Ojuani Pokon

The ebbo was what saved them

There was a man going through a terrible spell, and he was advised to have an osode done with Orunmila. Following that advice, the osode was made and he was told to do an ebbo (the one named above). But being so fond of parties, the man decided to send his son off with the ebbo in his place. That day happened to fall on the eve of a great circus festival in the town, where all manner of wild beasts were being shown as part of the publicity.

As the man’s son walked through the streets with the ebbo, the elephant and the tiger caught its scent and followed him. The boy, tired of walking, decided to leave the bundle on a rooftop, never noticing that the beasts were on his trail.

The next day, at the height of the festival, the king’s son stopped in front of the tigers’ cage. At that very moment the leri of the horned Owunko fell on his head from the roof above.

The king, alarmed by what had happened, looked into it and found out who had left the ebbo on the roof. He ordered the boy’s father brought before him and told him: «I have your son locked up; if a child is to meet an early death, it will be your son.»

The boy’s father hurried to Orunmila, anguished and afraid, laying out the case and blaming the ebbo for the misfortune. Orunmila told him to make the same ebbo once more, only this time he was to carry it himself to the foot of a tree.

The man followed the instructions, and the king’s son took a remarkable turn for the better. When the man went to visit his own son, the king asked him how he had brought the sick boy along so well, and the man answered that it had been thanks to the ebbo. Having another sick son, the king asked the man to cure him too, promising him a great fortune in return. Once again the man consulted Orunmila, who told him to make an ebbo for the sick boy. Following that advice, the king’s other son recovered, and they all lived happily.

The daughter of Oshún

There was a man who was an awo of Orunmila and had this Ifá. On the day of his Ifá, the wise elders advised him that, whatever he might see, if there were a fight, a quarrel or a tragedy, he was not to get involved and could not go asking what had happened, since that could do him great harm. They also told him not to be greedy and never to raise his hand against a woman, and least of all against a daughter of Oshún.

This awo was disobedient and forgetful, wilful and set on having his own way, and he paid no heed to anything he was told. One fine day he had trouble at home and left.

Sitting on a park bench, trying to gather his thoughts and decide which road to take, he was joined by a good-looking young woman, and the two fell into pleasant conversation. He told her what he was going through, and she invited him to her house.

The awo then remembered the elders’ advice, and remembered that faced with a situation like this he was to make an ebó with a long stick, 16 shaworegbe, 16 ibín, 16 eñí, etú mewí, eyele mewí and akukó, and the lerí of this ebó, and that he was also to make an ebó for the girl with an akukó, a cowbell, owunko and owo — but he did not do it.

At first all went well, but one day they argued and he raised his hand to the girl, beating her savagely. At once he remembered the wrong he had done and made his way to his godfather’s house, who looked at him, saw this Ifá, and told him that it all came of his disobedience, that they wanted to bring him down, and that if he did not want to be lost he had to act quickly.

The godfather made him the ebó he had been given and sent for the young woman; he made her ebó as well, handed her ikofá, and told her that from then on she should watch out for traps, and that as soon as she could she should offer two hens to Oshún.

The awo did everything he was told, and peace and quiet reigned once more. The girl was a daughter of Oshún.

The disobedient fisherman

There was a fisherman who spent his whole life fishing. The more he caught, the more he wanted to pull in, and so every day he was late carrying his fish to town. But it turned out he could no longer sell them: they spoiled, and he had to give away the ones still fit to eat and throw out the rotten ones.

One day another fisherman showed him his fine varieties of fish and told him that this was nothing next to what lay at the bottom of the sea.

The fisherman, in his bad straits, went to consult Orunmila, who saw this Ifá for him and told him: «you have to make ebó, and you cannot bathe in the sea.»

The man paid no heed and instead found himself a mask for fishing and went off to the sea. He dived down into the depths, and there Olokun appeared to him and, seeing him with that mask, said: «you have uncovered the secret, and so that you cannot reveal it, you will have to die.» Then Olokun took the mask off him, and the man began to swallow water and died.

The greatest shadow in the world

Ojuani Pokon Ikú Mokuao was the greatest shadow in the world and the ruler of Ikú (death). She lived in the land of Lerei Yeye, where she was often visited by all manner of evils and troubles: sickness, misfortune, discord, conflict and the rest.

These companions followed Ikú Mokuao into different lands, and every time they arrived they grew stronger. Because of the din they brought with them, some people had to hide, but most had no time to do so. Ikú Mokuao always returned to the land of Lerei Yeye frustrated, because she could not carry out her office in full: things never turned out as she expected. Ikú Mokuao would sing: «pokon Lele Ikú Ikú Boyegua Pokon Lele Ikú, Ikú Boyegua, Ikú Mokuao Yoro Yoro». And the evils danced around her, which delighted her.

Obatalá, seeing what was happening, told Olofin that something had to be done for the inhabitants of the different lands of the world before Ikú Mokuao gained still more strength.

Whenever Olofin and Obatalá discussed doing something in the different lands for their people, there was always one of the evils listening in, and it would warn Ikú Mokuao, who at once changed her strategy and sent different evils to that land. On their journey these evils sang: «ojuani Pokon Kerelube Ikú, Ojuani Pokon Kerelube Ikú Inle Boyeba Oba Ikú, Ojuani Pokon Ikú Mokuao». And this was so powerful that there were times when the people of those lands had no time to hide and vanished all at once.

Obatalá, still watching what was going on, went back to Olofin’s house and said to him: «Baba Olofin, I have come to see you because, for all we have done, the different lands are just as they were and their people are no better off. The evils are worse by the day.» For all this, Obatalá and Olofin were deeply saddened.

In the land where an awo named Abebe Orun lived there was almost nothing left, and this had Abebe Orun badly frightened. So he went to see Obatalá and told him what was happening in his land. Obatalá answered him:

«I have already gone to Olofin to put this matter to him, and everything possible has been done to solve your problem, but every day Ikú Mokuao grows stronger and worse in the world. If this goes on, she will lay everything waste, such is the great power she holds.»

Awo Abebe Orun burst into tears, and Obatalá said to him: «Let us go where Orunmila is; but to get there without trouble we have to wash our head and body with asho dun dun and our face with asho fun fun. Orunmila is the only one who can save us, and he lives far away in the land of Karalorun.»

They set out on the road and came upon three pashanes. Awo Abebe Orun picked them up and handed them to Obatalá so that he would strike the ground hard with them. Awo Abebe Orun went along singing:

«Kaleku Lode Bawa Lona, Kaleku Lode Ikú Bawa Lona, Akuelebe Orun Awa Isi Eggun Ikú Lode Awa Isi».

Obatalá saw that as they passed through the different lands the situation improved, and the people bowed down asking for blessings and giving thanks. This went on all the way until they reached the ilé of Orunmila, who was himself a little frightened and sad, because in his land the same thing was happening as in the others.

When Orunmila saw Obatalá and Awo Abebe Orun he was overjoyed. They told him what was happening in the world, and he told them that something similar was happening in his own land. Orunmila took up his okuele and this Ifá came out, whereupon he said: «adifafun Ikú Mokuao — I must carry out a great work, and while it lasts you must stay here and not go out for seven days, not even to the street door, so that you are not lost.»

Orunmila took adie and osiadie dun dun, removed the ashó that Obatalá and Awo Abebe Orun were wearing, and began to perform a ceremony. But since they could see nothing, they imagined Orunmila was doing nothing at all. As he called, he said:

«awa Lele Ikú Mokuao, Awa Lele Ikú Mokuao, Ojuani Pokon Boyebe Ikú, Ikú Mokuao».

Ikú Mokuao, who was coming down the road with all the evils, heard Orunmila’s deep prayer. She was dancing and striking her agogós, and at that moment, when barely a third of the ceremony Orunmila was performing had gone by, Awo Abebe Orun ran out into the street and seized Ikú Mokuao.

Orunmila came out at once, but Ikú Mokuao threw Awo Abebe Orun to the ground. Orunmila took the adie dun dun, added plenty of palm oil to it, and took the osiadie, to which he added rum. He also took the asho fun fun and dun dun, three pashanes, rum, corojo butter and chalk, and scattered them over Awo Abebe Orun. Then he told Ikú Mokuao and all the evils to kiss the earth, and they began to cover Awo Abebe Orun with earth while they sang:

«iba Koleye, Iba Koleye Iwa Inle Iba Koleye».

They repeated this chant until they had covered all the ground, and so the fear that Ikú Mokuao had planted in the world came to an end. Ikú Mokuao and the evils dissolved, the lands cleared, and their people prospered and lived out their lives.

The oparaldo of this sign takes a malaguidi of plantain stalk on whose chest Otura Niko is written and on whose back Ojuani Pokon is written. The candle of this oparaldo is not lit: it is used to rub the knife with which the oparaldo is made, inside which Otura Niko and Ojuani Pokon are written, and the malaguidi is placed inside. After the adie and the osiadie dun dun have been worked, the subject is struck on the back with the pashanes. He then leaves at once; the pashanes are broken and go into the joro joro with the adie and the osiadie, from which, once worked, eyerbale is given to the circle and to the malaguidi. When the subject receives the pashanes he must run out. Everything from the oparaldo goes into the joro joro.

Mokuao is a spirit of destructive power which, on coming into contact with anything, destroys all that Olofin himself created.

The spirit of island witchcraft

There was once a man of an island who owned money and a prenda of great value. Living alone, he feared being robbed, so before he died he decided to bury the money and the prenda at the foot of a ceiba. Before doing so he left three instructions: the first, that a mass be said in the church for his soul; the second, that the exact place where the money and the prenda lay buried would be revealed in dreams; and the third, that a rooster was to be offered to the prenda beside the ceiba. The spirit was charged with handing over the money and the prenda to someone, so that his soul could rest in peace, evolve, and help others.