were always quarrelling, and that to resolve the matter she had to perform the ebó and the work indicated.
The balcony and the window
Prayer: Ojuani Dawan Omo Okuni Awo Odara Omo Nifa Ode Tiwalike Nile Kuete Si Baba Okbi Omoni Okun Laye Adifafun Ashupa.
Ebbó: Akuko, inso, igui ile (a little wooden house), malaguidiokuni, an igba with omi tuto, asho fun fun, eku, eya, opolopo owo.
There was a man who had a small and very beautiful son. The boy was in the habit of leaning out of the window that opened onto the balcony of his house to look at the moon. One night the father came over and asked the boy why he watched the moon, and the boy answered: «The moon speaks to me, and it has told me many times that my father will have to pour water over my hands for me to wash them, and that I will refuse.»
The father went to speak with his wife, the boy’s mother, and told her everything. She replied: «That means that one day we shall be our own son’s servants. I think the best thing would be to throw him into the sea.» After thinking it over a little, the father took the boy and threw him from the balcony into the sea. But a sea bird was passing by and picked him up, carrying him along for three days until it reached a distant land, where at last the bird was caught. When they opened the bird before the king (oba), they found a very beautiful child inside its beak.
The king, who was also an awo of Orunmila, decided to take charge of the boy and adopt him as his own son. At the age of seven, the king made Ifá for the boy, and the result was Ojuani Dawa. When the boy turned 21, the king gave him riches and told him to travel to other lands to learn more about Ifá.
Meanwhile, the boy’s father and mother had fallen into poverty and had moved to other lands, where they opened a business. Yet they lived tormented by deep remorse for what they had done to their son.
Ojuani Dawa arrived in that land with his retinue and lodged in his parents’ house without recognising them. As soon as the father saw the awo, he went to offer him water to wash his hands, but Ojuani Dawa refused, which made the father shudder. Noticing this, Ojuani Dawa asked him: «Sir, why were you so frightened when I refused to wash my hands with that water?» The father answered: «It is that I remembered I once had a son whom I threw into the sea because he spoke with the moon, and one day he told me that he would refuse to let me pour water over his hands.» Then the awo replied: «And what have I to do with that?» «Nothing,» said the father, «you are a son of Orunmila, while I am a poor merchant.»
When Ojuani Dawa returned to his own land, he told the king what had happened to him with that man. Then the king recounted how the boy had come to that land and reminded him that his Ifá said the power lay in the hands. Ojuani Dawa understood then that he was the merchant’s true son.
The merchant wanted his son to come and live with them, but the oba told them that Ifá ordered that they be the ones to go and live in the house of Orunmila, and that they had to receive Ifá so that their fault could be forgiven, since their son was a son of Orunmila.
Works and ebbó of Ojuani Ogunda
Works and workings of ojuani ogunda
- For the awo
- Change your clothes so that you may win as the tiger did. Whoever does not look ahead is left behind. Before going out into the street, eku, eya and epo are placed before Elegbá. A razor is bound with ou dun dun and fun fun, seven knots are tied at the end, and it is placed before Elegbara. To the father’s eggun are given an etu, two obi, beer and nine akara, nine ekru, nine pieces of eko, nine eyele. Once cooked, the etu is placed whole, and it is taken wherever eggun says. Afterwards everything must be placed at the foot of a coconut tree. Then Orunmila is asked how many days it must be kept and where it is discarded.
- Ebbo
- Juju of parrot, ewe tete, eku, akara, a piece of black cloth, epo, opolopo owo.
- Ebbo to win the lawsuit
- Tamborcito meyi, eyele meyi, akuko, a mouse, owo la megua.
- Ebbo to avert a death in the family
- Akuko, $7.35. When the ebbo is made it will rain, and neither the aleyo nor the one who made the ebbo may get wet, because then he loses.
- Ebbo
- Akuko, eyele meyi, obi meyi fun fun for baba, asho ara and opolopo owo.
Prayers and suyeres of Ojuani Ogunda
Liturgical material transcribed from the source manuscripts; it is kept verbatim.
Prayer
Ojuani Ogunda Opa Akrico Chalesi Adifafun Arokomolla Akuko Lebo Cora.
Orishas in this sign
The orishas that the letter itself ties to this sign, according to what the source records:
Other aspects of the sign
Ewé of the sign
Ceiba, cypress, Guinea guava, palo, pepper.
Ojuani Ogunda Olofin Apatakin Imale Akakaive Ozain Gbogbo Imale Olofin Ashere Egungun Awe. Unbo Ashire Ile Ifá Igbo Ore Obirin Bidajun Ashire Orun Anona.