Iroso Umbo

The dawdling dog

In this path, Olofin summoned the dog to give him an important post, but the dog did not make the ebbo, though he rose very early to go to Olofin’s house. On the way he found a bone and got distracted eating it. The dog’s aunt, on the other hand, rose late, but she had made a rogation and went to see Olofin to ask for a post. When she arrived, since the dog had not yet come, Olofin gave the post to the aunt.

When the dog finally arrived, Olofin told him: “It is already too late for you.”

The cockroaches

Orunmila told the añañi (cockroaches) to make ebo so they could populate the earth; they did so and populated it. Then Orunmila told them they had to make ebo so that they would not be destroyed, but they did not do it. Since then, anywhere on earth, whoever sees a cockroach steps on it and destroys it.

The person must make ebo to get ahead, and afterwards must make ebo again so that they are not killed.

How the cockroach went on ruling

In this path, the cockroach was queen of the kingdom and had much of the people on her side because of her good governance. There was, however, a group of people who did not agree with her way of ruling. These people went to find the lion and the tiger and told them that the cockroach was speaking ill of them.

When the lion and the tiger came to where the cockroach was, she climbed a tree, and the animals asked her to come down. In a moment of their carelessness, the cockroach managed to escape. Realizing it, the lion and the tiger began telling the people that the cockroach had abandoned them.

The people began to search for the cockroach so she would return to govern them, but she refused. Finally she agreed to return to power on the condition that she would first consult Orunmila. He marked an ebo for her with a wild cockroach and a trap covered with feathers. Then the cockroach was to set the trap in her palace and seek out her arayes.

When the arayes learned that the cockroach was back in the palace, they fell prisoner in the trap and thus lost their power. The cockroach was able to rule in peace and calm.

In this Ifá, Eshu Aye made the Okuele for Orunmila.

Where Ifá is made free of charge

There was an awo who had a godchild as a servant. One day the boy began playing on the floor and marked this Ifá. The godfather, very angry, asked him why he had done that. The boy erased the Oddun and the godfather threw him out of the house.

The boy, deeply sad because he had no home, no money and nowhere to stay, went to the corner of the house weeping. At that moment Eshu appeared to him and said: “Show me the Oddun you marked.” The boy told him what had happened, and Eshu, seeing the sign that had been marked, told him to go back to his godfather’s house and tell him he had to make him Ifá free of charge.

The godfather threw him out of the house again, but the boy returned to where Eshu was. Eshu told him to go back to the godfather’s house and say that Eshu demanded that Ifá be made for him free of charge. Faced with this, the king of that town made the Ifá grudgingly.

Once the Ifá was finished, the godfather died, and the boy became the king of that town.

The ebbo is made, an akuko is given to Elegbá and it is taken to the four corners or to nigue, in whatever way it is asked for; afterwards the money is returned to the aleyo, and Orunmila is asked whether he is satisfied with that alone, until he receives it.

Eleguá kills the awo for his disobedience.

There is a dark spirit of the dead. Oparaldo must be performed.

Orunmila makes Ifá for Elegbá free of charge

Eleguá and Orunmila had a dispute, and Eleguá said to him: “I am a diviner; sit down, I am going to divine for you.” He read the Okpele from left to right, not the way it is done now. Eleguá made osode for Orunmila and told him: “Be careful, you are going to have a dispute in the coming days.” Orunmila looked at him but said nothing.

When Eleguá left, Orunmila took the Okpele and said: “I am more of a diviner than Eleguá. Here the beings of the beyond are consulted using the dilogun, but Ekule Ifá is: ‘Ese Otun Agba Umpelo Ifá’, the greater part is the right; therefore the right is Ifá and the left is Eleguá.”

He called Eleguá and told him: “I am going to show you that I am more of a diviner than you.” He made osode for him and saw this Ifá. He told him he had to stop being a braggart, that he had to offer a Mass to a family Eggun who was asking for it and give him an akuko. He also had to make ebo, for he had a dispute at hand over a post.

Eleguá wept and ran out of Orunmila’s house shouting: “Thief, you have stolen my secret.” Then Orunmila made the ebo of the sign and placed it on the road into town. When Eleguá arrived and saw the animals, he went to take them, and the trap caught him. Orunmila bound him with yarako and took him before Olofin.

Olofin said to him: “Do with him as you wish.” Orunmila answered: “I only want him to live in my house,” and he took him to his ile and put him in Ilu Igbe (the outhouse). Time passed, and Eleguá grew tired of being in that place, seeing Orunmila increasing his fortune while he stayed in the house.

One day, Orunmila and Oshún were talking in the house when Eleguá came in and said: “Orunmila, I am tired of living in the outhouse. I want to be at the door of your house enjoying your riches, and to be greeted first as a babalawo. Therefore, I want you to make me Ifá.” Orunmila answered that it could not be, and Eleguá leapt up and threw himself to the floor, splitting his head open.

Oshún, seeing this, told him: “Better make him Ifá and spare yourself that trouble,” and Orunmila made Ifá for Eleguá free of charge. Shortly after, Inle passed in front of Eleguá without greeting him, and Eleguá said: “Greet me, for I am a Babalawo.” Inle answered: “You don’t say — go on, divine for me.” Eleguá told him: “In the yard of your house there is a vencedor bush where a cuckoo perches every evening.” Inle protested: “Well, everyone knows that,” and Eleguá added: “Yesterday your father Olokun scolded you because you touched the buttocks of your mother Yemayá.” Inle, astonished, said: “That, no one knew but Olokun, Yemayá and me. You truly are a diviner; I want you to make me Ifá.”

Eleguá made Ifá for Inle and asked him for two cartloads of cowries, women and food, and with that he paid Orunmila for his Ifá.

This is the secret of making Ifá for people free of charge. It also marks that the Eleguá of an awo carries ikines, and that when he is consecrated as Sodorisha it is with 21 cowries.

Shangó and Oggún cleanse Awo Lode

In the land of Ñaña Biarabique lived a babalawo called Awo Lode, who was always badly dressed and foul-smelling, for he lived surrounded by dogs he was trying to teach to speak. For that reason, Shangó had cursed him. One day he decided to complain to Obatalá about that awo’s existence.

Obatalá told Shangó to seek out Oggún to help him clean Awo Lode’s house, but without telling Oggún anything. While they were on their way, Eggun met Orunmila, who made osode for him, telling him not to contradict Obatalá in anything, but that if he was asked for earth from his land, he should say he had to see Shangó.

When Oggún arrived at Obatalá’s house, he began singing a song about Awo Lode and his condition, and Obatalá asked him why he was doing so. Oggún recounted what had happened with Awo Lode.

Oggún and Shangó went to Awo Lode’s house and burned the ragged clothes he was wearing. They kept him bound for seven days. Awo Batafun Roso, who lived next door, noticed that the stench in the house was gone and went to investigate. There he found Shangó and Oggún, and he asked them what was happening. They told him everything that had occurred.

Awo Batafun Roso asked them to release Awo Lode and gave them two hens so that his head could be prayed over. The people of the neighboring lands heard of what had happened and marveled at how clean and beautiful the house looked. They wanted to come and live there.

Obatalá went to Awo Lode’s house, and Awo Batafun Roso told him what had happened. Obatalá refused to go in, but Awo Batafun Roso made clear to him that it was all over now, and that cleanliness and neatness reigned in Awo Lode’s house.

Obatalá came to the house and congratulated Shangó and Oggún. He told Awo Lode that this was the way he should live so that he would feel well and prosperity would return.

Before beginning, a bath of efun is given with jío jío, and all the ewe are bundled together and burned; the person is dressed in asho fun fun, the ebbo is made, and it ends with obori with adie meyi fun fun. Everything is sent to the foot of a hill.

The ewes are those described above.

The woman of the swamp

In this path lived Oberenibate, a woman who dwelt in a swamp with her son Ilero. Oberenibate’s enemies tried to kill her to prevent her son’s birth, but he survived thanks to the power Olofin had granted him.

Ilero spoke with heaven every day, keeping to himself what was given to him, knowing how to tell good from bad. He always said: “I am going to be born whether they want it or not.”

Ilero grew up, and one day, before speaking with heaven, he felt something bad taking hold of his body. He then went to Orunmila’s house, and Orunmila, on seeing his Ifá, told him he had to make an ebbo and, after that, gather the necessary ingredients to perform a ceremony at the river. In this way Ilero would be able to speak, and everything he did he should do in honor of his iyare, to keep from being left an orphan.

Despite this, Ilero made neither the ebbo nor the ceremony, and he spoke again, though he always rubbed one arm.

Thanks to the great power Olofin had given him, Ilero defeated all his enemies. His iyare, however, died because he had performed neither the ebbo nor the ceremony.

Ilero would gather with his Abiku companions in the swamp to hold ceremonies and offerings in honor of his iyare and of the other departed family members.

Oggún the faithful servant

This story tells how Orunmila, a diviner, was put to the test by his enemies, who accused him of being a false diviner. They prepared a trap for him consisting of three huts with different objects in each one, including Oggún with his machete in one of them, to kill him if he did not divine correctly.

When Orunmila arrived, he asked permission to make a rogation and then cast obi to see which Ifá presented itself. Iroso Umbo came out, indicating that his Guardian Angel did not want him to die. His enemies then demanded that he divine what was in each hut.

Orunmila answered that the hut painted white contained gold, the red hut contained jewels, and the black hut contained Oggún with his machete to kill him. On hearing that Orunmila had divined correctly, Oggún leapt out of the hut and bowed before him, promising to be his faithful servant always and to spare him from wars for as long as the world existed.

Ojan and Ogidan

In the Land of Umbo Osha there was a pair of ekun named Ojan and Ogidan, who were the masters of the territory and feared by all. Although they seemed to live happily, in truth they had violent fights whenever they went to ofikale trupon, because the male did not satisfy the female, and they clawed and bit each other furiously. They decided to consult Orunmila, who revealed to them that the problem was caused by the shadow of Oboni Oshe, their Guardian Angel, since they were of the same family. He prescribed an ebbo that included an iguede the size of the penis, an arique of yagua, malu and an akuko. In the ebbo, Orunmila gave the akuko to Oggún and Oboni Oshe while singing: “Awo Oshe Okoda Oko Bogbala Eni Eku Odara». When the shadow of Oboni Oshe and Oggún ate the eyerbale that fell upon the ekun’s penis, Eggun Paremio, the guide of the shadow, appeared, sounding a cowbell and singing: «Okuru Okuro Efon Eku Omo Isun Ekun Odara Adasile Odara». Eggun Paremio told them that they could now do ofikale trupon without trouble, but that the shadow of Oboni Oshe would at times be with them, and in those moments they would have difficulties. He assured them, however, that they would always do ofikale, and advised them to perform, from time to time, the ceremony Orunmila had done for them. The shadow would always be with their children, and some would be satisfied while others would not.

Where Oshún eats with Orunmila

This is the story of a house inhabited by Shangó, Oggún, Oshún and Orunmila. Although Oshún was Shangó’s wife, she also kept a relationship with Oggún and had several companions outside the house.

Orunmila could not walk because of a disability in his legs. One day, after performing a ritual called ebbo, Oshún provided him with the materials needed to complete it. During the ritual, Ifá warned Orunmila to be careful with fire.

On learning of Oshún’s relationship with Oggún, Shangó decided to set the house on fire in revenge. All the inhabitants fled the house in fright.

Despite his disability, Orunmila managed to leave the house through the back door once he recovered from the shock. Remembering Orunmila, Oshún decided to return to the house to look for him. Not finding him, she too went out through the back door, where she found him and embraced him, weeping. As she did so, she told him she had feared for her life. Orunmila answered: “How is it that you, being such a sinner, were the only one who remembered me in the hardest moments? From this day on, all your sins are forgiven you, and you shall be the only one with the right to eat with me.”

Here Shangó is angry and must be given a ram. The woman is reckless and is heading toward ruin. The one who suffers from the legs will be healed.