Otura Di

Here is where the twins defeated the devil

There was a crossroads where the devil had settled, and he had set a trap to catch everyone who passed by. The devil ate them all. The people of the town were alarmed, because everyone who went from one place to another vanished mysteriously.

One day the twins, two small brothers, were playing their little drum and calling to one another. They decided to go adventuring and left the house. One of the twins hid himself while the other went up to the crossroads. Seeing how small the twin was, the devil told him to go back home, because he could not pass through there. But the twin insisted, and the devil told him that if he wanted to pass, he must lend him the little drum so he could play it just as the boy did.

The twin agreed, and the devil played the little drum once. The twin asked him to play again, because he had not heard it properly. The devil played once more, but the twin asked him to do it better. So the devil played, but it did not come out the same. At that moment the twin took the little drum and began to play, calling his hidden brother. Then he climbed onto a great drum the devil had and began to play, while the devil danced.

The devil grew exhausted and could dance no longer, but the twins kept playing and the devil had no choice but to go on dancing. At last the twin asked him what was happening, and the devil offered to grant him any wish if he would stop playing. The twin asked the devil to remove the trap from the road, so that everyone could pass without danger. The devil agreed, and from then on the crossroads could be travelled without fear.

Elegbá, the owner of the will, was born

Elegbá roamed the world, enjoying its different lands; he entered by night and left at dawn, leaving his mark with various secrets. He held people under his sway without their knowing what was happening. Everyone acclaimed Elegbá and offered him food in the land, but he made himself invisible and carried the food away. Elegbá said: «There is one land I have not yet visited: the land of Abeyalini Inle, where Ozain lives, who made Ifá for his son Abeyebe Awo.»

Abeyebe Awo, with his knowledge of Ozain, governed that land, but he felt that something was missing, and his father Ozain reminded him of it constantly, telling him that he still had more to learn. Because Elegbá and Ifá were neglected, the people of that land were discontented and unruly, and Ozain no longer held his own dominion there.

So Abeyebe Awo decided to call Elegbá at twelve noon, when there would be a little calm, since his hold over the land was slipping away. Abeyebe Awo took a young ram, four hens and a tortoise, and stood at the entrance of the town to call Elegbá. He prayed: «Eshu Beleke Alaroye, Mowa Eni Elegbá Obara Kinkeno, Eshu Beleke Elegbá Umbo, Obara Mi Alado Mobati Elegbá Awo Ifá».

He offered him food and began to sing: «Eshu Beleke Ifá Laroye, Ala Laroye Ifá Laye Elegbá«. Elegbá, hearing that song, quickened his step and began to eat, delighted with a welcome he had never received in any other land. When Elegbá had finished eating, already at dawn, he left together with Abeyebe Awo and the two of them went to Ozain.

Ozain had prepared the tortoise stew with palm oil and yam; he offered it to Elegbá, who was very pleased with the father and the son. They told Elegbá what was happening in that land. Ozain said: «Take Amansa Guapo, Cambia Voz, Parami, Yamao.» Elegbá went out with Ozain and they both ate a little of what they had prepared, gaining great strength from it. They called Abeyebe Awo and gave him the same to eat, and the three of them swore to share their secrets at the foot of the Iroko tree.

They buried one part of the secrets, forming a ball with them, and the other part they scattered as afoshe over the land of Abeyabeni. Elegbá entered every house, passing the afoshe over the head of the whole population. Thus the son of Ozain triumphed.

By this path, adie okan is given to Oshún, because she is the mother of Beyebe Awo.

Mayesi, the son of the awó

In a town called Iyebu there lived a young man named Mayesi, whose father was a renowned Oluo. From an early age Mayesi possessed a natural grace, and he looked and behaved like a grown man. As he grew up, one day while his father was carrying out a reading and running into difficulties, Mayesi, who was playing in the yard, called him and said: «Father, in this vessel of water I see that you are stuck with the person you are reading for; he is a son of Shangó. Do not charge him; instead, take 4 mameyes from the tree in the yard and give them to him.»

The father, however, paid him no attention, and the son of Shangó went away. After 7 days he came back and told the Oluo that nothing he had advised had worked out as he had foreseen. At that moment the Oluo remembered his son’s words, but he did not follow the instructions exactly as they had been given, for he himself climbed the mamey tree to bring down the 4 mameyes, and fell to the ground and lay unconscious. Mayesi had to go and fetch the Awoses, but they could do nothing to help his father, who lay on the ground as if he were dead.

Then one of the younger Oluos suggested to Mayesi, as the favoured son of Orunmila, that he ask Ifá for help to resolve the deadlocked situation. Mayesi followed his advice, and his father recovered, bringing happiness back into their lives.

Make ebbó so that you do not say one thing for another and end up in matters of justice.