Ogbe Iroso

When heaven filled up, Olodumare wanted to vanish and leave one of his deities in his place; he tested them all. On Eshú's advice, he handed the Ude — the badge of authority — to Orunmila, even though he seemed the laziest of them.

The deity of sorcery talked Osain, Orunmila's close friend, into stealing the Ude. Osain hypnotized him and stole it, hiding it in the chimney; Orunmila, on the advice of his Awó, made sacrifice with yam, rat and fish, and got it back. This happened four times: they hid it in the rubbish, they buried it, and they threw it into the river inside a fish, and every time, with patience and sacrifice, Orunmila found it.

On the appointed day, Orunmila knelt and offered the Ude to Olodumare, who told him: wear it always on your neck as a divine inheritance; many will try to steal it, but no one will ever succeed again. Later Orunmila found out about Osain through the mirror of the Ude and, even knowing he was guilty, did not betray him; Osain confessed and became his servant forever. That is why he prepares the child's medicines before it is born, and Orunmila takes the final credit.

Because Ogbe Iroso healed the poor without charging, his heavenly Awó got annoyed and sent him death, sickness and debt. Death would only go if riches were sent first; sickness, if a wife was sent first; debt, if a child was sent first.

They first sent Patience (Suuro), the elder sister of wealth, to wear him out; but she made a pact with his guardian angel to protect him. So when the money came with death hidden behind it, the bell of his Ifá warned him and, with patience, he told the money to go away. He did the same with the beautiful woman who brought sickness and with the children who brought debt.

When they met again in heaven, the money, the woman and the children complained that, because of their escorts, they had not been able to stay with such a good man; and they decided to come back to earth alone, with no escort. Then Ogbe Iroso became rich, married and had many children, and threw a great party. Steadiness was his cure-all.

Ogbe Iroso married Moriyeke, a corrupt woman who made him unhappy. After a fight, she went off to her mother and then married the sorcerer Ojigbona, who began throwing mysterious darts at Ogbe Iroso; but he, with his amulet, saw the attacks coming and neutralized them. That is why his nickname is Ogbe Maasun, «Ogbe does not sleep».

Shangó challenged him for not taking revenge. He answered that he would only be angry if the deities were angry. Then Oggún struck the woman on the head, Shangó put a drum on her chest, Suakpana threw fever on her and Eshú tied up her body. Each time they carried her dying to Ogbe Iroso, who healed her, charging a rooster for the deity in question, but she stayed with Ojigbona.

In the end, Eshú left her so badly off that Ojigbona himself gave up and abandoned her. Her mother brought her to Ogbe Iroso, who healed her with a goat for Eshú and a ram for his Ifá, but he would not take her back as his wife. Orunmila does not take revenge with his own hand: he lets others do the work. It is forbidden to seduce the wife of a priest of Ifá.