Ika Sa

In this road, Oyá had a daughter named Bumi: a vain girl, full of pride over her mother's great powers, since everything her mother took on turned out well.

One day she fell ill and her affairs began to go wrong, something she did not want to tell her mother. She went to visit Shangó, and from that union she was left expecting a child. She then came to the land of Teguarollo, where Oyá lived, and Oyá said to her: "I do not know what has happened; but as soon as you have that child, he must be handed over to Shangó."

Later Oyá said to her daughter Bumi: "Let us go see Obatalá." Already on the road, so that Obatalá would receive them, the two went along singing: "Babakua leleo Ikasa aguare Ifá omo Bumi".

Passing by there, Orunmila crossed their path. They gave him moforibale and his okpele fell: it marked Ika Sa, and he said to Oyá: "Your daughter must be given Oyá or Obatalá; be careful, do not let them mix her up. And that child she carries is a legitimate son of Shangó."

Obatalá handed Oyá's daughter three pieces of Ogún — and he called it Ogún Fomale —: a round piece of iron, a machete and a sickle, and a stone that he smeared with plenty of epó; he gave her three chickens and a dove, and Ayaguna told her: "Everything you do and ask at the foot of Ogún, he will grant you, and your protection charm will eat with Ogún."

Just then Bumi gave birth, and Obatalá ordered: "Leave this child here with me so I can hand him over to Shangó, for he will come to see me in 7 days, and I will hand him his son in front of you." On the seventh day Shangó showed up and, with Oyá and Bumi present, Obatalá placed the boy in his hands so he could take him to his land Tigua Yorokun.

Bumi, daughter of Oyá, took it very badly that they had consecrated her son before her. Mother and daughter went back to their land.

On the strength of Ogún's protection charm, everything went well for Bumi. One day she announced: "Mother, I am going to visit different lands, and afterwards I will go see my son Ika."

Eshu, who never stopped turning over the wars and the powers he had with Oyá and the way to do her some harm, ran into Bumi and invited her to a great party. Shangó had been there, but he had already left when she arrived with Elegba.

Bumi saw the big party getting going and how beautifully Oshún danced. Eshu's son, named Ika Eshu, mounted and started to dance; that dance and that way of his won her over, and he told her: "You cannot go on like this" — and they made yoko Oshún on Bumi.

Back in her land, where Oyá was, her mother scorned her, cursed her and left her without the powers she had.

From then on troubles rained down on Bumi and her things went from bad to worse. Every time she went to the secret of Ogún, she no longer found the answer she used to get. One day Orunmila was on his way to Oyá's house; she brought him before Bumi so he could look at her again, and Orunmila ruled: "She will have to go through some hardship. Obatalá must be called to see what he can do."

Note: in this Odù the Babalawo must take extra care, because it is easy to go wrong here; the person is given Oyá, Obatalá or Ogún.

This was a man who made his living selling cowries and the other things of the religion; he had four children and a very good wife. He sold at the market, and what he made never seemed enough to him: if the day left him 10 pesos, he wanted 20.

One day he got sick and decided to go for divination at Orunmila's house. In the osode this Ifá came out (Ika Sa), and Orunmila told him: "You have to give two yellow hens to Oshún."

The man did not come back, because it hurt him to let go of his money on such things. With each day that passed he woke up worse, until stomach and heart ailments came on him.

Seeing that her husband was not getting better, the wife went to have him looked at with Orunmila. When Orunmila learned who that lady was asking about, he answered: "Not for him; but for you, who are a good woman, I will attend to you." And right away he warned her: "He no longer has to give the two yellow hens to Oshún: now he has to feed all the oshas (gbogbo kalemo osha), if he wants to save himself."

The man had no choice but to do the work that Orunmila ordered him this time, and for it he spent everything he had saved: he was left with nothing, forced to make do with the little that each day's work left him. As if that were not enough, Orunmila finished: "For your disobedience to the word of Ifá, never again will you have the health you used to enjoy, nor will your money move as freely as before."

Note: not listening to what Ifá prescribes can cost you as dearly as life itself.

It was here that Ogún, after gathering a lot of money, went off to the 12 caves and kept away from dealing with others, believing that for a rich man like him the money would never run out. He ended up with no clothes to put on and had to cover himself with a mariwó loincloth, gone wild like a runaway.

Note: greed for money is a road to ruin.