Ika Otura

The dog gives the king away

There was a king who owned a dog, and Orunmila advised him to make an ebó with it to protect himself from a war that was approaching, but the king did not listen. In time, when he least expected it, the war came and he lost it, so he hid inside a large clay jar and turned it upside down over himself.

Everyone searched for the king but could not find him — except his dog, which kept running from where the king was hiding to where the people were, drawing their attention. In the end, the dog led the people to where the king was hidden and they discovered him, putting an end to his life.

Orunmila said that a rooster should be sacrificed to Eshu, and if you have a dog, you must also bring it for the ebó. It seems someone wants to take your husband from you.

Eruru’s dog

Eruru was always speaking ill of people and stirring up trouble, so he had to flee to the wilderness with his dog. As he walked through the bush, he found a large clay jar and climbed inside it, leaving his dog outside. The dog, alone and hungry, went back to the village. Eruru’s enemies fed it and released it so it would lead them back to the jar. When they arrived there, they pulled Eruru out and killed him.

In unity lies strength

In the land of Ayegbi Oshe lived Awo Akua Roro, who had 7 very discontented children, even though he always tried to give them everything they wished for. He lived worried about his children’s future and could only pray to Oduduwa that they would unite and be able to live well in the years to come.

He always offered sara eko to Oduduwa and pleaded with him, saying: «Oduduwa Ori Maya Ofoyude Omo Lekun Awo Akua Roro Sokun Baba«. Oduduwa would tell him not to worry, that his children would unite. But the man was ill in his heart and his head, and his waist ached badly. He knew that when he died he would have no one to hand his secret to, since his children each lived their own way.

One day, while he was with Oduduwa, he said they should go to the house of Orunmila (Ayo Buyoko Awalele Ifá) to see if he could resolve his problem. They set out on the road singing: «Ifá Layeo Ifá Layekun Babá Olorun Awo Akuaroro Awo Buyoko Iran Lowo Lemi».

When they arrived at the house of Awo Buyoko, he told them they had to feed Olorun to strengthen the land and make the children of Awo Akua Roro obey him. Awo Akan Roro drew a circle on the earth with efun and orí, set down upon Ifá, divided it in four and offered it to the meyis while singing: «Ogba De Nifa Oddun Bowa Omo Oyu Opon Babá Eyiogbe Oddun Bowa».

In the land of Ayegbi Oshe lived Awo Akua Roro, who had seven very discontented children, even though he always tried to give them everything they wished for. He lived worried about his children’s future and only prayed to Oduduwa that they would unite and be able to live well in the years to come.

He always set out sará ekó for Oduduwa and pleaded like this: «Oduduwa Ori Mayá Ofoyude Omo Lekun Awo Akua Roro Sokun Babá». Then Oduduwa would come and say to him: «do not worry, your children will unite,» and the man would answer: «I am ill in my heart and my head, my waist aches badly, and when I die I have no one to hand my secret to, for my children each live their own way.»

One day, while he was with Oduduwa, Oduduwa said to him: «let us go to the house of Orunmila (Ayo Buyoko Awalele Ifá) to see if he can resolve your problem.» So they set out on the road singing: «Ifá Layeo Ifá Layekun Baba Olorun Awo Akua Roro Awo Buyoko Iran Lowo Lemi».

When they arrived, Awo Buyoko told them they had to feed Olorun so that his land would grow strong and his children would obey him. Awo Akan Roro drew a circle on the earth with efún and ori, set down obun Ifá, divided it in four and gave it to the meyis, singing: «Ogba De Ifá Oddun Bowa Omo Oyú Opon Baba Ejiogbe Oddun Bowa».

Then, at the center of Baba Ejiogbe, he placed an igba of Wara Mañú over the mark of Ika Kuaro with sará ekó, ori and efún. He then set his Ifá loose upon the opon and lit 16 itanas, calling upon Olorun and sounding the agogó: «Olorun Ogdobale Babá Olofin Olorun Ladeo Ifá Laye Babá Ni Olorun Babá Ashe Omo Layereo Babá Olorun Olofin Layereo«.

Then Olorun appeared and gave him two eyele funfun and two adie funfun, singing: «Abele Bele Adie Ifá Sinifikura Bobao Orunmila Abele Adie Ifá Sinifikura«. Oduduwa gathered it all and covered it with asho funfun, carrying it to Leri Oke, where he sang: «Awo Layogbi Ifá Awo Akua Roro Leri Oke Awo Buyoko Omo Olofin Layireo Okua Babá».

By virtue of the power of Olorun, that land grew strong, the children mended their ways and drew together, and no one could stand against them anymore. Thus Awo Akua Roro was able to live in peace and with renewed strength, and Awo Buyoko and Oduduwa told him he had to perform this ceremony often so that his land would not grow cold and Olorun would keep giving him life

4.- THE ENEMY INSIDE THE HOUSE.

There was a very poor kingdom, where the inhabitants were enduring great hardship. One day the king made contact with the kings of other lands in order to establish trade relations, but he needed to make a good impression of his kingdom on those monarchs, so he ordered a beautiful residence built for each of those rulers. While engaged in this, he decided to go to the house of Orunmila for osode, given that the people had learned of the construction and did not agree with those works. Orunmila saw this Ifá and told him: «what you are doing you must not do, because in the end you will not enjoy it, and you have your enemies inside your own house.»

Hearing this, the king replied: «well, I have always governed my people, with difficulties or without them.» Orunmila answered: «well, that is for you to decide.» The king departed, returning to his palace, and upon arriving he summoned his trusted men and ordered many pits dug in which to hide his relatives in case of need. While this was happening, the king’s enemies were sowing discord among the people, telling them that while they endured hardship and hunger, the king was spending lavish sums and squandering great wealth on the foreigners. The king’s enemies did this because they wanted to stage a coup, and this was the opportune moment; the people rose up and the enemies carried it out.

The king was forced to flee; he took his crown and wrapped it up, changed his clothes, and sent his family to hide with his loyal followers in the newly dug pits, while he went deep into the interior of the country. Within a few days his provisions and money ran out, and he found himself forced to sell his crown to a merchant; when he left, the merchant looked at the crown again and realized that the one who had sold it to him was the king. Word spread through the town, and the monarch’s pursuers picked up the trail and set out after it; they reached the pits where his family was hiding, took him prisoner, killed him and his family, and covered over the pits.
NOTE: You must not keep a broken floor or holes in your house. The earth must be fed.

This Ifá commands the Babalawos to unite for the iré achegun ota.

The food of Oyá’s secret (the plantain and the palm)

In this land, Oyá was the ruler and was called Obani Bokun, she who determined the span of people’s lives on earth. In her kingdom the people were sick and weak, but Oyá held a great secret for giving them health and strength. She would take them to the foot of a mata of ope and give them a decoction of its roots, and also resin from the mata of oguede, since both plants stood close together.

With her cowries and mariwo, she would crush the roots and resins and give them eyerbale of adie, and with the feet of the birds she made a broth and gave it to everyone to drink. Upon reaching the plants, she prayed: «Ope Nileo Leri Ariku Lawa Ni Boche Adie Nagueye Oguede Ni Mafayu Le Eye Majun La Adie Ni Mafun Adie». Every year, Oyá fed her secrets two adies with the following suyere: «Son Leye Oyá Soru Leye Oyá Mareyewo«. Everyone knelt beside the plantain plants and crushed the plantains with eyerbale.

Then she would take an adie and perform oparaldo on everyone in that land with this suyere: «Sarayeye Ikú, Baniku Lona» (2 times) and bury the adie of the oparaldo. Afterwards, she placed the Ifá on top of the buried adie and called Awo Eru Ifá to feed two adies to his Ifá together with Oyá, first cleansing everyone with the adie with this suyere: «Adie Layere Ni Ifá Yanza Ilewo Ikú Lelono Yanza Ni Lewo«. Then he gave the adie to his Ifá together with Oyá, and from this adie the feathers of the leri are not plucked. Epo was poured over the Ifá and over Oyá, and afterwards over the feathers. Finally, Orunmila and Oyá were covered with mariwo and oguede leaves.

Oyá said to Awo Oni Ifá: «When we take this off ourselves, iye must be made with all of it along with nine leaves of prodigiosa and nine atare for itutu,» and she said: «Ya Tuto Lawe Lawe Ewe Maleo». Then she crushed the head of eya oro with charcoal and carob with this suyere: «Ikú Belona Eya Tuto Lanireo Eggun Ikú Belona». Whenever the good wind came, the plants lay down on the ground, and thus they announced that the bad wind was coming. Oyá, with the seed pod of the framboyán tree and osun, made her invocation, offered a hen, and sang to save them all with this suyere: «Olofin A Fefe Lodeo Baba Olofin Eggun Laye Sarague Ikú Ogboni Boshe Lona», and the deaths were few.

And she poured ori and efun into the igbas, burying them around the palm. The bodies of the eyele she left at the foot of the ope and around it. Then she went to the river and brought back two eya and water, and cleansed everyone by pouring water over them while singing: «Omi Omi Omi Bayeo, Omi Ikú Omi Ni Bayeo”. And the plantain plants turned beautiful, and that land prospered.

To kill the eyele and the pullet, one sings: «Folguero Lawa Ikú Mariwo”. At the end of it all, one bathes in an omiero of abericunlo, odundun, jagüey, fine grass and mariwo. One is cleansed with a jío jío, and everything goes to the river.

The deaths were brought by the plantain plants. The plantain plants fell over, and the palms did not. After everything bad had passed, Oyá suffered to see her land in decline. Oyá, at the foot of a mata of ope with 16 eyeles funfun and 16 igbas, together with Awo Eru Ifá, called upon Olofin and Orishaoko and gave an iyele to each igba, placing the leri inside the igba with this suyere: «Babá Ogún Olofin Eye Eyele Nileo”.

An igba is prepared with epo, oñí, efun, iye of plantain and palm leaves, and set to eat with the adie of Orunmila and Oyá. The awo who does this takes a funfun cloth in the name of Obatalá, gives a pullet to the left hand in the name of Oyá, and throws it into the river.

The son of Obini Boche

In the land of Inle Boni Boche lived a woman named Obini Boche, who was a daughter of Olokun and Oyá. In that land a strong wind always blew, but the inhabitants had blind faith in Obini Boche. Everyone loved and respected her as if she were their own mother, because good fortune was never lacking there. Always at 7 pm, at the moment of the rogation, they made offerings with different kinds of basil and lit an itá at the center of the village, praying and calling like this: «Oyá Iya Lelewe Mofoyo Eni Ifá».

And the night would turn beautiful, but then the wind came, cleansing everyone and carrying off those offerings and two adie, which were given to the secret as ayeyele, and to Oyá, who also lived there. When this happened, everyone prayed this suyere: «Oyá Bele Wewe Eggun Layerekun Yanza Oyá Nileo Eggun Belo Kun«.

Everyone prayed to the secret so that Obini Boche could have a child, and they asked Babá what steps to follow. Babá took them to the secret, they made an oath, and a boy was born named Omo Boche. However, from the time he was born they had difficulties, because Iya Obini Boche was deeply attached to her son and Awo did not fulfill his duty as a father. Babá Kuele Yekun left that land and abandoned him, but the boy, knowing what could happen, set out on the road singing: «Iré Omo Yaye Awo Ifá Lalekun».

In the land of Belelekun Loyo lived an awo called Awo Ayeyele. When this awo arrived, he said: «Let us consecrate your son,» and brought him before Obatalá. He took 8 hens and a large igba, placed him before the igba with two lit candles, and poured water over the hens with this suyere: «Ewe Ewewe Eye Babá». In the water there were 16 ewe dundun, efun, orí, and they gave 8 doves to Obatalá and bathed him with abre camino with this suyere: «Ewe Beleku Loyo«. Awo Ayeyele made ebbo for him with the oche, the ewes and the leri of the hens, orí, efun, and told him: «This ebbo must be placed at the four corners, in the center.»

Awo had a mottled rooster and fed it to the shadow, and said to Iya: «This son will travel through the whole world, but he will have his own intelligence. To make Ifá for him, Eggun and Oyá must be counted on, and akualó given to Eggun. Then he will come to Ifá to have good fortune, Ika Folguero in the world.» When Ifá was made in the secret, akukó and etu were given with this suyere: «Eggun Etu Belekun Eye Oyá Nileo Eggun Belo Kun«. And the etu was sacrificed and its blood tasted.

Eggun Layelewo Akuaro Layelewo.

They made Ifá for him and he drew Ika Folguero, and his oluo, Awo Ayeyele Ni Ifá, took him to Obatalá with 4 eyele, orí, efun, and Obatalá cleansed him because he did not want to fail in his life.

Maferefun Oshún, Oyá and Obatalá.

This Ifá, like its twin brother Otura Ka, indicates that disobedience costs a person their life; it speaks of the swimmer who could no longer swim because he lacked the air and the strength. It applies to a mature man who has very young obini and can no longer perform well with them. If the man is young, along this path it speaks of impotence.