Osa Kuleya

The toad and the maja

The toad went to Orunmila and told him that the maja was saying that wherever he saw him, he would swallow him. Orunmila then told him to make ebó with: quiebro, Ikú (death), oka, akuko, eyele meyi, and to make himself humble so that he could prevail. The toad met the maja again after making the ebó. The maja swallowed him, but the toad went on doing him harm inside his belly, and he had to vomit him up. In that way the maja died and the toad was saved.

The king’s son who did not listen to Orunmila’s advice

Orunmila told the king that he had a son and that he should not let him go hunting. The king put the son under watch so that he would always be looked after, since the boy was very fond of hunting. One day, behind the guards’ backs, the boy made a sling and, taking advantage of the fact that they were distracted in conversation, he saw a dove fly past. He picked up a stone, put it in the sling and, with a good shot, managed to kill it. The dove came wheeling down through the air and fell into a river that was very close by. The boy, seeing the current carrying off his dove, tried to grab it, but he slipped and fell into the river as well. Desperate by then, a jicotea appeared to him and offered to save him on condition that he became her slave. The boy consented; the jicotea saved him and put him inside a drum she had.

From time to time the boy would sing his sorrows, and the jicotea would announce that she had a drum that played by itself. Desperate over the fate of his beloved son, the king sent for Orunmila, who read him and told the king that if he wanted his son to appear, he had to hold a great feast and invite all the musicians of the city. His son would appear there.

The king did so; he summoned all the musicians, who arrived one by one and played their instrument before the king and Orunmila. When it was the jicotea’s turn, she appeared with a drum, and at that moment the boy who was inside began to sing, and everyone present heard him. Orunmila told the king to send the musicians away, but to have them leave their instruments so that they might come back the next day to collect their prizes. And when they had all gone, they took the boy out of the drum and put a cao in his place.

The power of Oyá, Shangó and the agutan

On this path, Oyá was called Ogundá Illá. Olofin had given her a great secret so that everyone would respect her and she would live well in her land, which was called Awóide Inlé. Obatalá always went to give her advice, and one day he brought her a red necklace. Shangó said to her: «With this necklace, these two horns and this stone, you will have a great defence and everyone will respect you». Oyá was overjoyed and said to him «Moforibale», and began to sing: «Achébo achein, achebo achebaba ache, Obatalá la Endifa».

Obatalá told her: «Keep this secret well, and when you see someone performing a ceremony with a ewe, do not go near». Oyá presumed that she knew better. In the land of Awóide Inlé everyone lived under her horns and her dominion. One day Orunmila arrived in that land and noticed that Oyá slighted him in a certain way. Orunmila left that land, and on the way, entering the land of Obbáishe, he met Shangó, who was carrying a ewe in his left hand and an obí painted fun fun with the sign Osá Kuléya, the latter painted in Osún Pupúa.

Shangó gave moforibale to Orunmila, and Orunmila told him what had happened with Oyá. Shangó said: «I will settle that. I am going to Oké right now to speak with Olofin». On arriving, Shangó began to sing: «Baba Olorun, omo siwawá. Olofin Mayabo, Ifá omó Yaré».

Olofin, who heard the song, came out and asked Shangó what he wanted. He told him what Oyá had done to Orunmila, adding: «I am going to take revenge». Olofin replied: «I do not believe that of Oyá». Shangó, annoyed, said: «I will prove it to you». He went to Orunmila and said: «I want you to make ebó for me with everything I have brought here, and you will see what happens». Obatalá, who was in Orunmila’s house, said to Shangó: «Oyá is my daughter, she is a maiden, respect her». Shangó did not answer and set out for Oyá’s land.

In the scrubland he opened a hole and threw in the ebó, and went in. He took a coconut in his right hand and, passing his hand over the ewe, he sang: ‘Oyá sawaire omo laoyó umbo Oyá sawaire omo anllá Shangó’. Oyá, who heard something so beautiful, wondered: and who can be calling me? And she went out into the bush to find out who it was. Oyá saw that Shangó let the ewe loose; she caught it, and passing her hand over it, took it back to Shangó.

He placed the coconut in the hole and said to Oyá: ‘Cleanse your head well with the ewe’, which Oyá did, and afterwards he gave the ewe to the earth, throwing in the cotton as well, leaving Oyá senseless — the moment Shangó took to do ofikale trupon, leaving her obonú, and Oyá liked it. He took the two oggúe from her and put them away together with the ileke pupúa and fun fun.

Afterwards he cleansed Oyá with the two adié of the ebó and gave them to the earth, and Oyá came back to herself. Oyá went away without realising anything. Three months later she felt unwell and went to Olofin, who told her what had happened. She was told: ‘You failed in respect towards me, and now, until you give birth and that child is 7 years old and you take him to Orunmila so that Ifá may be made for him, you will not recover your good fortune’. Oyá went everywhere asking after Shangó, and no one could tell her anything. Oyá gave birth and, when the child was 7, she took him before Orunmila, and he saw this Ifá for him: Osá Kuléya.

Make the boat fast so that it does not drift away

The story tells that once, a ship found itself adrift — its captain being ashaba — and a tempest lashed it. The captain, seeing himself at the mercy of the elements, begged Olofin to send him something with which to hold the ship. He received a chain, which was not enough, so he begged again and received an anchor. The anchor joined to the chain brought the vessel to a halt, saving Ashaba, the vessel and his life.

ADVICE: A person for whom this oddun comes out, if they are reckless, is told that they must settle down. It may also be presumed that the person can be bound at any moment.

5.- WHERE Oyá GAVE UP EATING RAM. (SHANGÓ OGODOMA KULENKUO SPEAKS).
PATAKIN:

On this path, Oyá was the owner of the marketplace and was in love with Shangó, but could not win his favours. It happened that one day, while Oyá was hunting in the forest, she saw a beautiful black buffalo and observed with surprise that the buffalo took off its hide. When it left, she stole the hide and carried it off to her marketplace. The next day, when Shangó went to look for his hide, he saw that it was not there and, searching desperately by the trail, he came to the marketplace. There he found Oyá, and she told him that she had it, but she said she would not give it back before he granted her his favours and came back to her. He accepted, but on condition that she not reveal his secret. She agreed, and on that understanding they began to see one another and had the Ibeyis. Oggún, who was Shangó’s enemy, obtained the secret through Yemayá, who was Oyá’s sister, and began to spread it to the four winds: that Shangó was Agodoma Kulenkúo (the young buffalo).

Shangó, seeing his secret made public, took his disguise, put it on and went out into the forest to look for Oyá. She had gone to Obatalá’s house, and he made Osode for her and marked ebó: abo, akuko, ayele meyi, otí, ori and efún. Oyá did not make it and went off to pasture her flock of sheep so that they could feed. Then Shangó, in his search, came upon Oggún; they fought, and in the fight Oggún tore off one of his horns and kept it as a trophy (that is why the ogue of Oggún has only one horn). But since the magic of the disguise made the horns grow back, he had it again at once. Shangó left Oggún and went on looking for Oyá until he found her with the abo and the Ibeyis. He lunged to charge at her, and Oyá, seeing Agodoma, understood everything and, knowing herself lost, took the Ibeyis and threw the abo to Shangó, who, enraged, went on eating them. And when he tasted them and liked them, he kept everything of Oyá’s for ever.

In that way Oyá gave up her food in order to save herself and to save her children. She became Yanza (the whirlwind) and took the Ibeyis, brought them out of there and handed them over to Olofin.

Yemayá lives in an amphora. Inside it she carries 21 spans of chain, an anchor and a rope encircling the base of the amphora.

The path of the harpooner

On this path, in Aguado Uilé, there lived a poor fisherman named Akomo who had a reputation as a harpooner and net-caster. One day, walking along the seashore, Akomo saw a boy mistreating an ayapa kuekue he had found. Akomo took the ayapa and set it free, throwing it into the sea. Several days later he was fishing when he heard a voice calling him from the sea by his name. Startled, he searched around the boat and saw that it was the ayapa kuekue he had saved. On another occasion the same thing happened, but this time it thanked him for the kind act of having freed it. It also offered to teach him its craft and to take him to its sea kingdom of many marvels. Akomo asked who it was, and it answered that it was Osa Kuleya, the diviner of Olokun, the monster of the seas.

«Lomade abanita yerniduegre, acuna eri Okomo facinade».

Akomo went down to know those lands, and there he fell in love with the daughter of the oba, named Asesú, and with her he lived a happy, peaceful, comfortable life, and there he spent 300 years. But in truth the life of the sea was slower than that of the land, and on land 300 years had already gone by.

One day he asked to return to the land to see his family, and at last they gave way. Then Osa Kuleya prepared him to go back to the land; they made an urgent ebó for him with all the marvels of the sea, and they sent him down with Eya Orun so that he would have the virtue of being one with all the kingdoms of nature. They prepared for him a beautiful güiro which they called «the güiro of the great Yoya», and they advised him never to open it on any account or in any circumstance.

Akomo set out for the place that had been his town. His house was only a foundation covered with spiders and scorpions. There were no streets nor any sign of life, apparently for many years. He made his way to some neighbouring houses and asked after his parents, but not even the oldest could give him any news. Then he showed them a piece of cloth he had kept, and the old man told him that it had not been used for some 300 years.

Akomo, horrified at what had happened, went to the seashore and began to call Olokun and Asesú, and receiving no answer, he knew that he belonged neither to one world nor to the other. And in his horror he opened the güiro, thinking he would find some power to make up for it, and only a white smoke came out and a small voice that prayed and sang Osa Ogunda.

At once his hair turned white, his jaw lengthened and his back bent, and he became an old man carrying his 300 years, until he came to be what he is today: a great jicotea (ayapa tiroco), who still carries the secrets of the two worlds and of many centuries.

Where they wanted to kill Orunmila

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Here Orunmila had many enemies, and one fine day he left his house and one of his enemies began to pursue him with the idea of killing him. Orunmila discovers this and stands still on that spot, since that was what his guardian angel had told him to do, as he did not know the ground he was treading on.

The enemy, seeing Orunmila standing motionless in that place, rushed at him with a knife in his hand. And when he was already close to Orunmila, he fell into a pit that was there, and the quicksand swallowed him, because in those parts that kind of ground was very common.

Thus Orunmila was saved from death.

How awo eya orun came about

On this path the leri may not be prayed over when the fish does not have a large tongue. On this path were born the great secrets of awo and eya, who were both babalawos. Both were born in the same place, they lived together and understood one another through their sacred speech, but eya presumed to be wise and clever, because his speech was a snoring sound. He understood himself with Olofin and with eggun, and when he spoke with him he sang: «fufu Lele Eggun Eya Awa Ikú Eggun». Awo aún, for his part, after the prayer he had to make, would set to whistling, and with this he called all the Orishas, chiefly Shangó, Orun and Ozain. This was his song: «gbogbo Orisha Aún Leku Lorun, Gbogbo Orisha Aún Leku Lorun, Gbogbo Orisha Aún Wani Wao Elenu Oni Shangó».

Shangó, on hearing this song, would say: «How much awo aún knows, and what secrets he has; one day I am going to give him my strength, so that with it the water in which he lives may be as great as the land and the sea, and everyone may respect him».

Awo eya, every time he heard awo aún with his whistling songs, was annoyed. One day, eya and aún fell to talking, and eya said to aún: «I understand that you have more secret powers than I do, but I have more knowledge than you, for I am cleverer». Aún gave him no answer.

One day eya set to thinking that he could not go on beside aún, since he could not make progress, whereas aún could.

Every time Shangó sent a thunderclap, the obini of aún gave birth. Aún, seeing that eya was sad, called him and said: «Let the two of us come to an agreement and sing to Olorun, Shangó, Ozain and Eggun; perhaps this will be for the good of us both, though it is likely that we shall never be able to sing again, because we shall lose our voices». «Olorun Iwashe Shangó, Olorun Iwashe Shangó, Elenu Agando Awadishe Ozain Agando Obani Lekun Eggun Awa Ishe Agando».

The message was received at once by Shangó, Olorun, Ozain and Eggun. They heard the song of Eya and Awo Aún in which they made their petitions. Olorun sent the water straight away to the ilé of Ibu. Ozain and Eggun sent the wind and the storm. Shangó sent the lightning, the thunder, the thunderbolt. The river churned and began to rise. The fish went out to the sea, the jicoteas to the land, and they lay against the sticks and grasses that the storm was moving, but they went back to the river. When everything had calmed, Shangó appeared, standing between the river and the sea. He said: «Open your mouth», and together with Ozain he took his voice away. He said to Aún: «You alone will serve for all the secrets in the world, and your voice you shall keep». Ozain took the voice and put it into his güiro. He said to Eya: «You will have a great secret with all the Orishas and with all the egguns. Through your knowledge you will live here, which is greater than where you live, but Aún will be the one who feeds you, because he holds all the secrets».

Shangó and Ozain said to Awo Eya: «There are still things you lack in order to be able to live. Let us go to Awo Aún so that he may give you those secrets». The two of them set out for the house of Awo Aún, but Awo Eya went very sad, because he had believed he had more power than anyone.

When they reached Ilé Ikú, where Awo Aún lived, they told him that he had to give various secrets to Awo Eya so that he could live in the Ilé of Olokun, where he could be killed. Awo Aún obeyed Ozain and Shangó at once, bringing out various otases that he would mount for them, telling them that this would keep Awo Eya from dying, because the stones would maintain the conditions Awo Eya needs in order to live. This said, whirlpools and storms began to form in the river, so that the stones ended up in the sea. Awo Aún said to Shangó and Ozain: «You are satisfied now, but from here on he shall be called Awo Eya Orun, because he carries my curse».