Iwori Boka

The path of mutual marital infidelity

Two friends worked together in the fields and lived in separate houses with their respective wives. One of them was sterile and could not have children, but his wife did not know it. One day, the sterile man’s wife met her husband’s friend while visiting the fields, and she fell in love with him. She began to visit him often and finally had an affair with him, becoming pregnant.

When the husband discovered the infidelity, he killed his wife. The woman was a goddaughter of Orunla, who had warned her about the dangers of betrayal and had marked a rogation for her. Despite this, she did nothing to protect herself.

The killer was imprisoned, and years later his friend visited him in prison and asked his forgiveness for having slept with his wife. The prisoner forgave him and told him about a woman who was willing to leave her husband to be with him.

The friends kept talking about this woman, and when the friend who was free asked her name, he realized it was the same as his own wife’s. He discovered the truth and waited until the prisoner was released to carry out his revenge.

When the freed prisoner went to find the woman, the betrayed husband killed him, then killed his wife, and finally died in prison of depression and stomach ailments. It is a sad and harrowing story that shows the terrible consequences of betrayal and revenge.

The messenger dove

On this path there was a town whose inhabitants were peaceful people. One day, a group of men from that land had to travel to another land some distance from their town, and out of necessity they had to pass through a warrior town. There, an army stood always ready for war. As they passed through the warrior town, the army confronted them, believing those men had come to fight, and a fierce battle indeed broke out. But even though the army was well prepared, they could not overcome the resistance of those men.

The chief of the army said: «Let us lay siege to them, for they are very strong, and since they do not carry enough food, they will not be able to hold out, and in this way we can defeat them.» What the chief of the army did not know was that those men had the custom, whenever they left their own territory, of carrying cages with messenger doves.

Then the man acting as leader of the group said to the others: «Let us release these doves, which have not been able to drink water. If they return, it means the siege is broken; and at the same time, they will carry the message to our town and help will be sent to us. But if they do not return, it means the siege still holds.»

They released the doves, which vanished from sight. One of the doves alighted on an olive tree before continuing its journey, but when the chief of the army saw that dove, he immediately realized that the group of men they were fighting had not come there seeking war, as they had previously thought, and he gave them the chance to continue their journey.

The false accusation against Orunla

There was once a woman who was deeply in love with Orunla and was always bringing him different gifts, but he regarded her only as a great friend and not as a possible wife. Desperate at being unable to win him over, she began to spread rumors that Orunla was living with the wife of Olokun. This gossip quickly reached Orunla’s ears, and worried about the possible consequences, he performed a consultation of Ifá to seek a solution.

Ifá told him that he had to perform a rogation and a mass for an Eggun to keep these rumors from harming him. Orunla followed all of Ifá’s recommendations. However, the gossip also reached the ears of Olokun, who went to complain to Olofin about the situation.

Olofin sent his messenger to Orunla’s house to find out whether the rumors were true. The messenger arrived, and Orunla told him that what was being said about him was not true, and that at that very moment he was performing an ebbó. He placed the ebbó on the messenger’s head and told him to carry it to Olofin, so that he could see the rumors were false.

The messenger set off back, but on his way an eagle snatched the bundle of the ebbó and scattered it through the air, making a great noise as it fell to the ground. Olokun took fright and withdrew into the sea to protect himself, and so Orunla was cleared of all suspicion and became the ruler of those lands. This Ifá indicates that a mass must be held for a Babalawo, a relative, or a friend.