Ogbe She

The tattoo was born

Ever since the war between Oduduwa and Olokun, the latter compensated Oduduwa by giving him one of his women, Bromu. From then on Oduduwa and Bromu lived together and had many children who became descendants of the orishas. Orunmila, however, fell deeply in love with Bromu, who was a beautiful woman. He courted her until one day she agreed to live with him. But Orunmila began to fear that Oduduwa would discover them together.

So Orunmila consulted Ifá through an osode, and it was revealed to him that he must perform a rogation following the indications marked in the ebbó above. After making the ebbó, Orunmila cut three incisions into his body and rubbed one of the three iye (sacred substances) into each of them. Ifá declared that Orunmila could go on living with Bromu without fear.

One day Orunmila and Bromu fell asleep, and at dawn Oduduwa decided to go to Bromu’s chamber to see her. But Eshu, seeing that Orunmila had fulfilled his ebbó and was following the instructions of Ifá, prevented Oduduwa from seeing Orunmila. Instead, Oduduwa saw the figure of a leopard beside Bromu, which terrified him so greatly that he fled in panic. Thus Orunmila, realising the danger, was able to return home safe and sound. From that moment on, Orunmila began to praise Ifá, recognising it as the very embodiment of truth.

The great secret of ogbe she balobeshe

In the land of Iyeowa lived Oyá, who had a son by Oboniboshe, himself a son of Ozain. This son did as he pleased out of sheer arrogance. One day Oyá decided to cast him out, and the young man found himself on the road with no clothes and in great hardship. At that moment he remembered that his father was called Oboniboshe, so he decided to perform a ritual with three hens by a guama tree near the river, calling upon Oboniboshe and singing:

«Obonoboshe Gan Gan Kukuru Kukuru Oboniboshe Gan Gan».

Oboniboshe, who was nearby, heard the call and came running to find his son in a pitiful state. Oboniboshe ate the hens, laid his hands upon his son’s head and said to him: «Let us walk, and ask Oyá for her blessing». Oboniboshe carried a hen in his hand and began to call upon Oyá and to pray to her. Oyá appeared, and Oboniboshe delivered the hen at the foot of a caimito tree while he intoned this chant:

«Iyami Keleweo Iyami Keleweo Yanzan Omo Ashade Delekun Oni Shangó Anana Ekua Kuaribo Yanlao Iya Toriboshe Yanza Beleya Oyá».

At that moment Shangó and Oggún appeared and said: «Do you know why your son is in this state? Because he needs to be baptised». It is Shangó who knows the secret that will set him upon the road he must walk. The first thing Shangó did was to draw out one of his canine teeth and replace it with a tiger’s. Then he said: «Let us all go and look for the godmother Iyalosha». Oyá was overjoyed at what they were going to do for her son. They set out together along the road and Oggún began to call upon everyone, while they knelt beside the river and began to pray:

“iyalode Akuetevi Kuada Abeyi Moro Oshún Moriyeyeo Ayanya Gbogbo Oboniboshe Onilorun Akuetevi Iyami Omoribola Oshún Oboniboshe Orifa Ashade Akuetevi Iboru, Akuetevi Iboya Akuetevi Iboshishe Alade Koyu Atiti Eko Afieremo”.

Oshún came out of the river and said: «His name is Orí Ifá Ashade, and I shall consecrate him. Shangó, you will be the great witness; Oggún, I shall perform my ceremony to consecrate him and you will perform yours. I shall cleanse with Eya Oro Ibu Losa so as to hand him afterwards to Oboniboshe, but you, Oggún, must take him to where Ifá is, so that Orunmila, Ogbe She, Oboniboshe and you may make his secret for him, so that however he lives he shall meet with no setbacks». Ifá said, before this last consecration: «You must give Obi to Oyá and take them along separate roads».

So it was done by Ifá Orí Ashade, who was led by his Babá Oboniboshe. When they presented the last Obi, Oyá said to him: «You will be my favourite son and the one I shall love most. Take this chain that Shangó gave me, so that Ifá may consecrate you together with Oggún. This Ewo that I am going to give you, take it to Yemayá so that she may help you». Ifá Orí Ashade went to Ifá, delivered the Ewa to Ifá, and Orunmila said to him: «We are going to consecrate you together with Oggún on a mountain with Eya Tutu Awa». They placed him beside a spot where there was much filth, and Orunmila gave him the Leri together with Oggún, with an Ewa of his own size that they placed upon Oggún, while the Eya remained in the filth. During the ceremony, this suyere was sung by Orunmila:

“Eya Bewa Orí Orí Lekebe Eya Mamafori Mamafori Eya Tutu Belake Orí Felewewe Felewewe Mamafori”.

“Eya Lowe Eni Elewe, Eya Tutu Moforibawao Orí Malaweni Ewe Ewe Oggún Yanya Uro Oggún Maseniwewe Awo Malayeni Awo Ifá Ogbe She Boriboshe. Awo Oboriboshe.” If the eggun is an awó, only the sign is set down.

SECRET: Oromi, mamatete, koyefun, orí oni oshe, leri de eya, gunugun, dog’s canine tooth, obi kola, aira, zunzun, zumbador, siju, earth from 9 graves, ikoidie, charcoal, atiponla, holy thistle, red bleo, marvel-of-Peru, quita maldición, mokogun, caimito and guama.

Here was born the great secret of Ogbe She balobeshe oshe awado. He must therefore keep a charm, which is the following: a figure twelve inches high, carrying a chain from the neck to the feet, consecrated with Oggún and given eyerbale of eya tutu. This is called oboniboshe, and it eats with Oggún, Orunmila and Eggun. Eyerbale of eya tutu (always with Oggún).

The flute player

On this path, Ogbe She came down to earth and did so at Ikole with a flute, and began to do good to everyone. Yet the people of that place, who were of the black race, held him in no regard and mocked him for being a flute player. The insults and abuse he received were so many that he thought of leaving that place. Before departing he made an Osode and saw his sign Ogbe She, where Ifá commanded him to make an Ebbó and hand it to the first person he saw sitting down as he left the town.

So he did, and as he passed along the beach he came upon Eshu, who was sitting on the sand. As he handed him the Ebbó, Eshu asked him: «What is the matter with you?». Ogbe She told him everything and Eshu said: «Wait a moment, I am going to eat the akuko of the Ebbó». When he had finished he said: «Now play the flute, I want to hear you». Ogbe She played his flute and Eshu was delighted, saying to him: «How is it possible that those brutish men did not know how to appreciate your marvellous gift or your good counsel, and made you suffer? Do not go back to that land; for its lack of respect and consideration I, Eshu, curse it. Cross the sea, and when you reach the land, on the beach, beside the sand, there you will find me».

Ogbe She set sail and crossed the sea until he reached the land of the white men, who were islanders (the Canary Islands), and there he came ashore. The islanders observed him and, realising that he was a noble, good and clean person who gave good counsel, they respected him and held him in regard. Ogbe She felt very happy and content. Meanwhile, in the Yoruba land things began to go wrong from the moment Ogbe She left, so they set about looking for him so that he would return. But when they found him, Ogbe She refused to go back and decided to remain living and working with Ifá in the land of the white men.

The greedy one

Once, a parrot went to Orunmila’s house seeking to better his situation and to be well. Orunmila made him an Osode and saw this Ifá, telling him: «With patience you can obtain everything you desire, but you must not be greedy, so as not to lose the fortune that is coming». He also told him he must make an Ebbó. The parrot liked the counsel Orunmila gave him and went off to the bush. While he was there he saw a palm tree bearing fruit and came close to it to eat.

After tasting and pecking at the ripe fruit he thought: «I could carry off some of these ripe fruits and so spare myself the trouble of having to come back here tomorrow to eat them». And so he did: he seized one of the large red fruits in his beak and placed some upon his wings. He also took another two with his feet, and, loaded with fruit, he tried to fly. But as he tried, the fruits on his wings fell off, as did those in his feet when he tried to settle on a branch to rest. And when he tried to speak, those he held in his beak fell too, leaving him with no fruit at all. What Orunmila had told him came to pass.

This story teaches us that men who seek all the goods of life at one and the same time are like the parrot who, wanting to grasp too much at once, was left with nothing (the greedy one).

Odide the dancer of great renown (the parrot’s feather)

Odide was a very famous dancer, and no one could dance as he did. On several occasions Olordumare had watched him dance and had been left in wonder. The day of the Lord’s assumption arrived, which fell on his saint’s day, and Odide invited all the saints and all the pairs of birds to a feast to dance and to eat. The guests arrived early, but Odide was late. When at last he came and began to dance, he drew near the throne of Olordumare, who asked him why he had taken so long. Odide showed him his white trousers, which had been soiled by his enemies with palm oil, tar and earth, for out of envy they wished to ruin his part in the feast.

Olordumare asked him: «And is that all that has happened to you?». Odide answered: «No, they also cast a spell upon my feet so that I could not dance. But I went to the house of Orunmila, who made me an Osode and saw this Ifá, Ogbe She, and marked me a rogation (the one above) so as to surpass all the other birds in the dance». Olordumare replied to Odide: «As long as the world exists, wherever a ceremony of Osha is held and your feather is not there, I shall not accept it as valid, because there is not and cannot be another like you. Tó Iban Eshu».

The curiosity of ode’s obini

Ode was in a desperate situation, with neither money nor food. He decided to go to Orunmila’s house, and Orunmila saw him in the sign Ogbe She and told him he must make a sacrifice (ebbó), which Ode carried out with great effort. Then Ode returned to the forest and from the top of a tree he saw a great herd of agbanis, animals with great horns, gathered around a hole in the ground. The agbanis were invoking Olorun and, as they pronounced magic words, Olorun opened and they entered.

At that moment Ode, who was about to shoot at them with his bow, heard the voice of Elegbá saying to him: «I shall defend you; pay attention to the words they speak to Olorun, learn them, and you will be able to do the same as they do». Ode spent three days watching the agbanis and learning the suyere (the incantation). At last, taking advantage of the agbanis’ departure, he came down and carried out the whole procedure, managing to enter Olorun and finding great riches there. He took two rolls of white cloth (asho fun fun) and a sack full of emeralds and gold. Elegbá warned him: «You cannot tell anyone about this».

On returning home, Ode gave the two rolls of cloth to his wife (obini). She asked him: «Where did you get this?». Ode did not answer her, but she insisted several times without getting a reply. The agbanis came back and noticed that the gold, the emeralds and the cloths were missing. They said: «Someone has been here in our absence. Who can the man be who is bold enough to have done this?». While Ode was away, his wife slipped into his travelling sack using her magic, for she too was a sorceress, and made a small hole to spy through. Ode, knowing nothing of it, put the sack on his shoulder and went out hunting. His wife watched everything Ode did, came out of her hiding place and, waiting for him to leave, carried out the same operation. She stopped, however, to look at the treasures, and at that moment the agbanis returned and captured her.

They tied her to a tree called igi aragba, near the entrance of a hole in the ground that joined the earthly world (aiye) with Olorun. On returning and noticing that his wife was not at home, Ode waited for her, but on the third day, with no sign of her, he went out to look for her. The agbanis had decided to kill her and had begun to carry her in procession, dancing with her held between their horns. Ode, seeing this scene, took aim with his bow and killed one of the agbanis. Then he rescued his wife, gave her gold and emeralds, and returned her to her family, saying: “I do not want her any more; she is indiscreet and wants to know what she should not”. And so Ode was left very rich, with all the treasure of Olorun.

Care must be taken that the obini does not learn one’s secrets. Oddun of riches. One must be generous with the obini.

Where oba came to detest humankind and withdrew into the bush

1ST SUYERE: Oba Sibo Eure Alada Mekinewo, Oba Sobo Re Eure.

2ND SUYERE: Oba Adalowo Kinowo Ikú Are Iki Eure.

The first suyere is used to bring Oba’s goat into the room, and the second is for sacrificing it. In this Oddun it is essential and necessary that the awó have Oba in order to carry out this work or ceremony. The eure is given to Oba and its right ear is cut off. This ear is sent to be tanned and will be placed with the wine-red ileke so that it may live inside Oba. The moruro wood, which will be of the awó’s own measure, is sent to be carved into a figure that is bored and loaded with: sticks, nail scrapings, the awó’s inner and outer clothing, ashé, eru, kola, osun, obi oddun, obi motiwao, orobo, dry obi, leri of the adie of Oba and leri of the adie of Orunmila.

Eyele is eaten when Ogbe She is at war with his enemies. Oba is danced for with this carved staff in one hand and an ada in the other, singing the second suyere to Oba. To resolve great problems in this Ifá, Oba’s favourite addimú must be offered, which is 21 white malanga roots, and at the same time 15 fritters are set before Oshún with opolopo oñí, otí pupua and sugar, and in this way the great problems of Ogbe She’s war are resolved. In this Ifá originate the office of the ear, nose and throat physician and the illness called Moiner’s syndrome.

On this path, Oba was the queen of Takua and Shangó’s favourite woman. Trusting in Oyá’s counsel, she cut off her right ear to give it to Shangó with the intention of keeping him, but Oyá informed Shangó of Oba’s disfigurement, which led Shangó to reject the sexual bond he had with her. Disillusioned, Oba, carrying her weapons of war, which consisted of a great ada, withdrew into the forest, taking with her all the descendants of the land who were sceptical and given to melancholy, and who detested contact with human beings.

In the midst of that immense forest, Oba wept and swore to take revenge on all those she considered unworthy of inhabiting the land she trod. From her tears there arose a great lagoon that guarded her great secrets, represented by nine powers symbolised in nine rings bearing the nine colours of the flag of her kingdom. She fed on white mangoes, the fruits that grew in that bush. Like her, the warriors fed on those fruits to gain vigour and strength.

From time to time Oba would come down from the mountain to her former land to kill all those she came upon, even if they were her own omode, whose leri she would cut off with her ade while she sang this suyere:

«Oba Ada Lawa Kiniwe Ilé Ere Ele Ikú Ere».

Terror reigned in Takua; no one dared go peacefully beyond the limits of the city. Oshún Itutinibo, Oba’s sister, decided to face this situation and went to see Orunmila seeking help. There Orunmila revealed this Ifá to her and told her that a ceremony had to be performed so that her sister Oba could be recognised as a kindly ayaba, for she was the owner of the secrets of sorcery in the land of Takua.

Oshún and Orunmila went before the bush with the eure and called Oba. On hearing that suyere, Oba came out with her warriors and, on seeing her sister, embraced her and said: «Only you are able to make Oba yuru known once more to the people of Takua ilé». Oba ate the abundant meal of eure that Oshún and Orunmila offered her and, using the ear of the eure, they created an ornament that allowed her mutilation to be concealed. In this way Oba was recognised once more among the inhabitants of Takua, and her children no longer ran the risk of death, thanks to the intervention of Orunmila and Oshún.

In this Ifá is born why, when the Orisha Oba comes down upon the leri of her children, it marks their death. And also why, in order to work upon their leri, it is essential that it be Oshún; even when it appears to be direct, the recourse of the Babalawo cannot be missing, and he must perform numerous ceremonies for Oba’s child beside the lagoon and the river before the consecration. Here is born the custom of placing 9 rings or nose-rings on Oba, linked by interwoven ribbons of 9 colours; these live inside Oba.

Shangó gave Olofin back his joy

Shangó was a merchant, and on returning to his land he found that Olofin was sad and silent. There was no one who could make him speak, and he was shut away in his ibo bororo (his great forest). Seeing this, Shangó told the orishas that he had the means to gladden Olofin, and drew from his ago a bundle of four colours. As he unwrapped it, out of it came a beautiful parrot that said: «Abde Agua Foja Ade Ai Olofin» (among all the children, I am the one who sees Olofin’s crown).

Olofin, on hearing the parrot, exclaimed: «But it speaks!» and began to laugh. He took the parrot and set it upon his head, overjoyed. Olofin recovered his gladness, but all the Orishas, seeing that Shangó, by giving Olofin back his happiness, had won his trust, grew angry and decided to conspire against Olofin. One day they hooded the parrot and carried it off into the middle of the jungle. When Olofin noticed the bird’s absence, he sank back into sadness and stopped speaking to anyone.

Shangó, realising that the parrot had disappeared, went looking for it and found it some days later, weakened and hooded. He asked it: «Who did this to you?». The parrot answered: «I do not know, they are all traitors», and the parrot otoku. Shangó went to see Orunmila, who made him osode and revealed this Ifá to him, and gave Shangó another parrot into which he breathed his ashé. Shangó took it to Olofin, and Olofin was happy again. Olofin summoned all the Orishas and told them: «From today, each one of you must show respect to the parrot, and you shall carry its juju in your crowns. To Iban Eshu!»