Otrupon Iroso

The fishermen of the ocean

On this path there were two fishermen who lived in an area where the waters were very still, so that in order to fish they had to go out into the open sea. After each day’s work, on returning to shore, they found that every fish they had caught had rotted, which brought them great misery. Though they went out to fish again and again, the same thing always happened.

Faced with so desperate a situation, they decided to go to Orunmila’s house. He made osode for them and saw this Ifá, in which he told them they had to make ebbo and pray to Olofin and to Olokun.

After doing what Orunmila had told them, the fishermen went out to fish once more and, as always, caught a great quantity of fish. But on the way back to their town they ran into a cold swell, a cold front, and water began to come into the boat. The fishermen started bailing it out, yet for all their effort more and more water came in. Even so, by staying in the water the whole time, the fish kept fresh and in good condition.

On reaching the shore, the fishermen realised that all the fish were in perfect condition, which allowed them to trade their catch and feed their families. In this way, through their faith and their effort, they obtained the success they had so longed for.

– the birth of Yemayá Okute

Yemayá Okute was a woman of strong character and temperament, which led her into conflict with the people of her land. The arayes decided to join forces to defeat her, but Yemayá Okute used her great power of Eggun to defend herself and caused much death in that land. In fear, she fled and wandered through different lands until she reached Omi Mayafra, a distant and frozen land, where she used the snow and the ice as her garment, thanks to her great power and to the Ashe that Olofin had given her.

Many years passed and no one heard anything of Okute. Many warriors and kings tried to find her without success, for no one dared cross the borders of Omi Mayafra, the kingdom of silence and death. Oggún, a brave warrior, armed himself with determination and went in search of Okute, but first he went to Orunmila’s house, and Orunmila saw this Ifá for him and marked the ebbo. Oggún found Yemayá Okute sleeping and wrapped her in his chains to carry her to a cave, where the warmth of his body softened her and she became his wife.

Yemayá Okute remembered the good that Oggún had done her and told him that Omi Mayafra should have a crown and a mantle of that land. Thus Yemayá Okute became Ayaba Mayafra, the queen of the snows, living and eating at Oggún’s side.

NOTE: it is by this path that Yemayá came to be identified with the name of Our Lady of the Snows.

– the path of the queen and her daughter

There was a land where a queen had a daughter to whom she granted every wish. The queen died and left nothing in order, and after the queen’s death a state of affairs came about in which the princess was left without a kingdom; dethroned, she began to suffer hardship and had to take shelter on top of a hill. There she lived, and she was afraid to live. One day she went out into the street of the city and met Orunmila, and he told her to take two coconuts to the sea and to ask when she could come to his house. She went to Orunmila’s house, and he saw that she had to make ebbo with: akuko, a bunch of bananas, two coconuts, asho fun fun and pupua, $1.60.

She made the ebbo; the coconuts are grated and placed for Shangó, the coconut is set in the middle of the room and a rooster is given so that the blood falls upon a grated coconut, and over Shangó the bunch of bananas, and amalaila is placed for him, and afterwards white and red cloth over Shangó.

– the two daughters of Yemayá

Yemayá Okute had two daughters: Omi Mayefun and Omi Mayafra, who lived apart from one another. Omi Mayefun was very ambitious and wished to rule over all lands, while her sister lived in the north, in a cold and lonely land. In that land lived three Awoses named Awo Eggun, Awo Igui and Awo Ewelie, who were Omo Shangó.

One day, Mayefun called Awo Wosa and lay with him. Since he did not know who she was, he died. On learning of it, Shangó flew into a rage and burned that land. Then Mayefun called Awo Igui and the same thing happened, so Shangó burned the land again. Afterwards she called Awo Awelie and won him over, and he too died. Shangó went mad and burned everything, while the shadow of Eggun roamed loose in that land.

Yemayá said: «There is no one who can calm his wrath. Let us go to see my daughter Mayafra, but first let us go to the house of Awo Mayonuque, who is a son of Orunmila, to see how he can help us».

After arriving at the house of Awo Mayonu, Otrupon Koso told them that Shangó and Eggun were destroying the land of Omi Mayefun. They decided to call upon several Oshas, among them Obatalá, who gave them three eyele with igui of majagua and called them: “Olofin Ayi Unla Babá Piriniwa Oke Olofin Ayi Unla Babawa Yeku Yeku Jekua Babá”. Babá set out for the land of Omi Mayefun with the intention of calming Shangó and Eggun. Awo Mayuno advised that they take the entrails of the four-legged animals that had died and put them into an omiero made with the eweses that remained in the land, majagua and bejuco jaboncillo, at the entrance of the land of Omi Mayefun. They also set down grated obi and gave akuko to Shangó so that they would be calmed.

Once calmed, Shangó and Eggun began to make oparaldo for everyone in the land of Omi Mayefun, and they were sent with Obatalá to the hill. Even so, the shadow of Eggun was still in that land, so he took three eyele and buried them at the seashore, calling well upon Eggun: “Eye Nile Eye Eyele Eggun Niboshe Orun Ibonireo Ikú Iboshe”. And he sang to him: “Ikú Eggun Ikú Mawa Ayale Eggun Eggun Ikú Eggun”.

At last Omi Mayafra arrived and began to cool the land. The people who were with Obatalá at Ike were saved, and they repopulated the land. They used what Omi Mayafra gave them to refresh the land, and they began to worship Orunmila, who had saved them. They also fed Eggun and Shangó so that they would not trouble them. The land that had belonged to Omi Mayefun became the water of the sea.

The akuko is given to Shangó at the door of the ilé, surrounded by grated coconut, and the coconut is stepped on with blood; afterwards the akuko is loaded with obi and sent to the palm, and with the osiadie oparaldo is made at the door. Once the inshe with Shangó is finished, three mounds of atitan are set down from the two corners and from the front of the ilé, and eku, eya, awado and bogbo ere are poured over them; sarayeye is made over everyone, and oparaldo; the osadie is divided into three, the wing and the right leg to the right mound, the wing and the left leg to the left mound, and the body with the leri to the centre mound. The small jar is filled with omiero of jaboncillo and majagua, and eyerbale from Shangó’s animals and entrails of four-legged animals are poured into it; this is to be sprinkled about the house. The stick of one’s own height is given eyerbale of three eyele, calling on Ozun, and it is dressed with the eye, and the juju are buried; the eyele are roasted and taken to the ilé of Oke. Afterwards the person walks around the block with the stick and enters backwards; this stick lives behind the door. The other eyele are given to Eggun, and the following day they are taken to the seashore and buried there.

– the handsome man

There was a tall, handsome man who seemed to be Adodi. He used to gather with some friends, and one day they met a tall and very charming woman, olive-skinned yet almost fair, and the other women came to envy her and bear her ill will. So great was the ogu those women blew upon her that this tall and beautiful woman began to waste away and fell into very poor health, and all her affairs began to go awry. Faced with that situation, she went to Orunmila’s house. In the osode that Orunmila made for her, this Ifá came out, and he ordered her to make ebbo quickly so that good fortune would soon reach her and she would not let it pass for anything or anyone, for on that would depend her peace and her standing.

That woman then met the tall, handsome man, who was in the same condition, and the two went to Orunmila’s house. He made osode for them and again saw Otrupon Koso, and he sent them to make Osha, so that they might live out the rest of their days without trouble.

– the path of Obba, Yemayá and otrupon koso Shangó

On this path, Yemayá had a great deal of money, and one day she told the king that Shangó was very fond of parties and would not leave the drums for anything in the world, but that she would call him, and when Shangó learned who was calling him he would come at once to her feet. Yemayá said this because she had a great deal of money, and everyone likes money.

A few days later, Shangó was dancing at a drum feast, and Yemayá went to see the king and told him to go and tell Shangó that she was sending for him and that he had to come at once. The king replied that Shangó would not come, because he liked dancing and women more than all the money in the world.

When the king gave him Yemayá’s message, Shangó left the feast to go and see her. But the people, seeing Shangó set off down the road, prepared another feast with plenty of the food Shangó liked. As Shangó drew near, they began to beat the drum and came out to meet him. When Shangó heard the drum he began to dance, and when he remembered that Yemayá had sent for him, he sat down to eat. He ate until he was full, and when he was full he hung two akuko from his belt, and two bunches of bananas.

– the sons of Obatalá

Once upon a time Obatalá had two sons, one younger and one older. He called them both and said to them: it is time you came to know the world; go and seek your fortune. And to you, my son, since you are the elder, I am going to give a piece of advice: respect your elders, above all the old. The young men set off to seek their fortune, and so they went from town to town. On one of their journeys they passed a place where there was a very ruined hut and an old man. The elder greeted the old man, but the old man did not hear him, and since the elder was very stubborn he said to his younger brother: «you will see how he hears me now», and he threw a stone at the old man. But the old man paid him no attention. Then the elder gathered straw, scattered it around the hut and set fire to it. The old man, seeing the fire, came out shouting and cursing the two brothers, and told them: «as long as the world is the world, fire will be behind you». It turned out that the old man was Olofin.