Odi Yekun

How wealth came to be

Orunmila asked Olofin for permission to set the world in order and began his magic. Through his virtue, the trees, the women, and the animals gave birth in abundance, bringing with it great happiness. After a long time, Orunmila received a great gift from everyone in gratitude for his work; wealth and commerce arrived everywhere at the same time.

The path of the gray hairs

Once, all the beings of the earth gathered and agreed that the oldest, gray-haired person should die and be replaced by a young one. Orunmila, who had gray hair, was singled out to die according to the agreement. However, Orunmila replied that this was fine, and he had himself read in Ifá. Ifá indicated that he should make ebbó with a white ram and distribute the meat among the guests. In addition, he was to hang the hide in strips on a cord at the entrance of his house, so that anyone crossing the threshold would brush against them with their head.

As the heads passed through, they turned white. After the feast, Orunmila said: «All of us who have gray hair must die, and there will be no one left to govern.» All those present looked at each other’s heads and revoked the agreement, deciding instead that everyone should die when their time came. In its place, they appointed Orunmila to govern.

Abaniku the jackal

Once, a jackal came to a city located at the edge of the jungle. The city’s dogs, upon discovering him, began to bark and chased the jackal until, frightened, he ran into a dyer’s house without realizing it. The jackal ended up falling into a great vat full of indigo blue. After much effort, he managed to climb out of the vat and prepare himself for his fate. But the dogs drew back before the mysterious animal that was now colored blue. Astonished, the dogs tucked their tails between their legs and ran away.

The jackal seized the opportunity and fled into the jungle. From that adventure on, he became a blue jackal, for the indigo dye had bonded well to his body. When the animals of the jungle saw him pass, they drew back in terror. They had never seen such an animal in the jungle. Even the tiger, the panther, the bears, and the wolves fled at the sight of the jackal. They all asked themselves: «Woe to us! Where can this unknown being have come from? We do not know how strong and powerful he might be. Who knows whether he will kill us all?»

The jackal, seeing that everyone feared him, took advantage of the opportunity and began to think about how to profit from the situation. He called out to the animals fleeing in confusion before him and said: «Do not flee, do not fear me. The God of the animals summoned me to his presence last night and spoke to me in this way. Since the animals have no king, he chose me to rule over my brothers of the jungle.» In this way, the jackal became king of all the animals, and his byname was Abaniku.

When Abaniku said this, the animals drew near to him. The stripe-skinned tiger spoke humbly on behalf of all and said: «Lord and sovereign, give us orders and we will obey you.» Abaniku gave each animal a post, except those of his own kind, whom he banished without giving them any explanation.
The jackal lived free of worries and surrounded by abundance. The tiger and the other beasts went hunting and brought him the finest game, laying it at his feet. But he distributed it as befits a good sovereign, giving a share to each animal of his court.

One day, while he was in his council of state, Abaniku heard in the distance the mournful howling of some jackals. He froze, his blue fur bristled, and his eyes filled with tears. Before he could think about what he was doing, he let out a piercing howl in answer to the distant jackals.

The tiger and the other animals shuddered and said: «It is the howl of a miserable jackal. He has deceived us,» murmured the other animals who until then had been his subjects. Then they attacked him furiously, killed him, and devoured him.

NOTE: he who renounces his friends and befriends strangers will die like Abaniku the jackal.

The path of the masks

When the trees arrived in the world, they went to see Orunmila to find out how they could gain esteem in life. Orunmila consulted Ifá for them and recommended making ebbó with 16 eyele and owo meridilogun. However, none of the trees performed the ebbó.

Only Iki Amojo received instructions from Orunmila to make another ebbó with akuko meyi and owo meridilogun to protect his body against witchcraft and dangers. Orunmila told him he was to offer the akuko meyi to Eleguá. But Amojo said he only sought esteem, and since he had already obtained it, he did not need to protect his body.

Orunmila had been summoned by Olofin because the earth was drying up, the children were dying, and the women could not give birth. But the trees were unaware of this situation. Orunmila performed osode and consulted Ifá, which marked that he should give two goats and two akuko to Eleguá, to offer them together with 16 eyele and resolve the situation.

Olofin called on Oggún to ask his counsel, seeking a way to reduce his costs. He then summoned Eleguá to join the meeting. Oggún visited Iki Amojo and spat upon his trunk, mouth, eyes, nose, and ears. Then he prepared many masks and returned to Olofin, promising to give him an answer in seven days.

On the seventh day, the drums of Ifá resounded, summoning all the babalawos and powerful men of Olofin’s court. Once they were gathered, Olofin handed each of them a mask and said: «This is Ogunra, the spirit Adamu-orisha, and you must dance to the rhythm of the drum to consecrate the masks.»

Then the masked men danced from morning until night to the sound of the suyere: «telemishe, Telemishe, Odi Yeku, Aña Amojo Oguara».

That night, Eleguá approached Oggún and informed him that Orunmila had marked an ebbó for Amojo, but he had not fulfilled it. Oggún then suggested they take all the masks and put them in sacks to be hung on the walls, so that the termites would eat Amojo’s eyes and nose. This would cause a disease that would devour their bodies.

Furthermore, since Amojo made ebbó for the honor of the masks, he would be honored through the carving of them; but since he did not make ebbó for his body, the masks would be devoured by the termites.

And with that, happiness returned to the earth, for the masks brought peace to the Egguns.

This explains why the masks are renewed. This sign is the one placed on the masks in order to feed them.