Okana Iwori

The barrel of gunpowder

On this path, ayaba was the queen of the iyebu, a Yoruba people, and also the queen of ageman, an orisha who dressed in white. She ruled over the land of iyebu ode and of iyebu ageman. The emir of akomaro of the Haussa, nomadic warriors of the desert, declared war on her.

The children of ageman, warriors of ikuanka, a sect of Oggún, led her armies, but they died one by one before the terrible hosts of the emir. Ageman fastened on her tin warrior’s helmet, gripping her spear and the little barrel of atukun that ariritari, king of ode and her vassal, had given her, for he had brought it back from his ventures through shanghai.

The battle was very bloody, and ageman and her generals had to fall back. At that moment she went to see Orunmila, who read this Ifá for her and told her that something she had been given, and carried with her, would save her, for destruction was upon her, and if she did not hurry she would lose her life. She replied that the only thing she carried was the little barrel of atukun that ariritari had given her. Orunmila told her that this was what would save her, and at once made ebbó with the little barrel, her clothing and her güiro.

When the cleansing was finished, Orunmila instructed ageman that in the next battle she should place the güiro on top of the little barrel, paint a woman’s face on it and set a warrior’s helmet upon it. Then she was to dress it in her clothing, mount it on her ibaka, a camel, and send it into the midst of the emir’s hosts.
A few days later, the emir’s hosts laid siege to idoma, and ageman came out to fight them with her warriors of ikuanka, insu oshuere, the amazons. Following Orunmila’s instructions, ageman did everything he had indicated.

When the camel took fright and plunged in among the emir’s warriors, they believed it was queen ageman, fallen into the encirclement. They charged the camel with great force, and even the emir himself fired his musket at what he believed to be the queen. At that moment the little barrel of atukun exploded, killing the emir and a great part of his soldiers.

This spread panic among the emir’s hosts, and the ikuankas and the osimeres easily finished off the emir’s forces. Thus was the kingdom of the iyesu saved, thanks to the sacrifice of ageman and the gift that ariritari had given her. From then on, in memory of these orishas fun fun, they never used gunpowder again.

: in this Ifá Obatalá left gunpowder behind; it saves and it destroys.

The father’s respect for the son

Olofin understood that his treatment of Shangó had been excessive and decided to make ebbó in order to reconcile with him. To that end, he consulted Orunmila and followed the ebbó indicated to draw Shangó into his presence. Shangó, seeing what had been set at his door, understood that only Olofin could have done it, and presented himself before him in anger; but Olofin knew how to handle the situation and showed him that he had treated him that way to test him, and to confirm his prudence and respect toward his father.

After that incident, Olofin and Shangó were reconciled, and harmony between them was restored. This story shows us that at times our actions can have unexpected consequences, and that it is important to reflect on our attitudes and to treat others with respect and consideration. Moreover, divination and ebbós can be useful tools for resolving conflicts and restoring harmony in our relationships.

Note

The trouble between the younger and the elder arises from the elder’s poor manners and pestering. To iban Eshu.
Advice: this oddun is called okana egamba, where the derecho set for the person is to be increased by 6 pesos, because it was here that Eshu became the awó’s banker. These are placed before Elegbá. This is where the earth was created, or where its firmness was born.

Oshún’s pumpkin

On this path, Oshún, after having given birth to many children, realized that her womb was losing its shape. Oshún was growing thin and wept; one day she set out on the road to perform a cleansing with different herbs.

The first cleansing she performed with a güira, and the güira dried out; when it moved it rattled like a maraca, and the noise disturbed her. Then she found a pumpkin on a plain and at once blessed her womb with it, and instantly her womb began to take shape again until she felt well.

Okana Wori uncovers Olofin’s trick

On this path, Olofin feigned his own death and the orishas prepared his funeral, but Orunmila saw through the trick and warned that something was wrong. When Orunmila arrived at the wake, he carried crushed ice in his hands and let it fall onto Olofin’s face, and Olofin stirred at the sensation of cold.

It was then that Olofin revealed his deception, and Orunmila made him king, asking ashe of all the orishas in his name. Afterwards, Olofin handed the ashe over to the orishas and required them to render moforibale in his presence.

The path where Shangó and Oggún fought on equal terms

On this path, Shangó and Oggún were in constant war, and the river dividing their lands was an obstacle for Shangó, who wanted to attack Oggún in his domains. To protect himself, Shangó planted hot pepper all along the riverbank, brought from the forbidden land of okana jio.

On one occasion, Oggún decided to attack Shangó’s land, but on reaching the river he felt the hot pepper plants burning him and fled to the house of Orunmila in search of help.

Orunmila advised him to offer two adie to Oshún so that she would awaken, for those hot pepper plants were there because Oshún had fallen asleep. Oggún followed the advice, and upon receiving the adie, Oshún awoke and moved the hot pepper plants to the wilds of okana jio, allowing Shangó and Oggún to fight on equal terms from then on