Ogbe Roso

The eye of providence

Ifá ni kaferéfun Shangó, Adifafun Oduduwa y Olofin.

On this path, Shangó once asked his son for a ram, and the young man ran off to find one at any price so as to satisfy his father’s request. He gave it to him at last, but Shangó kept on asking the boy for the abo, and because of this the son decided to go to Orunmila’s house for guidance. When Orunmila examined him, this Ifá came out, in which Shangó said that the boy had indeed paid for the abo, but had not placed the leri before him: since all blood is alike, he could not tell whether he had been given the abo or some other animal. When Shangó and the other Saints saw the things being done on earth, they asked that the feathers and the head be placed there, so that in this way they would know what they were eating and what was being given to each Saint. That is why the eye of providence is born here, the eye that sees us all from heaven while no one can see up there. Also, because of the matter of the blood seen in this Ifá, San Lázaro is received, and because of the eye of providence Oduduwa must be received.

Through this Ifá the eye of providence is born, the eye that sees us all from heaven and that no one sees. Because of this, Oduduwa is received. Through this Ifá San Lázaro is also received.

In this Ifá there are problems with the person’s blood, and at the same time there is confusion as to what kind of illness they have.

Adifafun bameli

There was an awo who was blind in one eye. One day, consulting his sign of Ifá, he realised that he had to make a rogation for his life with a hen and an akuko, both one-eyed. After making the rogation, the awo disappeared, and it was discovered that a whale had swallowed him. His son, worried by his absence, set out in search of him and finally found him, but inside the whale. The son bought the whale from a fisherman and, on performing a new rogation, they found the father inside the animal’s stomach. The awo ordered the children to leave the room so that they would not see what was happening, but when they came out, they told him that his son was at home and well. The awo then decided to stay with his son, to care for him and protect him.

That the olesha or babalawo is coming to provoke his father; give something from the ebbo to Oshún and to Oggún.

The persecution of the cockroaches

Orunmila ordered the cockroaches to make ebbo so that they might populate the earth; they did so and populated it. Afterwards Orunmila ordered them to make ebbo so that they would not be destroyed, but they did not do it. And ever since then, everyone who sees cockroaches chases them until they kill them.

When Yemayá went to Olofin to have Ifá made for her son

Yemayá went to see Olofín so that he would make Ifá for her son, but he told her that he could not do it. Yemayá left greatly displeased, but she resolved to find a way of convincing Olofín. She discovered that Orisha Oko sold the ishus to Olofín and held the secret of how to sow them, so she decided to steal that secret from him. She presented herself naked before Orisha Oko and seduced him, but he paid her no attention. She tried the same thing twice more, without success. At last Orisha Oko yielded to her charms and Yemayá obtained the secret. She left his side and began to sow ishu on her own account, obtaining better results than Orisha Oko. Her crops were larger and more beautiful than his.

The eggun or Elegbá

This was an Eggun, or Elegbá, who was very deformed and always sat on the corner, and people mocked him, for which he bore a great grudge against people —except the children, who were the only ones who did not mock him.

It speaks here that whoever has this Ifá or sign has three egguns standing on the corner of their house, and the fourth eggun is the person themselves, who is surely alive, or else has the door of their house closer to the corner than to the middle of the street where they live. This Elegbá presents himself and one shakes his hand, but one must never acknowledge that it is him. The figure of this sign had testicles larger than his penis, and for that reason he could not walk well, since as he walked the testicles struck against his thighs, and he had to take a necklace and arrange it so that it reached down to the testicles, that is, 16 stretches of each colour.

The path of the spiritist

In the land of Ipkue Eru, most of the inhabitants were possessed by the egguns and devoted to spiritual practice, since the Orishas were not known there. Among them was a man who, when possessed by a certain eggun, was transformed into another shape and spoke incomprehensible words that the others could not understand. Seeing that he was not understood, he grew frantic and made his horse roll about on the ground.

One day, that man received a revelation telling him that he had to leave that land in order to find his true path. The next day he set out and came to the land of Aramba, where he made friends. One day he was invited to a spiritual ceremony and, despite the fear he felt, he accepted. During the ceremony, the eggun who possessed him spoke and revealed himself as an entity, a child of Shangó, asking that man to explain to his horse that he had to go to Orunmila’s house.

That man went to see Orunmila, who made osode for him and revealed that he was a child of Shangó destined to be possessed by the eggun and the Orishas. If he was faithful in fulfilling his duties to them, he would have success in life. That man accepted Elegguá and Awafakán, and then underwent the ceremony of Yoko Osha. He moved to the land of Ishu Awon Orisha, where in a short time he became rich and powerful, but he was very greedy and envious of the oba of that land.

Wishing to be the oba’s equal or better, he went to see him in order to be consecrated in Ifá. The awo made osode for him and revealed that he was very ambitious and envious, and that his true mission was to be an instrument of the eggun and the Orishas. He could never be an interpreter of Ifá. Ifá advised him to be content with what Olofín had given him, and not to try to abandon his true mission, so as not to destroy himself. To Iban Eshu.

The oba of the eggun

1ST SUYERE: Ogbatun Omaka Odara Inshe Omu Lode Igba Figba Ishé Kómi

2ND SUYERE: (to give water to eggun). Oba Fi Omo Ishe Omi Kobi Oshe Omolode Ashe Omolode.

3RD SUYERE: (to send eggun away). Oyile Igbe Emo Nijé Ije Oragun.

Olofun was about to marry a beautiful young woman, the purest maiden in the land, daughter of one of the town’s weavers. Olofun, fearing that his marriage might fail, called the most famous awo of the land of Iyeba to advise him.

The awoses brought Ifá down for him, and the Oddun that came out marked the need to make ebbo so that his betrothed would not die before becoming his wife, and so that the dowry he gave her would not be in vain. But since Olofun was irresolute, he did not make up his mind to do the ebbo, and instead decided to bring the wedding date forward.

On the eve of the wedding, his betrothed went to wash her clothes at the river, not knowing that on that day the eguns came down to walk there. The oba of the eguns devoured her and went on his way. Elegbá, who saw it all, ran to the house of the girl’s mother and told her what had happened.

The mother, a sorceress, took up a workshop’s tools and went out after the eguns. When she caught up with them, she began to sing: «eyile Igbe Emo Nijé, Omo Nijé, Omo Oragun«. The eguns answered that they were not the ones who had devoured her daughter, but she destroyed them all until she reached the oba of the eguns. He confessed to her that it was he who had devoured her daughter, and the mother fought him until she destroyed him with her 20 crowned heads. But it was already too late: the girl was dead, and so the word of Orunmila and of Ifá was fulfilled.

Ifá says that the awo of this sign must give owunko to Elegbá so as not to lose his woman or his money, and it also orders that a jícara (gourd bowl) with omi tutu always be kept in the igba of eggun for the oba of the eguns.

When the oba was struck blind

Eshu had asked Ogbe Roso for a goat in order to spare him a great difficulty, but he paid no heed, and one day the king sent for him to carry out a task of the utmost importance: to dry up the sea. Ogbe Roso told him he would do it if the king managed to find a man who was lame, hunchbacked and bald. The king tried to find such a man, but it proved impossible. Then Eshu disguised himself and appeared before the king, telling him to give him a goat and that in this way he would find the man he was looking for. The king agreed, and Ogbe Roso lost.

Ogbe Roso was performing ebbo when Eshu appeared before him and said: «you see what happened to you for not giving me the goat I asked for». Ogbe Roso asked how to close the ebbo, and it would not close, until he asked whether he himself should be included in the ebbo, and Eshu answered: «moni bi, the ebbo is for the sea and for you as well»; and so Ogbe Roso drowned.

The son of Ogbe Roso received the message that he must pray over his father’s head with Eya Tutu (oro). He did not find it in the market, but bought it on the shore of the sea. His father’s spirit told him to keep it in his house in secret. However, the son, in the company of his enemies, drank alcohol and forgot his father’s spirit’s instruction. He went before the king saying: «I do know, what happened to my father will not happen to me, because although he is dead, I have him in my house». The king said he would go and see for himself, and the son of Ogbe Roso answered that for 300 ounces of gold he would give him the proof. The king gave him the ounces of gold and they went together to the house of the son of Ogbe Roso. When the father’s spirit came out covered in jujú of eyele fun fun, the king was struck blind. That is why Olofin cannot be looked upon.

Oshún, the apeterví of Orunmila

Oyá lived with Orunmila, and he did not want Oshún as his wife. One day Elegguá suggested to Oshún that she make ebó to remove the arayé she carried upon her, since everyone desired her for being so beautiful. Olofin asked Orunmila why he did not want Oshún, she being so lovely. One day Orunmila made ebó with eku, eyá and awado to clean himself, and took it out to the bush. There he saw a very beautiful field of bleo and thought: «this would be good for my house»; and when he went to gather it, he fell into a blind well that lay in the field of bleo. On that very day, Oshún had also made ebó and had taken it to the same place to gather bleo. When she saw him she exclaimed: «Why, it is Orunmila!», took off her clothes and made a rope of them to pull Orunmila out of the well. Seeing her naked, Orunmila felt ashamed and took off his cloak to cover her. Then he lifted Oshún up and carried her to the town, where people began to say: «Look at Orunmila carrying Oshún!». Orunmila asked Olofin whether that woman was the right one for him, and Olofin answered that she was, and Orunmila did as Olofin told him.

Why is the ebó placed open before Elegguá?

Olofin was ill and sent for three babalawos to read him. They saw Ogbe Roso and marked an ebó for him with: eure, owunko, osiadie, malú, ashó fun fun, atí dun dun, pachanes, and other ingredients, opolopo owó. When Olofin’s wife saw the animals for the ebó, she said: «poor animals, make the ebó with their hair and feathers and let them live». The Babalawos asked the woman: «do you wish to see all things?». She answered that she did. The three babalawos made the ebó with the animals and pachanes meta, and with them they struck the ground, and it opened, and Olofin’s wife saw within the deep pit all the animals of the ebó and the other things. The Babalawos told her to take them, but she could not. The babalawos asked Olofin: «Babá, do you wish to go down so that the earth may close?». Olofin told them: «no, let my wife go down, for she was the one who spoke». The woman refused to go down, and the babalawos took hold of her and threw her into the deep pit, and the earth closed. This is why, in this sign, the ebó is placed wide open before Elegguá for a good while; afterwards it is removed and shared out so that all the positions may eat.