Ogbe Tumako

Here Eshu ni, the two-faced Elegbá, was born

In the land of Obinishe there lived king Oba Atanu, who was greatly troubled because he knew that in his land a child would be born, sent by Olofin, to put an end to his reign. He issued an edict ordering that every male child born be killed. In that land there also lived Orunmila Ogbe Tumako, who attended to Oduduwa and had many children, among whom the best loved were Tomala Balanshe and Okuta Kulakeke, husband and wife, who had a very beautiful boy born bearing the mark of Olofin.

Faced with the edict issued by king Oba Atanaku, Tomala Balanshe and Okuta Kulakeke went to Orunmila Ogbe Tumako so that he might save their newborn son. He made Osode for them and saw the Oddun Ogbe Tumako, and told them: «your son has been chosen by Olofin to succeed king Atanu, and you must make Ebbo with: akuko meta, eran malu, akara vivo meta, aikordie meta, gbogbo ashe, agboran, akofa meta, seven ofa, opolopo owo. And you must feed the corners of the house».

They made the Ebbo, and when they went to feed the corners of the house they found a man sitting there, who told them: «make ready, for your enemies are coming from the front». Then the boy took up his post with the bow and arrows that Awo Tumako had given him after the Ebbo. When the king’s soldiers arrived, the boy killed seven of them with his arrows. The next day the king sent another seven soldiers to kill the boy, and the parents, on going to feed the corners, again found the unknown man, who told them: «go back to the house quickly, for the enemies are coming from the rear».

The boy took his post behind the back door and loosed his arrows, killing the seven soldiers. When Oba Atanu learned of this he refused to believe it, and went to the house of the children of Oduduwa and saw for himself that it was all true, and fled, for he was afraid of the Omokekere. When the danger had passed, the children of Oduduwa returned to Orunmila’s house, and he told them: «the man you found at the corner of the house is called Eshu Ni, and he has the faculty of seeing through both of the faces he bears, and he will always accompany the children of this land to free them from every war and injustice of life».

When Olofin ordered ogbe tumako to do the impossible

Olofin ordered Ogbe Tumako to move a great stretch of earth in a single night, which seemed impossible. Seeing what had been entrusted to him, Ogbe Tumako made a consultation with Ifá, a Yoruba divination practice, and was told that he must offer food, machetes and hooked sticks to the dead, and beg them for their help. While he was making his plea to the dead, he saw how they rose and gathered up everything he had offered, and then went off to carry out the work Olofin had ordered. The following day Ogbe Tumako informed Olofin that he had completed the task, and he was rewarded for it.

Ogbe tumako, death, sickness and tragedy

Ogbe Tumako’s wife went to the market square and met there the wives of death, sickness and tragedy. The butcher, out of regard for Ogbe Tumako, served her first, which angered the other women. Moved by envy, they left in irritation and told their husbands that they were worth nothing, since they could not obtain meat. When Ogbe Tumako’s wife (Orunmila’s wife) reached home, her husband consulted with Ifá and his sign came out. Ogbe Tumako asked his wife whether she had brought meat, and she gave it to him. Then Ogbe Tumako made ebbo with the meat and divided it into three parts.

One part he placed at the door of his house, another at the corner and the other in the forest. Death was the first to arrive and found the meat at the door, tragedy found hers at the corner, and sickness, who had to cross the forest, found hers there. In this way Ogbe Tumako freed himself from these figures.

The nostalgia of ogbe tumako

On a certain occasion, Ogbe Tumako (Orunmila) began to feel longing for the events of his past life. When those memories rose in his mind he would grow sad and sit absorbed, thinking on the forgetfulness and the betrayals of life, something he could not understand, since he strove so hard to help the people of the earth and they repaid him only with forgetfulness, while he listened to the song of his canaries.

The person has an eggun that speaks in their ear. Keeping canaries is advised.

The coal of Ozain

Ogbe Tumako, a diviner of Ifá, solved the problem the land of Iloban had in obtaining the ewe needed for consecrations. The spirit of the forest, Aroni, prevented people from gathering the necessary herbs. But Ogbe Tumako offered to go in search of them, even though no one wished to go with him. Before setting out he made an ebbo with several ingredients, including an akuko meyi and an earthen jug of water.

When he reached the forest he gave the akuko to Eshu and began to gather the herbs. On reaching a clearing he already had them all, and he tore them into the ikoko, adding the water from the jug and beginning to sing. Aroni appeared and attacked him with his magical firebrand, but Ogbe Tumako managed to dodge it and quench it with the ikoko of omiero and a suyere. Aroni saw the strength of Ogbe Tumako and proposed a pact of friendship.

Ogbe Tumako accepted, and Aroni handed him four important herbs and asked that a lit firebrand always be added to the omiero as a reminder of their friendship. Since then, this practice has been kept in the consecration of Ozain.

The legend of the three awoses who read Ifá for all the orishas of heaven

• Place your child on your back and carry him well.
• Place your child on your back and attend to him a moment
• When a child weeps, he makes the mother weep.

Olofin said to the orishas: «Come, I have many children in heaven. How can we send them down to earth?» Each orisha promised Olofin: «I will bring them all down». But there was an enormous chasm between heaven and earth. Shangó was the first to attempt it with many children, but he fell into the chasm and they all died. The same happened to Shakua and to all the orishas. Orunmila went to see Olofin and told him: «It will be I who brings them down». He asked Olofin for five days to do it.

Olofin asked: «Do you believe you can do it in five days?». Then Orunmila made a consultation with Ifá and Ogbe Tumako came out. He made Ebbo with two she-goats, two adie, two eyele, two women’s cloths, two bands of thread, mariwo and owo tenteboru. On the fifth day he went to Olofin and said: «I am ready». Olofin asked: «How will you do it? I thought you were speaking without foundation. Therefore you shall be the strongest orisha». And he showed him the children.

Orunmila took one of the cloths, fastened it to his back and another over his chest, went to the edge of the chasm, made an effort and leapt to the other side, set the children down on the earth and returned to heaven to carry down two by two all the children of heaven. Once it was done, Olofin congratulated Orunmila and told him: «Thanks to your intelligence, I will give you ashé. I give you every right over this world. Any orisha who wishes to do something will have to ask your permission, and all will depend on you». Olofin spat a little saliva into the palms of Orunmila’s hands, pressed them together and said: «Ashe Too Ashee Bo Ashe Bima» (What I say to you shall come to pass).

Ogbe tumako means: «to tie the child to his mother’s back, and for the breasts that sustain him to grow sore».

When Orunmila made Ifá for the criminals

Orunmila travelled through the world and came to a land where the king had ordered the execution of a group of prisoners. Orunmila presented himself before the king and begged mercy for those men, arguing that if they died they would leave orphaned children, widows and mothers without sons. The king answered: «Because of those wrongdoers there are already orphaned children, widowed women, mothers without sons, men without wives and without money in this land. And you come to ask me for mercy for them?».

Orunmila pressed the king for the pardon of those men, and so great was his insistence that the king said: «Very well, I shall pardon them all, but you must take them out of this land. If any one of them dares to return, I shall have him killed, for I very much doubt that you can reform them into upright men as you claim». And Orunmila left that land leading that band of criminals, among whom there were thieves, swindlers, pimps, murderers and the like.

Among that group there were also men given to vices of every kind, victims of sexual aberrations, and these last Orunmila could not detect, so he made Ifá for them all. Then Orunmila told them: «Now you are redeemed, and as the awoses you now are, you must forget your former lives and devote yourselves only to doing good, working with Ifá. Each of you will go to work with Ifá in a different land».

They asked him: «Sir, we know nothing about Ifá; how are we to learn if we go away from your side?». Orunmila answered: «You are now awoses of Ifá, and you will learn as you go». And those awoses went off to live in different lands.

This Ifá indicates that sooner rather than later godchildren separate from the godfather and learn Ifá apart from him. It also indicates that every eleven years a man effeminate through
Vice makes his way into Ifá.