Ofun Meyi

The pact between Ikú and Aba Abogeo

There was a man named Aba Abogeo who had many children. His wife became pregnant, and he worried about how he would support another child amid the poverty they faced. The woman gave birth to a boy, and the father decided that no one would baptize him. The devil offered to be his godfather, but Aba refused him. Then death proposed to baptize the child and to help him. Aba accepted the offer. The boy grew up and decided to become a doctor. Death gave him an herb that would cure all the sick, except those at whose bedside she herself was present. The doctor gained fame and was summoned to cure the king, and later the princess. Although his godmother was present in the room, he agreed to cure them because of the tempting offers. Death forgave him the first time, but when he disobeyed again, she took him to a place where she showed him a candle burning down and told him it was the time he had left to live. Death punished him for wanting to save those who were meant to die, and for his disobedience.

Ikú’s descent upon the town

In the land of Ayashe, Nilu Ikú had declared war on the Oba of those lands because he refused to pay her a tribute of one child each month. So every night Ikú turned herself into a black python and entered Ayashe. When the people awoke, panic broke out.

Faced with this abnormal situation, the Oba went to see Orunmila, who cast this Ifá for him and said: «You must make ebó with a staff and a hen, a rooster, a rat, palm oil and fish.» Orunmila made the ebó for him and said: «Give the rooster to Elegbá and the hen to the land of Tumile. Take the staff and keep the hen inside your house so that your life is not in danger.»

The Oba followed the instructions. That night, Ikú arrived disguised as a python and approached the hen, which alerted the Oba to her presence. The python tried to devour her, but the hen spread her wings and the python could neither swallow her nor spit her out, and was left trapped. The Oba killed the python with his staff and worshipped his Ifá.

One eyele is given to Obatalá, and another is anointed with orí, with efun on its eyes and under its wings. It is hung by its feet from the door and, after it dies, it is taken wherever Ifá says.

The daughter of Olofin and the pact between Oro and Orunmila

OPARALDO: Etu, a change of black clothing, a rag doll, sulfur, aberikunlo, basil, algarrobo, rabo de gato, obi, otí, itana, asho dun dun, efun.

When Orunmila went in search of Olofin’s daughter

Orunmila was looking for his friend Alabashe, who gathered the inkes and knew which were the best. He arrived in Nupe and there he found Alapinu, who was searching for his daughter Omari, who had gone missing in the market. Orunmila promised Alapinu that if he found his daughter he would give her to him in marriage, and Alapinu accepted.

Orunmila went to the market to look for Alapinu’s daughter, and he was told that she had been seen three days earlier, but no one knew where she was. Orunmila consulted Ifá and discovered that a strange figure appeared to be a gentleman in disguise and had vanished with her. Orunmila waited and saw a slender man arrive at the market who struck him as strange. The man bought a few things and left along a road that led to the cemetery of Ebuseun Eku. Orunmila followed him and discovered that it was Oro in disguise. Oro made his way to a hole beneath a ceiba, where Omari was bound with a chain and guarded by a Caravela.

Orunmila sprinkled a little sulfur over the ocoun of Orogun that he painted on the ground and lit it, and the smoke lulled the Eggun guarding Omari to sleep. Then Orunmila freed Omari from the chain and they escaped. But the Aye tied around Omari’s neck could not be removed, for if they cut it, they would also cut her throat. This Aye sounded like an instrument of gold, and Oro’s guardians could track the fugitives by that sound. For this reason, Orunmila and Omari had no safe place to hide.

Orunmila consulted Ifá again and discovered the right Ebó for his problem. He placed it at Itá Meri (crossroads) and heard the footsteps of Oro approaching. Oro told his guardians that the two could not escape because of the Aye, but Orunmila knew how to cut it. He had discovered that he must wash it with the herbs Otialogo Rabo de Gato and Ewe Igbagbo, and feed it with Akaere (the great bullfrog) and a chick in a jícara (gourd bowl) so that it could speak. Orunmila prepared everything and saved Omari, defeating Oro’s guardians. Oro recognized Orunmila’s cunning and made a pact with him so that he would keep his secret.

The path of Olokun’s secret

There was once a hunter going through a streak of bad luck who could not catch any prey in the bush. One day, a stranger approached him and offered help, giving him an object he was to keep secret in his home. From that moment on, the hunter’s luck changed and he began to succeed in his hunts.

However, the hunter’s wife, curious, sent her children to spy, and they discovered the secret object, dying immediately after seeing it. The wife, full of grief and remorse, sought help from her husband, and together they remembered the stranger’s counsel: that he was Olokun and that he could help them in difficult times in exchange for something presented as an offering.

The hunter offered an Eya Oro, a kind of fish, to Olokun to revive his children, and placed it upon the secret object. The children came back to life, and in gratitude the hunter carried the Eya Oro back to the place where he had caught it.

This story underscores the importance of keeping faith and trust in difficult times, and how offerings to the divine beings can bring blessings and solutions to problems. It also shows the danger of curiosity and of disrespect toward sacred traditions and secrets.

The dispute between Shangó and Obatalá

There was once a time when the earth was without government, and a fierce dispute arose between Shangó and Obatalá over the right to rule; so intense was this dispute that Shangó challenged Obatalá to decide, both armed with axes, who would govern the world.

Obatalá, weary of so much arguing, accepted the challenge, but he knew he would lose against Shangó, who was younger, stronger and faster. Obatalá went to the house of Orunmila, who cast this Ifá for him and prescribed a rogación with: akuko meyi, asho funfun and dundun, melon seeds, the ingredients and owo. He told him to give one akuko to Eleguá and the other to Oggún, so that he would win the contest.

Elegbá, upon eating the akuko, said to Obatalá: «My father, let us go and speak with Oggún so that he makes the axes for the duel.» They went to Oggún’s house and, upon arriving, Obatalá gave him the akuko, and Oggún said: «Do not worry, you will not lose that fight.» Elegbá and Oggún prepared the axes for Shangó’s fight. They gave his a split handle, but in such a way that he would not notice the trick.

When the day of the fight arrived, Olofin presided over the contest and gave the order for the fight to begin. Obatalá took the good axe and Shangó took the other without noticing anything unusual. Shangó struck two powerful blows on the ground, knocking Obatalá down, and as he prepared to deliver the third, the axe handle snapped — an opening Obatalá seized to throw him to the ground and force him to surrender.

Olofin, seeing the outcome of that fight, said to Obatalá: «From this moment on, you shall govern here on earth,» and Shangó, hearing Olofin’s word, knelt before Obatalá and said: «Your blessing, my father,» and Obatalá granted it.

Some time later, Shangó learned from a son of Obatalá of the trick that had been played on him and, filled with rage, climbed a palm tree and began to unleash his curse upon the earth.

Through this path were born the luminous phenomena, the curse, and the defiance of the younger against the elder. The owner of this Ifá must give an abo to Shangó to appease him, and cannot trust even his own children.

The pact between Ozain Arugbo, Aira and Olokun

This story shows the importance of recognizing and honoring the four great powers that sustain the world, and the dangers of war and discord among the powerful.

In the land of Iyeya lived three very powerful figures: Ozain Arugbo, Aira and Aboku. Each of them had great abilities and loyal followers. However, the rivalry and fighting among their children and devotees threatened to unleash a great war.

To resolve this situation, the three figures went to the king of the land, Oragun, who advised them to make an ebbo and seal a pact to end the war. So they did, and before Olofin they sealed the pact using the power of sorcery, the power of Orisha, the spiritual power and the power of Ifá, represented by Oragun.

This story reminds us that, although each of us may have abilities and powers, it is important to work together in peace and harmony for a better world. And that is why the awo cannot underestimate or ignore the importance of the four great powers that sustain the world.

The pact of Oduduwa, Orunmila and death

In the earliest times after the creation of the world, Orunmila and Oduduwa were two brothers who loved each other dearly and lived in Ife, where poverty was widespread. One day they decided to emigrate to distant lands, each with his daughter. Orunmila brought Paraye and Oduduwa brought Oloshe, both daughters of Oshún.

After passing through many lands, they came to a forest where Orunmila and his daughter grew hungry. Oduduwa went off to hunt while Orunmila looked after Oloshe. Finding nothing to hunt, Oduduwa cut a piece from his own tongue, cooked it and gave it to Orunmila and his daughter so they could eat.

After this act, Oduduwa placed a piece of obí in his mouth and could speak perfectly. They continued their journey and came to an arid place. The loss of blood and the exhaustion weakened Oduduwa, who asked Orunmila to continue along the road and find the river Niger while he recovered.

Orunmila discovered that Oduduwa’s wound was in fact his tongue, and understood his sacrifice. Using Iyefa, a magical medicine, he stopped the bleeding. They reached the river Niger together, where Orunmila decided to set off in search of fortune, leaving his daughter Paroye with Oduduwa.

After some time, Paroye fell ill and died. Oduduwa, in despair, killed his own daughter and buried them together. The next day, Orunmila arrived to visit him and asked after Paroye. Oduduwa, full of grief, told him that Paroye had died and that he had killed his own daughter so that she would accompany Paroye in death.

Orunmila took Oduduwa to the girls’ grave and used his power of divination to call Orun, the Okunrin of Kukuto, death. Together they asked Orun to restore the two girls to life, promising in exchange to honor him. Orun accepted and the girls came back to life.

This Ifá explains why Oduduwa speaks through Ifá.

Oduduwa, Orunmila, Paroye and Oloshe each stood upon one of the cardinal points.

Here is explained why the itá of Oduduwa is done by means of the inkines of Ifá; why all the awoses present eat of the tongue of Oduduwa’s Eure; why the akuko of Eggun and Oduduwa are buried in the pit at the foot of the ceiba; and also the reason for the pact with death. Oyekun Meyi represents Kukuto, and Oragun represents Orun. Ogunda Fun represents Oduduwa, Otura Niko represents Orunmila and Okana Juani represents Eshu, who is the true one who seals the pact, for he arranges and undoes at his pleasure; and the sign Oshe Tura is set so that what is begun is not finished — that is, what was pacted.

The curse of Orunmila’s mother

Orunmila helped Olokun to expand and gain greater riches. To achieve it, however, Orunmila had to sacrifice a little old woman who turned out to be his own mother.

After receiving word from Olokun, who wished to grow larger and had many riches but was very confined, Orunmila agreed to help him. Then, together with other Saints such as Elegbá, Oggún, Oshosi, Shangó and Ozain, they broke open the lands so that Olokun would have more breadth and be inhabited by unknown beings.

But Orunmila saw in an Ifá that he was going to encounter something old belonging to him, and he asked Olokun to give him an old woman he kept in his house, in order to kill her. Olokun consented and handed over the little old woman, who turned out to be Orunmila’s mother.

Along the way, Orunmila killed the abo of the ebbo he was carrying to feign the old woman’s death, and asked Olokun’s servants to report that he had already carried out the task. But the old woman walked very slowly, and Orunmila, fearing discovery, touched her on the shoulder and asked her to walk faster.

The mother misread this as a gesture of violence and cast a curse upon him: «As long as the world is the world, your children shall have to strike you so that you may speak.» Orunmila felt deeply burdened at having been unable to prevent his own mother’s death, but he knew he had to fulfill his task to help Olokun.

Olorun’s creation

In ancient times, Olorun created four men and two women, and soon they began to have children who died. The people asked themselves why this was happening and decided to seek another god to worship and thus save their children.

Two of the men were Awoses, Abete and Asipelu. They consulted their Ifá and saw a sign indicating that they should worship Orun. The Awoses told the people that they must feed him every day and dance, sing and clap before his secret.

In time, the number of inhabitants on the earth grew. One day they wished to have an oba and swore him in before Orun. The oba sacrificed a bull and the people sang and danced. But the oba wondered how a simple piece of carved wood could say «baba mamu» as it spun. Orun fell silent upon seeing that the women were present, for he cannot speak in front of them.

The Awoses, now old, explained that women may not be present when Orun is going to speak, and that the erumole is the oba of heaven. The oba concluded the ceremony without the women present.

This is why women may not have or receive Orun.

The land where it was always night

The king of the land of darkness had an intuition that there existed a land where there was light, and he decided to send his eldest son in search of it. The young man set out on a long journey, carrying food and weapons for his defense, sustained by his father’s faith that at the end of the road he would find the land where there was brightness.

However, after a long time with no news of the eldest son, the king decided to send his youngest son to look for him. The young man made sure to be well armed, for his father warned him that in those lands there were ferocious beasts, such as the fearsome tigers.

After a long time without word of his youngest son, the king decided to undertake the search himself. Armed with arrows, spears and provisions, he faced every danger he met along the way, including the enormous tiger that attacked him by surprise and which he managed to defeat.

At last the king reached the land where there was brightness, where he ruled with strength and resolve until he was betrayed.

Here begins the power of Ejiogbe (ejiorden), so called because it was night and neither light nor brightness was known.

Ofun Meyi (Oragun)

Ofun Meyi, who in heaven was called Oragun Deyin Ekun, was the eldest son of Orunmila in heaven. He was originally the first Oddun to come to the world, but we shall see the circumstances under which he returned to heaven, only to become the last of the olodus to come to the world. It was he who revealed that it took the Almighty God six days to complete his works of creation, after which he rested on the seventh day. We will read more of this story shortly. In the meantime, we shall examine some other important works associated with Ofun Meyi in heaven.

Ofun Meyi reveals how long it took God to complete his work of creation

The difficult problem that was peacefully resolved in the end was the name of the awo who made divination for Oggún, Olokun, Orunmila and all the other divinities. He advised them to make sacrifice to their guardian angels over a period of six days, in order to rest in peace and tranquility on the seventh.

Orunmila asked why the sacrifice had to last seven days instead of one. The awo replied that it had taken Olodumare (God) six days to create the earth, the seas, the atmosphere, the plants, the animals and humankind. The reason God created all organic and inorganic matter before creating the human race was to provide shelter for man, water for him to drink, food to eat, air to breathe, and so that he could devote himself to a tranquil life in heaven from the seventh day onward. He revealed that God rested on the seventh day after completing the creation of the divinosphere.

He told them that, in keeping with the precedent set by God in creation, it would take six days to complete the initiation ceremony of any priest, and that the priest must clean the house and rest on the seventh day. Only through this process would the sacrifice manifest.

Orunmila asked again whether a ceremony lasting seven days would not give rise to arguments and confusion during the period of the ceremony. The awo replied that fights and discord are forbidden during the initiation ceremony.

Orunmila takes over the authority of all the other divinities

Ofun Meyi also reveals how Orunmila was able to collect and turn to his own use all the instruments of authority (ase) given by God to all the divinities. He does so in the following poem:

«Okiti Kpukẹ, Awo Ena-Ono, Adifafun Orunmila, Migbati Ofẹlọgba Aya Gbogbo, Erúmọlẹ lọwọ Oggún.»

Oggún, the divinity of metal and the most ancient of all the divinities, was the custodian of all the ase (instruments of authority) given to them by Almighty God. This means that any divinity wishing to use its instrument of authority had to go and fetch its own from Oggún.

Meanwhile, Orunmila, the divinity of wisdom, devised a plan to take all the powers away from Oggún. To this end, he went to see Okitikpue, the diviner of the roadside, who told him he would succeed if he could make sacrifice with a sheep, a pigeon and a horsetail whisk. He accordingly made the sacrifice.

Having made the sacrifice, he set out to pay a visit to Oggún’s house. Upon arriving there, he told Oggún he had come to visit him. After the customary exchange of courtesies, he told his host that he had in fact come to collect all the powers of the divinities held in his custody, reciting the following incantation: «A small child does not refuse its mother’s milk. The bird does not refuse the invitation of the corn. The penis does not refuse the invitation of the pelvis. One cannot ignore the bite of a serpent. No one resists the invitation of a cough. No one ignores the sting of a scorpion. The earth cannot refuse the rays of the sun. Cloth does not refuse the attack of a needle. No one can stop the cat from hunting mice. No one disobeys the cry of nature. Even you, Oggún, cannot resist the visit of a dog.»

As soon as Ofun Meyi finished pronouncing the incantation, Oggún, without so much as hesitating, went to his chest, took out all the ase and humbly handed them over to Orunmila. Orunmila, with all the powers secured in his hand, departed. As soon as he reached his house, he swallowed all the ase. All this time, Oggún acted as though he were in a trance. It did not occur to him to ask Orunmila why he had come to collect the powers.

Five days later, Oggún realized that he no longer had the powers. After searching his house to see where they were, he remembered that the only divinity who had visited him in the past five days had been Orunmila. He decided to go and see him, since he did not know how to explain the loss of the powers if any of the divinities came asking for theirs. When he arrived at Orunmila’s house, he asked him what he had come to do at his house during his last visit. More pointedly, Oggún asked Orunmila whether he had been the one who had come to take from him the strength of all the divinities. When Orunmila understood that Oggún had no clear memory of what had happened when he carried off the powers, he decided to take advantage of Oggún’s temporary mental haze: Orunmila denied having visited Oggún, much less having taken any power from him. Rather dejected, Oggún walked disconsolately back to his house. Thus it was that Oggún lost all the powers of the divinities to Orunmila, who, though one of the youngest among them, from then on became the most powerful of all. When Oggún left Orunmila’s house, Orunmila intoned the following song: Shigo Shigo Agoten, Mukomi Ton Kio To Shiiyere, Shigo Shigo Agoton.

This is why, when this oddun appears in divination, the person is told to make a sacrifice in order to avoid the risk of losing a treasured possession to a stealthy schemer.

Ofun Meyi sets out for earth

In heaven he was called Oragun Deyin Ekun. As he contemplated his coming to earth, it was said of him that he was very hot-tempered and harsh. His guardian angel told him that if he did nothing to soften his bad temper, things would not go well for him on earth. So he decided to seek divination and went to see a diviner who had no limbs. Her name was Ugbin Eenowo EEnose Ejo Kodu Kodu, which means: the snail has no arms or legs, the serpent moves upon its belly.

She advised Oragun Deyin Ekun to make sacrifice in order to prosper on earth, for he was going to be a man of many fine gifts as long as he was able to control his temper. She advised him to serve his Ifá with 16 cowries, which would soften and temper his aggressiveness. She also advised him to serve Esu with a goat.

He made the sacrifices and received the approval of God and of his guardian angel before setting out for earth.

The birth of Ofun Meyi

He was born the son of a king, who named him Adeabaye. Even as a child, he had the rare gift that everything he said came true. He was the king’s last son, and everything he asked for was granted to him. As he grew into manhood he became a very dictatorial being, in the habit of listening to no one’s advice. His wishes were law and he insisted on always having his own way. After his father’s death he became king of his father’s territory.

His reign was marked by extreme arbitrariness and tension. His people endured severe stress and mental anguish. When the situation became too hard to bear, the people gathered and told him defiantly that they could no longer tolerate him as their king. As if giving substance to the plot brewing against him, he too agreed to abdicate his throne. In all this time, he had neither wife nor children.

Ofun Meyi returns to heaven

Ofun Meyi was also deeply displeased with his inability to succeed on earth, and decided to return to heaven to investigate his problems. During his return journey he met the woman without limbs, who had made divination for him before he left heaven, but he did not recognize her because he had lost all memory of what had previously happened there. Otherwise, he would not have ignored the advice received before leaving that place in the first instance. He was startled to see the strange creature with neither arms nor legs, and drew back in terror. The woman beckoned him to come closer instead of fleeing. He approached reluctantly. The most repellent thing about the woman’s appearance was that she was also afflicted with leprosy. On seeing her state, he exclaimed eekpa in horror. To this day, this is the traditional exclamation as soon as Ofun Meyi appears in divination. Nevertheless, the woman begged him to make divination for her, for she suspected that he was a priest of Ifá. She told him that the two things she most desired in life were to cure her affliction and to have a child. He then took out his divination instrument and divined for her. After the divination, he told her that if she could make the necessary sacrifices she would recover and would also have children. She was to make sacrifice with three goats, three hens, three pigeons, three snails, three rats, three fish, three bitter kolas, three kola nuts and three yards of white cloth.

After carrying the woman on his back, Ofun Meyi and she approached the junction of the three roads. The woman explained to him that, because of her condition, not only was she forbidden to live in the town, but she also had to travel only by night. At that moment they met a man named Ashipa, who was the keeper of the junction of the three roads. With his help, they opened a path through the undergrowth and built a hut on the spot. Following the woman’s instructions, the hut had no door, and the only way to find the entrance was by locating the tree of life (Ako Ako in Yoruba and Ikhinwin in Bini), together with a palm frond tied to the hut.

After settling the woman in the hut, Ofun Meyi asked her how he could see her if there was no entrance. She taught him the incantation he must recite; then he was to press his back against the wall beneath the palm frond and the door would open to let him through. He was to say «Oro oyin kiimu eyo, eekpa- aikoro lule awo». Before leaving the woman, Ofun Meyi discovered that she had only one breast. The hut was called Ile-odi, popularly known today as Iledi. Before continuing his journey to heaven, Ofun Meyi visited his close confidant Akpena, who had been seeking a wife. After telling him of the woman’s condition, he asked him whether he was prepared to marry a woman with such deformities. Surprisingly, Akpena decided to go and meet her. After this, Ofun Meyi asked Akpena to gather everything needed for the sacrifice, and the two set off for the hut to perform it. After the sacrifice, Ofun Meyi formally introduced Akpena to the woman. Before the woman agreed to become Akpena’s wife, she brought out a mysterious wand upon which he had to swear that he would never reveal her condition. She also said that if any other person came to the hut for any reason, that person must be blindfolded so as not to see her state. The only exception was Ofun Meyi and all the other priests of Ifá after him. Before anyone else could see her, the same oath of never revealing her condition had to be sworn by that person.

Ofun Meyi returns to heaven for the second time

As soon as the sacrifice was performed, the woman who had been crippled was healed of her leprosy, and her beauty as a young and lovely woman became plain. After this, Ofun Meyi decided to continue his journey to discover the cause of his mysterious problem.

Upon reaching heaven, he went straight to the house of the crippled woman, priestess of Ifá, who had previously divined for him. The woman, however, was nowhere to be found. His guardian angel told him that the woman had departed for earth, and advised him to do whatever it took to locate her, because she was the only one who could make him prosper on earth. It was then that he understood she was the very woman he had just settled in the hut on earth.

He quickly returned to the world. Ofun Meyi was the first of the Olofus, or apostles of Orunmila, to become king on earth, because he was the first to arrive there. He had fallen from grace on account of his dictatorial tendencies. During his second journey to earth, he became the last of the 16 Olofus of the genealogy of Ifá, after Ejiogbe and the others had come. This did not happen, however, until he re-established contact with the woman, to whom it now fell to perform divination for him. After the divination, the woman told him to make sacrifice with two pigeons, black cloth, a walking cow, pounded yam, kola nuts and cowries at the crossroads, and that he would become king again. We shall see later how the sacrifice benefited Ofun Meyi.

Ofun Meyi’s second coming to earth

When he came to earth for the second time, he devoted himself to practicing the art of Ifá, specializing in the preparation of good-luck amulets for the people. Thus it was said of him:

Ofún Lofueni Owó, Ofún Lofueni Omó, Ofún Lofueni Ayá.

Which means: this Ofún Meyi is responsible for providing assistance to those who wish to gain the benefits of money, marriage and children. He was a skilled benefactor in these matters. Even so, he was despised and ridiculed by his people, who considered him fallen from grace. He, however, answered these taunts by warning the people not to torment him unjustly, because he still had the means to bark and to bite in response to provocation.

Despite his warning, many presumptuous people went on belittling and tormenting him. He began to destroy those who were discrediting him. When the people started to feel the fury of his reaction, they began to fear him. Meanwhile, he decided to seek divination, where he was advised to abandon his aggressive stance. The awoses who made divination for him on this occasion were:

Afuye Omo Aje, Ewon Bale Lowoji, Odidere Awo Agbado, Elomon Biriti, Babalawo Edu.

They told him to make sacrifices for peace, prosperity, wealth and long life. They performed all the sacrifices for him, and in time he grew so rich that he ended up becoming the Orongun of Iya Orongun. He likewise lived to a very advanced age. It was said, however, that his friend Akpena, who married the crippled woman, finally settled in Itagbolu, where the shrine exists to this day.