Ika Yeku

In the land of Ayó lived two twin brothers: Oyekun Bika and Ika Yekun. The second one, the younger, was poor, and the two brothers loved each other very much.

One day Ika Yekun had an osode done, his sign was seen in Ifá, and he was marked a rogation with three plantain stems, a gourd and the rest of the ingredients. He did not do it, because he was a very careless Awó; and one day he went down to the river — something that was forbidden to him —, took off his clothes and threw himself into the water for a bath. But in a careless moment a fence came down with the flooding of the river, struck him on the head, and he was left unconscious.

It so happened that his brother Oyekun Bika had also had an osode done, his sign was seen in Ifá, and he was marked the same rogation and told to take it to the river. When he reached the river, he was shocked to see his twin brother lying there unconscious. So he began to pray to Ifá, and with the hens he made oparaldo, pouring the blood from the lerí into the river, calling on Ifá and on Yalorde. He set the three plantain stems around his brother's body; the white dove he gave to the middle stem, the white guinea hen to the stems at the sides, and the gourd he set over his skull.

A short while later his brother Ika Yekun got up and began to speak, asking Ifá to forgive him. But it turned out that a few days later his brother Oyekun Bika died, and he rose to greatness and power.

One day Ika Yekun consulted Ifá to know about his brother's death, and Ifá told him that, if his brother had consecrated and received the osun of his sign, he would not have been lost.

Note: this osun eats with egun, and its load is: plantain root, plantain yam, ashé of Orunmila, hen's lerí, dove's lerí, moruro wood and ceiba root. The sixteen Meyi are prayed, along with Ika Yekun and Oyekun Bika; it eats everything the Awó's egun eats.

Note: it must be that the fence, pushed by the force of the current, struck him hard on the lerí, and that is why he lost consciousness. His brother cured him without first doing what he had left pending, and he changed heads.

In the land of Inle Ogba Yekun, ruled by Orishaoko, lived Awó Ogba Orilaye, to whom Orishaoko had given great powers by teaching him his great secrets, so that he could call on him and on Shangó.

Every time Ogba Orilaye was going to perform one of those ceremonies, he made the following calls: «Baba Orishaoko ogba niye Orun ogba ni inle ogbani Shangó, awa wa ori laye wawa inle ori laye, Orishaoko bayekun Olorun ogba ni Shangó ogbara laniye.» And Orishaoko and Shangó always answered him. They always advised Ogba Orilaye — who had two sons — never to make Ifá for them, and for that reason Ogba Orilaye was always worried.

One day Ogba Orilaye fed Orishaoko, Inle and Shangó. Shangó said to him: «Do not think you are going to fool us; you imagine one thing and another will come of it: the ones who know here are us.» Ogba Orilaye knelt before them and swore that he would always listen to whatever they ordered. Shangó said nothing back, while Orishaoko watched and listened. Elegba appeared at once, and together with Shangó he said to Orishaoko: «This joro joro will serve to bury Ogba Orilaye, because he is lost by the sheer weight of the knowledge he carries in his head.»

Days later, Ogba Orilaye sent for Elegba, gave him a chicken with its ingredients and told him what he was thinking of doing with his sons. Elegba answered: «That is the best thing you can do», and asked him: «And when do you leave for the land of Awana to consecrate your sons in Ifá?» Ogba Orilaye told him he was leaving right away, and Elegba said he would go with him.

When they reached the land of Awana Ifá — where all the Awós who lived there were egun, ruled by Ogba Yekun —, he was bringing his two sons, and they were well received. Awó Orilaye told Awó Ogba Yekun the purpose of his visit; Ogba Yekun made osode for him, Ika Yekun came out, and he said: «Think hard about what you want to do.» And in the face of Ogba Orilaye's silence, Elegba said: «What he wants is for his sons to be Awó no matter what.» And Awó Ogba Yekun answered: «Very well, but that will be his undoing.» And Ogba Orilaye replied that he would settle everything with the great powers he had, «for there is nobody in the world who knows more than I do.»

When everything was ready for the ceremony of his sons' consecrations, Ogba Yekun said to Elegba: «We have to invite other Awós who live in this land.» Elegba was put in charge of inviting those Awós, and he brought them under false pretenses. They carried out the ceremony of Ifá, and one of the sons brought out Ika Yekun and the other Oyekun Bika; the invited Awós were very frightened, because they knew what was coming.

Seven days later they went on to perform the ceremony of Oddun, and they sang: «Yeyere yeyere masoko yere» (twice). And right away Ogba Orilaye died for the land of Inle Ogba Yekun, while Elegba went sounding and singing: «Ogbari lona lerí egun, lerí ogborilona egun lerí, ogbani Shangó ogba nilona ile egun lerí.»

Orishaoko and Shangó waited for the body at the joro joro they had opened — to feed themselves there when he tried to fool them —, put him into the joro joro and repeated the feeding. Shangó and Orishaoko together gave two quail to their lerí.

Note: to do this ebbó, a house with a yard must be found, so that when it is finished it can be thrown into a joro joro and the animals sacrificed there. The wooden lerí is set with Shangó and with Orunmila; when it is set with Orunmila, two black hens must be given to him along with the lerí of the Awó or Obá. The wooden head lives with Shangó or with Orunmila, or with whoever takes it. On this road, salvation lies in giving food to Inle Oguere; if you have Orishaoko, he has to be set to eat beside Inle Oguere. If it is an Obá, his lerí has to eat two quail or guinea hen so he does not die.

When Orunmila had to make ebbó with the leaves of the ceiba, he sent all the orishas to fetch them, and they could not climb the hill where the ceiba tree stood, and they came back without them. Then Orunmila said: «I will bring them.»

Orunmila made osode, this Ifá came up for him, and he made the ebbó with a rooster, ceiba leaves, a hoe, a handle and a machete; and then he set out for the hill where the ceiba tree stood. When he reached the hill he could not climb it, because the slopes were very steep, and the orishas said that Orunmila was all talk.

Orunmila took a hoe and a machete, and went cutting around the hill, working upward, making steps, until he reached the crown where the ceiba grew. He took the leaves, came back with them, and made the ebbó with a rooster, jutía, fish, the hoe and the machete, to beat his rivals. Then the orishas saluted Orunmila.

Note: skill is worth more than strength. You have many enemies because where you work or move around you have done things the rest did not know how to do.