Family Oshe

Oshe Meyi

10.628 words 51 min read 1 patakí 3 proverbs

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Meaning of Oshe Meyi in the Diloggún

Oshe Meyi: a masculine oddun, son of Athio and Atie.
Day of the week: Oyo Agba Mato (Saturday).
Ruling planet: Saturn.
Metal: Lead.

Oshe Meyi lay with his own mother, and for that reason he left for another land.
He rules over everything rotten and foul-smelling: spoiled food and all other putrefaction.
He has no favourite colour.
He represents half of the world of the east.
Oshe Meyi is always at war with Irete Meyi.
It is a sign of long life, even though it speaks of wickedness.
Nothing toasted is eaten.
Wearing three colours in combination is forbidden.
Here casting the cowries is forbidden, because the person who reads has gone too far.
Care must be taken with accidents in the home.
Oshe Meyi always sees death.
Food is offered to Ozain.
Discretion is Oshe Meyi’s great weapon.
The awó of this oddun must be a docile person.
In this Ifá, man learns to toast grain.
Here were formed the heavens, silver, eggs and the joints of human beings.
This is where the okpele was first cast on the mat for a reading, and whoever lets the okpele fall on the mat must pay.
It is a sign that speaks of blood, of work, of weeping and of sadness, for these are its great companions.
Only the child of Oshe Meyi knows what he wants, and few are those who understand him.
He must take care of his blood, because it easily falls ill.
They are diviners and, as a rule, good spiritists.
They have an eggun who speaks to them and tells them the things they need, but their strength lies in Orunmila and in Oshún.
They like gossip and prying into matters that do not even concern them.
They are prone to trouble with the law, for they bring it upon themselves and suffer on account of other people.
They are diviners from birth, and with their eyes they see beyond the ordinary.
They are fortunate to the utmost degree.
They are not easily deceived, for they are sharp and intelligent.
They suffer in the blood, the heart, the legs and the stomach, and women also in the womb.
This is the oddun where Olofin gave ashé and admiration.
If the person is a woman, she cannot cast the cowries.
She must attend to her spiritual court and divine by means of playing cards.
Oshe Meyi is the son of Olofin who was abandoned in the river; he went through much hardship and wandered a long time from one place to another until someone came along, took him in and cared for him.
Oshe Meyi is rejected within his own family: they belittle him and give him no regard.
His best friend may betray him.
He is the son of Oshún and of Oluwo Popo, since Oshún is the daughter of Nana Buruku.
Oshún was raised in three lands: Iyesa, Magino and Ife.
In this Ifá the cowries were cast for the first time, since Oshún was gravely ill and her sister Oyá went in search of Shangó, and it was he who cast the cowries.
It foresees estrangement between siblings.
Sorcery, binding works.
The person must receive Ifá.
It speaks of a person who has trouble with their spouse.
The person must do yoko osha, and if a man, receive Ifá so that he does not become impotent.
By this Ifá the man must treat women well and know how to say things to them, so as to avoid misunderstandings.
He must not be corrupt, nor try to force her in the sexual act when she has no desire for it.
He must listen to his wife’s advice.
By this Ifá the woman must not go about cutting her hair.
The owner of this Ifá cannot offer eleguede to Yanza.
Here is where Oluwo Popo filled the road with dead animals, so that when ikú (death) arrived it would turn away.
One suffers from passing madness, from blood conditions or from anaemia.
Shangó is his protector.
You are fond of the colour red.
Never make promises to Oluwo Popo.
Do not part with your Saints.
The woman shelters no man at her side, for men do not understand her.
The woman lives in love with herself.
She should have a relationship with an awó of Orunmila.
Oshe Meyi also speaks of the vessels that carry the blood.
Here Oshún had to become a prostitute in order to live.

Born in this sign

Fragrant ointments and perfumes.
That the ossuary presides over exhumations.
The shackle.
The stagnation of the blood.
The apportioning of the animals that each Osha eats.
The act of taking from the hands of the awoses the ewes and the soap with which they washed the adeles in Ozain’s cauldron.
Stringed musical instruments.
Genius.
The bones.
The joints.
Slavery and moving house.
The cutting of hair.
Oduduwa mole, the spirit of Oduduwa called Adabibale, the one who does good and evil.

What this sign indicates

That Oshún is pursuing you.
You had a dispute, and you have been told it is over, but it is not: betrayal and tragedy still follow you.
Where you are thinking of going, there is a person who wants to carry all of you off, one by one.
You are poor now, but in time you will have money and good fortune.
When you do have money, listen to advice, for otherwise you will bring ruin on yourself.
Pass your hands over your head from front to back and ask for what you desire.
You must make Ifá.
Light two candles for your father.
Your best friend may betray you.
Your enemy eats in your house.
Give your wife a necklace or a ring.
Olofin and Oduduwa are close upon you.
You had a falling-out and considered it settled, yet you still hold a grudge over it.
Someone wishes to do you harm.
You do not like to lose, but Oshe Meyi says that by losing you win.

Advice and warnings

You must have a mass said for a relative of yours who has passed away.
Hold no grudge against anyone.
Do not speak ill.
Do not take a step without money.
Be careful of a quarrel with another person who is going to deny you money you have already paid.
Use five different kinds of perfume, to be placed before Oshún and used only on handkerchiefs.
You must have a mass said for a deceased relative and guard yourself against dark spirits sent against you.
Attend to Elegbara, and if you do not have him, receive him.
No reading is done without payment.

The traditional reading of this sign further warns about the following:

Do not fall ill, because that deceased one wants to carry off the whole family.
There is a woman who is pregnant; tell her to make ebbó if she wants to save her child from death.
Death is heading for your house: be careful where you sit.

Proverbs of Oshe Meyi

Perdiendo se gana. By losing, one wins.
El que sabe esperar, que pasen los vendavales. He who knows how to wait lets the gales blow themselves out.
El que persevera triunfa. He who perseveres prevails.

Patakí of Oshe Meyi

Orunmila the fighter

Prayer: Kulu Kukushe Oshe Muluku Muluku Lodifafun Kantaponi Bati Unlo Sile Yama Odere Orunre Omo Roco Eran Nibati Ataba Awo Lode Lodafun Ayo Yigodo Buton Losile Yalorde Obini Orula Eshuba Tani Eshuba Lola Ire Owo Ire Omo Ire Ariku Babagua.

Prayer: Addo Buelege Addo Buelege Aya, Adifafun Akatapulta, Kaferefun Yalorde.

Ebbó: Akuko.

Orunmila did not concern himself with the Saints and went from town to town caught up in fights. One day, Eshu told him not to let himself be beaten. A few days later he wrestled with a prince and let himself be defeated. But when the prince tried to get up, he could not, and began to cry out with pain in his stomach. They went to Orunmila’s house for a reading, and he told him that he had to make an offering in order to be saved, since Eshu had bound him by his intestines during the fight. They made the offering to all the Saints, and they ate and drank. Whoever passes this story on must pay.

There was a rich landowner who had a black slave working for him. One day the landowner went out to the fields to see how his estate was faring, and came upon the black man casting the ekuele. The master then asked him whether this was how he worked, and struck him across the face, forcing him to say what he was doing.

The slave answered that he was watching over the king’s three wives, who were pregnant, and that if they did not make ebbó they would die. The landowner went and asked the king, who confirmed the story and sent for the slave. The black man divined for the king and made ebbó for the three wives, who came safely through childbirth. From then on they kept him as a diviner, and fortune and happiness came to the black man. By losing, one wins.

On this path is born the placing of the cross on the cowries of each of the Saints, and the giving of the heads of the adie to Orunmila. The secret of this path is to make ebbó with the bones of the animals given to the Saint and afterwards to make Ozain.

Olofin, being king of the orishas, decided to see who might replace him, since he was old and ailing. He gathered all the orishas together and told them that he would send them out to travel, and that whoever received the most honours would be king.

They all dressed in finery, gold and diamonds, while the diviner of the land, Oshe Meyi, lived in poverty and wore rags, carrying only a sack as his baggage. He made osode and his sign came up, and he made ebbó with two adie dun dun which he offered to his Ifá, keeping the heads and feet in his sack.

They set out on their pilgrimage and reached Ketu, where homage was paid to them and they were given chickens, hens, guinea fowl, doves, he-goats, rams and she-goats to eat. The orishas took the best parts for themselves, leaving Oshe Meyi only the heads, feet and wings. He resigned himself and adapted to the situation, keeping the remains of the bones in his sack. On leaving Ketu, the company travelled to the land of Eguado, where only fish was eaten.

Olofin, being king of the orishas, decided to look for his successor, since he was old and ailing. To that end he summoned all the orishas and told them that he would send them travelling, and that whoever received the most honours would be the chosen one.

They all dressed in gold and diamonds, while the diviner of the land, Oshe Meyi, lived poor and wore rags and had only a sack as his baggage. He made osode for himself and made ebbó with two adie dun dun, which he gave to his Ifá, and he kept their heads in the sack.

During the journey they reached Ketu, where banquets were laid on for them, and the orishas kept the best parts of the food while Oshe Meyi received only the leavings, which he kept in his sack. This was repeated in every land they visited, and Oshe Meyi kept all the leavings in his sack.

When they returned and presented themselves before Olofin, the orishas told their stories of the receptions and banquets, but Oshe Meyi proved his words by letting fall before Olofin the heads, feet, fins, tails and bones of the animals and fish. Olofin named him his successor and ordered all the orishas to be submissive to him. Furthermore, they would include the heads, feet and wing tips in their food offerings and would place bones among their secrets as a token of this.

Every time Oshún had a child, she left it with Yemayá, because she was off travelling the world. Yemayá looked after them and raised them, but Oshún would not come back until she had another child to leave with her. Each time Oshún returned, she disguised herself so as not to be recognised.

Elegbá, who knew everything, told Yemayá that Oshún passed by her house in disguise every day. So, on Elegbá’s instruction, Yemayá stood in the doorway of her house. When Oshún came along disguised as always, Yemayá called out to her, and Oshún, taken aback, asked her how she had recognised her. Yemayá answered that she was fed up with her wanderings and that, from that moment on, if Oshún deceived her she would have no right to claim anything.

AFOSHE: toad powder, caña brava, lagoon reed (sun-toasted); after three days it is blown and given to drink.

Oshún lived in the lagoon with the toad and the tank-cleaner fish. The lagoon was ringed with caña brava, but there was a toad who thought himself above everyone else. Oshún told him that he was wicked, proud and above all envious, and that Olofin would punish him and that afterwards he would be good for nothing but doing harm, that is to say, for afoshe. The toad answered: «Nothing of the sort. I envy nobody, because when everyone else is asleep I go out at night and I see.»

Very well, Oshún replied, but if you show envy to no one, no one will curse you. Yet if you do the opposite, your virtues will run out and your faults will swell along with them. Some time later, one night, the toad came out of his hiding place meaning to exercise muscles gone slack with the day’s rest. The cool of the night stirred the caña brava around the lagoon and made a faint rustling, which stirred in the toad a pleasant sense of well-being. Finding himself alone and strong, he considered himself a superior being and thought that all of it had been made by him.

After a while, the toad noticed a soft glow given off by a firefly shining among the caña brava of the lagoon. Feeling envy at his own inability to shine, the toad spat at the firefly, trying to dim it with his foul saliva. Startled by the attack, the firefly asked the toad why he was doing it, and he answered furiously: «because you shine.» Olofin seized the occasion to curse the toad, telling him that he would live beneath the stones and could worship him alone, weeping before Oloddumare and fleeing the wrath of Olorun. He also warned him that, when someone died, he would be the only one to weep for the harm he had caused on earth. And finally, when Olorun unleashed his fury upon him, his body would be used for wickedness and for the pain of humankind. Hearing the curse, the toad began to weep and beg for mercy.

There was once a man so jealous that his wife could not go out into the street or even receive visitors. So overwhelmed was she that she decided to go to Orunmila’s house, and he told her to make ebbó and to go the next day to feed her head. She did as Orunmila instructed and threw the ebbó into the bush; Oggún received it, ate it and said: what a tasty thing! The woman hurried back home so that her husband would not notice her absence.

The following day she went to Orunmila’s house to have her head prayed over, but she took longer than expected. Just then her husband came home and, finding his wife gone, went out to look for her. But luck was on her side, and she was coming along the road with the cloth on her head from the offering. It was then that she met Oggún and said to him: «be careful, here comes my husband to kill me.» Oggún took his arrow and let fly, killing the okuni (oko) of Oshún.

As the Yoruba legend tells it, Oshún and Shangó lived in a palm tree that was brought down by a gale, and there they were raising their child. But the storm killed the child, and Shangó, wounded by grief, decided to move to a leafy almond tree. When Oshún was a little more consoled, Elegbara (Eshu baraquinqueño), lord of that corner, appeared before them and with his destroying axe set the tree swaying. Cast down, this married pair went off to a grove of cedars and settled in a very leafy one that stood there.

One day Shangó went out in search of food and, on returning, saw his house wrecked by a band of cannibals. So great was the fright that his wife fell ill and miscarried. Then Shangó, singing his songs, eased his wife’s pain, since the death of the other child had deepened their sorrows. They went off to a jagüey tree, but on trying to make their home there they found a serpent among the tree’s roots. When it lunged at them, they had to flee. But Shangó did not give up: he felled a piñón florido and built his home. In that way they attained victory.

The legend tells that in the next deity of the woodland, the town or the meadow, and throughout his long war, Oshe Meyi always prevailed in his struggles for life.

This oddun speaks of disobedience and of people who think themselves above others. Oshún and Olofin punish her by condemning her to worship him for life; she has delusions of grandeur, she is envious and hypocritical, and she may die because of harm brought on by the way she laughs.

This oddun refers to adversity in establishing a home: the person has to move several times. If a man, the person is faith upon faith, fond of every vice and of revelry; if a woman, she may be alakuata; this path is a very delicate one.

Works and ebbó of Oshe Meyi

Works and workings of oshe meyi

To ward off illness: Oshe Meyi is drawn on a wall with efun and Osun, oti is blown over it with chewed obi (chewed obi alone), and this Ifá is prayed.
Fumigation of this Ifá

Almond shells, onion skins, dry leaves of lamo eiyobo dun dun (dark brown sugar).

Eguiri: This is a preparation drunk under this Ifá to ward off witchcraft. An ayapa is given to Shangó with dry wine; the wine is poured into Shangó’s batea, then gathered up and poured into a bottle. To it are added prayed iyefa, epó (palm oil), obi kola, five atare, one igbin shell and a little iyo (salt); all of it ground raw. The bottle is prayed over on the board and drunk to prepare the stomach so that any witchcraft ingested takes no effect.
Work against the arayes: Here the arayes work by night. Take the leri of a pig and a yam with the tip cut off; open a hole in it and insert a paper bearing the arayes’ full particulars and a little afoshe ogu. Close it with the piece of yam that was cut off, fit it with a cord wick greased with candle paraffin, and sprinkle the yam with mariwo powder as well.

This prepared yam is placed inside the mouth of the leri of the elede (pig), together with a paper holding mariwo powder and etubon (gunpowder). Once the pig’s leri is prepared, it is set before the Osha that has taken responsibility for the work, the wick is lit, and when the gunpowder goes off, the Osha is asked for the destruction of the arayes, naming them by their full particulars. Afterwards the Osha is given the animal it asked for, pouring eyerbale over the pig’s leri. It is left before the Osha and, when it begins to stink, it is taken to be buried in the cemetery. Here 25 eyele are given to Oshún.

So that a woman may have luck with her man: Two eya oro (guabina fish) and cinnamon, dried in the sun (neither toasted nor scorched with fire). They are ground to powder and given to the woman to mix with her face powder.
For things to move forward: Hierba de la niña, powdered cinnamon, holy water, church incense, one eñi adie. It is all beaten together well and then rubbed on the hands and the face.
Remedy for madness: Take seven baths with omiero of leaves of ceiba, soursop, mango, custard apple and anamú. Afterwards make a decoction of rompesaraguey and gulfweed; when it has cooled, add crushed sprigs of itamorreal gathered in the morning from the eastward side, and add church incense. The person’s leri is washed on the days Ifá marked, using Castile soap; afterwards ori is rubbed on the temples and on the mouth, and a white cap is put on.
Inshe Ozain: Leri of ayapa, igbin, one small otá from the river, obi kola, obi motiwao, eru, rida, anun, orogbo, iyefa of Oshe Meyi. Oshún’s eleke is wrapped with it; it eats moorhen with Ozain.
Another: A small güiro loaded with: leri, elese, oju and okokan of every eiye (bird) that can be obtained, various earths, various ewe, cochineal, river moss, five juju alakoso (turkey vulture). It eats one akuko fun fun and two adie at the foot of Orunmila and of Oshún.
Ebbó oparaldo: Three eyele (one fun fun, one brown and one black), 3 obi, one adie, one eñi adie, ewe and the rest of the ingredients for the ebbó and the oparaldo, entrails of eya tuto and of eleguede (pumpkin), asho arae, the measure of the head, of the belly, and so on. The adie is sacrificed to Oshún and she is entreated to help. The oparaldo is then made with the brown and the black eyele with their corresponding asho, and the following atena: Oshe Tura on the first line, Oshe Meyi below, Otura Niko and Irete Yero.

After the oparaldo, the person is cleansed with the eyele fun fun, which is sacrificed into an omiero of espanta muerto, so that they may bathe with it. Omi tuto is given to Oshún and two itanas are lit for her. Everything else is asked.

Oshe Meyi: whoever is in prison should bathe when released, so as to take the smell of the jail off himself.

Ebbó: Akuko, eyele meni, eku, eya, epó, $7.35.
Ebbó: Eyele, 5 oñí, eku, eya, epó, aguado, akuko, $5.25.

Prayers and suyeres of Oshe Meyi

Liturgical material transcribed from the manuscripts of the source; it is kept word for word.

Prayer

Oshe Aladashe Onibara Baniregun Ifá Moloku Fishe, Shenshe Moloku Adifafun Oshún.

Prayer

Kulu Kuloshe Muluko Un Babalawo, Lodifafun Kantapo Nibati Unlo Sife Llama Odese Orunre Omo Oroco Omo Eran Nibati Atapa Owo Lode Allo Lligobo Boton Losi- Lle Onibiri. Ile La Poledi A Un Babalawo Lodifafun Banle Quere Adefun.

Prayer

Kulu Kuluche Oche Molocha Monuko Baba Lodifafun Akatapon Nibati Inlo Silu Llama Adere Ori Ere Omo Aroco Inde Nibati Otaba Un Odere Adifafun Allolli Ogodo Otonoulo Sillele Oni Bini Orumila Elbican Adifafun Yoko Okanfun Orumila Elbican Lole Chiere Elese Lele Oigua Bobo Ebbo Kuru Eshu Obini Orula Ochubitani Lolabe Omode Cefe Echubi Lene Afofo Igua Guo Orube.

Prayer

Baba Elli Meyi Kulu Kuluche Kollo Tibalocuche Opeche Muluku Muluku Adifafun Kakatampo Llamaguo Oddun Iré Defunguo.

Prayer

Kulu Kuluche Eyo Kobani Oche Mulicu A Un Babalawo Lodifafun Acantapo Nibati Inlos Ile Llama Edere Erunle Omo A Roco Omo Ocu Olede La No La Fun Allo Igo Igo Dobotonle Sile Omi Bini.

Prayer

Chubu Chere Chere Abare Chere Achollua A Un Mellili Adifafun Aruroyo Tichomo Quiya Echubu Shere Shere Ashe Un Eyo Aun Meyiyi Shere Shere Adifafun Ellerolleton Chome Y Cana Oggún.

Prayer

Oshe Meyi Orula Ebacunlo Bobeomodi Ochubu Chu Obini Orumila Nisisi Ebocoralola Cochubu Tenutia Orunla Ochubu Ire Owo Ire Omo Ire Aricu Babagua.

Suyere

Ikú Iwa Kalero Arun Ile Kalero Eggun Iwa Ile Kalero. Oshún Were Were Odo Olun Oshún Kani Shenshe Lebo Awo Apetevi Ni Male Ile Banakuesi Owo Iye Lodafun Owunko Fi Si Ebbo. Shenshe Olowo Oshún Shenshe Olowo Oshún Shenshe Olowo Iya Kueni Mowo Oye Shenshe Olowo Oshún. Shenshe Olowo Yalorde Mayeo.

Orishas in this sign

The orishas that the letter itself ties to this sign, according to what the source records:

Oshún — Oshún was raised in three lands: Iyesa, Magino and Ife.
Shangó — All the other divinities had similar experiences, Shangó and Olokun among them.
Oggún — Oggún had no choice but to accept the challenge.
Oyá — The owner of this Ifá cannot offer eleguede to Yanza.
Orunmila — She should have a relationship with an awó of Orunmila.
Oduduwa — Olofin and Oduduwa are close upon you.
Olokun — All the other divinities had similar experiences, Shangó and Olokun among them.

Other important aspects of the sign

Ewé of the sign

Curujey and yam leaves.

The Eshu of the sign

Eshu Bi.

How money came from heaven to earth

Osegun Meyi is not known for having done any spectacular work in heaven, only for his belligerence. Even so, it was he who revealed how money came from heaven to earth. He explained that an awó called Orokun Aro Koose Munukun divined for money as it was preparing to go from heaven to earth. This same awó also divined for the divinities as to what had to be done in order to enjoy the benefits money could bestow. The meaning of the awó’s name is: «The knee of the cripple does not bend.»

Each of the divinities was told to make sacrifice with 16 doves, 16 hens, 16 rats, 16 fish, 16 bean cakes (akara) and 16 eko. Instead of each making the sacrifice separately as instructed, they decided to join forces and make a single one. After this, money set out for the world in the form of cowries, growing down from heaven until it touched the ground.

As soon as the divinities caught sight of where the money had struck the ground, they gathered and discussed how to carry it to their respective homes to spend it. Orunmila, however, advised them not to take it out until a fresh divination and sacrifice had been made. Oggún challenged Orunmila to stay at home doing the divination and the sacrifice while the rest of them went to dig out the money. He wondered aloud why divination and sacrifice should be needed before eating the food already served at the table.

Orunmila accepted the challenge and told them that he had no intention of joining the digging just then, nor of imposing his will on the rest, and that they were free to go ahead without him. Oggún took up the tools he had prepared for the purpose and set off for the mound of money. As soon as he arrived, he began to dig deep into the hill of money, setting aside whatever could be got out. As he dug deeper, the upper layer gave way and the avalanche fell on Oggún, burying him alive under the rubble and leaving four pieces of cowrie on his chest. Sampana was the next to head for the mound and ended the same way, with 16 cowries on his chest. All the other divinities had similar experiences, Olokun and Shangó among them.

When Orunmila reached the ring of money and found all the divinities dead, he realised that greed had been the cause of their fatal end. He separated and tied up the cowries each one had on his chest and went home with them. Thus it is said that the first generation of divinities to inhabit the earth were sent back to heaven because of their greed for money. For this reason, Osegun Meyi warns that the pursuit of money must not be carried out with greed and impatience, since it can bring the seeker to destruction under the avalanche of money.

By following Ifá’s instructions, Orunmila found the money and shared it out among all the divinities. But most important of all, he took his time, he had patience and he followed Ifá’s instructions, instead of acting on impulse and falling into avarice and greed like the others. From that moment on, it is said, Orunmila became the keeper of wisdom and the counsellor of those who seek money. His counsel is that patience, moderation and prudence are the keys to unearthing the world’s wealth and using it for one’s own good and the good of society.

After that experience, Orunmila learned that patience, discretion and wisdom were essential in the pursuit of money, and that one should not act out of avarice and greed. He also learned the importance of listening to and following Ifá’s counsel, and of making the proper sacrifices before taking any important action. That is how he became a great leader and counsellor to the community, helping them make wise decisions and face life’s challenges with patience and wisdom.

After taking the mound of money home, Orunmila summoned the eldest sons of the dead divinities and handed each of them the number of cowries he had found on the chest of their respective fathers. That number of cowries which Orunmila handed to the children of the dead divinities has been used in divination ever since. The children of Oggún use four cowries in divination, while the children of Sampana and Shangó use 16 cowries in divination. For this reason, when Osegun Meyi comes up in someone’s divination, they are advised to seek money with caution and discretion, so that they do not end up destroyed by avarice and greed.

Activities of oshe meyi in heaven

Originally he was one of Orunmila’s four oldest apostles, which is why he is called Arugbo-Ifá (Orunmila’s old apostle). He was very powerful and deceitful. For example, his parents used to leave his younger brothers and sisters in his care when they went out to the farm or to the market. He, however, had the habit of egging the children on to fight one another, and they were often hurt in the process. Once, when his two youngest brothers, Olugbodo (akobie) and Fefe (ehoho), were left in his care, he set Fefe, the younger, against Olugbodo, and they began to fight. In the course of the fight, Fefe used a club to strike Olugbodo’s legs, and Olugbodo was left crippled. This is the reason why he has no legs to walk on and became the divinity of children, and to this day he is venerated by small children.

Ajakadi followed the Ifá priest’s recommendations and made the sacrifice indicated. After washing his head, he began to have dreams in which Esu appeared to him, telling him that he must change his behaviour and begin to do good. Ajakadi understood the message and began to change his ways, leaving his violent past behind and becoming an example of kindness and service to others.

In time, Ajakadi became a divinity, known as Ajagun, protector of the weak and the needy. His cult is especially popular among those devoted to wrestling and other pursuits bound up with physical strength. He was warned that while his head was being washed he must intone the following incantation: «Gbogborogbo Ni Ika She Yoju Ori alaja Lesunma E La Ju Orun, osika Awodi Loni Keye Miin Mara. Eleda Mi, Jekimi Begbe Jo».

The hand is longer than the head when it is stretched upward. The rainbow cuts the sky whole and not in halves. It is an evil bird that tries to keep other birds from flying in the sky. May my Guardian Angel let me prosper alongside my contemporaries. Because of his utter confidence in his own strength, he did not trouble to make the sacrifice. He grew into a man of very powerful build. He was an unbeatable wrestler.

Every morning he would leave his house in heaven to challenge each of the divinities to a wrestling match, in which he invariably came out the winner. This was the very reason he had been advised to add the spine of a serpent to the sacrifice to Esu, so as to temper his strength. This is also why the children of Osegun Meyi are forbidden to eat snake meat.

It will be remembered that when he was born, his father prepared a medicine with an axe and a cockerel’s comb and planted it inside his head. This is why he grew up to become an unbeatable wrestler. He began his wrestling matches with Oggún, whom he beat with ease. He went on to each of the other divinities and came out victorious over them all. Even so, he could barely obtain food to eat, since all the good divinities of heaven had grown afraid of him.

One day his Guardian Angel, who was not happy about this pursuit of his, was determined to do something to weaken him so that he might prosper. The Guardian Angel went to Esu with a he-goat and the spine of a serpent, to subdue Ajakadi. Esu ate the goat and worked out a strategy for confronting him. When the time came for the annual wrestling tournament in heaven, all the celestial guests were assembled and the divinities took their respective places in order of seniority.

Once again, Ajakadi was the first to come out to be challenged. As usual, a long time passed and no one dared come out to face him. By tradition, if no one challenged a wrestler, he was free to challenge anyone he liked. He pointed towards Oggún’s place — Oggún, the divinity of war, the oldest and strongest of all the divinities. Oggún was seated, and he challenged him to the opening bout.

Oggún had no choice but to accept the challenge. As soon as he stepped into the ring, Ajakadi joined the fight. He quickly lifted Oggún into the air with all his strength, but when he let him go to fall to the ground, Esu fixed his uncanny gaze upon him and, miraculously, he himself hit the ground before Oggún could fall on top of him. Not even Oggún himself knew how it had come about that his challenger had been the first to fall. Finding himself on the ground, he asked Oggún to behead him with his sword. He lamented that, never having fallen to the ground before in a wrestling match, he could not conceive of the dishonour of getting back on his feet.

When Oggún drew his sword to behead him, Esu stepped in and announced that if anyone dared behead Ajakadi, there would be a cataclysm and endless grief throughout heaven.

To show what he meant, Esu made the very foundations of heaven tremble. The firmament and the floor of heaven began to draw towards one another, and at once total darkness fell over heaven. Meanwhile, God saw the confusion that had arisen and cried out to ask who was disturbing the peace of heaven. God was informed that Oggún had just defeated Ajakadi, the unbeatable wrestler, in the annual tournament. God immediately ordered that whatever needed to be done should be done to calm Ajakadi and restore quiet to heaven. Once again Esu stepped in and announced that it was forbidden for Ajakadi to fall to the ground, and that in order to appease the place where he had fallen, the following offerings must be presented to him: 200 men, 200 women, 200 cows, 200 he-goats, 200 rams, 200 dogs, 200 sacks of money and 200 of every object of wealth.

The offerings were delivered promptly, and Esu whispered in Ajakadi’s ear that he should get to his feet and accept them. As soon as he did, the ground and the firmament returned to their places. There was light again and calm came back to the four corners of heaven. As he set off home with his newly acquired wealth, he gave a sturdy he-goat to Esu in thanks for having come to his aid. He also gave the largest cow and the largest he-goat and ram to his Guardian Angel. It was at this point that Oshe Meyi understood that his days as a wrestler in heaven were over and that it was time to move to earth. He swore, however, that while on earth he would go on with his wrestling matches.

Oshe meyi sets out for the earth

One day he went out to wrestle, since that was the only trade he knew. He went to the palace of Alara to challenge him to a wrestling contest. He beat him in the contest, but received no prize for his victory. Then he went to Ijero and likewise challenged the ajero to a contest. Again he came out victorious over the ajero, but received no compensation for his feat. Next he went to Owo, where he beat the Olowo. Finally he headed for Benin, where he beat the Oba-ado. He did the same with all 16 obas known at that time.

After his wrestling encounters, he was heading home empty-handed when he came upon three Ifá priests at the roadside between Ado and Ife, who stopped him. The awos were called Ogbe, Oyekun and Iwori. They asked the wrestler why he was so downcast, and he told them his story. The Ifá priests listened attentively and then told him that he must make an offering to the gods to thank them for his victory in wrestling and to ask them to grant him a reward.

The wrestler followed the priests’ advice and made an offering to the gods. The next day he had a great surprise. Each of the 16 obas he had beaten in wrestling sent him a great deal of wealth as compensation for his victory. The wrestler became a very rich and respected man in his community thanks to the help of the Ifá priests. The awoses were called: Oshe kele, ogba Oggún onagbaja, ogba ogoji ekoji otunia, ogba agrikpa obubko, meaning: One who turned somersaults and obtained 20 rewards. One who went forward and obtained 40 rewards. One who won a he-goat after three days.

After the divination, the Ifá priests told him that he was going hungry because he was not practising the trade he was meant to practise on earth. They assured him, however, that he would eventually prosper in his chosen trade of wrestling, but only after making a sacrifice that had to be carried out in heaven. He did not take them seriously, because he could not imagine how he was to travel to heaven to make a sacrifice. At that time Esu had closed the road between heaven and earth. The awos told him that he could not expect anyone he had beaten in a wrestling contest to reward him with any gift. They advised him, though, to offer whatever he could to his dead father, who would save him from his plight.

On reaching home, he offered a cockerel to his father and implored him to help him find his way to his destiny. Meanwhile, his father went to his Guardian Angel in heaven and complained that things were going badly for Oshe Meyi on earth. His Guardian Angel replied that this was because he was so belligerent. Between them, his father and his Guardian Angel decided to persuade the good things of heaven to visit Oshe Meyi on earth. Traditionally, as soon as the cockerel crows in the morning, it is a sign that all the good things of life are setting out from heaven to pay their daily visits to the world. This company includes children, peace, wealth, stability, money, health and prosperity.

All these good things leave heaven in the early hours of the morning to visit anyone on earth who can receive them. Before leaving heaven, they visit the quarter inhabited by the Guardian Angels of all the people living on earth. Oshe Meyi’s father spent that night with his son’s Guardian Angel in heaven.

In the early hours of the following morning, after the cockerel had crowed, the good things of heaven informed the Guardian Angels that they were leaving for the earth and asked whether they had any message for their wards. Oshe Meyi’s Guardian Angel came forward and asked them to visit his ward on earth. All the good things, however, were unanimous in their answer, saying that they did not dare visit him because he would destroy them. They reminded his Guardian Angel how belligerent he had been in heaven and the commotion he had caused there before escaping to earth. They insisted that good and evil could not live together, any more than heat and coolness, or light and darkness. As long as he went on antagonising and dishonouring those who might benefit him, they would never go his way. With these pronouncements, the good things of heaven headed for the earth.

After that, Oshe Meyi’s father began to weep at his son’s desperate plight. Then he appealed again to his Guardian Angel, who revealed that he had had him spend the night with him so that he could witness what he himself had been going through ever since Ajakadi had gone off to earth. Oshe Meyi’s Guardian Angel said that for years he had been persuading the good things of heaven to visit his ward, but that they had consistently refused for the very reasons they had just given.

As a result of his father’s persistent pleading, the Guardian Angel decided to try a new strategy to deal with the situation. He told the father to go back home and to see his son before the cockerel crowed the next morning. The father did not understand the significance of what the Guardian Angel had said.

As soon as Oshe Meyi’s father had left, the Guardian Angel went to see the wife of death and gave her gifts of kola nuts. It will be remembered that sickness is the wife of the king of death. Just as the good things of heaven visit the earth daily, so sickness, the wife of the king of death, visits the world every day. Death itself does not come into the world; he sends messages. Oshe Meyi’s Guardian Angel persuaded the lady of death to meet his ward on earth and invite him to heaven, since he had something important to do for him. The old woman agreed to carry the message that very day.

Meanwhile, on earth, Oshe Meyi suddenly fell ill, which was something new, since he had never been indisposed until then. Towards the evening of that day the illness grew worse and he fell into a coma. As nobody cared about him, there was no one to look after him. In fact, people were glad when they found him in a coma just before midnight, and his soul departed without anyone realising that he had died, since he had neither wife nor children.

As soon as life left him, he appeared instantly in heaven before his Guardian Angel, who had earlier told his father to return home after sunset that same day. The father was present in the Guardian Angel’s house when Oshe Meyi appeared in heaven. It was then that his father understood what his Guardian Angel had meant when he said that he would see his son before the cockerel crowed the next morning. They both welcomed him and, before the cockerel crowed the following morning, his Guardian Angel instructed him to hide behind a mat he had prepared for the occasion.

Shortly after the cockerel crowed, the good tidings of heaven again visited the house of each of the Guardian Angels. When they reached his Guardian Angel’s door, he called them by their respective names: children, brotherhood, wealth, health, prosperity, money, and so on. And he begged them once again to visit his ward Oshe Meyi on earth, because he was suffering there. Once again they told him that they were not in the habit of singing the same song day after day.

They said that his ward, a wrestler, was too vengeful to deserve a fitting welcome from any of them, and that they had sworn never to go near the street where he lived on earth, much less visit his house. They said unanimously that they were not accustomed to visiting anyone who would destroy them, since the man was very belligerent. They added that anyone who dared defeat kings, princes and divinities alike in wrestling tournaments could easily crush them in his hands.

Then his father cried out that the man behind the mat should hear what the agents of the divinity of fortune were saying about him. He was speechless behind the mat. Only then did he understand that he had been chasing the wrong ends in life. As soon as the guests of beneficence had gone, he came out to ask his Guardian Angel and his father what he should do, and they told him to make the sacrifice he had failed to make before leaving heaven. He was advised to give a he-goat quickly to Esu, who would wash his head and his back to reduce, little by little, his physical and diabolical strength.

He made the sacrifice at once, because the he-goats he had left behind in heaven had multiplied many times over. He also told his Guardian Angel to offer his largest cow to the celestial police for a meal. After this, his Guardian Angel told him to take a special road by which he could return to earth. As soon as he set foot on that road, he flickered into the earth and instantly regained consciousness. Three days later he had fully recovered and, in spite of what had happened in heaven, which he remembered vividly, he began preparing once again for his wrestling tournaments. Before that, he killed one of the he-goats for his father and gave a ram to Ifá, the earthly representation of his Guardian Angel, and held a great meal with them.

The people round about changed their opinion of him, because he had never been known to make any sacrifice before. He also gave a he-goat to Esu. Two days later, he set out for the palace of Alara. On the way he met an old Ifá priest, who was a transfiguration of Esu, and the man pretended to be a diviner. The old man told him that he was on his way to a wrestling contest, but that although he could beat his opponents, he should pretend to fall to the ground as soon as he began to wrestle with them and stay alert in the encounters that followed, whose outcome he would not regret. The man told him plainly that as soon as he shouted «gidigbo, gidigbo», the call that opens a wrestling bout, he was to fall to the ground.

He began at the palace of Alara, where he shouted «gidigbo, gidigbo», and his call brought the Alara out. As soon as they began to wrestle, Oshe Meyi threw the Alara up into the air, but quickly dropped to the ground before the king could fall on top of him. Following the old Ifá priest’s advice, he stayed on the ground without getting up. Meanwhile, Esu created an unprecedented commotion in the town. The whole area was plunged into total darkness and the earth began to shake.

Cockerels began to lay eggs and hens began to crow. Pregnant women began to have false labours, and the animals of the forest ran headlong into the town while the domestic animals fled into the forest. When Alara saw what was happening, he begged Oshe Meyi to get up from the ground. Once again the old Ifá priest whom Oshe Meyi had met on the road appeared out of nowhere and intervened. The old man told Alara that it was forbidden for the son of Orunmila to fall to the ground, and that for him to rise it was necessary to appease him with 100 sturdy men, young unmarried women, cows, he-goats, cockerels, hens, bags of money, and so on.

Out of fear, the Alara quickly ordered every house in the town to produce the required portions. As soon as they were gathered, Oshe Meyi rose, and the old man prepared Iyerosun (divining powder) and blew it into the air, and light, peace and quiet quickly took the place of darkness, commotion and confusion. Oshe Meyi then ordered the people who had provided the portions to carry them to his house in Ife and to begin building new dwellings before he returned home.

The next morning he went to the palace of the Ajero Kin Osa, where the same thing happened, followed by similar visits to the Illa Orongun, Olowo, Oonoi, Oba Ado, and so on, where he gathered similar prizes. By the end of his mission he had become an extremely rich man, and prosperity had come his way at last. This incident marked the beginning of paying money for divination, because casting the okpele instrument on the ground signifies the fall that Oshe Meyi took at the hands of the kings, for which they paid portions. That is why, when Oshe Meyi comes up in a reading, the person must be advised to hold back from anything involving a display of strength, and must be told that they are not prospering in life and that prosperity will not come their way unless they change their ways and turn to caution and discretion in everything they do.

Oshe meyi takes up the art and practice of Ifá

As soon as he grew rich, Oshe Meyi decided to give up wrestling. Since he knew no other trade, he decided to engage a number of Ifá priests to live with him. He managed to get some of the most skilled awoses of the surrounding world to live with him or to visit his house for the purposes of divination. One of these Ifá priests was Ose Kele Baba Laro Ile Orunmila.

He divines for akinyele of iwere

Akinyele was a famous chief in the town of Iwere. One night he had a dream in which he saw a man with a horn who carried a rifle on his shoulder and guarded the entrance of a house without rooms, full of treasure. Akinyele was called by someone nearby, who advised him to try to open the house, because his wealth was stored there. When he approached the entrance of the house, the man with the rifle aimed at him, so he stopped. He tried as best he could to persuade the doorkeeper to let him in, but the man was immovable. He woke up gasping for breath.

The following morning he went to the house of Ose Kele, but was told that he had gone to Ife to visit Oshe Meyi the wrestler. On arriving there, he told the dream to the Ifá priest, who divined about it. He was told that good fortune and death were both circling around him, but that if he made the necessary sacrifice, fortune would come within his reach and he would avoid an untimely death.

He was advised to make the sacrifice with 10 rats, 10 fish, 10 doves (5 female and 5 male), 10 guinea fowl, 2 she-goats and 3 he-goats, a boar and a sow, and a ram. He made the sacrifice. He was told that it was Esu whom he had seen in the dream, sitting on top of his fortune. He was therefore to serve Esu by pouring the blood of the he-goat not at Esu’s shrine, but a short distance away on bare ground, apart from the shrine.

After the sacrifice, while he was on his way home to eat the he-goat that had been offered outside the shrine, without his knowing it Esu had risen from Akinyele’s fortune, where he had been sitting, and his Guardian Angel had carried it to Akinyele’s house. From then on things began to go better for him. One night, during a heavy storm, Akinyele felt the need to relieve himself. He got up to go to the latrine outside, at the back of his house, while the rain came down hard.

While he was in the latrine, he suddenly heard a loud noise. When he got up to see what was happening, he saw the roof of the latrine coming down. He had already come out of the door when he saw a tree crush the latrine that stood beneath its branches. But he was no longer inside the latrine; he thanked God that he had not lost his life in the accident.

The next morning he discovered that the ever-young kola nut tree at the back of his house had been torn up by the roots by the force of the gale that came with the rain the night before. When he went to inspect the roots of the fallen tree, he saw beneath them a bronze chest holding a number of beads, money and a crown, which had been buried there by his ancestors. He took the chest into his house, and its contents made him exceedingly rich. He was able to have a beaded robe made for himself, and was later crowned king of Iwere. True to the dream he had had, he managed to obtain his hidden fortune and avoid an untimely death. Therefore, when this oddun comes up in a reading, the person must be advised to make sacrifice so that the obstacles standing in the way of their prosperity may be removed.

The story of olokose’s bad luck

Olokose was one of the awos who lived with Oshe Meyi. One day he decided to set out on a journey to practise Ifá, accompanied by his wife, Omude. Before leaving, Oshe Meyi insisted that he should ask his colleagues to divine for him. To that end, the following Ifá priests who lived with Oshe Meyi were gathered: «ojuri, koogbi, koofo, aje okpo uya maabi, oun tooshe gbegba to file re sile, oun tooba tiri koofi rera. The eye that saw, but did not find out. He who persevered in suffering, but did not protest against it. Misfortune came upon many people but did not drive them from their homes. Whatever a man may experience, he must bear it with equanimity.»

The four awoses advised Olokese to offer a he-goat to Esu before travelling, so that he would not lose all the earnings of the journey, and his wife, to a more powerful man. He refused to carry out the sacrifice, because he trusted in his own uprightness and ability. He set out on the journey with his wife. As it happens, he was a very skilled Ifá priest, and wherever he went he managed to impress his hosts, who paid him a great deal in earnings and compensation. Eventually he came upon a man called Agunfan, who was so powerful that he was an ever-present wrestler.

When a person planning to make a journey has the oddun of Olokun Meyi in their reading, they will be advised to make sacrifices to protect themselves from losing their possessions to a powerful and vengeful person, and from being unable to defend themselves in a fight. This oddun also teaches the importance of humility and caution in situations where one faces someone more powerful. The story of Olokese reminds us that even the most skilled and gifted Ifá priests can fall before adversity if the necessary precautions are not taken.

The divination for the olubadan of ibadan

The king of Ibadan had a wayward son called Okoko Maniko, who was always causing trouble in his father’s realm. There came a time when the son fell ill and was at the point of death. Knowing Oshe Meyi’s fame in Ife, the king sent messengers seeking a reading. Because of the importance of the message, Oshe Meyi gathered the following Ifá priests to carry out the divination: Kii Aroju Kaa Wo Igbo biba De Odan Ton, Ofeni Yio Dan.

If one is patient in the forest, one will come upon more open ground, which will make movement easier. They advised offering a he-goat to Esu at once, so that he might be saved from the hands of the forces of evil that were determined to take him from the earth. The sacrifice was carried out promptly, and before the messengers were back in Ibadan, Okoko Maniko was already showing signs of improvement.

Therefore, when this oddun comes up in a reading for a sick person, they must be advised to make sacrifice on account of their wayward way of acting. They must also be told that if they have a wayward child who pays no heed to advice, they should prepare an Ifá for that child if they want them to live a long time. If the person has no children yet, they must be told to prepare an Ifá for the first child they are to have.

He divined for Olokun

When Olokun came into the world, she was so beautiful that she did not trouble to find out her destiny. Suffering pained her, and men were afraid to come near her. Then she heard of Oshe Meyi’s existence and went to him for counsel. Oshe Meyi invited one of his awoses, a woman called Jeje Jeje, to carry out a divination for her. She was advised to make a sacrifice with a he-goat for her Guardian Angel, a he-goat for Esu, a bag of money and white cloth to take to the market.

She quickly made all the sacrifices. It was also explained to her that the reason she could neither marry nor have children was that the elders of the night had their eyes on her and had wrapped her whole being in a veil that made the sight of her repellent to men in spite of her beauty. To break the spell of the veil, the awó told her to find a pot and a cockerel.

The awó gathered the leaves called Ewe Iwo (Ebe Asivbogo in Bini) and prepared them for her to bathe with. She was assured that as soon as she began to bathe with the pot, all her enemies would begin to die one after another. She was also taught an incantation to repeat whenever she bathed with the pot. Soon afterwards, the men and women she had trusted as confidants and close associates began to die one after another.

Then the Oba of the town asked her to be his wife, and she accepted. Before long she was pregnant, and she had several children. Her trading grew prosperous, and her star spread wealth and prosperity over her husband and his realm.

Oshe meyi’s personal experience

Oshe Meyi had become very famous and prosperous. He did not know, however, that one of his wives was a witch who was plotting to destroy his fame and his wealth. One night he had a terrible dream in which he found himself in chains. So he invited two of his most skilled awoses, called Eshi Saare and Eshi Joso, to carry out a divination for him. They told him to make a sacrifice at once to avoid the danger of trial and imprisonment. He was instructed to give a he-goat to Esu, a pig to Ifá and a he-goat to his head.

Meanwhile, the youngest wife went to the market and alerted the sellers of hats, hens, he-goats, cloth, pigs and everything imaginable in the market to guard their goods well, since a thief (whose description matched her husband’s identity) was in town planning to steal. The market people began to ask where the woman came from, and were told that she came from Oke Tase in Ife, where her husband lived.

The news was reported to the king of Ife, who ordered the royal executioner to prepare for the summary execution of the thief, after ordering the local police to seize him as soon as he made a move to steal. It was at this moment that Oshe Meyi made the sacrifices to Esu, to Ifá, to his head, to Oggún and to the night. After the sacrifice, the woman, who had been driven out of heaven by Esu and had escaped into the world, stole a quantity of goods from the market and hid them in her husband’s house (Oshe Meyi’s).

Meanwhile, the owners of the stolen goods were searching for the thief’s house using the description the woman had given earlier. Esu, having eaten the he-goat, quickly set an uncanny veil around Oshe Meyi’s house, which made it hard for anyone to match the outward look of the house with the description the woman had given. Thus the matter was settled and, without knowing that it was his wife who had planned it all, he went on living with her, and she bore him five children. After devising various wicked schemes and failing, the woman gave up and lived happily with her husband.

Oshe meyi lived longer than any other olodu

The Olodus, that is, Orunmila’s 16 principal apostles, had the custom of going to the river to wash away the signs of advancing age from their bodies. After each bath they often came out looking several years younger than their true ages. At one of their weekly meetings, the 16 Olodus agreed on the date when they would go to the river for their annual cleansing session.

On returning home after the conference, Oshe Meyi invited one of his awoses, called Gere Gere Shalu Gere, to carry out a divination for him regarding his coming journey to the river. He was advised to offer a he-goat to Esu on account of the benefits awaiting him at the river. He made the sacrifice without any delay. On the appointed day, the 16 Olodus gathered at the river and began to dive in order of seniority. Each was required to make three dives into the river. When Oshe Meyi’s turn to dive came, he being the fifteenth Olodu, he dived the first time and came out of the river with a dried fish in his left hand and a fresh fish in his right. He made a second dive and came up with a white cloth in his left hand and a black cloth in his right. On his third and last dive, he came out with 200 cowries in his left hand and beads in his right.

The other Olodus accused him of working magic, but he flatly denied knowing how to divine or how to work magic. On reaching home, he gathered all his substitute awoses and asked them to interpret his findings at the river. They told him that the fish indicated that he would live long enough to enjoy all the good things of life. The cloth meant that he would live in peace and harmony to the end of his life, which would be a very long one. The last findings meant that he would live a prosperous and abundant life. He did indeed lead a full life and lived longer than any Olodu on earth.