Oshe Sa

Maferefun Shangó

There was a man given to business who had good results, but at a certain point things began to go from bad to worse. Following his intuition, he decided to go and see Orunmila, who was the awó of the town. He looked at him and this Ifá came out, Oshe Sa, and he ordered him to make an ebbo (indicated above) and, once made, to deposit it in the river.

When the man set out to carry the ebbo, since he did not know the way, he asked a short, plump woman where the river lay, and she pointed him down the wrong road. At that moment Shangó arrived and asked him: «Son, where are you going?» and he answered that he was going to the river, where he had left the ebbo. Shangó told him he was mistaken and that this road did not lead to the river. Then he asked who had shown him the way, and the man told him it had been a short, plump woman he had met on the road.

Shangó then showed him the true way. When Shangó went on his own way, he came upon the same woman who had deceived the man. Shangó killed her and ate her. That woman was the turtle.

Another version of the previous patakin

A man was walking through the bush when he suddenly grew very thirsty. He asked an ayapa where the river was, and she gave him the wrong direction. After walking a while, the man met Shangó, who guided him properly to the river. Once there, the man saw the ayapa and, in gratitude for having reached the river, took her and carried her to Shangó. Since then it is said that an ayapa should be offered to Shangó so that those who seek his help are not led away from the path.

Since all ayapas look alike, it may be that the man believed it was the same one and took her. Be careful that you are not mistaken for someone else and killed.

The slave

There was a slave whose bad manners made the other slaves of the gang hate him, despise him, and want nothing to do with him. The sly slave, aware of his situation, tried to win the master’s trust, and did so by denouncing his companions every time they did something wrong.

One day the master had to leave his house urgently and left the sly slave in charge of the gang, since his overseer was away. The slave used this chance to take revenge on the others, killing those who despised him most fiercely.

When the master returned and realised what had happened, he asked the sly slave why he had killed his companions. The slave answered that he had done it because they were his enemies. The master, angered, told him that although he had avenged himself on them, he had harmed him, the master, and he killed him as punishment for his wickedness.

Through his own rancour a person does himself great harm, and may even lose his life.

The sea and the shore

Here the sea and the shore went to Orunmila’s house, and this Ifá came out for them, which told them to make ebbo. Only the sea did it, and for that reason the refuse thrown into it is dragged towards the shores and deposited there.

This is where the parrot set out towards the place where Oduduwa was, but on the way her enemies threw powders of efun and osun over her. When she saw the red stain on her body, she began to look at it sideways, and cramp seized her legs, leaving them twisted.

The cunning ayakua

This was a town where there were many santeras and a great deal of witchcraft was practised, but there was a turtle who used to say: «These people have worn me out with their witchcraft, and I am going to see how long it lasts.» So she went to another town, and she was more of a witch than all those who were there; she made ebbos and rogations. But one day, over certain matters, she was condemned to death, that is, to die at the stake.

But from her cell she kept saying: «What fools they are; they do not know that fire is my kinswoman.» Those who were near her heard it, and word spread until it reached the ears of those who had condemned her, and then they said that the turtle would have to be tried again.

And so they tried her again and condemned her to die in the water, dropped from a height. But when she found out, she said they could not do that to her, because they had already condemned her to die in the fire. The judges answered that this could not be, since she was kin to fire. They took her from the cell and carried her up to a height, from which they dropped her into the deepest waters of the river. After a while the turtle floated up and shouted at them that they were fools, because that was exactly what she had wanted.

The path where Olofin crowned Oshún Tilumu

On this path, Oshún was a woman of fair, olive complexion, with long hair that reached her waist and a very beautiful body that stirred desire. Near her lived an Omolú who fell in love with her and, in his work of witchcraft, cast a spell on her; and when he approached her, she agreed to his proposal of love. The Omolú, in love with Oshún, cut her hair to the scalp and shut her up in his house with a guard dog to keep her.

The following day, Orunmila returned and asked the omoluo to let him in to speak with Oshún. The omoluo, suspecting nothing, let him in, and when Orunmila was alone with Oshún he gave her a gold chain and asked her to use it to defend herself from any danger. Oshún placed it around her neck and suddenly felt a great strength that freed her from the binding that held her captive.

When the omoluo came back and found Oshún free, he tried to attack her, but she used the gold chain to defend herself and overcame him. Since then, Oshún always carries the gold chain with her as an amulet of protection and in gratitude to Orunmila for having saved her.

The following day, Orunmila arrived after making ebbo with three arrows and three nails, with which he broke the chains and the padlock. He entered the house and found Oshún weeping, frightened and worried about the risk he was running. Orunmila, however, told her to come out and assured her that nothing would happen to her. The dog watched them both, but could not bark to give warning because of Orunmila’s presence. He took Oshún away and the dog began to bark, alerting its owner. The man arrived quickly and found the chain broken and Oshún gone. He took the dog and set off in pursuit.

Orunmila walked slowly while Oshún thought their pursuer would catch them, but Orunmila told her they would arrive first because they were going slowly and the pursuer was going in haste. On turning a corner, Orunmila cast three arrows, and then came Ode the hunter, who found them and shot them; but since the dog was running ahead, it was struck and died. The Omolú who came behind was spared, and told Ode that his hunting dog had been killed and that he was pursuing two people. Yet on seeing the arrows the dog carried, he decided to keep them, because they were stronger than his own charm, since the dog had died by them. Orunmila brought Oshún before Olofin, who crowned her as Oshún Tilumu, and from then on she was queen.

Edun and ayapa konbo awo

Edun the monkey had been eyeing for some time a farmer’s field sown with peanuts, but he could not eat them because the owner was always keeping watch. Edun decided to go and see Ayapa Lonbo Awo, who was the awó of that land, and asked him to make him an Inshe Ozain so as to achieve his purposes. Ayapa looked at him and this Ifá came out, where he ordered him ebbo and sent him to place it in the field. Edun did everything to the letter and finally managed to eat the peanuts. However, he forgot to thank Ayapa Awo and, after eating, climbed the tree and fell asleep. Ayapa Kombo Awo went to look for him, and on arriving found him sleeping in the tree, and stayed at the foot of it waiting for the ingrate to wake.

At that moment the leopard arrived and told ayapa kimbo awo that he had been looking for him so that he might cure his sick son. Ayapa komno made osode for him right there at the foot of the tree, and this Ifá came out, which indicated that he was to give an edun to Ozain in order to cure his son. The leopard asked where he could find an edun at that hour, and ayapa komno told him to look up, where he saw the monkey.

Edun, hearing this, tried to escape, but the leopard caught him and brought him to ayapa kombo awo. Then they sacrificed the monkey to the great secret of Ozain, cut off its head and tail, and used them as inshe Ozain. The monkey’s flesh was given to ayakua to eat, and thus the son of ekun was saved from death, for the son of ekun was Oshe Sa.

NOTE: Ejire Leri Kunuada Leñire Igba Tete Monomba Adun Ile Edun Ariku Ozain. Plenty of oti is poured over it, and the body of edun is skinned and the flesh cut away; this flesh is distributed with each of the little bowls in 7 different places along a river, an oparaldo being made in each place with osiadie by the awó who carries it.

Addi and Imu, the children of Yemayá

On this path, Olofin was very angry at the things that were happening on earth, and so decided to withdraw his protection from human beings. Things grew worse on earth, and all the Santos tried to obtain Olofin’s benevolence towards men, but none of the sacrifices or offerings made to him could move him. Yemayá had two children, Addi and Imu (the breasts of Yemayá), who were dearly loved by her and represented all her fulfilment in life. But, troubled by the fate of humanity, out of her natural instinct as mother of the world, she offered Olofin the heads of her children in exchange for his pardoning the men of the earth.

Thus Yemayá offered up her children Addi and Imu to save humanity and recover the benevolence and the blessing of Olofin.

Olofin, moved by so deep a maternal gesture, pardoned the men of the earth and said: «Addi and Imu is the greatest offering, the most beautiful and the most selfless that I have received. Addimu shall then be the greatest thing that can be offered to me and to the other Orishas.» That is why Yemayá is the queen of the world and the goddess of universal humanity.

ADDIMU: It is so broad that any sacrifice or offering may be considered as such: receiving an Osha, giving a drumming, an animal, and so on.

ALADDIMU: A particular case of the addimu; it is a very large addimu, covered with asho of the colour of the Santo to whom it is offered.

TRANSLATION: We stand in your presence setting before you this present of sacrifice; if you do not accept it, the earth shall be witness .

TRANSLATION: A little today, a little tomorrow; may this sacrifice be for good and cover all the Santos.

When any of these offerings gives okana, the first thing asked is: suyere lowo laddimu. That is, whether the addimu is to be sung to; and if it says that the Osha is to be sung to, let it be at least three suyeres.

Azojuano, the medicine that heals

This doll is loaded and washed with the herbs of Elegbá, among which there must not be lacking: fungus from rotten wood; this goes inside a clay jar, which is painted red, black and white; together with the awawa go an otá dun dun keke and a hand of cowries. This Santo lives up high, behind the door, eats adie dun dun and is driven with alcohol; there are two sticks that cannot be missing in the making of this Santo, which are the canario negro and the palo rompe hueso.

Apart from that, an Inshe Ozain must be made, to be carried tied at the waist; this is made upon a piece of rat skin that has been given to Elegbara. Then 3 little silver nails are driven through it and it is lined with white, red and black cloth; eyefa of Orunmila is added, curujey, palo copey, earth lifted by a whirlwind, palo guitarra, palo tambor, root of ceiba and palo vencedor. This is always worn tied at the waist, so that the part of the Inshe Ozain rests on the part of the back between the kidneys.

This Inshe Ozain eats together with Elegbara and serves against Ashelú, and allows one to know the murmurings of the arayes (strife-bringers) that always pursue Oshe Sa. In addition, for the arayes a stick of salvadera is prepared; this stick is set upon a signature and sulphur is given or driven to it, and it is fed: an akuko is given to that salvadera stick every time Oshe Sa has a war; the paper is bound to that stick, and then, gathering the paper smeared with eyerbale and with the leri of the osiadie, he burns it all, scrapes a little of the stick, and passes all that afoshe over the board and blows it outwards, so that araye unlo.

On this path, in the land of Osun Irawo, there lived two very powerful kings named Oduaremu and Ekubijogan. They taught the inhabitants of that land the worship they owed to the Eggun, the ancient owners of those lands. They had a son who came out very frail and deformed, whom they named Azon, which means illness. Azon wandered his parents’ lands and no one recognised him, which led him to develop an unruly character that heeded no one. One day he stumbled upon Death, who said to him: «Since no one understands you, why not ally yourself with me, so that you may be great in my kingdom?»

So Azon dressed himself in the clothes of Ikú (death) and in his black garb went to the land of the dead, where she accepted him and heaped honours upon him, granting him the title of Kelekeyewe Kuto, which means «great man of secret», by which he was known in the land of the Eggun. When Azon left his parents’ land, which was the land of Osun Irawo, that land began to suffer calamities and death began to feed upon its inhabitants.

Odudua and Ekubijegan went to the house of the Oba of Ifá of that land, called Baba Niyo Awo. He saw this Ifá for them and told them that everything happening was due to the loss of a great secret that nature had sent to that land in the person of Azon, who was the son of Ekubijegan and Odudua. They told him that Azon had left years ago and that they did not know where he was. Baba Niyo Awo said that only two Orishas knew where Azon was: Shangó and Alawama. After making for them the ebbo they needed, Baba Niyo Awo sent them to the river so that there Shangó and Alawama might show them the way to find Azon.

When Oduduwa and Ekubijegan reached the river, they saw Alawama and Shangó performing ceremonies in which a man dressed in black appeared and drew near to eat the food they offered him. They heard how they sang: «ile Inle Eggun Konileo Elele Eggun Awo, Eggun Odara Onileokosun Ibu Losa Eggun Odara«. When they came closer, they saw that the black shadow hid itself. Shangó and Alawama gave them moforibale and explained everything that was happening. Then they gave akuko and etu to Shangó and Alawama.

Shangó and Alawama told them that to achieve it they had to make a great sacrifice to Eggun and to Olokun, so that these would give their consent and allow Azon to return to earth and become a great king. Oduduwa and Ekubijegan accepted, and made the sacrifices in the places indicated by Shangó and Alawama.

After the sacrifices, a great feast was held in honour of Eggun and Olokun, to which all the inhabitants of the land of Osun Irawo were invited. During the feast, the arrival of Azon was announced and homage was paid to him as the great king he had become in the kingdom of the dead.

From that day, the land of Osun Irawo became prosperous again, and all its inhabitants celebrated the return of Azon and his new standing as the great king of the dead and of the land of Osun Irawo.

Then, once in Osun Irawo, Azon began to heal the sick by touching them with his hand, and everyone called him Azojuano, which means «medicine that heals». Since then, the birth of San Lázaro or Azojuano is celebrated as an important feast in the Yoruba religion, and the illness of Azon is represented in the figure of the ayalalá, to help men fight against sickness. Ekubijegan, Oduduwa and Azojuano became the three rulers of the land of Osun Irawo, which was the land of Oshe Sa.

The preparation of ekubijegan is fundamental among the essential secrets of this Ifá. So too is receiving as soon as possible the ayalala of Azojuano; and it indicates the secret name of Azojuano when he lived among the dead in the land of Ikú.