Ogbe Ogunda

Chapter 8
Ogbè Ògúndá
II
II
I I
II I
548
Ogbe¾ O®gu;nda;
Ogbe¾ E®e¾gu¾n
Ogbe¾ Su¾u;ru¾
Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu;
A. 1. Ifá says that it foresees the Ire of abundant success and
prosperity for the person born by this Odù either during
Ikoôse¾ôda;ye; or I®te¾ô¾ni;fa. Ifá says that this person has carried the
Orí of accomplishment and fortune from heaven. Ifá says that this
person has worked very hard in the past but their efforts have not
yet yielded any results. He/She needs not despair all his or her
fortune shall be consummated.
Ifá says that this person needs to offer ẹbọ with all edible
items available at the time that this Ifá is cast. This person
also needs to procure some corn and guinea corn grains and
give them to domestic animals to eat. If these two steps can
be taken, prosperity will be guaranteed for him/her.
On this, Ogbe¾-I®yo;ônu says:
EÙyeô ab'apa; we
EÙyeô ab'eôse¾ô we
EÙyeô ab'i¾ru¾ wemu¾-wemu¾
O®ri¾sôa¾-N:la; OÙs
® e¾ôe¾ôre¾ôma¾gbo¾
Awoôn ni; woôn loô oja¾ Agu;nregej;e;ge;
A wa; Awo ti;ti;
A wa; o¾ r’Awo
A wa; Awo de; I®li;ki;
A wa; Awo de; Ij¾e¾ôsôa
A wa; Awo de; I®woônra¾n
Ni;bi¾ oju;mo;ô rere ti; n; mo;ô wa;
A®go¾ oô Me¾si¾a¾da¾ te;mi n; mu; sô’oôdu;n n’ I:feô¾ Oo¾ye¾
Wo;ôn l’oô;moô eku lo; gbe; e loô o
Mo l' o;ômoô eku ko¾ to; A®go¾ oô Me¾si¾a¾da¾ te¾mi i; lo¾
E®sôu¾ oôdeô a deô pa;n;pe;ô
Ni¾ yo;o; sôe ele;ni¾ni; oômoô eku
549
Ifá Dídá - An invitation to Ifá Consultation V2
Translation:
The bird with strong wide wings

The bird with powerful legs
The bird with a wagging tail
Ori¾sôa¾n;la; OÙsôe¾ôeôre¾ôma¾gbo¾
They were the ones that went to Agu;nregeje;ge; market
We searched and searched for a competent Awo
We could not find one
We searched for an Awo in I®li;ki land
And went to I®je¾ôsôa¾ land
And we even went to I®woônra¾n
Where the good day dawns
My Me¾si¾a¾da¾ costume which I normally used to
celebrate the annual festivals in Ife¾ô Oo¾ye¾
They informed me that rats had taken it away
I responded that no rat had the capability of using my
Me¾si¾a¾da¾ costume
Those who set traps for rats
Will certainly be the slanderers against the rats
The Aka;po¾ was searching for a competent Awo who would cast Ifá
for him in order to find out his identity and better appreciate his
purpose on earth. He searched many places to locate a proficient
Awo but he could not find one. When he returned home, he was
looking for his Me¾si¾a¾da¾ costume which he used to celebrate the
annual ceremony in Ife¾ô-Oo¾ye¾, but he could not find it. He made
inquiries and was told that rats were the ones responsible for his
missing costume. He cursed the rats for taking what was not theirs
and what was clearly beyond their capability to use. He said that
they would always meet their slanderers among hunters who
would set traps to kill them.
550
Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu;
EÙyeô ab'apa; we
EÙyeô abi¾ru¾ wemu¾-wemu¾
Orí¾sôa¾n¾la¾ O®Ùsôe¾ôe¾rô e¾ôma¾gbo¾
Awoôn ni¾ wo¾ôn loô oôja¾ Agu;nregeje;ge;
A wa; Awo ti;ti;
Awa; o¾ r’A:wo
A wa; Awo de; Ij¾e¾ôsôa¾
Ni;bi¾ oju;mo;ô rere ti; n; mo;ô o;ô wa;
Ago¾ô oô Me¾si¾a¾da¾ t'e;mi¾ n; mu; sô’oôdu;n n’ Ife;ô Oo¾ye¾
Wo;ôn l'o;ômoô eôja lo; gbe; e loô
Mo ni; oômoô eôja ko¾ to; Ago¾ô Me¾si¾a¾da¾ a t'e¾mi i; lo¾
E®sôu¾ oôdeô ade¾ô'ge¾re¾
Ni; yo;o; sôe ele;ni¾ni¾ oômoô eôja
Translation:

They informed me that the fish had taken it away
I responded that no fish had the capability of using my
Me¾si¾a¾da¾ costume
Those who set nets and hooks for fish
Will certainly be the slanderers against the fish
551
True to the prediction of the Aka;po¾, the rats met their deaths in
droves. After this, the Aka;po¾ set out on his search for a competent
Awo who would give him direction in life. He could not find one.
When he returned home, he could not find his A®go¾ Me¾si¾a¾da¾ again.
He made inquiries to find out who had taken the costume this time
around. He was informed that the fish had taken it. He said that
no fish in any lake, pond, stream, river, lagoon, or sea had the
capability to take and use his A®go¾ Me¾si¾a¾da¾.
After this, he cursed the fish and said that those who bait hooks
and those who use nets will be their slanderers and will be the
ones killing them in multitudes.
E®ôyeô abapa; we
E®ôyeô abeôse¾ô we
E®Ùyeô abi¾ru¾ wemu¾-wemu¾
A wa; Awo ti;ti;
Awa; o¾ r’Awo
Ago¾ô oô Me¾si¾a¾da¾ te;mi¾ n; mu; sô’oôdu;n n’ Ife;ô Oo¾ye¾
Woô;n l' oô;moô eôyeô lo; gbe; e loô o
Mo l' o;ômoô eôyeô ko¾ to; A®go¾ Me¾si¾a¾da¾ a te¾mi i; lo¾
E®sôu¾ oôdeô ada¾te¾
Ni¾ yo;o; sôe ele;ni¾ni; oômoô eôyeô
Translation:

552
Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu;

They informed me that the birds had taken it away
I responded that no bird had the capability of using my
Me¾si¾a¾da costume
Those who set ropes, cages, and bird-lime
to catch birds
Will certainly be the slanderers against the birds
As soon as the Aka;po put a curse on the fish, they began to meet
their doom in the hands of hook and trap setters. After this, he
retrieved his A®go¾ Me¾si¾a¾da. He kept it at home and set out again in
search of an Awo who could help him find out his identity. Again,
he could not find one. He returned home only to find that his A®go¾
Me¾si¾a¾da was missing again. He made inquiries as to the
whereabouts of his costume and he was informed that birds were
the ones who took the costume away this time around. He
answered that no bird had the capability of taking or using his A®go¾
Me¾si¾a¾da. Those who took it received curses from him. He declared
that the kingdom of the birds would always meet their slanderers
in the hands of the bird-lime and cage trap setters.
E®ôyeô abapa; we
A wa; Awo ti;ti;
Awa; o¾ r’Awo
553

Wo;ôn l' oômoô eôranô lo; gbe; e loô o
Mo l' oômoô eranô o¾ to; Agoôô¾ Me¾si¾a¾da¾ a te¾mi i; lo¾
E®sôu¾ oôdeô ayi¾nla¾sa¾
Ni¾ yo;o; sôe ele;ni¾ni; oômoô eôran
Translation:

They informed me that the beasts had taken it away
I responded that no beast had the capability of using
my A®go¾ Me¾si¾a¾da
Those who shoot with rifles and spears at beasts
Will certainly be the slanderers against the beasts
The curse that the Aka;po¾ put on the heads of the birds made them
fall into the traps of bird-lime and cage setters. The Aka;po¾
retrieved his A®go¾ Me¾si¾a¾da¾ and placed it back into his home and
moved on in search of a competent Awo who would guide him on
the right path to find, follow, and fulfil his destiny. He searched
and searched but could not find one. He returned home only to
554
Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu;
find out that his A®go¾ Me¾si¾a¾da¾ costume had been taken away from
where he had kept it. When he made inquiries, he was told that
the beasts were responsible for taking it away. He declared that
no beast had the capability of taking away or using his A®go¾
Me¾si¾a¾da¾. He cursed the kingdom of the beasts and said that they
would always meet their doom in the hands of hunters who used
rifles, spears, arrows, javelins, clubs, and knives and so on.
E®ôyeô abapa; we
A wa; Awo ti;ti;
Awa; o¾ r’Awo
Wo;ôn ni¾ oômoô eôni lo; gbe; e loô o
Mo lo;ômoô eôni ni¾gba¾n¾te;ôyi¾n eôni sôe o
Mo lo;ômoô eôni yo;o; gbo; ogbo; olu;ye;ôe;ôye;ôtuye¾ô
Oômoô eôni yo;o; gbo;gbo;o;gbo;
OÙmoô eôni yo;o; to;ôto;ôo;ôto;ô
OÙmoô eôni yo;o; la¾la¾a¾la¾
OÙmoô eôni yo;o; bi;bi;i;bi;
OÙmoô eôni yo;o; re¾rô e¾ôe¾ôre¾ô
OÙmoô eôni yo;o; fa’ku¾n oôla¾ lale; aye; ja; gbeôreôgeôdeô
A®woôn o¾ôgbe¾ôri¾ o¾ gbo;ôn o
A®wonô o¾ôgbe¾ôri¾ o¾ mo¾ô
A®woôn o¾ôgbe¾ôri¾ o¾ mo¾ô pe; Ifá ; OÙla; n’Ifá ; a wa o
Translation:
555

They informed me that my children had taken it away
I responded that my children are my future
who will carry on when I am no more
I pray for my children to live very long on earth
And to grow old and feeble
I pray for my children to grow very old
And live very long
And succeed in all departments of life
And give birth to so many ideas and children
And multiply in all aspects of life
And spread the chain of prosperity to all parts
of the world
The uninitiated are not wise
They also lack knowledge
The uninitiated do not know that our Odù is the
Odù of riches and prosperity
The beasts did not fare any better than the rats, the fish, and the
birds when the Aka;po¾ cursed them. The rifle shooter, the javelin
thrower, the spear thrower, the arrow shooter, and so on
continuously cut short their lives. The Aka;po¾ retrieved his A®go¾
Me¾si¾a¾da¾ and brought it back to his house. He left again in search
556
Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu;
of those who could help him find his destiny. He would from them
know how to follow and fulfil it. This time around, he was able to
find EÙyeô Ab'apa; we, EÙyeô Ab'eôseô¾ we, and EÙyeô Ab'i¾ru¾ wemu¾wemu¾.
They told him that even though the uninitiated ones had been
making jest of him and saying that he would never succeed in life,
he would be more successful than all those who had been
subjecting him to ridicule. He was told that his Odù Ogbe¾-I®yo;ônu;,
was the Odù of patience and perseverance. He was also told that
he would be blessed with children who would carry on after him.
They told him that this was the most important of all the riches
and prosperity. The Aka;po was advised to offer ẹbọ as explained
above. He was equally advised to show kindness and consideration
to all animals from that time onwards. He complied.
When he returned home, he realized once again that his Agoôô

Me¾si¾a¾da¾ had been taken away. He made inquiries and discovered
to his everlasting joy, that his children were the ones who took it
to Ife¾ô Oo¾ye¾ in order to represent him when he was not around to
participate in the annual festival. The joy of the Aka;po¾ knew no
bounds. He was certain that even if he joined his ancestors that
very day, he had children who would carry on wherever he might
have left off. He prayed for the children. Soon after, he discovered
that most of the things which he had been doing without success,
he was now being successful in. Several avenues for
accomplishment opened for him and he took full advantage of
these opportunities. In the end, he succeeded beyond all
imagination. All those who had made jest of him turned round to
bow to him. They confessed that they never knew that Ogbe¾-
I®yo;ônu; was an Odù that could make anyone that successful in life.
EÙyeô ab'apa; we
EÙyeô ab'i¾ru¾ wemu¾-wemu¾
O®ri¾sôa¾-N:la; OÙs
® e¾ôe¾ôre¾ôma¾gbo¾
Awoôn ni; woôn loô oja¾ Agu;nregej;e;ge;
557
A wa; Awo ti;ti;

A wa; o¾ r’Awo
Ni;bi¾ oju;mo;ô rere ti; n; mo;ô wa;
A®go¾ oô Me¾si¾a¾da¾ te;mi n; mu; sô’oôdu;n n’ I:feô¾ Oo¾ye¾
Wo;ôn l’oô;moô eku lo; gbe; e loô o
Mo l' o;ômoô eku ko¾ to; A®go¾ oô Me¾si¾a¾da¾ te¾mi i; lo¾
E®sôu¾ oôdeô a deô pa;n;pe;ô
Ni¾ yo;o; sôe ele;ni¾ni; oômoô eku
EÙyeô ab'apa; we
EÙyeô abi¾ru¾ wemu¾-wemu¾
A wa; Awo ti;ti;
Awa; o¾ r’A:wo
A wa; Awo de; Ij¾e¾ôsôa¾
Ago¾ô oô Me¾si¾a¾da¾ t'e;mi¾ n; mu; sô’oôdu;n n’ Ife;ô Oo¾ye¾
Wo;n ô l'o;ômoô eôja lo; gbe; e loô
Mo ni; oômoô eôja ko¾ to; Ago¾ô Me¾si¾a¾da¾ a t'e¾mi i; lo¾
E®sôu¾ oôdeô ade¾ô'ge¾re¾
Ni; yo;o; sôe ele;ni¾ni¾ oômoô eôja
E®ôyeô abapa; we
A wa; Awo ti;ti;
Awa; o¾ r’Awo
558
Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu;
Woô;n l' oô;moô eôyeô lo; gbe; e loô o

Mo l' o;ômoô eôyeô ko¾ to; A®go¾ Me¾si¾a¾da¾ a te¾mi i; lo¾
E®sôu¾ oôdeô ada¾te¾
Ni¾ yo;o; sôe ele;ni¾ni; oômoô eôyeô
E®ôyeô abapa; we
A wa; Awo ti;ti;
Awa; o¾ r’Awo
Wo;ôn l' oômoô eôranô lo; gbe; e loô o
Mo l' oômoô eranô o¾ to; Agoôô¾ Me¾si¾a¾da¾ a te¾mi i; lo¾
E®sôu¾ oôdeô ayi¾nla¾sa¾
Ni¾ yo;o; sôe ele;ni¾ni; oômoô eôran
E®ôyeô abapa; we
A wa; Awo ti;ti;
Awa; o¾ r’Awo
Wo;ôn ni¾ oômoô eôni lo; gbe; e loô o
Mo lo;ômoô eôni ni¾gba¾n¾te;ôyi¾n eôni sôe o
Oômoô eôni yo;o; gbo;gbo;o;gbo;
OÙmoô eôni yo;o; to;ôto;ôo;ôto;ô
OÙmoô eôni yo;o; la¾la¾a¾la¾
559
OÙmoô eôni yo;o; bi;bi;i;bi;

OÙmoô eôni yo;o; re¾rô e¾ôe¾ôre¾ô
OÙmoô eôni yo;o; fa’ku¾n oôla¾ lale; aye; ja; gbeôreôgeôdeô
A®woôn o¾ôgbe¾ôri¾ o¾ gbo;ôn o
A®wonô o¾ôgbe¾ôri¾ o¾ mo¾ô
A®woôn o¾ôgbe¾ôri¾ o¾ mo¾ô pe; Ifá ; OÙla; n’Ifá ; a wa o
Translation:

They informed me that rats had taken it away
I responded that no rat had the capability of
using my Me¾si¾a¾da¾ costume
Those who set traps for rats
Will certainly be the slanderers against the rats
560
Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu;

They informed me that the fish had taken it away
I responded that no fish had the capability of
using my Me¾si¾a¾da¾ costume
Those who set nets and hooks for fish
Will certainly be the slanderers against the fish
They informed me that the birds had taken it away
I responded that no bird had the capability of
using my Me¾si¾a¾da costume
Those who set ropes, cages, and bird-lime
to catch birds
Will certainly be the slanderers against the birds
561

They informed me that the beasts had taken it away
I responded that no beast had the capability of
using my A®go¾ Me¾si¾a¾da
Those who shoot with rifles and spears at beasts
Will certainly be the slanderers against the beasts
They informed me that my children had taken it away
I responded that my children are my future who will
carry on when I am no more
I pray for my children to live very long on earth
And to grow old and feeble
I pray for my children to grow very old
And live very long
And succeed in all departments of life
And give birth to so many ideas and children
And multiply in all aspects of life
And spread the chain of prosperity to all parts
562
Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu;
of the world
The uninitiated are not wise
They also lack knowledge
The uninitiated do not know that our Odù is the
Odù of riches and prosperity
Ifá assures this person that his/her success will surely come with
patience and perseverance. He/She also needs to show kindness
and understanding to all animals. His/Her greatest asset however
is his/her children who will carry on wherever he/she has left off.
2. Ifá says that the person for whom this Odù is revealed shall be
bestowed with a great honour and recognition in life. He/She
however will not be the only one considered for the honour but
He/She will be the one to receive it. Ifá urges this person never to
show impatience or anger.
He/She must be patient at all times. His/Her success lies in His/Her

ability to persevere, be kind to all people, not show anger or
frustration and never contemplate vengeance.
Ifá advises him/her to offer ẹbọ with two rats, two fish, two
pigeons, two hens, two ducks, two guinea fowls, two
roosters, and money. After this, he/she needs to display
patience and perseverance.
On this, Ifá says:
I®bi;nu; o¾ da nn¾kan fu;n ni; o

Su¾u;ru¾ ni¾ baba i¾wa¾
A®gba¾ to; ni; su¾u;ru¾
Oun gbogbo lo; ni;
Di;a; fu;n Ina;
To; lo;un o; j’oye¾ Olo¾n¾roro
EÙboô ni¾ wo;ôn ni; ko; wa;a; sôe o
563
Translation:
Anger amounts to nothing for one

Patience is the father of all good character
An elder who is patient
He is blessed with all the good things of life
These were Ifá’s messages for Iná, the fire
Who wanted to be installed as Olo;n¾roro, the illuminator
He was advised to offer ẹbọ
Ina, fire, was a very ambitious person and he had every reason to
be. He was the eldest of those vying for the post of Olo;n¾roro, the
illuminator. Even the counsellor of king makers felt that he
deserved the position. He had worked his way up with hard work
and determination. He felt that everyone ought to understand that
it was not an easy thing to do. He was fully determined to add
colour and respect to the position. Consequently, he vowed that
he would not brood any form of nonsense, ignorance, stupidity, or
carelessness from any of his subjects. He must be accorded his full
respect and honour. He must also be given appreciable distance.
He will not be in a position where his subjects will think that they
are free to do whatever they liked. He simply would not tolerate
such things. It was better for them to understand the type of
leader he was right from the beginning. That is what he concluded
to himself.
How would the day of the installation look like? How would he look
on that day? What type of clothing would he put on that day? The
issue of his other co-contestants was a non-issue for him. Why?
They were of no consequence. They did not possess the clout or
personality to contest him. His decision to go to the group of Awo
mentioned above was absolutely not because of them; rather it
was for him to determine how grand the day of his installation
would be.
564
Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu;
When the Awo consulted Ifá, Ogbe¾-I®yo;ônu was revealed. They told
Ina that he was contesting for a position with other people. They
told him that he would be the one to be installed into that exalted
position. He was however cautioned to exercise patience and
constraint in dealing with his subjects, lest he lose the opportunity.
He was advised to listen to his subjects and tolerate them, even if
he noticed some excesses in them. He was urged to guard, guide,
and direct his subjects correctly. He was also told never to show
anger or impatience while dealing with them.
The Awo concluded by advising him to offer ẹbọ with two rats,
two fish, two pigeons, two hens, two ducks, two guinea
fowls, two roosters, and money. Iná, looked at these Awo with
unhidden contempt. He felt they were trying to tie his hands
behind him for his subjects to insult him. This, he vowed, would
never happen. He told the Awo that they were advising him in how
to be a weakling and he would not be. Whatever they liked they
could say or plan, they would always meet him fully prepared. All
their plans failed and he started getting angry with them. He told
them to never expect him to come and offer any ẹbọ as all their
recommendations were based on bias and fraud. He accused them
of advising him in bad faith. He stormed out of their home. That
day, he torched the farm of the Awo. Two of the king makers lost
their homes. Some of this subjects-to-be lost their farms, some
lost their clothing, and some lost their lives to the fire. When he
was told, he retorted that they lost their things due to their
carelessness and stupidity. That was the day that the king makers
made up their minds to look for a more suitable candidate. They
concluded that Iná would not and could not be the good, gentle,
kind-hearted, and tolerant leader that they were mandated to
have by the citizens to search for.
I®bi;nu; o¾ da nn¾kan fu;n’ni;

565
Oun gbogbo lo; ni;

Di;a; fu;n O®o¾ru¾n
Ti; yo;o; j’oye¾ Olo;n¾roro
Translation:

These were Ifá’s messages to O®o¾ru¾n, the sun
O®o¾ru¾n, the sun, considered himself eminently qualified to occupy

the position of Olo;n¾roro. He even saw himself as more qualified
than anyone or anything created by O:lo;du¾mare to assume the
position. There was nowhere his rays could not penetrate, even
the deepest part of the ocean. Who dared venture to contest the
position with him, he queried. He was so certain that anyone who
did would not only fail, but such a person would find himself to
blame. He was convinced that the king makers should use their
senses to bring the title to him and hand over all the paraphernalia
of office to him quietly, if they loved themselves. This title was
Olo;n¾roro, the illuminator and who illuminated better than him? Of
course, nobody could. He needed to assume the position in grand
style. That much he was certain of. He therefore needed to
prepare fully for the coronation day.
But wait a moment, if not because of insolent behaviour, what was

causing their delay? Did he need to come and beg them to hand
over what rightfully belonged to him? Couldn’t the king makers use
the little common sense they had left in their heads? Couldn’t they
apply what was left of their brains to do the right thing? They
must be taught a very bitter lesson. If the king makers were a
566
Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu;
pack of fools, who selected them to their various useless

positions? The inhabitants of course selected them! These fools
who elected greater fools should also be dealt with in a very
decisive manner. He had no patience for such people. He needed
to plan well for his upcoming coronation. That was why he went
for Ifá consultation. During the consultation, Ogbe¾-I®yo;ônu; was
revealed.
The Awo told O®o¾ru¾n that he was eminently qualified for the
position. He however needed to offer ẹbọ as stated above and he
would also need to exercise patience and restraint. O®o¾ru¾n was
advised against being provoked into anger. When O®o¾ru¾n heard
this, he got so annoyed that he lacked the correct words to
describe the Awo. He simply walked out and made a loud hiss. He
intensified the sun’s brightness and many crops began to fail.
Many youths and adults developed fevers and other types of

ailments caused by febrile conditions. Famine set in when all
streams and small rivers dried up. Several evil things happened in
the land. The problems were investigated and traced to O®o¾ru¾n. All
the inhabitants, including the king makers decided unanimously
not to give O®o¾ru¾n the position.
I®bi;nu; o¾ da nn¾kan fu;n’ni;

Oun gbogbo lo; ni;
Di;a; fu;n Osôu¾pa; Ki¾ri¾mu¾
Ti; yo;o; j'oye¾ Olo;n¾roro
EÙboô ni¾ wo;ôn ni; ko; wa;a; sôe
Translation:

567
These were Ifá ’s messages for O®sôu¾pa; Ki¾ri;mu, the

Full Moon
Nobody gave O®sôu¾pa; Ki¾ri;mu, the Full Moon much of a chance. He

was neither as powerful nor as capable as Iná or O®o¾ru¾n. All that
kept him going was the simple fact that he meant well for the
people. He was sure that if he was installed as the Olo;n¾roro, the
people would prosper. He knew that there would be peace and
enjoyment in the land. How would he be able to prove that he was
worthy of the trust and confidence of the people? Given the
credentials of Iná and O®o¾ru¾n, where did he stand? If care was not
taken, would Ina and O®o¾ru¾n not crush him even before the day of
the installation? What did he need to be doing to avoid the wrath
of his more formidable co-contestants? These were the questions
at the back of his mind when he went for Ifá consultation. During
consultation, Ogbe¾-Su¾u;ru¾ was revealed.
The Awo informed O®sôu¾pa; that he was contesting for a position of

honour and respect and that his co-contestants were more capable
than him. He was told that he needed to exercise patience and
perseverance in order to be installed into the royal position. He
was advised to never allow frustration or provocation to push him
into avoidable anger. They told him that there was no time that
patience could become too much; it could never be enough. He
must continue to exercise real love and understanding at all times,
and if this was done, having patience would become easier for him
to exercise. The Awo told him that it was one thing to have the
capability of doing something for someone but it was another
thing for people to put their trust in you for you to do it on their
behalf. The Awo said that his co-contestants were more capable
them him but the people did not trust or love them enough to
hand over the mandate to either of them.
568
Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu;
The Awo advised him to offer ẹbọ and the same materials that
were prescribed for Iná and O®o¾ru¾n were also prescribed for
O®sôu¾pa;. Emphasis was also laid on having patience and self
restraint. O®sôu¾pa; offered the ẹbọ that same day. As soon as he
returned home in the evening, he decided to show himself to the
people. When the moon appeared, all those who had found shelter
under big trees, under the roof of their homes, and beside the
shadows of big hills and so on decided to move out. They found
the moon’s illumination enough for them to see and at the same
time, cool and comforting.
E®sôu¾ O®ôda¾ra¾ advised them to bring out their children to play outside
in the moon shine. They did. The children greeted the moon with
joy and enthusiasm. E®sôu¾ O®ôda¾ra¾ told the king makers and the other
elders in the land that it seemed to him that O®sôu¾pa; Ki¾ri¾mu¾ had the
credentials to be installed as the Olo;n¾roro. Granted, he had no
power of illumination as great as Iná and O®o¾ru¾n, but his force and
power were very soothing, and it did not bring problems to anyone
and it allowed for relaxation. E®sôu¾ O®ôda¾ra¾ urged the elders to ensure
that the installation was done right away before the two trouble
makers returned to cause chaos and confusion.
That same evening, O®sôu¾pa; Ki¾ri¾mu¾ was installed to the exalted

position of Olo;n¾roro. It was a spontaneous but unanimous
decision. Nobody complained except for Iná and O®o¾ru¾n because
nobody had any cause to do so.
The ceremony was peaceful and without any untoward event.
I®bi;nu; ko¾ da nn¾kan fu;n’ni o

Oun gbogbo lo; ni;
Di;a; fu;n Ina;
Ti yo;o; j’oye¾ Olo;n¾roro
569

I®bi;nu; ko¾ da nn¾kan fu;n’ni o
Oun gbogbo lo; ni;
Di;a; fu;n O®o¾ru¾n
Ti; yo;o; j’oye¾ Olo;n¾roro
EÙboô ni¾ woô;n ni; ko; wa;a; sôe
Di;a; fu;n O®su
ô ¾pa; Ki¾ri¾mu¾
Ti; yo;o; joye¾ Olo;n¾roro
EÙboô ni¾ woô;n ni; ko; wa;a; sôe
O®sôu¾pa; ni¾ka¾n ni¾ n;beô le;ôyin ti; n;sôeôboô
A m’O®sôu¾pa; j’oye¾ ire de;
A m’O®sôu¾pa; j’oye¾ Olo;n¾roro
A m’O®sôu¾pa; j’oye¾ aye; gu;n
La;sa;n n’Ina; gbo;ju;
Ina; o¾ ni;wa¾ ni;nu;
La;sa;n l’O®o¾ru¾n gbo;ju;
O®o¾ru¾n o¾ ni;wa¾ ni;nu;
A m’O®sôu¾pa; j’oye¾ ire de;
A m’O®sôu¾pa; j’oye¾ aye; gu;n
Translation:

These were Ifá’s messages for Iná, the fire
Who wanted to be installed as Olo;n¾roro, the
Illuminator
570
Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu;

These were Ifá’s messages to O®o¾ru¾n, the sun
Illuminator
These were Ifá’s messages for O®sôu¾pa; Ki¾ri¾mu¾, the Full
Moon
Illuminator
Only O®sôu¾pa; complied with the advice of the Awo
We have installed O®sôu¾pa; and all Ire has arrived
We have installed O®sôu¾pa; as the Olo;n¾roro
We installed O®sôu¾pa; and the world has become peaceful
In vain was the competence of Iná
Iná has no good character
Of no purpose is the capacity of O®o¾ru¾n
O®o¾ru¾n is not endowed with good character
We have installed O®sôu¾pa; and all Ire has arrived
We installed O®sôu¾pa; and the world has become peaceful
We have installed O®sôu¾pa; as the Olo;n¾roro, the
Illuminator
Ifá says that good character, patience, perseverance, and

understanding for the person whom this Odù is revealed will be
his/her credential that will see him/her into an exalted position in
life.
571
3. Ifá foresees the ire of victory and accomplishment for the person
for whom this Odù is revealed. Ifá says that this person is right in
the midst of antagonists but it is from there that his/her success
will come from. Nobody and nothing can stop him/her from
succeeding. Ifá advises this person to offer ẹbọ with one he-
goat, 200 blades, one long cutlass, and money. He/she must
not allow anymore or anything to intimidate him/her.
On this, Ogbe¾-E®e¾gu¾n says:
O®Ùte;ôe;ôre;ô n’ile¾ô n; yo;ô

O®Ùte¾¾ôeôr¾ e¾¾ô n’ileôô¾ n; yo¾¾ô
B’ile¾ô ba; yo¾ô l’a;yo¾ôju¾
Ara; ile; eôni ni;i; sôe’ni pe¾ôle;ô
Bi¾ri; l’oôko¾ô n; da¾
Yi;yi; l’aye; n; yi;
Be;ôe¾ô na;a¾ l’aye; n; sôe
Di;a; fu;n O®Ùni¾-wa¾a¾ka¾
Ti; yo;o; gbe;’nu; o¾ôta; la¾bu;
Ti; yo;o; d 'akoôgun ni;nu; omi
Translation:
The ground is melting

The ground is slippery
If the ground is too slippery (and one falls)
One’s house mate will commiserate with one
With suddenness does the boat capsize
In rotation does the world move
That is exactly the way the world acts
These were Ifá’s messages for O®Ùni¾-Wa¾a¾ka, the
crocodile
Who would grow to maturity and succeed in the
midst of enemies
Who would become a great warrior in the waters
572
Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu;
O®Ùni¾-Wa¾a¾ka, the crocodile, was living his life in anxiety. He was

right in the midst of enemies. All the fish in the water, together
with the shrimp, the crabs, the crayfish, the lobsters, and so on,
were all after the life of O®ôni¾. They saw no reason why he should
exist with them in the water. They decided that he must be
eliminated without a trace and all the members of his household
must also be eliminated. They considered it an insult for O®ôni¾, who
did not look like them to have a space or stay with them in the
water. It would be better to remove the chaff from the grain. O®ôni¾
was the chaff that should be removed with ignominy.
Before long, the information filtered to O®ôni¾ that all the fish,
crayfish, shrimp, lobsters, crabs, etc. were looking for him in order
to eliminate him. Consequently upon this, the O®ôni¾ went into hiding
but how could he continue to live his life in hiding? What would he
do in order to overcome all those who were pursuing him? Why
must they think of his death when he had not wronged them in
any way? How would he be able to escape all the evil plans they
hatched against him? Would he live to tell the story? Would he
overcome? These questions led him to the home of the group of
Awo mentioned above for Ifá consultation.
The Awo made it clear to O®ôni¾ that he was right in the midst of
enemies. He needed to ensure that his vulnerability was turned to
strength if he would survive. He was advised to offer ẹbọ so that
he would turn invincible. Doing so was the only way that would
enable him to live, grow, and survive in the midst of his numerous
enemies. The Awo recommended for him to offer ẹbọ with one
matured he-goat, 200 blades, one cutlass, and money. He
complied. He was also urged never to be afraid of anyone
henceforth. He was told never to allow anyone or anything to
intimidate him no matter how many they might be. He was told
that he must conduct all his affairs with self-confidence. With this
advice, O®ôni¾ returned to his home.
573
As soon as O®ôni¾ got to his house, he went straight to sleep. That

was when E®sôu¾ O®da¾ra¾ went to work. E®sôu¾ stuck the 200 blades that
O®ôni offered as part of the ẹbọ materials to his body and stuck the
long blade of the cutlass to his tail. He further ensured that these
blades would not come off. By the time that E®sôu¾ O®da¾ra¾ completed
working on O®ôni, he had become totally invincible. Every part of his
body had become a lethal weapon. When O®ôni woke up, E®sôu¾ O®da¾ra¾
whispered into his ear that he must never be afraid of anyone
again. He must face and confront all his enemies if they made any
attempt to attack him.
While the transformation process was going on in the life of O®ôni,

his enemies were having a very crucial meeting on how to attack
and kill O®ôni. They concluded that to snuff out the life of O®ôni. They
must storm his hiding place and bite and beat him to death. If that
was the plan, then what were they waiting for? They needed to
move against him immediately. They needed to crush this chaff
instantly. They then proceeded to move in the millions. The fish,
the lobsters, the shrimp, the crabs, the crayfish, and all the other
co-conspirators living in the water rushed into the hiding place of
O®ôni. Their numbers instilled fear into his mind. He was shaking
and shivering all over. They crowded him and they began to beat
and bite him. He continued to back away. That was when the
voice of E®sôu¾ O®da¾ra¾ rang in his head again and said, ” O®ôni, Do not
be afraid of anything or anyone. You must face and confront all
your enemies if they make any attempt to attack you!” That was
when he charged! He swung his tail and several fish, crabs,
shrimp, lobsters, etc. were divided into fragments. He swung his
tail again and several more died. By the time he swung his tail six
times, hundreds of fish, crabs, lobsters, shrimp, crayfish, etc. had
met their untimely deaths. They tried several times more to kill
him but they were eventually forced to run away. The fear instilled
by O®ôni soon became the beginning of wisdom for the conspirators.
574
Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu;
That was when they decided that it would be better to leave O®ôni
alone so that they would not be experiencing avoidable deaths.
O®Ùte;ôe;ôre;ô n’ile¾ô n; yo;ô

O®Ùteôô¾e¾rô eôô¾ n’ileôô¾ n; yo¾¾ô
B’ile¾ô ba; yo¾ô l’a;yo¾ôju¾
Ara; ile; eôni ni;i; sôe’ni pe¾ôle;ô
Bi¾ri; l’oôko¾ô n; da¾
Yi;yi; l’aye; n; ye;
Be;ôe¾ô na;a¾ l’aye; n; sôe
Di;a; fu;n O®Ùni¾-wa¾a¾ka¾
Ti; yo;o; gbe;’nu; o¾ôta; la¾bu;
Ti; yo;o; d 'akoôgun ni;nu; omi
O: gbeô;boô, o; ru;bo
Ko¾ pe;ô, ko¾ ji¾nna¾
EÙ wa;a; ba; ni¾ la;ru¾u;sôe; ogun
Translation:
The ground is melting

The ground is slippery
If the ground is too slippery (and one falls)
One’s house mate will commiserate with one
With suddenness does the boat capsize
In rotation does the world move
That is exactly the way the world acts
These were Ifá’s messages for O®Ùni¾-Wa¾a¾ka, the
crocodile
Who would grow to maturity and succeed in the
midst of enemies
Who would become a great warrior in the waters
He complied
Before long, not too far
Join us where we offer ẹbọ to ensure victory
575
Ifá says that this person shall overcome all his/her enemies no
matter how many they may be. He/She however needs to not run
away from them nor go into hiding because of their enemies.
He/She needs to stay right in their midst and express his/her
potentials. It is in their midst that he/she will succeed and attain
self-actualization.
4. Ifá says that the person for whom this Odù is revealed is an
EÙle;ôgbe;ô. He/she has heavenly peers who are very active in his/her
life. They give support, guidance, and encouragement to him/her
on every move he/she has ever made and will ever make. This is
the reason why he/she needs to identify with them, feed them,
and make them feel close to him/her on a regular basis. If this can
be done, he/she will continue to receive the support of his/her
EÙle;ôgbe;ô until he/she reaches the very zenith of his/her ambition
and destiny in life.
Ifá advises this person to offer ẹbọ with one matured he-goat
and money. After this, he/she needs to get one of his/her own
complete set of clothing, many types of edible fruits and food
stuffs, and drinks. All these items are to then be packed together
and placed in a big white bag. The bag will then be taken to the
forest and hung on the branch of a tree.
On this aspect, Ifá says:
Gbogbo i¾gi¾ ka;’wo;ô s’o;ôrun

I®ja¾ OÙ®ri¾sôa¾ ni¾ wo;n
ô n; gbe¾
O®®ri¾sôa¾ n; gbe'¾ja¾ oôkoô¾
Di;a; fu;n Mobo;ôla;ta;n
Ti;i; sô'oômoô ara; A®ka;nja¾re
Translation:
576
Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu;
All trees turn their branches toward heaven

They are all fighting the cause of the Deities
The Deities are fighting the cause of the vessels
of destinies
These were Ifá’s messages for Moôbo;ôla;ta;n (I-thought-
honour-was-exhausted)
The child of A®ka;nja¾re
She was advised to offer ẹbọ
Moôbo;ôla;ta;n was a very successful woman. She had everything

going for her. She was relatively rich, happy, and ambitious. She
succeeded in her trading business. She also had a lovely partner
whom she believed would be her future husband. Most of her
friends envied her because of her good luck. Suddenly, everything
went downwards. Her business no longer thrived. She recorded
losses in her trading. Disagreement became the order of the day
between her and her fiancé. She became sad and desperate. What
was the cause of all these problems? That was exactly what she
went to the home of the group of Awo stated above to find out.
The Awo told her that her problems came about because she had
neglected her EÙgbe. They told her that her EÙgbe had all along
been responsible for her success and good luck. The EÙgbe had
now turned their backs on her because she had failed to
acknowledge them and had refused to identify with them
accordingly. She was advised to turn over a new leaf and align
herself with her EÙgbe.
The Awo told Moôbo;ôla;ta;n to offer ẹbọ with one matured he-goat
and money. She was also advised to get all edible fruits and food
items available at that time, together with one of her complete
outfits. She was told to place everything inside a white bag. She
did. The bag was taken to the forest and was hung on the branch
of a tree. When this was done, Moôbo;ôla;ta;n returned home. As soon
as Moôbo;ôla;ta;n offered the ẹbọ and fed her EÙgbe;ô, E®sôu¾ O®da¾ra¾ went
577
into action. He summoned all the heavenly EÙgbe;ô of Moôbo;ôla;ta;n and

showed them what Moôbo;ôla;ta;n had brought for them. He said that
Moôbo;ôla;ta;n went to the extent of doing all of this for them because
she appreciated all the efforts of her EÙgbe;ô as they had been giving
her support, encouragement, and assistance.
E®sôu¾ also assured them that Moôbo;ôla;ta;n offered ẹbọ in appreciation

of the support that EÙgbe;ô gave to her. He urged the EÙgbe;ô to
continue to support her because it would be a shame if the EÙgbe;ô
withdrew their support or relent in their efforts. After much
deliberation, the EÙgbe;ô agreed to continue to support Moôbo;ôla;ta;n.
They concluded that failure to continue to give her support would
be viewed by others as letting down someone who was
appreciative of their efforts. From that day forward, all the good
things which Moôbo;ôla;ta;n had in her life began to multiply in several
folds. She became wealthier, happier, more successful, and more
elevated. She was dancing and singing and saying:
Gbogbo i¾gi¾ ka;’wo;ô s’o;ôrun

I®ja¾ OÙ®ri¾sôa¾ ni¾ wo;n
ô n; gbe¾
O®Ùri¾sa¾ n; gbe'¾ja¾ oôk; oô¾
Di;a; fu;n Mobo;ôla;ta;n
Ti;i; sô'oômoô ara; A®ka;nja¾re
O: gb'e;ôboô, o; ru';boô
N®je;ô bi; o l'o;wo; l'o;ôwo;ô
Ni;boô loô fi; t’e¾keji¾ i¾ re si;
Mobo;ôla;ta;n oômoô ara; A®ka;nja¾re
Bo; o bimoô le;moô
Ni;bo lo fi te¾’keji¾ i¾ reô si;
Bo; o koô;'le; mo;ô'le;
Ni;bo lo fi te¾’keji¾ i¾ reô si;
Mobo;ôla;ta;n oômoô ara; A®k;a;nja¾re
Bo; o ni;'re gbogbo
Ni;bo lo fi te¾’keji¾ i¾ reô si;;
578
Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu;
Translation:
All trees turn their branches toward heaven

They are all fighting the cause of the Deities
The Deities are fighting the cause of the vessels
of destinies
These were Ifá’s messages for Moôbo;ôla;ta;n (I thought
honour was exhausted)
The child of A®ka;nja¾re
She complied
If you become very wealthy
Where are the gifts to your EÙgbe;ô
Moôbo;ôla;ta;n, offspring of A®ka;nja¾re
If you give birth to several children
Where are the gifts to your Egbe
Moôbo;ôla;ta;n, the offspring of A®ka;nja¾re
If you erect several homes
If you are blessed with all Ire of life
Ifá says that this person shall receive the support and assistance
of all his/her EÙgbe;ô in heaven. They will ensure that his/her
succeeds in life. That is why he/she needs to feed his/her EÙgbe;ô on
a regular basis.
5. Ifá says that it foresees the ire of prosperity and boundless

opportunities for the person for whom this Odù is revealed. Ifá
refers to two people here. Ifá says that the two of them shall
succeed together.
579
Ifá says that it is not the work that these people are doing that will
make them great, but it will be through this work that they will
meet their success. Ifá warns the person who was born by this
Odù either during Ikoôse¾ôda;ye; or I®te¾ô¾ni;fa; never to eat egg at all.
Consequently, all eggs be they fowl eggs, guinea fowl eggs, turkey
eggs, duck eggs, partridge eggs, etc are taboo. All eggs laid by
birds are taboo!
Ifá advises this person to offer ẹbọ with two pigeons, two hens,
two guinea fowls, two roosters, and money. They also need
to feed O®Ùsôo;ôo¾ôsôi¾ as appropriate.
On this, Ifá says:
Igba; n;la; kiribi;ti;

I®fa¾ n;la; kiribi¾t¾ i¾¾
Di;a; fu;n OÙdeô Aye;
A bu¾ fu;n Oôdeô O®Ùrun
Awo;ôn re;je¾e¾ji¾ n;loô re¾’gbe;ô oôdeô
EÙboô ni¾ wo;ôn ni; ki; wo;ôn wa;a; sôe
Translation:
The big calabash with a rounded base

And an inordinate gain feeds the ground
These were Ifá’s messages for OÙdeô Aye;, the hunter
of the earth
And also for Oôdeô O®Ùrun, the hunter of heaven
When both of them were going on a
hunting expedition
They were both advised to offer ẹbọ
O®gu;n was known as Oôdeô O®Ùrun, while O®Ùsôo;ôo¾ôsôi¾ was known as OÙdeô
Aye;. Both of them were hunters. Anytime the two of them set out
on a hunting expedition, they usually would spend 16 years before
they returned to their respective homes. During the 16 years there
580
Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu;
was no forest on earth or heaven that they would not visit. All
what they were searching for was resounding success, but it
eluded them. One day, both of them met again for another
hunting expedition. This time around, they decided to consult Ifá
in order to determine their chances of success. Would they
succeed? Would they have something tangible to show for their
efforts this time around? Would they move up the socio-economic
ladder? These were the questions at the back of their minds when
they approached the group of Awo stated above for Ifá
consultation.
The Awo assured both of them that they would not only succeed,
but their success would be known and recognized all over the
world. They were however informed that even though they would
succeed, there was the need for them to abstain from eating eggs.
They were also advised to offer ẹbọ as stated above. The two of
them offered the ẹbọ. A few days after, they set out on their
journey. For 16 years, they were roaming the forests of the world
and heaven. Yet, they could not kill any game worthy of
mentioning. On the last day of their expedition, they stopped at
the base of OÙdeô O®Ùrun, the hunter of heaven, O®gu;n.
Both of them complained bitterly that after offering all the ẹbọ
prescribed for them by their Awo, they could not find anything in
the forest to make them successful. Both of them stood by the
roadside to bid each other farewell. As they did this and were
about to disperse, they stepped on a small anthill. The anthill
caved in and behold, they found two giant eggs in the hole. Each
egg was the size of a pumpkin. They shared the two eggs, one
each, and said that they would go and show their oversized eggs
to their Awo. They also reminded each other that the eggs must
not be consumed because their Awo had warned them earlier
never to eat any egg at all.
581
When they got to their respective homes, OÙdeô O®Ùrun, O®gu;n

narrated his story to this wife. He explained how they roamed all
the forests in the world and heaven without finding any game to
kill. He showed his wife the egg he had found right before he and
O®Ùsôo;ôo¾ôsôi¾ were about to depart from each other. He said that the egg
was nothing but compensation for them by Olo;du¾mare since they
did not bring anything back to their homes, while they were gone
for 16 years. In view of this, he could see no reason why he
should not eat the egg. He instructed his wife to cook the egg for
them to eat. The wife did just that. They consumed the egg. It
was the most delicious egg they had ever eaten in their lives.
When Oôdeô Aye;, O®Ùsôo;ôo¾ôsôi¾ got to his home, he too explained his
experience to his wife. He also showed his wife the egg. They
concluded that the egg must be kept somewhere safe until the
next day when he would go and show it to his Awo. That was
exactly what O®Ùsôo;ôo¾ôsôi¾ did. He and his wife slept with an empty
stomach on that day. Very early the next morning, O®Ùsôo;ôo¾ôsôi¾ went to
where he kept the egg in order to go and show it to his Awo.
When he got there, what he found was the biggest spectacle of
his life. He found 3,000 bags of money neatly stacked in the room
where the egg was. The egg was placed gingerly on top of the
money. Each bag contained 20,000 cowries! O®Ùsôo;ôo¾ôsôi¾ became an
instant success.
For 17 days, he continued to find 3,000 bags of money appearing

in his room. He set out to erect for himself, the biggest mansion
ever seen in the vicinity. It took him six full moons to complete
this project with over 250 people working day and night on the
site. When the project was eventually completed, it was the talk of
the whole community. They all confessed that they had never seen
anything of that magnitude before. Oôdeô Aye; became a celebrity.
One day, Oôdeô Ayé decided to pay his friend OÙdeô O®Ùrun a visit. He
was convinced that his friend was also swimming in majestic
splendour as a result of the wealth which he too must have been
582
Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu;
able to make through the mysterious egg. Oôdeô Ayé considered his
friend more imaginative and more artistic than him. For this
reason, he concluded, he must have designed a palace that would
be more spectacular and more befitting. Oôdeô Ayé was very eager
and curious to see what his friend had done with his own wealth.
When Oôdeô Ayé saw OÙdeô O®Ùrun, he was totally disappointed! He

met him still patching his old clothes in the shoulder and buttocks.
His old house had almost collapsed and was totally unrepaired.
What went wrong? Where were his friend’s riches? Why was he
hungry-looking and un-kept? Why were his wives dressing
themselves in old rags? Why were most of his children completely
naked? Why had the situation not changed for the better? Why?
Why? Why? He explained to Oôdeô Ayé that he and his family had
eaten the egg. When he learned that Oôdeô Ayé’s egg had brought
him riches and affluence, he regretted ever eating his own egg. He
lived with this regret for a long long time!
Igba; n;la; ki;ribi;ti;

I®fa¾ n;la; kiribi¾t¾ i¾¾
Di;a; fu;n OÙdeô Aye;
A bu¾ fu;n Oôdeô O®Ùrun
Awo;ôn re;je¾e¾ji¾ n;loô re¾’gbe;ô oôdeô
OÙba Aye; ni¾kan ni; n;beô l'e;yi¾n, ti; n;sô';eôboô
OÙba Aye; ni¾kan lo; ru';boô a¾pe;si¾n
OÙba O®Ùrun i¾ ba; te¾te¾ mo¾ô
I® ba; wa;a; f'owo; sô’a¾ru;fi;n eôboô
E®ro¾ I®po, e¾ro¾ O®Ùfa¾
EÙ wa; ba; ni; b'o;ôla¾
EÙ wa;a; wo’re o
Translation:
The big calabash with a rounded base

And an inordinate gain feeds the ground
These were Ifá’s messages for OÙdeô Aye;, the
583
Hunter of the Earth

And also for Oôdeô O®Ùrun, the Hunter of Heaven
When both of them were going on a hunting
expedition
They were both advised to offer ẹbọ
Only OÙba Aye; (O®Ùsôo;ôo¾ôsôi¾) complied with the
directives of the Awo
Only OÙba Aye; offered ẹbọ and succeeded
Had OÙba O®Ùrun known
He too would have offered ẹbọ to succeed
Travellers to I®po and O®Ùfa¾
Join us in the midst of accomplishment
Come and behold all Ire in life
Ifá says that the person for whom this Odù is revealed shall
succeed only if he/she offers the prescribed ẹbọ and at the same
time heeds all the warnings of the Awo.
6. Ifá advises the person for whom this Odù is revealed not to get
angry over any issue and they need not be unduly sensitive to
their rights. This person is advised to understand that it is not all
insults, abuses, condemnations, humiliations, or ridicules that one
needs to shake off or avenge in life. Ifá urges this person to let
things go by being silent and enduring in the face of humiliation or
intimidation.
Furthermore, Ifá says that it foresees the Ire of prestige, honour,

and progress for the person whom this Odù is revealed. Ifá says
that he/she shall be highly elevated and respected for his/her
resilience, patience, and hopefulness. Ifá advises this person to
offer ẹbọ with two pigeons, two hens, and money.
He/she also needs to be patient, meek, and calm in the face of

turbulence and intimidation.
584
Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu;
On these aspects, Ifá says:
Igbo; eti;le; o¾un e¾g ô bin

Ya¾ra; a¾ju¾mo¾ôsu¾n o¾un i¾¾ya¾
Ya¾ra; a¾ju¾mo¾ôsu¾n i¾tale¾ô ni;i; je;ô
Di;a; fu;n Ma;ko¾ôsô;eô;
A bu¾ fu;n Ma;ko¾ôya¾
A®woôn je;je¾e¾ji¾ n;sunku;n oôwo;;ô a¾woôn o¾ ba’re
Translation:
The forest close to the town is filled with filth

And the common room which many sleep in is full of
afflictions
The common room is known for harbouring a lot of
grubs
These were Ifá’s declarations to Ma;ko¾ôsôeô, Do not
challenge your tribulations
The same was also declared to Ma;ko¾ôya, Do not
challenge your suffering
When both of them were weeping that they had not
secured any ire of life
They were advised to offer ẹbọ
Enough is certainly enough, Ma;ko¾ôsôeô declared! He must put an end

to all these unwarranted and undeserved tribulations. He must
show them that he knows his rights and that he equally knows
how to claim them. Why must he allow people to freely and
willingly trample upon his fundamental rights, he queried. Ma;ko¾ôsôeô
was a farmer. He was very strong and he worked tirelessly in
order to become a great and respected person in the society.
Much as he strived, they would not let his efforts translate into
success. He was sure of a bountiful harvest that year. He had
already been celebrating his success in advance. When only two
weeks remained for him to start harvesting his crops, something
585
terrible happened in the community. The community had captured

three people in the next community. They thought that they were
from another hostile community. All the entreaties of the three
people fell on deaf ears. They were manhandled when they
demanded to be taken back to their community. In the end, two of
them died and the third one was badly injured. The injured person
managed to escape and return to his own community but he was
at the brink of death. He narrated his ordeal and the community
raised a high-power delegate to protest the killings. They headed
for Oyo to lodge their protest. The culprit community began to
panic. In the end, the judgment was for the culprit community to
pay reparations for the violation of the community. In the end, the
farm of Ma;ko¾ôsôeô was handed over to the victim’s community as
compensation.
Ma;ko¾ôsôeô not only lost his farm, but his crops, and his hard work
and dreams of becoming a successful man that year were gone.
Why must it be his own farm, out of all the farms in the
community that was handed over to compensate other people?
This incident made him and all the members of his family to
experience untold suffering. His wife insulted him endlessly. She
called him a good-for-nothing husband who would not protect the
interest of his own family. The explanation that it was to avert war
and uprising in his community fell on deaf ears.
As if that was not bad enough, Ma;ko¾ôsôeô was equally mandated to

ensure that the crops on his farm were skilfully harvested and
handed over to the victim’s community. Ma;ko¾ôsôeô’s wife considered
this like rubbing pepper into an open wound. She screamed at her
husband not to take this. He must not lift a finger to do anything
on the farm. He must show that he was not a fool. He must
demand for his rights over the matter. In fact, he must fight to
take back his farm. He must not hand the farm over. If they want
compensation for any reason, they must look for another farm.
The cheating was just too much, she cried.
586
Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu;
This was exactly the reason why Ma;ko¾ôsôeô went for Ifá
consultation. He wanted a clear guide on the direction to take on
the matter. He wanted to be sure that he was doing the right thing
and taking the right step on whatever decision he took. His wife
advised him to travel far beyond a land where he was not known
in order to get an unbiased interpretation. That was what he did.
The Awo told him that he felt cheated and frustrated and that he
thought people had trampled upon his rights and privileges. The
Awo told him that even though this was true, he however needed
to exercise restraint and perseverance. He must not take any step
that would challenge the constituted authorities in his community.
He was urged to abide by all the instructions and directives of the
authorities. He must also continue to exercise patience in the face
of apparent provocation. He was also advised to offer ẹbọ as
stated above. He did. Before he got back home, he was fully
determined to abide by the directives of his community. He felt
that doing the above was a great sacrifice (ẹbọ) for his community
in order to avert the untold hardship of war and uprising. That was
exactly what he did when he returned home to the surprise and
admiration of everyone.
In the case of Ma;ko¾ôya¾, he was even slapped and kicked. His

clothes were torn and he was made to trek from the market place
to his home naked. Why? He met two groups fighting in the
market place. He tried to resolve their differences for them. They
refused to listen and they continued with the fight. Dangerous
weapons were freely used but Ma;ko¾ôya¾ continued to look for peace.
One of the combatants saw a thorny branch and carried it in order
to use it to hit and break the skull of his opponents. Ma;ko¾ôya¾
wrestled the wood stick out of his hands. That was his offense.
The fight stopped abruptly. Both parties confronted him and
accused him of being one-sided. He was slapped repeatedly. He
was kicked and pushed. He was thrown on the ground many
587
times. His clothes were torn into shreds. He was made to trek
naked from the market-place to his house. When they led him to
his home, all the occupants, his three wives, children, brothers,
and sisters, and other relatives were chased out of the house and
they were not allowed to take out anything. They whole compound
was razed to the ground.
Those who saw this incident or heard of it were totally enraged.

They urged Ma;ko¾ôya¾ to take up the matter at the highest level.
Some said that they were ready to assist him to revenge the
dastardly act. This act must be avenged, if not for himself then for
the sake of all the members of his family who were subjected to
pain and agony in an unjust and unjustifiable manner. In order to
take appropriate action, his wife and children advised him to first
of all go for Ifá consultation on the matter. He was urged to do
whatever Ifá recommended for him. They told him that even
though it was a clear case of unprovoked assault and intimidation,
Ifá knew best and would guide the family better than any human
being could. That was why Makoya went for Ifá consultation. What
should he do in the face of this cheating and provocation?
The same Awo were consulted. They told Ma;ko¾ôya¾ that it was
glaring that he had been provoked, insulted, assaulted, and
intimidated, but he however needed to show a high level of
maturity by leaving everything in the hands of Olo;du¾mare¾ . He
was also advised to continue to do good to everybody and for him
to wave the incident to the back of his mind. He was assured that
Ifá and Olo;du¾mare¾ would surely compensate him as appropriate.
He was also advised to offer ẹbọ as stated above. He complied.
When he returned home, everybody was expecting him to start his

own war against those who touched his compound and humiliated
him in public. Instead, they realized to their surprise that he
extended the hand of love and fellowship to them. Those who
heard of this considered him a big fool. Before long, both Ma;ko¾ôsôe;ô
588
Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu;
and Ma;ko¾ôya¾ became the laughing stock in their community. If

anyone did anything that they thought must be avenged, they
would tell them not to be as foolish as Ma;ko¾ôsôe;ô and Ma;ko¾ôya¾. Both
of them were not perturbed in any way. Their response had
always been that what happened to them and their responses to
those incidents were beyond human comprehension. Everything
was in the hands of their creator. They had drawn their authority
to act the way they did from Ogbe¾ and O®gu;nda;.
Three years after all of these incidents, the community was

involved in a very serious crisis. Several people suffered. The crisis
extended to the neighbouring communities. All the leaders in all
the affected communities would find no solution to the problems,
much as they tried. In the end, some of the leaders in the
neighbouring communities put their heads together and came to
the conclusion that if anyone could solve this problem, it must be
someone who has the patience, perseverance, and resilience to
make peace in the face of provocation. They reasoned that out of
the over 20 communities involved in the crisis, two names readily
came to mind as those who could bring peace back into the
communities. These people were Ma;ko¾ôsôe;ô and Ma;ko¾ôya¾. They were
promptly contacted.
They were given all the free hands and support that they would
need to find a solution to the problems. The two of them set out
to work. Two months later, peace returned to all the communities
thanks to Ma;ko¾ôsôe;ô and Ma;ko¾ôya¾. They became celebrities. In the
end, the communities resolved that a parcel of fertile land that
was 10 times bigger than the farm land that Ma;ko¾ôsôe;ô lost must be
given back to him as a token of appreciation. It was also decided
that the farm land must be cleared, weeded, planted, and
harvested for him for five years by the community. In the case of
Ma;ko¾ôya¾, his compound was extended four times bigger than its
Original size. All the houses therein were reconstructed and more
buildings were added to it for him by the community.
589
Igbo; eti;le; o¾un e¾g ô bin

Ya¾ra; a¾ju¾mo¾ôsu¾n o¾un i¾ya¾
Ya¾ra; a¾ju¾mo¾ôsu¾n i¾tale¾ô ni;i; je;ô
Di;a; fu;n Ma;ko¾ôsô;eô;
A bu¾ fu;n Ma;ko¾ôya¾
A®woôn je;je¾e¾ji¾ n;sunku;n oôwo;ô a¾woôn o¾ ba’re
EÙboô ni¾ wo;ôn ni; ki; wo;ôn sôe
Wo;ôn gb’eôboô, wo;ôn ru;’boô
Ko¾ pe;ô ko¾ ji¾nna¾
EÙ wa;a; ba;’ni¾ ni; wo¾ôwo; ire gbogbo
N®jeô ma; ko¾¾ô'sôeô; o
Ki; o si¾ ma; ko'¾ôya¾
Ma; ko¾ô'sôe;ô-ko'¾ôya¾
Ko; o ma; da’re wo¾ônyi; nu¾
Translation:
The forest close to the town is filled with filth

And the common room which many sleep in is
full of afflictions
The common room is known for harbouring a
lot of grubs
These were Ifá’s declarations to Ma;ko¾ôsôe;ô, Do-not-
challenge-your-tribulations
The same was also declared to Ma;ko¾ôya, Do-not-
challenge-your-suffering
When both of them were weeping that they had not
secured any ire of life
They complied
Join us in the midst of all ire of life
Please do not challenge your tribulations
And do not challenge your sufferings
Do not challenge both your tribulations and sufferings
So as to not lose all the Ire of life
590
Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu;
Ifá says that patience and perseverance can never be excessive,

they can only be inadequate. Ifá advises the person for whom this
Odù is revealed to exercise patience and resilience in the face of
provocation and intimidation. There is where success and
recognition lies for him/her.
7. Ifá advises the person for whom this Odù is revealed to offer ẹbọ
in order to avert an untimely and premature death. Ifá advises this
person to show caution and meekness at all times. He/she needs
to understand that we are all the eggs of Olo;du¾mare¾ who are
placed on this earth to hatch and manifest our destiny. He/she
must never consume eggs in his/her life. It is a serious taboo for
him/her to do so. Ifá also says that a hen is incubating eight eggs
where this Ifá is being consulted. If this is so, the hen, together
with the eight eggs must be removed from that house
immediately. Four of the eight eggs need to be boiled while
the remaining four will be left raw. The fowl needs to be
sliced open from the chest to the abdomen with a sharp
knife. The heart of the hen will then be removed and the
eggs will be placed inside a pot and a lot of palm-oil
should be added to it. This will then be given to the Elders
of the Night. Alternatively, if there is no hen that is incubating
where this Odù is cast, then a hen and eight fresh eggs should be
procured and prepared as stated above.
Ifá explains in this Odù, especially in this particular stanza the

reason why people die and why death does not follow any
seniority pattern. Iku, death, may leave the grandparents, the
parents, and then snatch away all the children while in their youth.
The elder siblings may live up to 100 years while their younger
brother or sister might have died while He/she was just 13 years
of age. The husband may die at the age of 36 while the wife may
live past 95 years on earth and so on.
591
In this Odù, Ifá says:
'Mode; ke;kere; n;fe;ô ‘bi¾nrin O®gbo;ni

Wo;ôn gbo;ô, wo;ôn o¾ gboôdo¾ô wi;;
Ge¾ôde¾ôge¾ôde¾ô wo;n
ô o¾ gboôdo¾ô fo¾ô
Di;a; fu;n Iku;
A bu¾ fu;n O®o¾sôa¾n;la;
Wo;ôn n;t'oôrun bo¾ô wa;'le; aye;
Translation:
A youth is having a secret love affair with the wife of

an O®gbo;ni Elder
They’ve heard of it, but they must not say anything
Even the consequence of doing so must not be
pronounced
This was Ifá’s message for Ikú, Death
And also for O®o¾sôa¾n;la;, OÙba¾ta;la;
When coming from heaven to earth
Ikú, Death and OÙba¾ta;la; were mandated by Olo;du¾mare to go to

the planet earth and continue the work of ensuring that the planet
was made suitable for human habitation. When they were about to
proceed, Olo;du¾mare gave them eight fresh eggs, four for Ikú and
the remaining four for OÙba¾ta;la;. As soon as they arrived on earth,
Ikú gave his own eggs to OÙba¾ta;la; for safe keeping. He told
OÙba¾ta;la; that he wanted to walk to every part of the planet in order
to see for himself what was actually there. When he left,
Olo;du¾mare instructed OÙba¾ta;la; to boil his eggs. He did. He was also
instructed to remove the shells from the eggs. He also did. After
this, Olo;du¾mare told him to close his eyes and throw the shells all
around him. He did. By the time he opened his eyes, he saw to his
surprise that the food items had begun to grow on the planet. The
592
Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu;
food was of different varieties: yam, millet, maize, guinea-corn,

cocoyam, potatoes, sweet potato, etc.
When these food items were ripe enough for harvesting, the eggs
belonging to Ikú began to burst open. As they did, human beings
began to emerge from the eggs in pairs, a male and female. As
they were coming out, they began to inhabit the planet and they
were living on the food that had been harvested by OÙba¾ta;la;, which
was in turn made possible by the egg shells that OÙba¾ta;la; had
thrown and spread round the planet. It took Ikú over 400 years
before he returned. When he came back, he was totally surprised
to find several people inhabiting the planet. He demanded from
OÙba¾ta;la; to explain to him what really happened in his absence.
OÙba¾ta;la; told him everything. In his response, Ikú said that all the
human beings on earth belonged to him. Consequently, he would
take all of them away on that very day. OÙba¾ta;la; disagreed with
him by saying that it was from his own eggs that they were being
fed and nurtured. This led to a heated argument between the two
Iru;nmoôle. In the end, they decided to take the matter to
Olo;du¾mare¾ for adjudication.
Both of them narrated their sides of the story to Olo;du¾mare¾. In his

own judgment Olo;du¾mare¾ told Ikú that even though all living
beings on earth belonged to him in the end, he however was not
allowed to take them all away at once. Ikú was allowed to go to
the planet earth and take away whoever pleased him and at any
time that pleased him, but not all of them at once. That was when
both Ikú and OÙba¾ta;la; left the presence of Olo;du¾mare¾ and returned
to their respective places of abodes. From that time onwards,
death disregarded whether anyone was old or young before
snatching them away. Ikú snatches away whoever he likes at any
time that soothes his fancy. This is why human beings need to
offer ẹbọ regularly to postpone the period that Ikú will arrive to
take them away.
593
'Mode; ke;kere; n;fe;ô ‘bi¾nrin O®gbo;ni

Wo;ôn gbo;ô, wo;ôn o¾ gboôdo¾ô wi;
Di;a; fu;n Iku;
Wo;ôn n;t'oôrun bo¾ô wa;'le; aye;
'Mode; ke;kere; n;fe;ô ‘bi¾nri¾n O®gbo;ni
Wo;ôn gbo;ô, wo;ôn o¾ gboôdo¾ô wi;
Di;a; fu;n Iku;
Wo;ôn n;t'oôrun bo¾ô wa;le; aye;
Wo;ôn gb’e;ôboô, wo;ôn ru;’boô
Ko¾ pe; ko¾ ji¾nna¾
Eô wa;a; wo’fa; ojo;ôun nni¾ bo; ti; n; sôeô
Translation:
A youth is having a secret love affair with the

wife of an O®gbo;ni Elder
They’ve heard of it, but they must not say anything
Even the consequence of doing so must
not be pronounced
This was Ifá’s message for Ikú, Death
And also for O®o¾sôa¾n;la;, OÙba¾ta;la;
They complied
Come and see how the Ifá that was cast on
that day has manifested
Ifá says that even though the person for whom this Odù is
revealed cannot escape death completely, it can at least be
postponed for him/her until he/she gets to his/her old age before
experiencing the inevitable reality of death.
594
Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu;
8. Ifá assures the person for whom this Odù is revealed that he/she
shall succeed and shall be victorious in life. Ifá says that he/she is
feeling apprehensive over something. He/she needs not be
because Ifá says that he/she shall overcome all their problems.
He/she shall prosper where others have experienced problems.
He/she shall experience gains where others will experience losses.
Ifá warns the person for whom this Odù is revealed not to engage
in alcohol intake because it is not good for him/her. It will reduce
their chances of having success in life. They can however use
alcohol to feed Ifá and other divinities. Ifá further advises this
person to offer ẹbọ with three pigeons, three roosters, plenty
of alcohol, and money. He/she also needs to feed Ifá with
plenty of alcohol.
On this, Ogbe¾-I®yo;ônu; says:
SÙa;ki;ti; Awo Oni;sôaki;

Di;a; fu;n Oni;sôaki;
OÙmoô O®gu;n o¾ roô'ke
Ja;;nga;n n¾ ja¾nga;n, Ja¾nn¾ga¾nte;e¾le¾
Di;a; fu;n Ogbe¾
Ti; yo;o; maa s'ôo¾wo¾ i¾ja¾kadi¾ ka';ri; aye;
O: de;’le; Ala;ra;
O: da; Ala;ra;
O: pa Ala;ra;
O: de;’le; Ajero¾
O: da; Ajero¾
O: pa Ajero¾
O: de;’le; OÙwa;ra¾ngu;n A®ga
O: da; OÙwa;ra¾ngu;n A®ga
O: pa OÙwa;ra¾ngu;n A®ga
O: wa; n;gb’o;gun loô si;le; Ele;gu¾n-Majo¾ô
EÙboô ni wo;ôn ni; ko; wa;a; sôe
595
Translation:
SÙa;ki;ti;, The Awo of Oni;sôaki;, the OÙba of SÙaki; Town

He cast Ifa; for Oni;sôaki;
Offspring of O®gu;n devotees who cannot mold ivory
Ja;nga;nn¾ja¾nga;n and Ja¾nn¾ga¾nte;e¾le¾
They cast Ifa for Ogbè
Who going to engage in the profession of
wrestling the world over
When he got to the palace of Ala;ra;, the OÙba
of I®la;ra; Mo¾ôki;n
He threw down Ala;ra;
And killed Ala;ra;
When he got to the palace of Ajero, the
OÙba of I®jero¾-Eki¾ti¾
He threw down Ajero¾
And killed Ajero¾
When he got to the palace of OÙwa;ra¾ngu;n-A®ga,
the OÙba of I®la;-O®®Ùra¾ngu;n-A®ga
He threw down OÙwara¾ngu;n-A®ga
And killed OÙwara¾ngu;n-A®ga
He then went to wage war on Ele;gu¾n-Majo¾ô,
the OÙba of A®ja¾sôe;ô
Ele;gu¾n-Majo¾ô was advised to offer eôboô
Ele;gu¾n-Majo¾ô could neither eat nor sleep. He was full of

apprehension. He lost interest in everything and anything. All what
he was doing was counting the days he had left to live. He realized
however that when he used his two hands and fingers to count his
days left on earth, some of his fingers were left uncounted! He
realized to his utter regret, that he had less than 10 days left to
live. This made him very irritated with everyone around him. Any
sound made by anything or anyone was being interpreted in his
brain as the approach of death to his palace. He would snap at
anyone or anything that made a noise.
Why was he so scared and irritated? It was because of Ogbè, the

wrestler. Ogbè had earlier engaged Ala;ra; in a duel and threw Ala;ra;
596
Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu;
down and killed him. Not only this, he confiscated all his
belongings and consumed them! When he got to Ala;ra;’s palace, he
shouted at the top of his lungs saying,” SÙu¾ti;!” Ala;ra; responded
with “SÙu¾te¾ô!” and the duel started. Within a twinkle of an eye, Ala;ra;
was thrown down and was stone dead.
Next, Ogbè went to Ajero¾ and shouted his usual challenge to have
a duel,” SÙu¾ti;!”. Ajero¾ responded with “SÙu¾te¾ô!” Ajero¾ was thrown
down and was killed. All his properties were swallowed by Ogbè.
OÙwa;ra¾¾ngu;n was next. He too was killed and all his belongings
were consumed. All crowned rulers and merchant heads
challenged were defeated. They were all killed and their
belongings were confiscated and consumed. That was when Ogbè
declared that Ele;gu¾n-Majo¾ô would be his next opponent and victim.
That was why Ele;gu¾n-Majo¾ô was counting how many days
remained for him to stay alive on earth. He knew that the day
when Ogbè arrived to challenge him to a fight would be his very
last day on earth. He felt that his own could not be an exception
since all those who had earlier been challenged into a duel had
been defeated, killed, and their properties confiscated and
swallowed by Ogbè.
When only three days remained for Ogbè to arrive in Ele;gu¾n-

Majo¾ô’s palace, he remembered that he needed to try all avenues
to protect himself and conserve his life. That was when he made
up his mind to go for Ifá consultation. He realized that with Ifá, his
own case could be an exception after-all. The more he thought
about it, the more convinced he became. Off he went to the home
of the Awo mentioned above. Would he be able to defeat Ogbè?
Would he live beyond three days? Would he live until his old age
and live to tell his own story? In short, would his own case be an
exception?
The Awo assured Ele;gu¾n-Majo¾ô that even though he was highly

apprehensive, he had nothing to worry about. He was told that he
597
could defeat Ogbè without breaking a sweat. He was told that all
he needed to do was to keep cool and calm, offer ẹbọ, and
procure a lot of alcoholic drinks and food. All these Ele;gu¾n-Majo¾ô
did.
The Awo offered ẹbọ for him and told him to go back home and
get all the items ready. He complied. On the day that Ogbè was
expected to arrive at Ele;gu¾n-Majo¾ô’s palace, Ele;gu¾n-Majo¾ô instructed
his household to prepare pounded yam meal that would be
sufficient for 100 people. The household was also instructed to get
alcoholic drinks for 200 people. All these items were provided
when Ogbè arrived, he shouted at the top of his lungs saying,
“Ele;gu¾n-Majo¾ô SÙu¾ti;i;i;i;!” Instead of responding with “SÙu¾te¾ô” for the
fight to commence, Ele;gu¾n-Majo¾ô told Ogbè to eat and drink first
before they engaged in a duel.
Ogbè was taken aback. Nobody had ever offered him food and
drink before the commencement of any duel before. He decided to
eat the food, and drink the alcohol that Ele;gu¾n-Majo¾ô had provided
for him before he would defeat and kill him. He sat down to enjoy
the meal. As he was eating, so also was he drinking the alcohol.
He ate and drank until he became totally drunk. He went into a
stupor. E®sôu¾ instructed Ele;gu¾n-Majo¾ô to continue to give him
alcohol. He did. In the end, Ogbè fell asleep and before long he
began to snore.
It was at this stage that E®sôu¾ O®da¾ra¾ instructed Ele;gu¾n-Majo¾ô to go

and wake Ogbè up and challenge him to a duel. As soon as
Ele;gu¾n-Majo¾ô woke Ogbè up, he fell down and went back to sleep.
He was then woken up again but with force. He started to fight,
but soon began to vomit. He vomited all the items which he had
swallowed in the homes of all those whom he had earlier defeated
and killed into Ele;gu¾n-Majo¾ô’s palace. From morning until the next
day, he continued to vomit. At last, he fell down totally exhausted.
Ele;gu¾n-Majo¾ô went to challenge Ogbè to a duel. Ogbè responded
that he was too tired and worn-out to fight. Ele;gu¾n-Majo¾ô told him
598
Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu;
that if Ogbè could not fight anymore, Ogbè should leave and go
away. Ogbè responded that he had nowhere to go anymore. All
that remained was for him (Ogbè) to stay with Ele;gu¾n-Majo¾ô to
help protect him and re-organize his life. That was exactly what
happened. Ele;gu¾n-Majo¾ô was happy. He lived to witness his old age
and to tell his story.
SÙa;ki;ti; Awo Oni;sôaki;

Di;a; fu;n Oni;sôaki;
OÙmoô O®gu;n o¾ roô 'ke
Ja;;nga;n n¾ ja¾nga;n, Ja¾nn¾ga¾nte;e¾le¾
Di;a; fu;n Ogbe¾
Ti; yo;o; maa s'ôo¾wo¾ i¾ja¾kadi¾ ka';ri; aye;
O: de;’le; Ala;ra;
O: da; Ala;ra;
O: pa Ala;ra;
O: de;’le; Ajero¾
O: da; Ajero¾
O: pa Ajero¾
O: de;’le; OÙwa;ra¾ngu;n A®ga
O: da; OÙwa;ra¾ngu;n A®ga
O: pa OÙwa;ra¾ngu;n A®ga
O: wa; n;gb’o;gun loô si;le; Ele;gu¾n-Majo¾ô
O: gbe;boô, o; ru;boô
N®je;ô E®e¾gu;n n; jo; o
Ee¾gu¾¾n n; yo¾ô
E®Ùyin o¾ mo¾ô 'pe; owo; mini l’ E®e¾gu¾n n; lo¾
Translation:
SÙa;ki;ti;, The Awo of Oni;sôaki;, the OÙba of SÙaki; Town

He cast Ifa; for Oni;sôaki;
Offspring of O®gu;n devotees who cannot mold ivory
Ja;nga;nn¾ja¾nga;n and Ja¾nn¾ga¾nte;e¾le¾
They cast Ifa for Ogbè
Who going to engage in the profession of wrestling
the world over
599
When he got to the palace of Ala;ra;, the OÙba

of I®la;ra; Mo¾ôki;n
He threw down Ala;ra;
And killed Ala;ra;
When he got to the palace of Ajero, the OÙba
of I®jero¾-Eki¾ti¾
He threw down Ajero¾
And killed Ajero¾
When he got to the palace of OÙwa;ra¾ngu;n-A®ga,
the OÙba of I®la;-O®®Ùra¾ngu;n-A®ga
He threw down OÙwara¾ngu;n-A®ga
And killed OÙwara¾ngu;n-A®ga
He then went to wage war on Ele;gu¾n-Majo¾ô, the
OÙba of A®ja¾sôe;ô
Ele;gu¾n-Majo¾ô was advised to offer eôboô
He complied
Now, E;®e¾gu¾n is dancing
And E;®e¾gu¾n is expressing joy
Don’t you know that E;®e¾gu¾n is spending newly
acquired money
Ifá says that the person for whom this Odù is revealed shall have
cause to sing and dance and be merry. He/she shall also live long
to narrate his story.
9. Ifá says that the person for whom this Odù is revealed shall live
long on earth. Ifá foresees the Ire of long life for him/her. He/she
shall live to become an elder statesman who shall be telling stories
to the youth. Ifá recommends that this person adorn his/her neck
with ide¾ beads at all times. If this is done, all the delegates of
Death will run away from this person and will allow him/her to live
until his/her old age.
Ifá also advises this person to offer ẹbọ with one mature he-
goat and money. He/she also needs to feed Ifá with a hen or
she-goat.
600
Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu;
On this, Ifá says:
O®werere
O®we¾re¾re¾
Di;a; fu;n O®®Ùru;nmi¾la¾
Ti; yo;o; la'de¾ b’oômoô re¾ô l’o;;ôru¾n
Ni;tOrí; Iku;
Translation:
O®werere
O®we¾re¾re¾
They cast Ifa; for O®®Ùru;nmi¾la¾
Who would adorn the necks of his children
with Ide¾ beads
For protection against death
He was advised to offer eôboô
Those who were old enough to die and those who were not were
being snatched away by death. Some people would die and
several others living around him/her would breathe a sigh of relief,
while several others would die and the whole society would be
thrown into mourning. The unfortunate part however was that it
seemed that the very righteous ones were being cut down in their
prime while the wicked good for nothing ones were being left to
live until their old age!
Oô®ru;nmi¾la¾ observed that his own followers and children were many
on earth. They must not be allowed to be part of the victims of
untimely death on earth. Consequently, he decided to take
decisive steps in order to ensure that his own followers and
children were protected against, and spared from all forms of
violent or untimely death. That was the reason why he went for
Ifá consultation.
601
Oô®ru;nmi¾la¾ was told that there were too many uncertainties and
threats on earth. He was assured that his own children would
however be spared from all these things. The Awo told him to
offer ẹbọ as stated above and at the same time, he needed to put
Ifá beads on the necks of all his children. He complied. As soon as
these things were done, all evil spirits and negative elementals
moved away from all the followers and children of Oô®ru;nmi¾la¾. They
began to live to their old age. If any of them failed to wear the Ifá
beads and anything untoward began to happen to them, as soon
as appropriate ẹbọ was offered and the Ifá beads were put round
their necks, the evil elementals responsible for the problem would
disappear from their lives and he/she would find his/her life
returning to normalcy.
O®werere
O®we¾re¾re¾
Ti; yo;o; la'de¾ b’oômoô re¾ô l’o;;ôru¾n
Ni;tOrí; Iku;
O: gb'e;;ôboô, o; ru;’boô
N®je; o¾we¾re¾ la¾ n; ja¾ un
Iku; ki¾i; pa’wo to; la'de¾ b’oôru¾n
O®we¾re¾ la¾ n; ja¾ un
Aru¾n ki¾i; sô’awo to; la’de¾ b’oôru¾n
Ibi ki¾i; sô’awo to; la’de¾ b’oôru¾n
Translation:
O®werere
O®we¾re¾re¾
They cast Ifa; for O®®Ùru;nmi¾la¾
Who would adorn the necks of his children
with Ide¾ beads
For protection against death
602
Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu;

He complied
We are all struggling, all of us
Death will never kill an Awo who has adorned
his neck with Ifá beads
Affliction will never affect an Awo who has adorned
his neck with Ifá beads
No evil will ever affect an Awo who has adorned
his neck with Ide¾ beads
Ifá assures the person for whom this Odù is revealed that he/she
will live to his/her old age. He/she will not be affected by the
vagaries of life. He/she shall also be happy and content in life.
He/she will enjoy his/her life to the maximum.
10. Ifá foresees the Ire of Victory over Adversary for the person
for whom this Odù is revealed. Ifá says that he/she shall overcome
all his/her enemies and evil elementals. Ifá assures him/her that
no matter how many these adversaries may be, he/she shall be
triumphant. He/she shall have cause to celebrate his/her sweet
victory over all obstacles.
Ifá advises this person to offer ẹbọ with one mature he-goat
and money. After this, he/she needs to get a bunch of fresh
sawerepepe leaves, pound them into fine paste, and mix the paste
with soap for bathing every day. If these two steps can be taken,
then he/she shall overcome all his/her foes, both physical and
spiritual.
603
On these two aspects, Ifá says:
Ki;nni¾¾ mo; sôe

Ki;nni;¾ mo; ya¾n sôe
Ye¾ye; e¾ mi¾ A®sôa¾bi;
O ra;n mi ni;’na;
Mi¾ o¾ m’a;pe¾ô
Mo tu;ntún ya; f’eônu foôn’na; fu;n oô wa';le;
EÙnu ni¾ I®ga;nra;n fi; n;foôn’na; l’o;ko
Ki;nni¾ mo; sôe
Ki;nni; mo; ya¾n sôe
O ra;n mi¾ ni;’sôu
Mi¾ o¾ m’a;gbo¾ôn
Mo tu;ntún ya; f'eônu wa’sôu fu;n oô wa'le;
EÙnu n’I®ga;nra;n fi; n; wa’sôu l’o;ko
Ki;nni; mo; sôe
O ra;n mi¾ l’o;mi
Mi¾ o¾ m’a;gbe¾
Mo tu;ntún ya; f’eônu poôn’mi fu;n oô wa;'le;
EÙnu n’I®ga;nra;n fi; n; poôn’mi l’o;ko
Ifá ; pe¾ôle;ô
OÙmoô eruku ta;mu;ta;mu; ile; I®do;
Ifá ; pe¾ôle;ô
OÙmoô eruku ta¾¾mu¾¾ta¾¾mu¾¾ o¾ôna¾ I®ra;ye¾
Ifá ; pe¾ôle;ô
OÙmoô ki;;ka¾n eôdu¾n ti;i; m’a;ra ogidan-a;n le
A b’i¾to¾ô mi¾ni¾¾ bi; ej¾i¾ sôa¾n pa'le¾ô
Akin ni;’le; I®do;
Di;a; fu;n OÙÙ®ru;nmi¾la¾
Ifá ; n;sô'awo loô si';le; Oni¾do¾o; O®Ùpaara
Ajogun lo; ka; woôn mo;ô’le; pitipiti
604
Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu;
Translation:
What have I done?

What should I have done?
A®sa¾bi;, my mother
You sent me to fetch fire
But I did not bring a container
I used my mouth to carry the embers to the
house for you
It is with their mouths that I®ga;nra;n people
fetch and carry live embers in the farm
What have I done?
A®sôa¾bi;, my mother
You sent me to bring yams
But I did not bring a basket
I used my mouth to carry the yams to the
house for you
carry yams in the farm
What have I done?
You sent me to fetch water
But I did not bring a calabash
I used my mouth to carry the water to the
house for you
fetch water in the farm
Gently Ifa;
Offspring of the fine dust of I®do; land
Easy Ifa;
Offspring of the smooth dust of I®ra;ye¾ land
Gently Ifa;
Offspring of the tightened rope which strengthens
the Ogidan musical drum
He who urinates like a rain shower
The brave man of I®do; land
These were Ifa;’s declarations to OÙ®ru;nmi¾la¾
When going on a spiritual mission to the
605
palace of Oni;do¾o;-O®®Ùpaara
When they were completely overwhelmed
by evil principalities
The inhabitants of I®do; O®®Ùpaara were in serious trouble. Nothing

went well for them anymore. It appeared as if everything on earth
had turned against them. Their crops failed. They were suffering
from many ailments. Crime was the order of the day. Youths
turned against their elders, parents abandoned their young ones
to their fate and nobody cared to obey the instructions and/or
directives of the authorities. Confusion, chaos, anarchy took over.
All the blame was heaped on Oni;do¾o;-O®®Ùpaara, the OÙba of the land,
for his failure to find a solution to the problems in the land.
Every day, Oni;do¾o;-O®®Ùpaara would sit down accompanied by

melancholy and regret to numerate over the problems in the land
and to find lasting solutions to them. Much as he tried, he could
find no way out of the problems. In the end, he invited OÙ®ru;nmi¾la¾
to come and help solve the numerous problems plaguing the land.
As soon as OÙ®ru;nmi¾la¾ received the message of Oni;do¾o;-O®®Ùpaara, he
went for Ifá consultation in the home of the Awo mentioned
above. These Awo were incidentally his former students. He
wanted to find out two things: one, what exactly were the
problems in I®do;-OÙ®paara, and two, what preparations would he
need to make in order to combat the problems and find a lasting
solution to them.
The Awo informed OÙ®ru;nmi¾la¾ that the problems in Ido land were
multi-dimensional. They were both spiritual and physical. However,
the spiritual problems gave birth to all the physical problems being
experience in the land. What actually happened was that all the
negative A:jogun: Iku;, Death; Arun, Sickness; EÙjo;, Contention; and
O®fo¾, Loss had taken over the land. These A®jogun had brought with
them anxiety, confusion, uncertainty, grief, crime, chaos, and
anarchy. There was no more reason to live for the future. All that
606
Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu;
concerned everyone was today and how to solve the problems of

today. Crime took over completely. Yet no problem was solved.
Instead, problems increased and grief took over the lives of the
inhabitants. All the neighbouring communities were not ready to
accommodate any inhabitant of I®do;-OÙ®paara land for fear of
bringing their problems into their land. Everywhere one turned,
there was hopelessness on the faces of the inhabitants.
OÙ®ru;nmi¾la¾ was told that in order to solve these problems, all the
A®jogun must be persuaded to vacate the land. As soon as they
left, the remaining problems could be solved. There would not be
anyone or anything to continue to fire the ember of chaos as
confusion in the land anymore. They advised OÙ®ru;nmi¾la¾ to offer ẹbọ
with a matured he-goat in order to persuade these A®jogun to
vacate the land. After this, he needed to procure plenty of
sawerepepe leaves in order to grind them and mix them with soap
for all the inhabitants of I®do;-OÙ®paara to use for bathing. This would
accelerate the vacation of all the A®jogun that had found their ways
into their lives. OÙ®ru;nmi¾la¾ offered all the ẹbọ recommended for him.
He also began to use the soap mixed with the sawerepepe leaves
right from his own home before he set out on his journey.
As soon as he got to I®do;-OÙ®paara land he set out to work. He

offered ẹbọ as he had been advised by his former students. He
also prepared the soap as he had been instructed to do. A few
days after these steps were taken, all the A®jogun found no reason
why they should continue to stay in I®do;-OÙ®paara land. They
resolved to leave the land and move somewhere else far away in
order to begin to torment the inhabitants there. When the A®jogun
left, I®do;-OÙ®paara land, it became possible to proffer a solution to
the problems of the land. The people of the land began to see a
reason why they should hope that the future would be better. All
the inhabitants resolved to work together in order to find a lasting
solution to their problems. Before long, they were able to tackle
607
the problems of the land one after the other. Smiles and hope
returned to the land.
Ki;nni¾¾ mo; sôe

Ki;nni;¾ mo; ya¾n sôe
O ra;n mi ni;’na;
Mi¾ o¾ m’a;pe¾ô
Mo tu;ntún ya; f’eônu foôn’na; fu;n oô wa';le;
EÙnu ni¾ I®ga;nra;n fi; n;foôn’na; l’o;ko
Ki;nni¾ mo; sôe
O ra;n mi¾ ni;’sôu
Mi¾ o¾ m’a;gbo¾ôn
Mo tu;ntún ya; f'eônu wa’sôu fu;n oô wa'le;
EÙnu n’I®ga;nra;n fi; n; wa’sôu l’o;ko
Ki;nni; mo; sôe
O ra;n mi¾ l’o;mi
Mi¾ o¾ m’a;gbe¾
Mo tu;ntún ya; f’eônu poôn’mi fu;n oô wa;'le;
EÙnu n’I®ga;nra;n fi; n; poôn’mi l’o;ko
Ifá ; pe¾ôle;ô
OÙmoô eruku ta;mu;ta;mu; ile; I®do;
Ifá ; pe¾ôle;ô
OÙmoô eruku ta¾¾mu¾¾ta¾¾mu¾¾ o¾ôna¾ I®ra;ye¾
Ifá ; pe¾ôle;ô
OÙmoô ki;;ka¾n eôdu¾n ti;i; m’a;ra ogidan-a;n le
A b’i¾to¾ô mi¾ni¾¾ bi; ej¾i¾ sôa¾n pa'le¾ô
Akin ni;’le; I®do;
Di;a; fu;n OÙÙ®ru;nmi¾la¾
Ifá ; n;sô'awo loô si';le; Oni¾do¾o; O®Ùpaara
Ajogun lo; ka; woôn mo;ô’le; pitipiti
O: gb’e;ôboô, o; ru;’boô
Ko¾ pe;ô, ko; ji¾nna¾
EÙ wa;a; ba; ni l'a;to¾le; ire gbogbo
608
Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu;
A®to¾le; ire gbogbo la¾¾a; ba;’ni l’e;ôse¾ô O®ôpe¾ô

N®je; Iku; gba’pe¾ô o; loô o
SÙawerepe¾pe¾
A®ru¾n gba’pe¾ô o; loô
SÙawerepe¾pe¾
EÙjo;ô gba’pe¾ô o; loô
SÙawerepe¾pe¾
O®fo¾ gba’pe¾ô o; loô
SÙawerepe¾pe¾
Gbogbo Ajogun gba’pe¾ô wo;ôn loô o
SÙawerepe¾pe¾
Translation:
What have I done?

You sent me to fetch fire
But I did not bring a container
I used my mouth to carry the embers to the
house for you
fetch and carry live embers in the farm
What have I done?
A®sôa¾bi;, my mother
You sent me to bring yams
But I did not bring a basket
I used my mouth to carry the yams to the
house for you
carry yams in the farm
What have I done?
You sent me to fetch water
But I did not bring a calabash
I used my mouth to carry the water to the
house for you
609
fetch water in the farm

Gently Ifa;
Offspring of the fine dust of I®do; land
Easy Ifa;
Offspring of the smooth dust of I®ra;ye¾ land
Gently Ifa;
Offspring of the tightened rope which strengthens
the Ogidan musical drum
He who urinates like a rain shower
The brave man of I®do; land
These were Ifa;’s declarations to OÙ®ru;nmi¾la¾
When going on a spiritual mission to the
palace of Oni;do¾o;-O®®Ùpaara
When they were completely overwhelmed
by evil principalities
He complied
Join us in the midst of all the Ire of life
In the midst of all the Ire of life does one find all
followers of the holy palm
Now, Ikú, Death accepted our pleas and left
Sawerepepe
Arun, Affliction accepted our pleas and left
Sawerepepe
EÙjo;, Contention accepted our pleas and left
Sawerepepe
O®fo¾, Loss accepted our pleas and left
Sawerepepe
All A®jogun accepted our pleas as they left
Sawerepepe
Ifá says that all A®jogun who had hitherto taken over the life of the
person for whom this Odù is revealed shall leave and allow this
person to enjoy his/her life to the fullest and also give way for
him/her to manifest his/her destiny without hindrance.
610
Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu;
11. Ifá says that it foresees the Ire of long life for the person for
whom this Ogbe¾-Iyo;ônu; is revealed. Ifá says that this person will
live long and will be happy. Ifá however warns that person for
whom this Odù is revealed not to assist others at his/her own
expense. Ifá warns him/her not to subject himself/herself to
avoidable and/or undue risks. Ifá says that doing so will not augur
well for him/her or the person he/she intends to assist or the
situation he/she intends to correct or remove.
Ifá advises this person to procure a live land snail, put it in

his/her cap or headgear and wear the cap/headgear
together with the snail while his/her ẹbọ is being offered.
At the end of the ẹbọ, he/she needs to remove the
cap/headgear and place it on top of E®su ô ¾. By so doing, death
will depart from him/her.
On this, Ogbe¾-Iyo;ônu; says:
E®mi o¾ le e¾ s'ôa¾a;nu; erin

Ki; n mu; oôwo;ô iwa;ju; k’a;sôa;
E®mi¾ o¾ le e¾ sô'a¾a;nu; eôfoô¾n
K¾i n t'eôse¾ô e¾y
ô i¾n boô po¾o¾lo¾
E®mi¾ o¾ le sôa¾a;nu; oôkoô l’o;bi¾nri;n
Ki n m’e;ôse¾ô e¾ôyi¾n p’ejo¾
E®mi¾ o le e¾ du’ri; ol’o;ri;
K’a;wo¾di¾ o; gbe; t'e¾mi ra¾ loô
Di;a; fu;n Olo;gbi¾n-i;n Ki¾i;ni;
Wo;ôn ni¾ ko; wa;a; s'ôeôboô si; lai¾ku; araa reô
Translation:
I cannot have sympathy for the elephant

For me to stop a bullet with my hands
I cannot pity the buffalo
For me to enter a trap with my legs
I cannot have compassion for a couple
611
For me to use my legs to kill a poisonous snake

I cannot attempt to save the head of others
For the Eagle to carry me away
These were Ifá’s declarations to the first Olo;gbi¾n-i;n
He was advised to offer ẹbọ for longevity
Olo;gbi¾n-i;n was a high-ranking title of Egu;ngu;n worshippers. It was

normally given to those who had distinguished themselves in many
ways during their services to the Egu;ngu;n deity. For anyone to be
accorded that title, it went without gainsaying that such a person
had really tried and had proved himself a worthy representative of
the Egu;ngu;n family. When the first Olo;gbi¾n-i;n was about to be
installed, he swore that he would do all things in his capacity to
promote the course of the Egu;ngu;n and O®Ùje¾ô deity. He promised
that he would not relent in his effort to ensure that everything
went well within the O®Ùje¾ô circle and the whole community in
general.
In order to determine the best way to further help achieve his aim,
he went for Ifá consultation. The Awo congratulated him for
having the interest of his community at heart. He was however
warned not to subject himself to any undue risks in his bid to help
his community. He was told that if he did not help with caution
and common sense. He would end up not being able to render any
more help to anyone at all. He was advised to offer ẹbọ as stated
above.
Thinking that the Awo was trying to dissuade him from assisting
people, coupled with the fact that he had made a solemn promise
to the people that he would always be there for them whenever
they needed him, he simply ignored the advice of the Awo. He also
failed to offer the prescribed ẹbọ. He began to help many people.
Everyone trooped to his home for assistance and they not
disappointed. Soon after this, he became over-stressed and over-
whelmed with the demands and he could no longer cope. He
612
Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu;
stressed himself beyond his capability. He soon fell ill and before
long, he died an unfulfilled man. Those who were looking for
assistance from him abandoned his home and family and began to
look for someone else who would be of assistance to them.

Di;a; fu;n Olo;gbi¾n-i;n Keji
Translation:

This was Ifá’s declarations to the second Olo;gbi¾n-i;n
The second Olo;gbi¾n-i;n was installed barely two months after the
death of the first Olo;gbi¾n-i;n. The community felt that there was
the need to fill the position left vacant as a result of the death of
the first Olo;gbi¾n-i;n in order for the occupier of the position to
continue the good work where his predecessor had left off. The
second Olo;gbi¾n-i;n was convinced that before he could do anything
that the people would notice and appreciate, he needed to match
and surpass the efforts of his predecessor. He tried. He then went
613
for Ifá consultation. He was advised not to bite more than he

could chew. He failed to heed the warning. In the end, he too met
with the same fate as the first Olo;gbi¾n-i;n. He died an exhausted
man.

Di;a; fu;n Olo;gbi¾n-i;n Keôta
Translation:

This was Ifá’s declaration to the third Olo;gbi¾n-i;n
The third Olo;gbi¾n-i;n was also installed as soon as the burial

ceremony of the second Olo;gbi¾n-i;n was completed. He too went
for Ifá consultation. He was advised to help his people but not to
outreach himself. He was also advised to offer ẹbọ as stated
above. He never did. He too died prematurely.

614
Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu;

Di;a; fu;n Olo;gbi¾n-i;n Keôrin
Translation:

This was Ifá’s declaration to the forth Olo;gbi¾n-i;n
Again, the forth Olo;gbi¾n-i;n was installed shortly after the final
burial of the third Olo;gbi¾n-i;n . He went for Ifá consultation. He
was advised to offer ẹbọ and to slow down. He was also told not
to overstress himself in his bid to help his people. He could not
understand how to stop helping others even at his own expense.
He died before he was up to one year on the seat of Olo;gbi¾n-i;n.

Di;a; fu;n Olo;gbi¾n-i;n Karu¾n-u;n
615
Translation:

This was Ifá’s declaration to the fifth Olo;gbi¾n-i;n
The fifth Olo;gbi¾n-i;n tried to heed the advice of the Awo but failed.
He buried himself in the work of helping others without
consideration for his own health, safety, or capability. In the end,
the work buried him and another Olo;gbi¾n-i;n was installed.

Di;a; fu;n Olo;gbi¾n-i;n Kefa¾
Translation:

616
Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu;

This was Ifá’s declaration to the sixth Olo;gbi¾n-i;n
The sixth Olo;gbi¾n-i;n felt that those five Olo;gbi¾n-i;n who had died
did not have enough strength, resilience, and sufficient health to
make them last long. He believed that he had all these qualities
and that he would live longer than all of them put together. When
he was advised to take it easy, he responded that how could one
take doing good and benevolent activities easy? He went into his
work head on. He worked tirelessly and without rest. By the time
he realized that he truly needed to consider his own health and
strength in all what he was doing, it was already too late. He died
barely eight lunar months after assuming the office.

Di;a; fu;n Olo;gbi¾n-i;n Keje
Translation:

617

This was Ifá’s declaration to the seventh Olo;gbi¾n-i;n
When the seventh Olo;gbi¾n-i;n was installed, everybody was

expecting him to end up the same way the last six Olo;gbi¾n-i;n had
ended up. They were mistaken. He went for Ifá consultation and
offered all the prescribed ẹbọ and heeded the advice and the
warnings of the Awo. He never chewed beyond what he could
swallow. He took life easy. Before long, everyone in the Egu;ngu;n
community and the society in general became used to his system.
Some of the assignments which he felt could be delegated to
others to perform were promptly delegated. He lived long and had
relatively sound health. He was able to tell his story 25 years after
he was installed as Olo;gbi¾n-i;n. He lived and died a happy,
contented, and highly accomplished Olo;gbi¾n-i;n.

Di;a; fu;n Olo;gbi¾n-i;n Ki¾i;ni;
A bu¾ fu;n Olo;gbi¾n-i¾n keji
Di;a; fu;n Olo;gbi¾n-i¾n keôta
A bu¾ fu;n Olo;gbi¾n-i¾n keôrin
Dia fun Olo;gbi¾n-i¾n karu¾n-u;n
A bu¾ fu;n Olo;gbi¾n-i¾n keôfa
Di;a; fu;n Olo;gbi¾n-i¾n keje
Wo;ôn ni¾ ki; wo;ôn wa;a; s'eôboô si; lai¾ku; ara wo;ôn
Olo;gbi¾n-i¾n keje ni¾kan ni; n;;beô le;yi¾n ti; n; s'eôboô
N®je;ô gbe;’ku; u¾ mi¾ ra¾ loô o
A®wo¾di¾-o¾ke¾ gbe;’ku; u¾¾ mi¾ ra¾ loô o
Ti;nheôn-ti;nheôn re;re o, A®wo¾di¾!
618
Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu;
Translation:

These were Ifa;’s declarations to the first Olo;gbi¾n-i;n
And for the second Olo;gbi¾n-i¾n
And for the third Olo;gbi¾n-i¾n
And for the fourth Olo;gbi¾n-i¾n
And for the fifth Olo;gbi¾n-i¾n
And for the sixth Olo;gbi¾n-i¾n
And for the seventh Olo;gbi¾n-i¾n
They were advised to offer eôboô for longevity
Only the seventh Olo;gbi¾n-i¾n complied
Please carry the death dangling over my head away
The hovering eagle
Please carry the death dangling over my head away
Far far away
A®wo¾di¾, the Eagle!
Ifá says that the death that is dangling over the head of the
person for whom this Odù is revealed shall be carried away and be
replaced with long life, prosperity, accomplishment, and sound
health.
He/she however needs to take proper care of his/her health.
He/she needs not do anything that will put him/her into avoidable
danger or threaten his/her life.
619
12. Ifá says that it foresees the Ire of success, matrimonial bliss,
accomplishment, good companionship, lovely children, and
boundless joy for the couple planning to get married where this
Odù is revealed. Ifá says that the marriage and relationship will be
a resounding success for both parties. Ifá says that the woman
needs to move into her man’s house very early in the morning,
even before daybreak. This will enhance the success chances of
the marriage. This is because the woman chose as part of her
destiny in heaven to move into her matrimonial home at dawn in
order for all her Ire to follow her to her new home. This is why it is
important to ensure that the woman arrives at her man’s house at
dawn.
Ifá also says that as soon as she arrives, two big kola nuts with
four lobes each should be broken for her and offered to Ifá in the
very early morning of her arrival. This cannot be postponed. This
is why it is important to have the four lobe kola nuts ready and
placed by Ifá before her arrival. She needs to move straight into
Ifá’s room for this ceremony to be performed even before any
other thing can be done.
Ifá also promises the Ire of a beautiful and bouncing baby for the
couple. The name of the baby should be Fa;yeômi;: Ifá befits me.
Ifá also advises the person for whom this Odù is revealed to offer
ẹbọ with four rats, four fish, two hens, and money. He/She
also needs to feed Ifá with two rats, two fish, and one hen.
On this, Ifá says:
Ka; te;ô’ni; we;lô e;ôwe;ôle;ô

Ka; su¾n we;ôle;ô
K’o;;ômoô eôni¾ o; le¾ baa¾ n’oôwo;ô woôroôwoôroô
Ko; fi; gbe;’ni¾ sin
Ko; le¾ baa¾ ju¾’ko¾ obi¾ lu’ni po¾ro¾po¾ro¾
Di;a; fu;n I®ya¾wo; oju;-oô¾na¾ô
Ti;; n;re’le; oôkoô re¾ô l’a;fe¾ômo;;ôju;
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Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu;
Ti; n;loô re¾e; gb’a¾sôeô ni;'le; oôkoô

Ti; n;loô re¾e; gb’a¾sôeô l'oôwoôô; Ifá ;
Translation:
Let us spread the mat gently

And lay on it meekly
For us to be blessed with children who will spread
their hands humbly
And lay us to our final resting place
And break kola nuts for us regularly
These were Ifá’s messages for the new bride
When going to her matrimonial home at dawn
And when going to receive the A®sôeô in her
husband’s home
And when going to receive the A®sôeô from Ifá
The new bride was about to move into her husband’s new home.
All other ceremonies had been completed. The movement into her
husband’s home was the final rite to be performed. Before going
however, she decided to go for Ifá consultation. What must she do
to make her marriage a resounding success? The Awo assured her
that her marriage would not only be successful, it would also be
blessed with children, progress, and bliss. She was told that part
of her destiny was for her to leave for her matrimonial home very
early in the morning. She was informed that all the Ire of life was
waiting for her by the doorstep of her parent’s home and that they
(The Ire) were prepared to accompany her to her new home and
reside with her there. If she delayed, all the Ire would disperse
and go elsewhere. She was told that as soon as she arrived in her
husband’s home, she should go straight into the Ifá room where
the elders in the home would shower her with prayers and
blessings. That was when Ifá would give her the A®sôeô. She was also
told to ensure that two big kola nuts were broken for Ifá on that
621
very morning. She was also told to offer ẹbọ and feed Ifá as
stated above. She complied. Not only this, she also informed her
man’s family of the directives of Ifá.
On the day of the marriage and movement, they left at the first
cock’s crow at dawn. Before sunrise, she had already settled in her
man’s home and all the directives of Ifá were carried and
completed. She enjoyed marital bliss for the rest of her life. Ten
lunar months after her marriage, she gave birth to a baby who
was promptly named Fa;yeômi; according to the directives of Ifá.
Ka; te;ô’ni; we;lô e;ôwe;ôle;ô

Ka; su¾n we;ôle;ô
K’o;;ômoô eôni¾ o; le¾ baa¾ n’oôwo;ô woôroôwoôroô
Ko; fi; gbe;’ni¾ sin
Ko; le¾ baa¾ ju¾’ko¾ obi¾ lu’ni po¾ro¾po¾ro¾
Di;a; fu;n I®ya¾wo; oju;-oô¾na¾ô
Ti;; n;re’le; oôkoô re¾ô l’a;fe¾ômo;;ôju;
Ti; n;loô re¾e; gb’a¾sôeô ni;'le; oôkoô
Ti; n;loô re¾e; gb’a¾sôeô l'oôwoôô; Ifá ;
O: gb’eôboô, o; ru;’boô
A o¾ ri;’hun fu;n I®ya¾wo;
A®fi oômoô
E®ro¾ o¾ôna¾ gb’obi¾ fu;n Fa;yeômi; o
Translation:
Let us spread the mat gently

And lay on it meekly
For us to be blessed with children who will spread their
hands humbly
And lay us to our final resting place
And break kola nuts for us regularly
These were Ifá’s messages for the new bride
When going to her matrimonial home at dawn
And when going to receive the A®sôeô in her
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Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu;
husband’s home
And when going to receive the A®sôeô from Ifá
She complied
We have nothing to give our new bride except babies
Travellers, please take these kola nuts and give them
to Fa;yeômi;
Ifá says that the couple for whom this Odù is revealed shall enjoy
their lives to the maximum. They shall lack nothing in life. They
shall multiply and blessed with children, elevated success, joy,
contentment, honour, and respect.
13. Ifá says that it foresees the Ire of a bouncing baby for the
person for whom this Odù is revealed. Ifá says that the person,
especially a woman, shall not live her life as a barren woman. She
will surely be blessed with the fruit of the womb. Ifá also advises
this woman to marry someone who is initiated into Ifá. If she is
already married, then her husband needs to be initiated into Ifá.
Doing so will enhance her chances of being blessed with the fruit
of the womb.
Ifá advises this woman to offer ẹbọ with four rats, four fish,
two hens, and money. She also needs to feed Ifá with two rats,
two fish, and one hen.
On this, Ifá says:
A®®be;ô-mo;ôle¾ô ee¾ka¾n ab'oju¾ roga;n-roga;n

Di;a; fu;n Ogbe¾
Ti; n; sunku;n oômoô re’le; O®gu;nda;
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Translation:
A cut down tree stump with its coarse surface

This was Ifá’s message for Ogbè
When weeping in lamentation for her inability to
receive the blessing of a baby in the home of O®gu;nda;
Ogbè was a woman who had a deep affection for kids. She wanted
to shower her love on babies and young ones day and night. She
however had no baby of her own. True, she was allowed to play
with other people’s children but that was only in the mornings. At
night, all the mothers would tuck their children in under their
watchful eyes. Ogbè would be left to sleep and wake up alone.
She would cry from night until the following morning. When would
she be blessed with her own babies, she queried the O®ri¾sôa¾.
One day, she woke up feeling very lonely. She could see no child
to play with. All the parents had taken their children out. She was
left alone in the house. She cried and cried. She then made up her
mind to go to the home of O®gu;nda; in search of her own blessing
from Olo;du¾mare¾. When she got there, all necessary ẹbọ was
offered for her. She was well taken care of and before long, she
became pregnant and she gave birth to many children in quick
succession. She then had enough children of her own with whom
to shower her blessings, love, and care.
A®®be;ô-mo;ôle¾ô ee¾ka¾n ab'oju¾ roga;n-roga;n

Di;a; fu;n Ogbe¾
Ti; n; sunku;n oômoô re’le; O®gu;nda;
O: gb’eô;boô, o; ru;’boô
O: wa;a; di¾’le; Ogbe¾ OÙloôô;moô
O: di¾’le; Ogbe¾ o¾un O®gu;nda;
O: di¾’le; Ogbe¾ OÙlo;;ômoô o
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Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu;
Translation:
A cut down tree stump with its coarse surface

This was Ifá’s message for Ogbè
When weeping in lamentation for her inability to
receive the blessing of a baby in the home of O®gu;nda;
She complied
Let us go to the house of Ogbè, who has the
blessings of children
Let us go to the home of Ogbè and O®gu;nda;
Let us go to the home of Ogbè who has the
blessings of children
Ifá assures the woman for whom this Odù is revealed that she will
be blessed with the fruit of the womb. She will not live her life as a
barren woman.
14. Ifá says that even though the person for whom this Odù is
revealed is expected to be patient at all times, Ifá says that he
must not allow himself to be trampled upon by anyone. He must
have a very strong will and personality together with his gentle
and patient nature.
Ifá also advises this person never to send his wife to go and get
for him anything that is very important to his life. He must not
even allow her to go and represent him at any occasion which
demands his personal presence.
Ifá advises this person to offer ẹbọ with three pigeons, three
roosters, and money. He also needs to feed SÙa¾ngo; and OÙya as
appropriate. The officiating Awo needs to find out from Ifá exactly
what SÙa¾ngo; and OÙya demand for and feed them accordingly.
625
On this, Ifá says:
Orí; ol'o;ki¾ki; ki¾i; gbe;'le

Ariwo a ta ni;'le;
Ariwo a ta l'o;ko
Di;a; fu;n Oye¾e;de¾ji¾
Ti;i; sô'oômoô Ele;n¾pe A®garawu;
EÙÙboô ni woô;n ni; ko; wa;a; sôe
Translation:
The reputation and destiny of a popular person

Will not allow him to stay at home
They will be hailed at home
And will be mentioned in the farm
This was Ifa;’s message for Oye¾e;de¾ji¾
The offspring of Ele;n¾pe-A®garawu;
Oye¾e;de¾ji¾ was a prince in O®ôyo;ô land. His mother was one of the
daughters of Ele;n¾pe-A®garawu;. Oye¾e;de¾ji¾ was the first person to be
born inside the palace in old O®Ùyo;ô. All births had taken place inside
the rooms of the birthing mothers prior to the time that Oye¾e;de¾ji¾
was born. He was born on Ja¾kuta’s day a.k.a. SÙa¾ngo;’s day, when
SÙa¾ngo; was being propitiated. When he grew up, he would do
everything he wanted to do to coincide with the day that SÙa¾ngo;
was being propitiated. He even began to dress and act like SÙa¾ngo;.
Before long, everyone began to see Oye¾e;de¾ji¾ as SÙa¾ngo;
reincarnated.
When Oye¾e;de¾ji¾ eventually assumed the throne of his ancestors

and became the OÙloôô;yo¾ôo;ô of O®Ùyo;ô, many people had forgetten his
original name. He was only referred to as SÙa¾ngo; or OÙba Ku;so¾.
Ku;so¾ is what the inhabitants of Nupe land call a shrine. So,
Oye¾e;de¾ji¾ began to be known as OÙba Ku;so;¾ “The OÙba of the
Shrine” because of his preference of using many Nupe icons and
deities which he had brought from his mother’s land and added to
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Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu;
his numerous O®ri¾sôa¾ for propitiation. The most popular of all these
was I®gunnuko; which was the O®ri¾sôa¾ of the Nupe (Ta;pa¾) people.
One day, Oye¾e;de¾ji¾ heared of some SÙa¾ngo; devotees in I®ba¾ri¾ba;

land, a part of Nupe land, who still knew how to make the occult
preparations and charms which would make the user spit fire like
SÙa¾ngo;. He promptly contacted the people and told them that he
wanted to have the power to spit fire and throw the thunder-stone
as he wished. The SÙa¾ngo; devotees consulted Ifa; and sent a
message back to Oye¾e;de¾ji¾ that it would be possible for him to spit
fire and throw the EÙdu¾n-A®ra;, thunder stone when the preparations
were made for him. He was however warned to come and pick up
the preparations himself and not to send anyone for it under any
circumstance.
On the day that he was supposed to go and pick up the

preparations, Oye¾e;de¾ji¾ felt that he was just too busy with state
affairs for him to leave on the journey. In order not to fail the
appointed time, he sent his wife to go and get the preparations for
him. When his wife got to I®ba¾ri¾ba;, the SÙa¾ngo; worshippers were
surprised that Oye¾e;de¾ji¾ had sent his wife when he was warned to
come himself and pick up the preparations personally. In the end,
they agreed to hand over the preparations to his wife. They gave
her two preparations to hand over to Oye¾e;de¾ji¾. The first was for
him to lick regularly while the second one was for him to mix with
corn meal and drink.
On the way back home, the wife licked part of the first preparation
and before she got to O®ôyo;ô, she had gained the ability to spit fire
from her mouth. When she reached O®Ùyo;ô, Oye¾e;de¾ji¾ collected what
remained from her and did not allow her to use the second
preparation. Had she used the second one as she had used the
first one, she would not only have been able to spit fire, she also
would have had the capability to throw the EÙdu¾n-A®ra; as her
husband.
Ever since that time, his wife was feared and respected like her
husband. Sometimes the wife would be given more respect and
honour than her husband. The ability to spit fire and throw the
EÙdu¾n A®ra; was what convinced the indigenes of O®Ùyoô; and all of
627
Yoruba land that Oye¾e;de¾ji¾ was indeed SÙa¾ngo; reincarnate. That

was how many people began to refer to Oye¾e;de¾ji¾ as SÙa¾ngo;. Before
long, his real name was totally forgotten and was replaced with
SÙa¾ngo. The original name of Oye¾e;de¾ji¾'s wife was also forgetten
and changed to OÙya.
Orí; ol'o;ki¾ki; ki¾i; gbe;'le

Ariwo a ta ni;'le;
Ariwo a ta l'o;ko
Di;a; fu;n Oye¾e;de¾ji¾
Ti;i; sô'oômoô Ele;n¾pe A®garawu;
EÙÙboô ni woô;n ni; ko; wa;a; sôe
SÙu¾gbo;ôn ko¾ pa i¾ki¾lo¾ô mo;ô
N®je;ô b’o;bi¾nrin ba; roro¾
A j’oôkoô loô o
B’o;bi¾nrin ba; roro¾
A j’oôkoô loô
E®Ùyin o¾ r’O:Ùya to; roro¾
T'o; to; SÙa¾ngo;
B’o;bi¾nrin ba; roro¾
A j’oôkoô loô o
Translation:
The reputation and destiny of a popular person

Will not allow him to stay at home
They will be hailed at home
And will be mentioned in the farm
This was Ifa;’s message for Oye¾e;de¾ji¾
The offspring of Ele;n¾pe-A®garawu;
He complied by offering the ẹbọ
But he did not comply with the warning
Behold, if a woman is tough
She will be regarded as being tougher
then her husband
If a woman is strong-willed
628
Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu;
She will be feared more than her man

Can’t you see OÙya, who is tough and strong-willed
Who is equal to SÙa¾ngo;
If a woman is tough
She will be given more honour than her man
Ifá warns the man for whom this Odù is revealed not to send his
wife to represent him where his very presence is essential. He
must not delegate major authority or responsibility to his wife.
This is because the consequence may not augur well for him in the
end.
15. Ifá advises the person born by this Odù through Ikoôse¾ôda;ye;
or I®te¾ô¾ni;fa; to offer ẹbọ against a situation where all his/her children
will be having nasal problems which will not allow them to speak
with clarity or for the children to become stammerers when they
begin to speak.
Ifá also warns the Awo who cast this Odù for the client to offer
ẹbọ against a situation where the client will visit his/her frustration
on him/her (The Awo) in the future when it was realized that the
prediction of Ifá has come to pass.
Ifá advises the person for whom this Odù is revealed to offer ẹbọ
with two mature he-goats, plenty of yams, palm oil, and money.
He/she also needs to feed EÙÙ®lu;ku as prescribed by Ifá.
On this aspect, Ogbe¾-I®yo;ônu says:
Aji;be;ôku;n Awo ni o
Aji;be;ôku¾n¾ Awo ni o
Moôla;i¾ Awo ni o
Di;a; fu;n E®Ùlu;ku;-La¾ka¾
To; n;t'o¾ôrun bo¾ô wa;'ye;
Wo;ôn ni; ko; ru;’boô
Ko; ma; baa¾ bi; i¾bi;ku;bi¾i; l'o;m
ô oô
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Translation:
Aji;be;ôku;n is a great Awo

Aji;be;ôku¾¾n is a competent Awo
Moôla;i¾ is also an accomplished Awo
They cast Ifa; for EÙÙ®lu;ku;-La¾ka¾
So that he would not give birth to deformed children
EÙÙ®lu;ku;-La¾ka was a highly respected O®ri¾sôa¾. He was adored and

generally propitiated among the I®jeô¾bu; people, especially in I®ko¾ro¾du;
and its environment. When this O®ri¾sôa¾ was coming from heaven to
earth, he went for Ifá consultation in order to determine how
successful his sojourn on earth would be. Would he have many
followers and admirers? Would he be able to leave a legacy of
love, fulfilment, contentment, accomplishment, and success
behind? Would he be able to fulfil his destiny on earth? These and
many more were the questions at the back of his mind when he
went for Ifá consultation.
The Awo assured EÙÙ®lu;ku;-La¾ka that he would certainly be successful.

He was also told that he would be able to fulfil his destiny on
earth. He was informed that he would have several followers and
admirers on earth. He was however advised to offer ẹbọ against a
situation where all his children would be having speech problems
resulting from damage to their noses or for them to be
stammering. They advised him to offer the ẹbọ as stated above.
EÙÙ®lu;ku;-La¾ka could see no reason why his children would be having

speech problems. He simply ignored the advice of the Awo. He
went his way and promised himself never to return to those Awo
again. While on earth, EÙÙ®lu;ku;-La¾ka gave birth to several children.
To his utter surprise and grief however, all his children had speech
problems. They were either having difficulties in speaking with
clarity or they were stammering. This infuriated EÙÙ®lu;ku;-La¾ka. In his
630
Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu;
frustration, he planned one day to go and inflict pain on the Awo

who had casted Ifá for him in a way that they would never quickly
forget. Consequently, he gathered all his children together and
marched them to the home of these Awo. As they were going,
they concealed several types of weapons with which to attack the
Awo. These weapons included axes, cutlasses, knives, cudgels,
swords, arrows, javelins, batons, clubs, whips, switches, and so
on. They were also singing in order to catch the Awo off guard.
Their song went like this:
A® n; loô ru;’boô oô wa lo;ni¾i; o¾

A® n; loô ru;’boô oô wa o
Aji;be;ôku;n
Aji;be;ôku¾n
Moôla;i¾
Translation:
We are going to offer our eôboô today

We are certainly going to offer our eôboô
Aji;be;ôku;n
Aji;be;ôku¾¾n
Moôla;i¾
We are going to offer our eôboô
The intention of EÙÙ®lu;ku;-La¾ka¾ and his children was to catch the three
Awo off guard and beat them into a pulp. If they lost their lives in
the process it was their misfortune. If they put up any resistance
however, it would turn into a full-scale war and maximum damage
would be inflicted on the Awo together with their entire
households. As they approached the homes of the Awo, E®sôu¾ went
to inform them of the wicked design of EÙÙ®lu;ku;-La¾ka¾ and his
children. The Awo were urged to leave their houses together with
all their families. They did. When EÙÙ®lu;ku;-La¾ka¾ and his children
arrived in the homes of the Awo, they met empty houses. They
631
returned home disappointed. EÙÙ®lu;ku;-La¾ka¾ lived to regret his refusal

to offer the ẹbọ as prescribed.
Aji;be;ôku;n Awo ni o
Aji;be;ôku¾n ¾ Awo ni o
Moôla;i¾ Awo ni o
Di;a; fu;n E®Ùlu;ku;-La¾ka¾
To; n;t'o¾ôrun bo¾ô wa;'ye;
Wo;ôn ni; ko; ru;’boô
Ko; ma; baa¾ bi; i¾bi;ku;bi¾i; l'o;mô oô
O: koôti; O®®Ùgboônhin s'e;ôboô
E®ro¾ I®po, e¾ro¾ O®ôfa¾ô
EÙ o¾ ri¾fa; Awo ki¾ bo; ti; n;sôeô o?
N®je;ô a¾ n¾ loô ru;’boô oô wa l'o;ni¾i; o¾
Aji;be;ôku;n
Aji;be;ôku¾n
Moôla;i¾
Translation:
Aji;be;ôku;n is a great Awo

Aji;be;ôku¾¾n is a competent Awo
Moôla;i¾ is also an accomplished Awo
They cast Ifa; for EÙÙ®lu;ku;-La¾ka¾
So that he would not give birth to deformed children
He refused to comply
Travellers to I®po and O®Ùfa¾
Can you see the message of Ifá as it has manifested?
Behold, we are going to offer our eôboô today
We are certainly going to offer our eôboô
Aji;be;ôku;n
Aji;be;ôku¾¾n
Moôla;i¾
We are going to offer our eôboô
632
Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu;
Ifá enjoins the person for whom this Odù is revealed not to take
this particular stanza with levity. Offering of eôboô here will prevent
this person from nursing the problem of speech difficulties on
his/her children and young ones for the rest of his/her life.
16. Ifá says that if the person for whom this Odù is revealed is
experiencing difficulties in his/her life, or if inexplicable things are
happening to him/her while all efforts to proffer a lasting solution
have failed, then human beings are responsible for such problems.
Those are the ones who are conspiring to make life miserable for
him/her.
Ifá says that this person needs to put his/her ears to the ground,
investigate the root of his/her problems, and he/she needs not
confront or expose them. All that they need to do is continue with
their daily life as usual and as if nothing has changed. These
conspirators will certainly back down and allow him/her to live
his/her life to the fullest.
Ifa; advises this person to procure a mature she-goat and at

least 16 wraps of e¾ôkoô, corn meal. The she-goat will be sliced
from the chest to the stomach, the heart will then be removed and
thrown away, and the e¾ôkoô will be placed in the stomach area
along with plenty of palm oil and will be given out to the Elders of
the Night. There is the need to ask Ifa; about the exact location
where the Elders wish the I®pe¾se¾ to be placed. After doing this, the
person for whom this Odu¾ is revealed will gain full control over
his/her life.
On this aspect, Ogbe¾-E®e¾gu¾n says:
Eri¾n lo; ku;, la mu i¾wo o re¾ô gbe;ô’ke

EÙfo¾ôn lo; ku;, la mu awoô oô re¾ô to;ô ba¾ta¾
O®Ùgbo¾ôo¾ôgbo¾ô i¾ra; lo; ku; banba
Ni;bi; ti; a gbe; n; so¾ôro¾ô banba
633
Ifá ; n; s'ôawo o; loô Ife¾ô eô Ma¾ka;ye;ja;

Translation:
The elephant died and we used its tusk to

fashion ornaments
The buffalo died and we turned its skin into sandals
A mature Zebra died unexpectedly
Where we were discussing serious matters
These were Ifa;’s declarations to O¾¾®Ùru;nmi¾la¾
When going on a spiritual mission to Ife
When he wanted to understand the intrigues
of the world
Several intriguing things were happening to O¾¾®Ùru;nmi¾la¾. They were

also happening to people around him. Many of these happenings
were totally inexplicable. How can one explain keeping one’s
valuables in a very safe place at night only for the items to
disappear without a trace in the morning, when apparently no
other person had entered the room where the items were kept
except for oneself? How does one explain sending one’s favourite
child to the farm to bring you some yams only for sympathizers to
bring back the child’s corpse because a tree fell on him and he
died instantly?
What explanation would you give to a situation where you slept
with your whole family at night and locked all the doors, but when
you woke up in the morning, your favourite daughter was missing
and the door remained locked and intact. When you arranged for a
search party, they fished out her dead body in a wall three
compounds away? How would you describe a situation where you
sent your wife to go and get water from the stream and she
dutifully went. On her way back from the stream however, a bird
was flying and hit her left eye with its beak and the eye became
blind? How do you explain death snatching away a functional and
progressive youth in the society but leaving behind drunkards,
imbeciles, lay-abouts, neurotics, and the deformed? What
explanation could one give to a situation where fire gutted all farm
products in a large farm just three days before harvest time? Does
one know how to explain a situation where a healthy wife fails to
634
Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu;
become pregnant 16 years after marriage, and when she was

blessed with the fruit of the womb at last, she died during labour
together with the baby? Can one explain a situation where a
marriage was conducted and on the very day of the wedding, the
bride tore her dress to shreds and walked about completely naked
raving mad while her man committed suicide five days after? Is it
possible to explain the reason why fools excel and wise ones fail?
The list is endless. That was why O¾¾®Ùru;nmi¾la¾ made up his mind to
investigate and find out the reasons behind all these intrigues.
O¾¾®Ùru;nmi¾la¾ went to the home of the group of Awo stated above for
Ifá consultation. Would he be able to penetrate the intrigues of the
world and understand their working? Would he also understand
who and what is behind them? Would it equally be possible for
him to be able to proffer solutions to all these intrigues? These
and many more were the questions at the back of O¾¾®Ùru;nmi¾la¾’s mind
when he went for Ifá consultation.
The Awo told O¾¾®Ùru;nmi¾la¾ that several things were happening to him
and to others close to him which had been giving him a lot of
concerns. He was told that he came for Ifá consultation in order to
understand what exactly had been happening. He was assured
that he would get to the root of all the intrigues as he wanted. He
was however cautioned that knowing the truth would not make
him happier than before. Conversely, he might end up becoming
more depressed and he might end up becoming disappointed.
He was told that the disappointments would come because he was

expecting wisdom but he would end up discovering foolishness all
around him. The Awo told O¾¾®Ùru;nmi¾la¾ that in order to live
comfortably after discovering the intrigues of the world, he must
develop a high sense of maturity and understanding. He must
forget about his wisdom and make use of his sense of
understanding. He advised O¾¾®Ùru;nmi¾la¾ to feed the Elders of the
Night as stated above. O¾¾®Ùru;nmi¾la¾ complied. After this, they told
O¾¾®Ùru;nmi¾la¾ there was the need for him to undergo some ritual
exercises in order for O¾¾®Ùru;nmi¾la¾ to understand the intrigues of life.
O¾¾®Ùru;nmi¾la¾ was all for it.
635
After this had been done, they told O¾¾®Ùru;nmi¾la¾ that he would need
to propitiate the following five divinities: E®gu;ngu;n, Oro¾, Pa;ko¾ôko¾ô,
the Ancestors, and the Elders of the Night. O¾¾®Ùru;nmi¾la¾ got himself
ready. They told O¾¾®Ùru;nmi¾la¾ to prepare himself very well for the
exercise and for him to observe everything that would happen.
On the day that O¾¾®Ùru;nmi¾la¾ was to feed Egu;ngu;n, he procured a

mature ram, mo;ôi;nmo;ôi;n/bean fritters, A®ka¾ra¾/bean cakes,
E®Ùkoô/cornmeal, kola nuts, bitter kola nuts, liquor and palm
oil. They went to the Egu;ngu;n grove to feed the divinity. The
masquerade came out and blessed O¾¾®Ùru;nmi¾la¾. After this, they told
O¾¾®Ùru;nmi¾la¾ to leave and return to his home. He did. As soon as he
left them, they settled down to consume all the meal and drinks
that he brought to them. When O¾¾®Ùru;nmi¾la¾ turned to a corner, he
put on his charm which made him invisible to others. He returned
to the Egu;ngu;n grove. Lo and behold, whom did he see eating his
food and drinking his liquor? He saw his neighbours. He even saw
the Egu;ngu;n as he was removing his costume. The Egu;ngu;n
turned out to be his father-in-law! So, this is life!
Next, he was told to feed Oro¾. He procured another mature ram,

plenty of pounded yam, liquor, kola nuts, bitter kola nuts, and so
on. They asked him to join them inside the I®gbo;ro¾, the Oro¾, in the
dead of the night. He did. He was ordered to cover his face. He
complied. They prayed for him. While the prayers were going on,
he continued to hear the “Wu;mumu wu;mumu” sound of Oro¾ all
over the forest. In the end, he was asked to go home. He left.
Again, as he left, they all sat down to eat his meal and drink his
liquor. He returned as an invisible person and saw all of them.
They were all human beings! All close to him. One of them was his
close friend of over 50 years! He even saw what they used which
was responsible for the “Wu;mumu wu;mumu” sound!
He was then asked to feed Pa;ko¾ôko¾ô. He agreed. On the day that

Pa;ko¾ôko¾ô was to be fed, O®Ùru;nmi¾la¾ was instructed to bring plenty of
EÙkoô/corn meal and other items. He brought them. They led
him into the Pa;ko¾ôko¾ô grove. One of the “spirits” was crying “Ko¾ôko,ô
ko¾ôko,ô ko¾ôkoô;; n o; je¾ôkoô, ko¾ôkoô” repeatedly. They prayed for him. After
636
Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu;
this, he left. He returned as an invisible man, only to find all the

Pa;ko¾ôko¾ô people sharing all what he had brought into the grove. The
main Pa;ko¾ôko¾ô man turned out to be his own younger brother! So,
human beings are also Pa;ko¾ôko¾ô and they were responsible for the
“Ko¾ôko,ô ko¾ôko,ô ko¾ôko;ô n o; je¾ôkoô, ko¾ôkoô” sound that people hear
whenever Pa;ko¾ôko¾ô was out!
Next, he was to feed his ancestors. He agreed. He was advised to

procure another mature ram, pounded yam, yam flour meal,
a¾ma¾la¾, Casava flour meal, O:Ùka¾, EÙkoÙ, liquor and so on. He
procured everything. He was told to come in the dead of the night
because there was the need for him to meet this representative of
his dead ancestors and receive their blessings. He agreed. In the
dead of the night, O¾¾®Ùru;nmi¾la¾ was led into a forest and before long,
the ancestor came all dressed in white from head to toe. He told
O¾¾®Ùru;nmi¾la¾ that all the steps he had been taking on earth were
being blessed by them. He told him to continue to do good as he
had been doing.
O¾¾®Ùru;nmi¾la¾ was told to greet all the other elders of the family. The
Ancestor left. O¾¾®Ùru;nmi¾la¾ was asked to go home. He agreed. As
soon as he was out of their sight, he returned to the forest as an
invisible man. That was when he realized that the “Ancestor” who
came to visit him was actually someone who came for Ifá
consultation with him two days back. So, human beings are also
responsible for many of the actions and inactions credited to the
Ancestors.
Again, O¾¾®Ùru;nmi¾la¾ was instructed to feed the Elders of the Night. He

procured another mature she-goat and did as instructed above. He
placed it at the junction of the three crossroads. In the dead of the
night, he returned to the spot where he placed the Ipese as an
invisible man. He saw two of his own wives, his younger brother’s
wife, one of his sisters, his adopted mother’s younger sister, and
many of his neighbours sitting round the goat and sharing it! So,
these were the Elders of the Night! So, human beings are also
responsible for many activities credited to the Elders of the Night!
637
Why do we then deceive each other? Why must we complicate

issues for one another? Truly, where one expects to find wisdom,
more often than not, we end up finding foolishness.
Eri¾n lo; ku;, la mu i¾wo o re¾ô gbe;ô’ke

EÙfo¾ôn lo; ku;, la mu awoô oô re¾ô to;ô ba¾ta¾
O®Ùgbo¾ôo¾ôgbo¾ô i¾ra; lo; ku; banba
Ni;bi; ti; a gbe; n; so¾ôro¾ô banba
Ifá ; n; s'ôawo o; loô Ife¾ô eô Ma¾ka;ye;ja;
Bi; Egu;ngu;n ma; n; ke;
Ti; ko; sôi; woô;
EÙ®yin oômoô e¾ni¾ya¾n
Mo sôe¾ b’e;ôyin na;a¾ ni o
Bi; Oro¾ ba; n; gbin
Bi; ko¾ da;bo¾ô gbogbo Babala;wo
Pa;ko¾ôko¾ô A®ja¾la; to; f'iya;n si';le¾ô
Ti; n; j'e¾ôkoô inu; u koto
EÙ sôa;a¾ ku; i¾tan’raa yi;n jeô
A to;o; ba; j'aye;, A wi;'moô l'o;ôgbo;ôn
O®ku; to; ku; o¾ wa;’ye; mo;ô o
Translation:
The elephant died and we used its tusk to

fashion ornaments
The buffalo died and we turned its skin into sandals
A mature Zebra died unexpectedly
Where we were discussing serious matters
These were Ifa;’s declarations to O¾¾®Ùru;nmi¾la¾
638
Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu;
When going on a spiritual mission to Ife

When he wanted to understand the intrigues
of the world
He complied
If the Egu;ngu;n masquerade is sounding
Without stopping at all
You human beings
It is you human beings who are responsible
If Oro¾ is grunting and whistling
Without ceasing at all
You human beings
If Pa;ko¾ôko¾ô A®ja¾la; leaves the pounded yam
And prefers to eat the corn meal inside the container
You human beings
Just continue to engage in self-deceit
He who teaches one wisdom, he who is enough
to move with
Dead people are not coming back into the world again
A®boôru; a¾boôye¾
639
B. SIGNIFICANCE OF OGBE®-O®GU:NDA: FOR THOSE

BORN BY THE ODÙ ® DURING I®TE®ÙNI:FA:: OR
I®KOÙSEÙ®DA:YE:
Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu; children, Males and females have come into this
world with the Orí; of accomplishment and fortune. This is because
these two qualities were loaded into their Orí; during the time of
A®ku;nle¾ya¾n. It is therefore certain that they will succeed and they
will accomplish all their hearts' desires in life. As an adjunct to this,
Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu; children stand the chance of being bestowed with
honour, respect, adoration, and prestige. No matter the situation
in life, they will accomplish all their hearts' desires. This is the
reason why they need to have patience and perseverance as part
of their working tools in order to achieve success in life.
Apart from success and recognition, Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu; children also

have the ability to overcome all enemies, no matter how many they
may be. As they overcome enemies who are human beings, so
also will they overcome projects, assignments and endeavours
which appear to be insurmountable to others. They will not only
overcome, but they will come out successfully in flying colours.
The demoralizing part of the lives of Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu; children, males
and females, is that their human enemies are more from within
than from without.
The major weaknesses of Ogbe¾ I®yo;n ô u; children, males and

females, are that they have the quality of patience in very short
supply; and they are over sensitive to their fundamental rights.
This is the reason why Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu; children are more likely to
react angrily over little issues. They find it difficult to absorb
insults, abuses, condemnation, humiliation and ridicule. These
attitudes usually count heavily against them in their efforts to
actualize their destinies and become fulfilled in their lives.
For Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu; male children, they are usually tested beyond
their endurance limit by their spouses and in-laws. The more they
endure the tribulations from their spouses and in-laws however,
the more they will enjoy marital bliss and success in the end.
640
Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu;
For Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu; female children, it is in their best interest to move

into their matrimonial home on the day of their marriage right
before sunrise. Doing this will give them two advantages, one,
childbearing for them will be guaranteed; and two, victory and
success in life will also be guaranteed. Moving into their
matrimonial home during mid-morning, afternoon or evening time
will reduce their childbearing, victory and success chances
drastically.
On the overall, Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu; children, males and females, have the
tendency to live long and grow old even; older than most of their
contemporaries. They also have the gift and luck of recovering all
what they or their progenitors have lost. Egu;ngu;n always ensures
that they live long where others die prematurely.
A®boôru; A®boôye¾
C. AFFILIATED IRU:NMOÙLEÙ/® O®RI®SÙA® OF OGBE® I®YOÙ:NU:
1. Ifa; - For success, victory, elevation, sanctuary, protection,

support, accomplishment, joy, and general wellbeing
2. Orí; - For realization of destiny, guidance, sanctuary, protection,
elevation, direction, support, joy, longevity, and self actualisation
3. E®su ô ¾-O®Ùda¾ra¾ - For protection, sanctuary, victory, support,
success, elevation, and general wellbeing
4. Egu;ngu;n - For self actualisation, ancestral support, longevity,
leadership, protection, success and general wellbeing
5. OÙba¾ta;la; - For success, victory, longevity, leadership, protection,
elevation and general wellbeing
6. EÙgbeô; - For success, comradeship, elevation, support,
leadership and general wellbeing
7. O®gu;n - For victory over enemies, success, protection, support,
and general wellbeing
8. O®ri¾sa ô ¾-Oko - For elevation, success, contentment, victory,
leadership, support, and general wellbeing
9. EÙdan - For success, leadership, protection, victory, elevation,
and general wellbeing
10. EÙ®lu;ku;-la¾ka¾ - For success, childrearing, victory, and general
wellbeing
641
11. OÙ®su
ô n - For compatible spouse, childbearing, childrearing and
general wellbeing
12. OÙya - For support, matrimonial harmony, childbearing,
childrearing and general wellbeing
D. : U:
TABOOS OF OGBE® I®YOÙN
1. Must never be in a haste to accomplish success in life - To

avoid unconsummated fortune, missed opportunities, failure and
regrets
2. Must never eat eggs of any type- To avoid failed
opportunities, unconsummated fortune, failure, and everlasting
regrets
3. Must never be too high handed in his/her relationship with
others - To avoid failure, regret and unconsummated fortune
4. Must never ignore the advice of subordinates - To avoid
crises, upheavals, failure and disaster
5. Must not consume alcohol (but can use it to feed Ifá) - To
avoid lost opportunities, dwindling fortunes and regrets
6. Must never be too conscious with his/her fundamental
rights - To avoid failure, disappointment and regrets
7. For a woman, must never move into her matrimonial home
during the marriage day in the midmorning, afternoon or
evening - To avoid problems of childlessness, failure and defeat
8. Must never skip food or engage in fasting - To avoid
ailments, weakness, failure and regret
9. Must never lose hope for any reason whatsoever - To avoid
missed opportunities, failure, disappointment and everlasting
regret
10. Must never abandon personal and environmental hygiene
- To avoid threat to lives of his/her young ones
11. Must never kill mice - To avoid crises, upheavals, threat to
life and disaster
642
Ogbe¾ I®yo;ônu;
E. POSSIBLE NAMES OF OGBE® I®YOÙ:NU:
i. MALE
1. Ma;ka;nju;oôla; - Don't be in a haste for honour

2. Ma;ka;nju;oôla¾ - Don't be in a hurry for success
3. Mogba;ri;mu; - I hold unto my Orí
4. Teôleô;da¾al; a¾se
ô ô - The prediction of my destiny shall come to pass
5. OÙla;bo¾ôde; - Honour has returned into my home
6. Ma;ko¾ôsôeô; - Do not challenge your tribulation
ii. FEMALE
1. Ma;ka;nju;oôla; - Don't be in a haste for honour

2. Ma;ka;nju;oôla¾ - Don't be in a hurry for success
3. Ifá;yeômi; - Ifá ; befits me
4. OÙmoôwu¾mi;-j’asôoô-loô - I prefer a child to dresses
5. Mosôẹbọ;ôla;ta;n - I thought honour has being exhausted
6. Ma;ko¾ôya¾ - Do not challenge your suffering
A®boôru; A®boôye¾.
643

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Chapter 8

On this, Ogbe¾-I®yo;ônu says:

The bird with strong wide wings

The bird with strong wide wings

The bird with strong wide wings

We searched and searched for a competent Awo

A wa; Awo de; Ij¾e¾ôsôa

The bird with strong wide wings

The bird with strong wide wings

When he returned home, he realized once again that his Agoôô

A wa; Awo ti;ti;

Woô;n l' oô;moô eôyeô lo; gbe; e loô o

OÙmoô eôni yo;o; bi;bi;i;bi;

The bird with strong wide wings

And we even went to I®woônra¾n

We searched for an Awo in I®li;ki land

He/She must be patient at all times. His/Her success lies in His/Her

On this, Ifá says:

I®bi;nu; o¾ da nn¾kan fu;n ni; o

Anger amounts to nothing for one

I®bi;nu; o¾ da nn¾kan fu;n’ni;

Oun gbogbo lo; ni;

Anger amounts to nothing for one

O®o¾ru¾n, the sun, considered himself eminently qualified to occupy

But wait a moment, if not because of insolent behaviour, what was

pack of fools, who selected them to their various useless

Many youths and adults developed fevers and other types of

I®bi;nu; o¾ da nn¾kan fu;n’ni;

Anger amounts to nothing for one

These were Ifá ’s messages for O®sôu¾pa; Ki¾ri;mu, the

Nobody gave O®sôu¾pa; Ki¾ri;mu, the Full Moon much of a chance. He

The Awo informed O®sôu¾pa; that he was contesting for a position of

That same evening, O®sôu¾pa; Ki¾ri¾mu¾ was installed to the exalted

I®bi;nu; ko¾ da nn¾kan fu;n’ni o

EÙboô ni¾ wo;ôn ni; ko; wa;a; sôe

Anger amounts to nothing for one

Patience is the father of all good character

Ifá says that good character, patience, perseverance, and

On this, Ogbe¾-E®e¾gu¾n says:

O®Ùte;ôe;ôre;ô n’ile¾ô n; yo;ô

The ground is melting

O®Ùni¾-Wa¾a¾ka, the crocodile, was living his life in anxiety. He was

As soon as O®ôni¾ got to his house, he went straight to sleep. That

While the transformation process was going on in the life of O®ôni,

O®Ùte;ôe;ôre;ô n’ile¾ô n; yo;ô

The ground is melting

On this aspect, Ifá says:

Gbogbo i¾gi¾ ka;’wo;ô s’o;ôrun

All trees turn their branches toward heaven

Moôbo;ôla;ta;n was a very successful woman. She had everything

into action. He summoned all the heavenly EÙgbe;ô of Moôbo;ôla;ta;n and

E®sôu¾ also assured them that Moôbo;ôla;ta;n offered ẹbọ in appreciation

Gbogbo i¾gi¾ ka;’wo;ô s’o;ôrun

All trees turn their branches toward heaven

5. Ifá says that it foresees the ire of prosperity and boundless

On this, Ifá says:

Igba; n;la; kiribi;ti;

The big calabash with a rounded base