Oshe Bile

The pact between Obi and Oshe Bile

Once Olofin, Odudua and Orunmila came down to earth to see how things were going. They reached a hut looking for water, and when they knocked at the door it was opened by Oshe Bile, the dweller of that hut. The man brought them water in a jícara (gourd bowl), which came back full when Olofin used his powers.

Olofin offered to grant Oshe Bile a power, but Orunmila pointed out that he would have to join with another person for it. Oshe Bile said he wished to have the power to communicate with Olofin and ask him for whatever he wanted: «To Iba Eshu». And so the three travellers went on their way.

Further along they met Obi, who felt forsaken because nobody cared about him. Orunmila told him that he would need something in order to be useful, and Olofin answered with these words: «To Iba Eshu». Then they continued on their road.

In time, Olofin, Odudua and Orunmila came down again to see how things were faring. They went to Oshe Bile’s hut, but he had still done nothing. They also visited Obi, who still felt forsaken and had done nothing either.

When he went to see Orunmila once more, he asked him whether Olofin had deceived him. Orunmila discovered that something was missing for him to use the power he had been given. So he told him that he had to join with the owner of the hut; that way, what Olofin had granted him could reach this world.

Following those instructions, Obi went to the place indicated, and when he knocked at the door Oshe Bile asked him what he wanted. Once he learned the reason he was there, he offered to help and to carry him with him to the land of Ifá.

So Obi threw him over his shoulder and they set off. When they arrived, a great epidemic was afflicting everyone. That was when Obi began to divine and to give advice on how to cure the illnesses. While he spoke, Oshe Bile spoke with heaven so that Olofin would hear his words. That is how the people managed to save themselves.

In gratitude they threw a great feast for Obi, without a thought for the man he had left lying on the ground. After this, Obi went off to another land ruled by Oggún. Oggún asked him whether he would win the battle, and Obi answered that he would.

Trusting Obi’s word, Oggún went to war and in the end lost the fight. When he came back he went looking for Obi to beat him for having misled him; that was when Obi remembered Oshe Bile and set out to find him. Once he found him he apologised and promised never to forget him again. To seal this commitment Oshe Bile proposed: «Let us make a pact; before you speak you have to count on me, so that what you say may be seen, and so that you forget me no more». To these words Obi answered: «I accept; so it shall be until the end of the world».

How divining with the obi was born

In the city of Adio there lived a priest named Biawegbon with his wife Jaga. He had several children, among them Adiatot (the eldest), Adwegbon (the one who breaks the coconut) and Alakentu (the coconut hunter). Although they lived with other people in the house, only these three were regarded as his legitimate children; the rest were adopted.

The priest Biawegbon had received the Ashe of Olordumare, which allowed him to possess the ability to use the segments of the coconut for divination. He passed on the power of the Oddun to his children so that they could help him in this work. Each child received a secret of the divination system separately. To the eldest, Adiatoto, he handed the most important secret of the coconut, which he called «Alafia». This secret made it possible, with the power of Eyiogbe and the Meri Awegbon fun fun, to obtain an affirmative answer in the divination.

To the third, Alakentu, he handed the secret of the balance of the coconut, called «Eyeife». With this secret, when the Meri Amegbon fun fun and the Meri Amegbon dun dun fell, the truth of life could be obtained through the power of the Oddun Iwori, Odi, Iroso, Ojuani, Oshe and Ofun.

To the fourth child he handed the secret of the falseness of the coconut, which can deceive and therefore save or kill, and which required a further question to be asked. If this sign appeared, it covered the power of 4 Oddun, which are Ogunda, Osa, Otura and Irete.

Biawegbon kept the last secret for himself, since he noticed that all his children except Adiatoto went abroad after learning the secrets he had given them. In the end he taught the last secret to Adiatoto and to the other children. This last secret was called «Okana», which denies the question outright. When the Meta Awegbon dun dun and the Okan Awgbon fun fun appeared in the divination, the answer was a total denial.

Years went by and Adiatoto travelled to the nearby city of Ikirun, and while he was there his father Biawegbon died suddenly. Biawegbon’s adopted children, finding none of the legitimate children present, began to claim the inheritance, which was protected by a wall Biawegbon had built to defend his properties from his enemies. Biawegbon was buried at the foot of that wall.

Adiatoto received news of his father’s death and of what was happening, so he gathered his things and set out for Adio. On arriving, he went to see the Oba and asked him to act as judge in the dispute over the inheritance, saying that he held a secret that would prove he was Biagbon’s legitimate firstborn. The Oba summoned the court and the warriors, and called the claimants together beside the wall to divide the inheritance.

When Adiatoto arrived, he said: «On my father’s death I hold the secret that proves who I am and that I am the rightful heir». Then he turned to the supposed children and asked them: «What proof do you have?» To which they could not offer any proof that convinced those present.

Then Adiatoto took 4 Awegbon out of his apo and asked whether he was the rightful owner of the inheritance in the absence of his brothers, and, if that were true, that it answer with the secret sign of rightness (Eyeife). He then threw the Awegbon, and there was enormous astonishment when 2 fun fun and 2 dun dun came out, which handed the inheritance to Adiatoto, to whom the king granted full rights.

Afterwards he took another 4 Awegbon and asked whether his brothers would one day come to claim their share. He asked it to answer firmly, but when he threw the Awegbon, Etawa came out as the answer. Adiatoto asked again and Etawa came out again, which indicated the possibility that his brothers would claim their share. And so it happened some years later, when his brothers came to claim their right, each one wanting to be the eldest; but the power of Adiatoto was affirmed by Alafia, which is the greatest of them all.

The skill of Oshe Bile

There was a king who had three sons, and they were travelling the world. During that time the king died, and since the sons were far away, the king’s ministers seized the kingdom while they waited for the arrival of the sons, who were the heirs to the throne. The king’s sons found out, and the two eldest set out to take their places on the throne.

But when they reached their land, they were arrested by order of the usurpers and thrown into a pit with wild animals, where they were devoured by the beasts. The youngest brother, however, who had set out with his brothers, did not return with them, because he was with Orunmila, who read him and saw Oshe Bile. He told him to make ebbo before returning to his country. Having done so, he set off for his land, and on arriving he was crowned king, punishing the usurpers for having taken his father’s throne.

The wood pigeon

A wood pigeon had settled on the loft where the maize was kept. The next day, the owner of the maize ordered the loft to be cleaned, but the wood pigeon went to Olofin’s house and told him what had happened. He asked her whether the owner had said «God willing», and the wood pigeon assured him that he had not said it. Then Olofin told her not to move from there for several days.

After several days, the owner of the maize and the loft again said that the loft should be cleaned, and the workers of the place answered that they would clean it the next day, «God willing». However, during those days that it took them to clean the loft, the wood pigeon had already taken her chicks out of there. So she moved away with her young and told Olofin what had happened.

The oracle of the obi

There was an awó named Biague, who had a small son named Adiatoto. His father had taught him the one secret he knew: how to turn the coconuts. There were dependants who tried to steal the secret from the old man, but they could not do so before his death.

Adiatoto was left struggling until the government put out a search for the owners of the land. Many supposed owners came forward, but none was able to present the proof the government required to establish possession. In the end they decided to announce it through their criers, and Adiatoto learned of what was happening.

That was when he presented himself to the government and told them: this land is mine, I know the secret; I will go to the wall that divides the plots and from there I will throw the coconuts into the square. If they land face up, that will be the proof that my father taught me this. And so it was; the coconuts all came out with Alafia, and the government immediately handed over to him the lands that had been usurped.