Ika Bara

The wings of wax

There was an awo named Yarodi who was at war with an omo Oggún, who worked and sent many sorceries and spirit sendings against him. Yet since this awo stood well with the Santos, especially with Yemayá — for to reach the land of the omo Oggún he had to cross the sea — he suffered no harm at all.

One day, Yarobi, performing osode, saw this sign, which ordered him to make ebbo with akuko and wax and to leave it open at the seashore. Yarobi did so. Meanwhile, the omo Oggún thought it over and told his people to fasten on wings of wax so they could cross the sea and make war on Yarodi. But since Yarodi had made ebbo with wax, the sun melted the wings of the omo Oggún and his people as they were crossing the sea, and they all fell into it and drowned.

The ebbo of this sign is not closed; it is cast away open, and it carries wax.

The self-sufficient one

Orunmila saw this Ifá for a person and told him to make ebbo so he would be freed from something bad that was coming his way. The person did not perform the work, because he believed himself capable of escaping the problem on his own when it arrived. When the war reached him, it caught him even though his eyes were wide open, and however hard he ran, he could not escape it.

Ikarode and the wings of wax

On this path there was an oba named Ikarode who had a son (omo), and both lived at the seashore. On the other side lived an oba named Omologu (a sorcerer) who envied Ikarode. One day Omologu, ruled by envy, remembered Ikarode and, knowing that Ikarode held him in respect, said: «Ikarode fears me because he knows I am omo Oggún, and I am going to take from him the land he governs.»

Omologu sent a messenger to the land of Ikarode with an ultimatum: hand over the land, or he would kill him and his son. On receiving the message, filled with fear, Ikarode went to the house of Orunmila, who performed osode for him and saw this Ifá. Orunmila told him: «a very great eyo (tragedy) is coming upon you.» Ikarode said yes and told him everything.

Orunmila marked ebbo for him, telling him afterwards to distribute its animals wherever Ifá ordered, to take the ebbo to omo Oke, and to answer Omologu that he did not fear him and would not hand over his land — and that if he wanted it, he could come and take it. Ikarode did not want to do so out of fear of Omologu, but in the end he did it because of the faith he had in Orunmila.

Omologu, on receiving Ikarode’s message, was so astonished that he prepared his people at once and said: «you will go by sea, and I will go through the open air.» Omologu, who was a magician, prepared himself a pair of wings and fastened them on with wax, and rose high into the air so that the sound of his wings would not be heard. But Ikarode had already made his ebbo and the other works, and Olofin at once saw what was happening and heated Omologu’s wings. The wax that held them melted, and he fell into the sea and drowned.

Omologu’s people, finding themselves without a leader, scattered. When Ikarode learned what had happened, he went and told Orunmila, who ordered him to go and take possession of Omologu’s lands. Ikarode did so, placed his son at the head of those lands, and thus won the war.

The small figures are made of virgin wax, with two wings of the same material sewn onto them, and they are placed inside an igba together with the ota keke, which is given the name of the araye (strife, the enemy). Before beginning the ebbo, the two eyele are taken and, before Olokun, the person is thoroughly cleansed; the eyele are then sacrificed to Olokun and to the aforementioned igba, which is afterwards placed inside Olokun. The leri of the eyele meyi go inside the igba, and the ara go to a joro joro near a shore.

It marks war between two people over a possession or position, where there are sendings of Egguns and other ofo (loss) works in ikoko ogu. They want to destroy your house so that you lose your position and well-being, and to achieve it they may even sicken you or kill you with ogu.