Ogbe Tuanilara

The visit

When the son stole from his father

The inheritance (the cap)

Ogbe Tuamora, who after the death of his father found himself in extreme poverty. One day he went to Orunmila for help, and Orunmila asked him what inheritance his father had left him. At first Ogbe Tuamora answered that he had left him nothing, but then he remembered that he had left him a cap which he had thrown away, thinking it worthless. Orunmila told him that the virtue his father had left him was in that cap, and that he had to make ebbo to recover it. So they performed a ceremony at the river in which they offered two hens to the father’s spirit, and afterwards they had a mass said. He was then told to offer two white hens to Obatalá and a white rooster and a plantain to Odua. While he was making the offerings, Ogbe Tuamora met an old man who helped him carry out the ceremony and then took him to a village where living conditions were very harsh. Thanks to Ogbe Tuamora’s help, the old man recovered his house, and in return he helped him perform a rogación with guinea hen and rooster in honour of Olorun. Ogbe Tuamora’s plea was heard by Olofin, who opened the taps of virtue for that village, letting the waters flow again and the vegetation begin to flourish, thus saving the life and existence of that place. Because of this, Ogbe Tuamora became the Okufa, the diviner of Olofin.

When everything went wrong for Ogbe Tua

On this path, Ogbe Tua was going through a bad spell, so much so that he was on the edge of poverty and destitution. In that state he went to Orunla, who told him he had to make ebbo with eran malu well cooked, a jícara (gourd bowl) of red wine, another of dry wine, another of oñí (honey) and another with omi, and take it into the middle of the bush and set it at the foot of a jaguey tree. Ogbe Tua did as he was told. There, Argallu and Azcano, who were present when Ogbe Tua arrived with the ebbo, told him to take a bath with otosi, okuma, baria, flamboyán and jaguey, and to add a little otí to the bath. Then they told him to gather small pieces of those hairs and wrap them in a piece of fruit, with which he would be able to overcome the difficulties of life. NOTE: This Ozain, besides whatever aye it takes, is fed on Fridays with dry wine and oñí. Whatever eyerbale it takes is given every three months, that is, it is fed four times a year. The eyerbale may be from rooster, guinea hen or ayakua.

When the father forgave the son

When Ogbe Tua brought the okpele from Abyssinia

An awó named Erigba, who was always at odds with the other awós in his town. He believed they should hold more powers of Ifá in order to answer in an emergency, and that they should think of the future instead of only the present. The other awós did not agree with him and accused him of being a follower of Eshu Burukí. Erigba decided to leave the town and carry his journey on to other places. He was captured by the king’s guardian warriors as he approached the capital of Ethiopia. They accused him of being a religious spy and seized his Ifá and his necklace of green seeds. They brought him before a great awo-Ozain who, on seeing his chain and the necklace of seeds split down the middle, drew the sign Ogbe Tualara and recognized that Erigba was an awo sent by Olofin. After reading his past, they took him to the sacred temple where he received the sacred necklace of eight pieces of giant coconut. Erigba returned to his town with the necklace and resolved the situation in which the other awós could neither hold the ikines nor write on the board. It turned out that Eshu, sent by Shangó, was doing this to them so that they would not take Ifá as a game of lamba. This story shows the importance of unity and harmony among the awós, and how a brave and resolute awo can help solve problems and better the situation of all. It also underlines the importance of wisdom and of the knowledge of Ifá in Yoruba culture and religion.

The liar became king

A son of the king who was a liar and disobedient. One day he consulted Orunla, who advised him to make a rogación because he saw that he was going to become very poor. The young man paid no heed, however, and ended up going through so many hardships that he took to the bush and was left naked. At last he came upon a diviner and decided to do what Orunla had told him. He burned his clothes in the bush and was found by a strong army, which proclaimed him chief and put him at its head. When he returned to his father’s kingdom, Aladi — for that was the name of the king’s son — demanded the crown, and his father finally had to hand it over on seeing that Aladi had the backing of the army. In this way Aladi became the new king.

The dethroned kings

Obatalá had a great estate where his slaves worked: a son of Shangó, another of Oggún and one more of Elegbá. The work was very hard, from dawn until nightfall. One day the sons of Elegbá and Oggún agreed to leave the estate and invited the son of Shangó to go with them, but he refused because, having consulted Ifá, he had been told to keep working in order to earn Obatalá’s trust and esteem, and thus, in time, to become king with the knowledge Obatalá would give him. Faced with the refusal of Shangó’s son, the sons of Oggún and Elegbá left the estate and set out to wander the world. Time passed without their gaining anything worthwhile for their lives, since they went on suffering hardship and bitterness besides being homeless wanderers. Meanwhile the son of Shangó kept working on the estate, and one day he made Ifá, becoming king and winning Obatalá’s trust, who named him his secretary to manage the estate. One day the son of Elegbá and the son of Oggún came back filthy and in rags, and saw with great astonishment that their old friend was now Obatalá’s secretary. The son of Shangó took them back onto the estate, but envy and resentment were born in them. After starting work again, they devised a way to harm the son of Shangó. They began to steal the cattle and slaughter them to eat, and to bury the inedible parts in the swampiest part of the river that crosses the estate. One day the son of Shangó saw in Ifá that his enemies were doing him great harm and that he had to make an ebbo with cattle bones and other ingredients, and take it to the swampiest part of the river. Shangó had already noticed the missing cattle and was worried, for within a few days he was to account to Obatalá for the state of the estate. After making the ebbo, he went to the marsh beside the river, where he waded in up to his hip. There he hurt his foot on something hard, which caught his attention, so he set about finding out what it was. He discovered that it was the head of a cow. Further on the same thing happened, and so he discovered that this was a graveyard of stolen cattle. He then lay in wait and caught the sons of Elegbá and Oggún in the act. On the day he gave his report, Obatalá was not satisfied with the number of head reported and called him to account. The son of Shangó answered: «You are quite right, those are not all of them, but the ones missing were eaten by the son of Elegbá and the son of Oggún, and they have them buried on the riverbank. «I found this out yesterday thanks to Ifá», answered the son of Shangó when Obatalá asked him about the cattle missing from the estate. Then Obatalá ordered the death of the sons of Elegbá and Oggún.