Irete Kután

Oshún had three sons and all three were Awoses, children of Oluó Ikoñí. They were called Teteregun, Ishu Omalabo and Ifá Eledá. They lived very well, they had a great deal of money, and for that they had a great deal of envy on them.

Orunmila and their Oluó had told them to make several ebboses, so the arayé would not reach their heads and they would not be left ofo lerí. The eldest bothered only with his corn, the second with his yam, and the third was the only one who followed his Oluó's advice.

The eldest, Teteregun, who did nothing, died and went about as a shadow, calling his brothers. And he called so much that the second, Ishu Omalabo, shortly after fell ill in his head and died too, and joined his brother, and their shadows began to affect the head of the youngest, Ifá Eledá. He began to feel as if his head were not his own. Then his mother Oshún, seeing him that way, called her Oluó Ikoñí, who saw Irete Kután for him and told him that Ikú was after him, made him Oparaldo and said: «The yam goes under the earth and is born; the corn the same. But if you go down into the earth, you do not come out.»

And the shadows of all the Egun, of Ikú and of Arun rose from the graves and got into the houses of all those people, and nobody could live in peace, since they could not sleep because the Egun would not let them.

Obatalá had not seen his son for a long time and set out for the land of Buruku Yale. When he arrived, he saw many people having fits and in a bad state of nerves because of the Egun. He came at night and stayed to sleep in a house, waiting for daylight to go and see his son. But the Egun would not let him sleep either, and he began to ask what was going on. The people told him that it was because Okuburo was always in the land of Yewá, calling all the Egun, and that because of him nobody could have any peace.

Obatalá went to the land of Yewá and there he found his son Okuburo, who, when he saw Obatalá, was very glad, gave him foribale and began complaining about the people of that land, since the only ones who understood him were the Egun and Ikú. He set about feeding the Egun with the jio jio, and the shadows began to come out. Obatalá said to himself: «This comes to my son from Oyá's side, his mother, and she is the only one who can save him, because Okuburo is going mad.» He set out to find Oyá, carrying an agogó and three doves, singing: OYA JERIJERI JEKUA IYANI BEBEWA OKUBURO IYA SOKU ONILE...

Then Oyá, who heard him, came out to meet him, and Obatalá told her everything that was going on with Okuburo in the land of Buruku Yale. Oyá said: «Let us go to Orunmila's house.» And when they arrived, he had already seen Irete Kután and told Oyá and Obatalá: «You come with a very great worry about Elegbá, who is your son, since he is always in among all these strange things. We have to go to that land to save him, and give him untefá, so that land is more at peace.»

Oyá, Obatalá and Orunmila set out and, when they reached the land of Buruku Yale, they began to see the state the people were in: they seemed dull and half asleep, and the Egun walked along with the living. Then Obatalá took a dove and began cleaning them all, singing: SARAYEYE IWORIWO IWORE EGGUN EGBAROKO MA BAYE. And all the people woke up. Then they came to where Okuburo was and Oyá called him at the door of the land of Yewá: OKUBURO IÑA COSI COSI ELESE EYO OMO SOKUN OMO LAYINI IYANSAN.

Okuburo came out, and Obatalá, Oyá and Orunmila took him, along with the stone he kept in the land of Yewá, to an aroma tree, and there Orunmila cleaned him with the very jio jio he had, singing to him: SARAYEYE LABERO UNLO IKU BEBEWA ELEGBA LONA...

Then Orunmila took him to his house and gave him Untefá, and Irete Kután came up for him, and he was told that he could never go to the land of Yewá again. And they said: «So that all the people of this land keep away from the shadow of the Egun, they should keep a basket of fruit under their beds, changing it now and then, and a large plate of water with aro, so the shadows of the Egun do not know this land and go back to their own.»

From then on, that land began to prosper and the people to think well of Okuburo, who from then on was called Awó Kogda.

From this road comes the ebbó of the three agboranes: a rooster, three jio jio, three white doves, three loaded cedar figures, earth from three different trees of the land of Yewá, three pieces of beef, three hooks of aroma wood, earth from three different graves, every kind of grain, three necklaces (of Obatalá, Elegbá and Oyá), a basin of water with indigo, a basket with fruit, three fresh fish heads, three hen's eggs, an arrow, a trap, the clothes off your body and all the other ingredients.

The jio jio are given to Elegbá at the foot of an aroma tree; the three hooks, to Elegbá; the beef, for the head rogation with aguardiente and pepper. The basin with indigo water goes at the head of the bed and afterward the water goes out into the street; the basket with fruit, seven days under the bed and afterward to the sea; the three fish heads are rubbed with corojo, set before Elegbá and afterward go to the corner.

The load of the agboranes: earth from an ant nest, from three graves and from every place that can be got, afoshé of the three trees of the land of Yewá, ilekán, heads of a hummingbird, of a rooster and of a guinea hen, hearts and heads of the three doves (which are given to the empty agboranes in the land of Yewá, after the ebbó, one at each grave), a buzzard's heart, a turtle's head, the shell of an emptied egg, roots of poplar, atiponlá and coconut, ikín fluff, vergonzosa, crushed cotton seeds, and the woods amansa guapo, cambia voz, paramí, yamao, ceiba, batalla, guamá, caja and ramón, with sixteen peppers, jutía, obí, kolá, orogbo, airá, osun, obí motiwao and the iyefá of the ebbó.

Each figure carries a necklace: one of Elegbá, another of Obatalá and another of Oyá. The agboranes are washed with an omiero of guamá and they live and eat with Elegbá. A little of the omiero is drunk and with the rest the person bathes.

At the beginning of the world, God created all the forms of the four first elements: air, earth, fire and water. These forms went on perfecting themselves until they were the Eda Murin, who had perception beyond the body.

The higher spirits, who were the Agba Odun, were forged in fire. Olofin ordered all the Agba Odun spirits that they had to worship the Eda Murin (made of clay). One Agba Odun, who was called Alosin Buruku, would not worship them and said: «How am I to worship those beings of clay, when I am made of fire?»

Olofin ordered him to live apart from him. Then Alosin Buruku began stirring up evil in the Eda Murin, until they hardly worshipped Olofin at all.

Olofin called Ikú Alashona, who was the Angel of death, and showed her her work on Earth, singing: OPOLOPO ELERI IKU BOGBO EDA MURIN IKU LOBI OSHA ORISHA EGGUN.

They all began to die. Then Olofin set Omalye Egun at the head of the planet, who was the King of the dead, and he turned the Eda Murin who died into stone (otá). They all kept their names but, to atone for their fault, they had to come back to Earth to be worshipped in stone. That is how Obatalá, Shangó and the rest came about.

That is why IKU LOBI OSHA INTORI EGUN, which means that, to be a Santo, you have to die, because otherwise you cannot become a Santo.