17

Ogbe

THE ODUS OF IROSUN AND OWANRIN Irosun-

Chapter

IROSUN-OGBE
IROSUN-GBAGBE
LOJU IROSUNAKEREGBE
I I
I

I
I
I
I
I II

He Made Divination for Ugun And Elulu:

hi juun ki o ba ri abore je. Adifa fun Ugun, abufun Elulu. Do not be greedy if you
wish
to prosper, was the name of the Awo who made divination for Ugun (Ugu in Bini)
and
Elulu (Erimohi in Bini) )the two sons of Oloore when they were arranging to
ascend
the throne of their father. They were both advised to make sacrifice. Elulu was the senior of
the two brothers and he was told at divination to make sacrifice with a he-goat, akara, eko,
groundnuts, fried corn, and palm fruits, and to set a trap on the shrine of Esisi to catch the head of
the
hegoat. Since he was the heir apparent, who had the first refusal option, he could not
appreciate why it was necessary for him to make any sacrifice on account of what was his
traditional
entitlement. He refused to make the sacrifice. Ugun, the junior of the two brothers was also
told to make the same sacrifice, adding a trumpet to the sacrifice. He made the
sacrifice
conscientiously.
After the burial of their father, the children had to mourn their father for fourteen

days in separate secret conclaves, without having any food or drinks. Every morning, ESO
was feeding Ugun with the materials with which he had made sacrifice. On his part Elulu
had nothing to eat and became very weak from hunger.
On the fourteenth day, Elulu was invited by the king makers to come to the palace for
the crowning ceremony. He could scarcely walk. On his way however, he saw an attractive
palm fruit by the side of the road. As he was traveling on horseback to the coronation site,
he decided to reach for the palm fruit. Unknown to him, the palm fruit was the bait of a trap.
As he stretched out himself to pick it up his neck was trapped. Try as he did to set himself
free, he could not. The trap subsequently strangled him to death.
After waiting in vain to see Elulu, the kingmakers sent messengers to bring him for
the coronation ceremony. They were surprised to see his horse without him. They decided
to trail him to his house. On the way, however, they found him dead in a trap. When the
messengers reported their findings to the kingmakers, they immediately sent for Ugun, who
turned up without any delay. They told him about the unexpected death of his brother and
told him that it was his

18
Volumes Eight and Nin

Ifism: The Complete Works of Orunmila

turn to become the Oloore of Ore. He was eventually crowned and

y invited hi: diviner for thanksgiving feast at which he sang:
subsequentl
Amugun joye Oloore
Amado do wi ise.
When this Ifa appears as Uree at divination, the person should be advised to
make sacrif cE and to beware of greediness. He should forbid eating palm fruits and
i
any red fruit. He shoulc make sacrifice with cock and rabbit. The rabbit should be used
for sacrifice to the elders of thE night and deposited at the road junction near his house.
If it appears at Ayeo, the divinee should make sacrifice with a he-goat, palm fruits,
akara, eko ekuru and a trumpet, in order to achieve the upliftment coming his way and
to avoid sudden deatt before the achievement.

He Made Divination for Olobaghun and Idanigbo:

Uroke Amerun jingini. Odifa fun Olobaghun, abufun Idanigbo.
Uroke with the pointed mouth, made divination for the Tortoise and
Idanigbo when they were contesting for their father's chieftaincy title. They were
advised to make sacrifice, but the Tortoise was in no mood to make any
sacrifice. Idanigbo was advised to make sacrifice with he-goat an( crushed yam
(elo or obobo). He was told to sprinkle the crushed yam from his house to the
corona tion site. He did the sacrifice as he was advised.
The Ifa priest prepared the crushed yam with the iyerosun of the Odu and
gave it to him tc spray to the installation venue. When the two brothers left the
following morning for the venue the Tortoise asked Idabigbo why he was
spraying crushed yam along the route and he replies that he knew what he was
doing. When he could no longer resist the lure of the crushed yam, the Tortoise
slowed down and began to feed on it. As he was eating the crushed yam, the
Tortoise began to sing:
Oye
Oye re
o
Idanigb
o
Idanigb
o ma
de wo
danu
Oye

oye re
o
Idanigb
o
He was virtually conceding the title to Idanigbo as he sang and ate the
crushed yam along thE route. Idanigbo arrived at the venue while there was no
trace of the Tortoise. Idanigbo was eventuall y given the title.
If it appears as Ayeo at divination, the person should be told that he
should forget about position for which he is contesting. If it is Uree, he should
be told to make sacrifice in order tc succeed. If the contest is for a chieftaincy
title or a position of authority, he should make sacrifice with a ram, a tortoise
and crushed yam in order to succeed.

1.9
OWANRIN Irosun-Ogbe

THE ODUS OF IROSUN AND

He Made Divination for Orunmila When He Was Su

rrounded By Enemies:

lno jo oke se ti okun. Orun wo si abata. Adifa fun Orunmila baba

mbe ni irangun ota. Fire was extinguished by sea water. Heat was
humored by the swamp.
These were the two Awos who made divination for Orunmila when he
was surrounded by enemies. He was told to make sacrifice with a he-goat,
cutlass, club, rabbit, and mud missile (ekpakpa in Yoruba and udugbe in Bini).
He made the sacrifice and his enemies began to die one after the other.
When it appears as Ayeo at divination, the person should be told that he
or she has many enemies, but would overcome them if sacrifice was made. If it
is Uree, he will obtain help from other people in whatever he is planning to do.
How Orunmila Solved The Problem of His Three Sworn Enemies:
Death, Water and Fire set out to attack Orunmila. Their identities and
conspiracy were revealed to him in a morning divination. He then repeated the
following poem three times:"I have not seen what you have contemplated except death; what is it
that deprives one of one's belonging except, the river: I do not know what can
take away without retribution except Fire. Orunmila however proclaimed that
neither Death, Water nor Fire could take anything from him and get away with it.
He gave a ram to his Ifa, who OlOkun drove Death away. He also served; Est)
with he-goat, Olokun with pigeon, and Ogun with cock. OlOkun stopped any
threat to Orunmila from Water and Ogiin checked the menace from Fire. He was
then left alone in peace and tranquillity.
He Made Divination for Agbeni Maima:
Oshe ba ile ile, ofi she jana igi
Oshe iyale ile, ofi she oja I jokun gbo run
Adafa fun agbe-ni-ma-rima ti nshe oko Biogbe.
Agbeni maima was a divine priest who used to travel to the side of the sea
for Awo practice. He was away from home for Awo practice most of the time.
Whenever he was away, his wife Bioje missed him so much that she often
contemplated leaving him. Her intentions were always revealed to her husband
by a charm he carried with him.
Anytime he saw the sign that his wife was planning to leave, he would use his
okpa-orere (osegan in Bini) to procure stomach trouble for her at home.

Thereafter, she was singing in praise of her husband, who would subsequently
return to make her well. As soon as she became well, he would travel out once
more and the cycle would resume.
After three such experiences, Agbeni-maima got fed up with his wife's
constant threat to leave. He decided on a fourth occasion to allow her to please
herself. He allowed her to leave and she wandered into the world and no one
ever saw her again. No one knew where she died or where she was buried.