Ogbe Wale

Path 1

This Oddun holds the story of how Orunmila defeated his enemies with a thick log (or a plantain stump if there is none), and how the lily spread over the lagoon after defeating two enemies. Lilies are placed on the dead for this reason.

It is the Oddun of the origin of creation. Here it is recommended to give the leri boiled malanga with eta elede so that the mother may plead before Olofin for her child. A special ebbo with seven reales is also spoken of, which must be thrown away in the bush.

The three Elegbá

The planting of Eshu Ekute was large and beautiful, with a great yield, and his yams were the best-selling ones. His two brothers envied him and threw powders on his crop so that it would not turn out well, since the two of them were not prospering — and that was because Ekute was cheating his brothers. The result of the brothers’ labour never showed, because Ekute himself diverted their irrigation water to his own field. Every day Ekute took a yam to Orunmila, and at the same time told him that the others refused to send him anything, saying that after working as hard as they did, they were not going to give part of their harvest away to an old sorcerer.

Given Ekute’s claims, Orunmila decided to act against Laroye and Alagwana, closing their paths so that nothing came in to them, until the two went to complain at Olofin’s feet, telling him how it could be possible that they, who sent his son Orunmila everything, should have Orunmila order that nothing of their produce be bought. That was how the trap Ogbe Wale had set for his two brothers came to light. Then Orunmila punished him so that «wherever he went he would carry disarray and division».

Where Elegbá ate biajaca (eya osun)

In ancient times, in the king’s chamber at Ijebu Ode, there lived a king named Alakesi who owned a pond of biajacas that he valued enormously. Eshu came to that land intending to cause trouble. Alakesi consulted Orunmila and was told to make an ebbo in order to obtain a fortune that was close at hand. Alakesi, however, did not make the ebbo.

Eshu lodged in the king’s palace and set fire to its roofs and its posts. Then he began to cry out innocently «fire! everything is lost!», while holding an enormous casting net with an incalculable fortune in it. The shouting woke the whole town and the king, who came to where Eshu was. On hearing Eshu, the townspeople asked how they could pay for his fortune.

The elders agreed to ask Eshu what he wanted, and he said he would be satisfied with eating the biajacas from the pond and, in exchange, would give Alakesi long life, more power and riches. Alakesi accepted and offered his biajacas to Eshu. From then on, Alakesi became a far richer and more powerful man, spoken of throughout the Yoruba land.

The betrayal of the owunko against the aya

Once, Olofin summoned all the animals to a gathering to tell them what their position would be according to their kind. While Olofin was delivering his address on the duties and the morals each one had to observe, a bitch appeared and the dog who was there went off with her. The dog smelled the bitch’s obo and discovered that she was in her menstruation (Oshupa); then they had intercourse. Olofin, seeing this, was outraged and told the dog that this was not proper, and condemned him to be forever a beggar and to suffer a foul disease, and that every time he mounted a bitch she would be in her period. The goat, unaware of the dog’s feelings towards him, was the only animal that accused the dog and reviled him. Olofin, who did not know of the rivalry between the goat and the dog, congratulated him on his moral conduct. The dog was expelled from the gathering, but in time the truth came out. Some of the animals present did not agree with the goat’s attitude towards the dog and agreed to watch him day and night. These animals were the earthworm, the maja, the ant, the mouse and the fly. One day, after patient watching, the mouse — the goat’s fiercest enemy — saw him having intercourse with the she-goat, first smelling her obo and then passing his tongue over her. The mouse called the other animals so that they could see it with their own eyes. As a result, the goat was expelled from his town and condemned by Olofin to live wandering and to be pursued by the dog.

Before mounting the she-goat, the goat first smells her obo and then passes his tongue over her, afterwards lifting his eyes to the sky and baring his teeth, trying to spit upwards as a sign of apology for what he has just done; but the saliva he casts falls back on his own face, because whoever criticises a thing sooner or later does the very thing he criticised.

By losing, one wins

On this path, Ogbe Wale was an awo of Orunmila and also a great smuggler from the land of Eshobo, which was the land of Oshún. The daughters of Oshún used to gather gold nuggets by washing the river sands, and laid them on the body of the deer. Ogbe Wale had great riches stored up, but there was an Oba in the land of Adaresa who also smuggled gold and precious stones. So Ogbe Wale decided to make himself master of all that Oba’s wealth and gathered all his henchmen, telling them he was preparing an assault on the land of Adaresa to seize all its treasures.

His henchmen told him that in that land there were ferocious dogs guarding the entrance. Ogbe Wale made osode for himself and saw this Ifá, which told him to stay in his own house and not to go into another’s. He told himself that he should not go to the land of Adaresa, but it was already too late: there was no stopping his henchmen. So he made a pact with Elegbá, whom he placed at the head of the crown, adorning it with much flattery. He stored away his sacks of gold and they marched towards the land of Adaresa, leaving the sacks in Oshún’s house.

Once in the land of Adaresa, Elegbá, who went at the front, threw a piece of the eran of Owunko used in the ebbo at each furious dog that came at them. They reached the palace, and the Oba of that land had already fled. Ogbe Wale took the Oba’s riches and placed them in Obatalá’s cart. The survivors of the palace of Adaresa made their way into the land of Oshobe and took Ogbe Wale’s palace, where they put to death all the traitors who had abandoned him halfway along the road. They thought he would die in Adalesa and never return, but their reckoning was wrong and they died as traitors.

Ogbe Wale took Obatalá’s cart and set it between the borders of the lands of Adaresa and Oshobe. He put Alá Igí Agogo Fun Fun on it, and all the oti he was carrying, and left it there. When the men of Adaresa came back from the land of Oshobe after destroying Wale’s palace, they saw the cart and set to drinking the oti until they were drunk. That was the moment Ogbe Wale seized: he cut all their throats and, taking the cart, went to the house of Oshún, who helped him.

Not long after, the men of Adaresa and Oshobe made peace and said: «We have been left without an Oba; we must join together and look for an Oba to rule both lands». They went to Oshún’s house, and she had disguised Ogbe Wale so well that the men did not recognise their old enemy, for the disguise was perfect.

Oshún was given the task of finding an oba capable of governing both lands. So she presented Ogbe Wale Nifa to them as the one chosen by Olofin.

Oshún told the men to go to the forest and look for a cart beside an ashi wabela plant. There they would find a man who would present himself as Ogbe Wale Nifa and would be the oba. When they reached the place, Ogbe Wale was already waiting and told them: «I am the oba of the lands of Aderesa and Oshobe, by the will of Olofin».

The scorpion

The scorpion had no way of defending himself because he lacked the necessary weapon; he suffered hunger and hardship and was mistreated by the other animals. One day he went to Obatalá’s house and begged him for something he could defend himself with. Obatalá gave him his sting, but warned him not to abuse that power, because his own arrogance could bring him to ruin.

But the scorpion, as soon as he left Obatalá’s house, was eager to test his power and began to sting every animal he met. The other animals, feeling the pain of the stings, fled, and the scorpion felt like a king.

Seeing this, the animals gathered and surrounded the scorpion’s house to try to come to an agreement with him and prevent further attacks. But the arrogant scorpion refused to make any pact, and the other animals ringed him with a circle of fire. Finding himself surrounded by the flames and unable to attack the others, the scorpion killed himself with his own sting.

The person sleeps little, likes to have many small things, has a tendency to vice, and is fond of masturbation, whether doing it or having it done.

The suffering

On this path, Obatalá (Ona Suare) was searching for his son, of whom he had had no news for sixteen years. He travelled the land accompanied by five scorpions and came to a palace where a woman was sitting, nursing an omokekere. When she saw Susre with the akeke (scorpions) on his body she took fright and slammed the door in his face, but she could not stop one of the akeke from stinging the baby, leaving him paralysed. She began to scream in horror, so Obatalá, taking pity on her, restored the little one to life with his power — and then saw that the child bore the royal insignia of Ado Fun Fun with Ikodie, the very one of his missing omo.

Then Obatalá Ona Suare asked that woman about the child’s father, and she told him he was a strange man, a diviner named Ogbe Wale, who lived in great suffering, because what he expected of his children always turned out quite differently. Obatalá went to see Ogbe Wale, and when he arrived he saw that this was his own missing son and, pretending not to know him, asked him to make osode. On seeing this Ifá, the diviner told him: «sir, you carry great suffering in your life because of your children». Obatalá answered: «the same as you, who bear the very name of this Ifá and do not know your own father».

And saying this, he put on his Adé Fun Fun with Ikordie, and then Ogbe Wale recognised his father, and Obatalá said to him: «my son, to be happy you must realise that the hand has five fingers and none of them is alike, for they have different names, shapes and attributes, and they live together on the same hand; until you learn this, you will live in suffering». Hearing these words, Ogbe Wale acknowledged that his father was right and marked the rogación (the one above). And from then on, Ogbe Wale stopped suffering over his children.

The names of the five fingers of the hand are the following: atampako (the thumb), Ifá bela (the index), oba orun (the middle finger), asho mongbe (the ring finger) and omo dinrin (the little finger).

The disorder

There was a man whose life was made impossible in his own home because everyone in the house lived in disorder. No attention was given to the eggun or to the orishas; they only fed themselves. One day a woman approached this man and shortly afterwards began to work with the eguns and other things. In a short time this man was on the edge of madness, and his despair was such that he began to wish for death. One morning he was found dead.

The person needs to have oparaldo done and to feed eggun and Elegbá. He has two women, one of whom feels scorned. This Ifá speaks of war inside his own house.

When ogbe wale died of tuberculosis

This is the account of a man named Ogbe Wale, a great seducer who respected no woman. One day he deceived and mocked a young follower of Oshún, which made her fall gravely ill with tuberculosis and finally die.

In the land where Ogbe Wale lived, it was the custom that before burying anyone, the family consulted Orunmila to learn the will of the spirit. When the consultation was made, it was revealed that the young woman’s spirit was angry with Ogbe Wale. Orunmila advised the mourners to ask Ogbe Wale to make an ebbo with the measure of his body, corn, eku, eya and the clothes he was wearing, and to offer it to the spirits before she was buried. But Ogbe Wale ignored the advice and went on with his reckless behaviour.

Eshu, the God of the roads, hearing of Ogbe Wale’s doings, provided him with a new woman. But she, guided by Eshu, went to the young woman’s grave and complained about him. She heard a voice telling her to take a bone from that body and scrape it to give to Ogbe Wale. The woman obeyed and gave Ogbe Wale the drink, which brought on a dry cough, and in the end he died of tuberculosis.

This story teaches us about the consequences of our disrespectful and inconsiderate actions towards others, and how bad conduct can lead to misfortune and death.

On this path oparaldo must be done.

Where Oshún ate adie for the first time

On this path, an adie did not know where to lay her eggs, because she had no peace and no fixed place for a nest. The adie went down to the riverbank and saw igi guama, and began to lay her eggs there, but she became covered in lice and decided to leave. On her way she met Elegbá, and the two of them stopped to talk. The adie told Elegbá her worries and her sorrows, and Elegbá told her to rub herself with escoba amarga to cure her ailments.

The adie thanked Elegbá and went on her way. Before long she came upon escoba amarga and remembered what Elegbá had told her, and followed his instructions. The adie’s luck began to change, but after a while she felt unwell again. She decided to go to Orunmila’s house, where he made osode for her and foretold that she would find someone who would solve her problems.

A few days later, Oshún met Elegbá, and he greeted her. Elegbá knew of the adie’s ingratitude and decided that Oshún should eat the adie. Elegbá told Oshún he would show her something new, and then, in the distance, he pointed out the adie. Oshún ate the adie, and otoku for unyen. From then on, Oshún began to improve in health and in everything else, thanks to Orunmila and Elegbá. The adie died for her ingratitude towards Elegbá.

Here one loses one’s life through ingratitude and discrediting others.

The quarrel between the adie and the kuekueye

On this path, the adie and the kuekueye lived on the earth, but the adie envied the kuekueye, since she saw that his children were very beautiful and were coming along well. She wanted her eggs to be ducklings instead of chicks. The adie watched her neighbours from a drying line by her own door.

Unable to achieve her aim, the adie went to Orunmila’s house to see how she could get what she wanted. Orunmila advised her to make an ebbo, and she followed his advice. Even so, the adie kept dwelling on her purpose and told herself that she was the only one with power.

Eshu was listening and pushed her on with her wishes. So the adie began to lay her eggs while singing «Añi Adie Kuekueye Omo Kekere Asire», hoping they would be ducks. But Eshu, who was underneath her, ate the eggs while she went on singing «Oromodie Lereko Eñi Adie Imi Eshuni». The eggs broke and the adie realised that what she was attempting was impossible.

Orunmila and Eshu stepped in and put an end to the quarrel between the adie and the kuekueye by means of an oparaldo.

Here it is marked that Ogbe Wale’s purposes are always up in the air, and that he builds vain illusions. This Ifá tells the awo that he lives in his own way, that he does not listen to advice, and that he must be left alone to learn his lesson, since in this Ifá no one is taken into account. He alone believes himself powerful, he ends up alone, and his affairs turn out weak.