Iroso Tunialara

Orunmila lived near Ogún, and Ogún, passing by, always saw him clean, sitting on his porch: «What does Orunmila work at, that I never see him dirty?». One day, worn out with the bush, he went to be read, and this Ifá came out: «You are doing something you were not born to do». «What I want is to make Ifá», said Ogún. In time, Orunmila made him Ifá without consulting Obatalá; and Ogún, being a blacksmith, made himself a board and an ókpele of iron, both of great size, and set about throwing the ókpele with a deafening racket.

Obatalá came out to see what the noise was, and on learning that Orunmila had made Ogún a Babalawo, went to take him to task: «Why did you not consult me? Do you not see that now there is nobody to make weapons, and Ogún does no work?». The next day Orunmila asked Ogún for his Ifá and took the elder hand out of the tray, leaving him with an awofakan. When Ogún noticed and learned that Obatalá had ordered it «because you were not born to be an Awó», he drew his machete and went along the road cutting off heads. But Obatalá, who had been read for himself, had a white flag and a gourd of fresh water at his door. When Ogún arrived smeared with blood, Obatalá said calmly: «That is all very well, but you know that when you reach my house you have to greet me». Ogún threw himself to the floor, the white flag fell over him and took his strength away. Obatalá gave him water, gave him back his ókpele — with a power of Osanyin in the foot that speaks — bathed him with ashibatá and oyú oro, and told him: «I will give you whatever you want, but you are needed making weapons». And Ogún went on forging, and never practiced as an Awó: do not dig your heels in over something you have no calling for.

In the land of Iyekú there was a very great river of clean water, proud and full of itself: «No other river runs as deep or carries as much water as I do; virgin plants grow on my banks, the finest fish live in me, the sea receives me gladly because I sweeten its water, and the sun, the moon and the stars look at themselves in my shining water». When he was given his domain, the wise men saw this sign written in his sand and warned him: «Ingratitude is the daughter of pride».

Spring came and the proud Odo's water began to stir: «Who is the impudent one stirring up my water and my mud?». Instead of going to see Orunmila, he went out to find who was to blame, and came upon a stream swollen with rain bringing him yellowed water, leaves and branches: «Neither you nor anyone in your family is allowed to bring me your dirty water. Take yourselves far off, to the marshes and the swamps». The streams, children of Oshún Iyumu, were offended and complained to their mother; she, wounded, sent them to feed other places, and the springs, brothers of the streams, went with them. Obá Odo was left with nothing feeding him and grew poorer and poorer until he was a miserable trickle of water: pools where the leaves and the fish rotted, dried trees on the bank, the birds gone. Neither the sun, nor the moon, nor Iroko ever looked at themselves in his dry bed again. And when Olokun asked after him, Oshún Iyumu answered: «Obá Odo was ruined by his pride and his ingratitude, because he forgot that when he was born he was Iroso Tunialara».

Olofin had made in the world a tree to give him rest and gladness: Ope, the royal palm. While she was small, Olofin gave her his blessing and she rendered him moforibale, and Olofin was pleased with her health, with her slender trunk and her full green crown.

Ogún grew jealous of Ope — he would have liked that ashé for himself — and since he could not destroy her, he began circling her and flattering her: «What a beautiful crown and what a slender body you have; you hold every virtue and all the ashé of understanding in the world, and that is why you are going to be greater than Olofin». Ope turned proud and full of herself, and one day, seeing how tall she had grown, she said to Olofin: «I will render you moforibale no longer, because I am going to be greater than you and rise above you; you will be the one who has to come and ask a greeting of me». Olofin began to weep; and Ope, growing more insolent, did not see that all Ogún's flattery was poison.

One day Shangó found Olofin weeping at his door: «Babá, why are you weeping?». And hearing the story he said: «Remember that when you gave Ope her crown, Orunmila said she was Iroso Tunialara. Weep no more, I will settle this matter». Ope squared up to him as well — and a bolt of lightning struck her: her fronds lost their strength on the spot and hung limp around the trunk, the upright, blazing crown lost forever. However tall the palm grows, it will never reach the sky.