Oyekun Di

Where Orunmila Marked Ebbo With A Monkey

There was a man who had a dream in which he had fallen into a pit, and there he met an old man. The old man gave him something and told him to ask Orunmila what he had to do.

Orunmila sent him to toast sesame seed, smear it all over his body, climb up a tree and play dead. He did so, and every monkey that passed said: «he really is dead». As the last one went by, it seized him with its claws and carried him off to be cleaned up.

Beware of the trap and of a malicious person living in your house.

Where the saints rose up against Olofin

All the people of the city rose up to show Olofin their discontent. Orunmila had done ebbo, and Oddun had advised him always to take the goat with him wherever he went.

The people came looking for Orunmila and he refused to go with them, but they insisted so much that they took him by force. Even so, Orunmila brought his goat along on a long rope, and since the rope kept tangling on the way, he had to stop often to untangle it.

The people talked to Orunmila while he freed the goat, saying that only he would come up with such a thing. But Orunmila paid them no attention. They grew tired of waiting for him, and one by one they arrived at Olofin’s house. Olofin already knew why they were coming, and had them shown into a room where Ogún cut off all their heads.

At last Orunmila arrived, and Olofin asked him why he had come. Orunmila answered that a great many people had dragged him out of his house by force and that he did not know why they were coming, since he himself had not wanted to come at all. Olofin asked him whether he wanted anything, and Orunmila replied that he did not, that he was well as he was. Then Olofin opened the room and Orunmila saw them all beheaded. And he received many gifts.

The disgrace

In a certain land there was a man called Oye, who decided to marry a woman of his own tribe. But in that tribe it was the custom that before marrying one had to go and be read by the diviners; and there was also the custom that when women married, they had to hang out a banner as a sign that they were maidens no longer.

When Oye went to be read by the diviners, they saw this Ifá for him and told him he had to do ebbo with akuko, owo and other ingredients, so that his penis would not let him down and he would not suffer a great disgrace.

Oye, who was a very tight-fisted man, refused to do the ebbo, saying that his penis was perfectly fine and that he therefore did not believe what the diviners had told him.

When Oye married, he naturally brought his bride home, but it turned out that he could not have relations with her: just as the diviners had warned him, his penis did not work. And so the next day the bride could not hang out the banner that all maidens hung out to attest that they were now married women.

People began to gossip about Oye’s wife, but she went on waiting patiently. Yet as the days passed and he remained in the same condition, she had no choice but to leave him and explain to the tribe what was happening, in order to protect her honour, and so she was cleared of all blame.

Afterwards, whenever the people there passed in front of Oye’s house, they would shout at him: «here lives Oye, who is dead from the waist down».

So it was that, for the sake of not spending his owo, Oye was disgraced before his tribe.

There are many things more important than money

Once upon a time the slug (iwin) went to be read, and this Ifá was seen for her, saying she had to do ebbo so that she would be respected. She said, however, that she was not going to spend her money on that, since she was not a believer, and so she did absolutely nothing. On top of that, she began to speak ill of the awoses.

Ever since then, nobody respects the slug. People pick her up with their bare hands without fear of anything happening to them, since everyone knows she has no way of defending herself.

Es importante recordar que estas son historias y creencias populares, y como modelo de lenguaje AI, no puedo verificar la veracidad ni la efectividad de las mismas.

Why Orunmila does not come through anyone’s head

After conceiving the earth and granting power to all the orishas, along with ashé, Olofin thought his work was finished. He gave the orishas the ability to send their form down to earth as a radiation, irradiating various people who were then protected by the orisha who had sent it.

Each person who received that radiation was no longer as before, for they became a being possessed by the divinity, speaking words unknown even to themselves (being mounted by the orisha).

At first this happened normally enough, but with time everything began to change. Each one believed himself superior to the next, and this led to armed wars and to conflicts founded on knowledge both esoteric and otherwise.

War and tension threatened to decimate the inhabitants. Every one of them considered himself a god because of the knowledge he had acquired. One day, however, Olofin sent Elegbá to inspect the earth and asked him to report back on the state of its inhabitants.

Elegbá carried out the task Olofin had given him, but what he saw enraged him. Turning to one of those who called themselves wise, he asked: «What is the cause of the war that exists on earth?». The man questioned replied: «I am a son of Ozain, and my father has granted me the privilege of being one of his most distinguished children. Ozain comes into my head and provides me with the knowledge I need, and so I am the wisest of all».

Elegbá did not care for that man’s arrogant attitude, and told him: «Olofin will not be pleased by the way you all behave, for neither he nor the orishas will accept such conduct. This war cannot go on». The son of Ozain answered Elegbá: «I am the king, and I will let no one dethrone me».

Elegbá, angered by that encounter, went on making enquiries among human beings and received similar answers from every one of them. Then he went to Olofin and told him everything he had found out.

Olofin, after hearing Elegbá’s account, reflected on what was happening on earth and decided to send the orishas down to speak with their respective children and change their behaviour. The first he sent was Obatalá, but he failed in the task. Olofin went on sending the remaining orishas, and all of them failed in their mission.

He had no orishas left to send to earth, but then he remembered Orunmila and had him summoned. When Orunmila arrived, Olofin said to him: «I have called you because I have sent every orisha to earth to resolve the situation among its inhabitants.

They are caught up in a war that could lead to their utter destruction. All those who are possessed by the astral force of an orisha believe themselves superior to the rest. That is why I ask you to see whether you can settle this war».

Hearing Olofin, Orunmila answered: «I promise that I will settle this war that exists on earth and that I will restore all human beings. But until I manage to mend it, I will not manifest myself in anyone’s head». Then Olofin said: «To Iban Eshu». And so was established the reason why Orunmila does not manifest himself in anyone’s head.

The town of ingratitude

On this path there came a time when Orunmila struggled greatly for the wellbeing of the town where he lived. The town, however, did not know how to be grateful for his sacrifice, to the point that Orunmila grew weary of his own efforts, lost heart and wished for death.

Orunmila decided to leave the town and took shelter in a cave on its outskirts. From then on things grew considerably worse in the town. One of its inhabitants, trying to remedy the situation, went to consult another awó and was told that he had to do an ebbo.

The man performed the ebbo and was led to a cave. On entering the cave and laying down his offering, he came upon Orunmila, which frightened him, and he ran out.

Orunmila called him back and the man told him his situation. Then Orunmila said to him: «Take these 4 pieces of coconut for whenever you wish to speak with me. When you come, come alone, and as you walk, go casting the pieces of coconut. From here I will help you, through you, for the good of the town. But I myself will never again set foot in that town. Maferefun Orunmila».

This Ifá indicates that what goes away does not come back.

This person’s good fortune lies in taking awofaka as soon as possible.

Path 7

The world had gone bad and Orunmila said that he was going to put it right, and God asked him: «How long will you be staying?», but Orunmila did not say how long he would remain on earth.

When he reached the land where the women never gave birth, he came to a house where nobody knew him and asked for lodging. They took him in, and then they asked him what his name was, and he told them: «My name is Oyekun Di». «And what is your trade?», they asked. «My trade is to speak», Orunmila replied. «Well then, speak so we may hear you», they said. Orunmila said: «Put your money for it on the ground, and then I will speak».

They put it down, and then he took the Okpele, cast it, and Oyekun Di came out, and he added: «You live for the sake of living, you eat for the sake of eating, you sleep for the sake of sleeping. You must make rogación with eure, Owunko, Abeboadie, Eyele, Akuko and $16.80». Then Orunmila performed a cleansing on the women, and they began to give birth. Ilecur ona oba. And those who were Babalawos began to learn from Orunmila.

Where Orunmila did not join the conspiracy against Olofin

One day Olofin went out hunting in the countryside, but along one of the roads all the kings had gathered to fight him and finish him off. Olofin, having learnt of this, sent for Oggún to tear the heads off those who wanted to kill him and then to throw their heads into a pit.

Only Orunmila was missing; he pleaded for his head, and when Olofin had calmed down, Oggún said to him: «Orunmila is very shrewd and always knows what is going on. During the war with his enemies I came across him and invited him to come in, and he said to me: ‘I am fine here, I must not go in where there is conspiring against Olofin’, and this is what saved him».