1The one who managed to trick death
The yam, the corn, the plantain and the cocoyam were coming from heaven; only the cocoyam sacrificed its machete. The others were beheaded by Death at the border; the cocoyam, held up cutting chewing sticks with its hands, missed her. That is why its fruit is pulled up and not cut.
When the yam, the corn, the plantain and the cocoyam were leaving heaven, they were told to sacrifice their machete and not to travel early, to avoid a sudden death. They all thought their machete far too necessary; only the cocoyam made the sacrifice.
In the morning, on the road, the others used their machetes to cut chewing sticks and went on their way, refusing to lend theirs to the cocoyam. Eshú, who had benefited from its sacrifice, made it almost impossible to cut the sticks by hand, and the cocoyam fell behind.
Meanwhile, the others reached the border between heaven and earth, where the King of Death, frustrated, took their machetes and beheaded them. When the cocoyam finally came through, people were amazed that it had tricked Death, and they called it Ekoko. That is why the yam, the corn and the plantain are beheaded with a machete to take their fruit, but the fruit of the cocoyam is pulled up without cutting.
2The forger of metals
Before coming into the world, Ogbe Owanrin sacrificed at a fork of three roads and picked up a stone resting on a piece of iron and a bronze furnace. That is why he prospered as a forger from a young age; his luck is in metalwork.
Before leaving heaven, Orunmila told Ogbe Owanrin to make sacrifice at a fork of three roads with three bottles of palm oil and three kolá nuts, and afterward to go into the nearby bush and pick up the first thing he saw.
On his way out into the world, he stopped at the fork called Orita Ijaloko, made the sacrifice and went into the bush. There he found a stone resting on a piece of iron and a bronze furnace, and he took all three things.
That is why, from an early age, Ogbe Owanrin worked as a bronze forger and prospered. The person of this Odù will prosper if they take up a trade based on metalwork or engineering.
3Why he chose dark skin
In heaven he was forbidden to go to dances so he would not be falsely accused. Forgetting this, he danced and was accused of stealing oil because he was the only light-skinned man there. Eshú saved him, but he chose to change his skin to dark, since it was his skin that had brought him trouble.
The only taboo of Ogbe Owanrin was to keep away from dances and parties so as to avoid false accusations; on earth he was to buy a cloth and give it to his wife, which he did.
Invited to a dance, he danced, and the women preferred him for his light skin and his good looks. When word got round that someone had stolen a bottle of oil, they said the thief was a light-skinned man, and he was the only one. He ran off; at the fork of three roads, Eshú spilled oil to confuse the trail, and the men chasing him thought some children had spilled it.
Believing they were still accusing him, he ran home and put on the clothing of a dark-skinned man, because it was his skin that had caused the trouble. Eshú saved him because of the sacrifice made at the fork, but he preferred his new dark skin. The children of this sign tend to be light-skinned and should keep away from dances.
4Orisha-Nla and the people of Obaa🔒 Babalawo
5Prince Nugbuke to his father's throne🔒 Babalawo
6He played Ayo with Olofin (the invitation to eat)🔒 Babalawo
7Tun-Tun, how my Oso dances🔒 Babalawo
8Why Eshú lives at the door of the ilé🔒 Babalawo
9The dog and the goat (whoever criticizes falls into the same thing)🔒 Babalawo
10The suffering (the five fingers of the hand)🔒 Babalawo
11The scorpion who abused his power🔒 Babalawo
12The three Elegba (the trap set for the brothers)🔒 Babalawo
13The five stones of the crown🔒 Babalawo
14When Ogbe Wale died of tuberculosis🔒 Babalawo
15Where Oshún ate hen for the first time🔒 Babalawo
16When the dog saved Ogbe Wale🔒 Babalawo
17The rich man of the yams🔒 Babalawo
18Where Elegbá ate biajaca fish🔒 Babalawo
19By losing you win (the king of the two lands)🔒 Babalawo
20The disorder🔒 Babalawo
21The quarrel of the hen and the duck🔒 Babalawo
22The terrible son of Obbatalá and Yemayá🔒 Babalawo
23The termite and the wood🔒 Babalawo
24The little regard of his fellow men🔒 Babalawo
25The secret of the tile of Eggun is born🔒 Babalawo
26The three who got free of Ikú (one single ram)🔒 Babalawo
27The war of the guide and the godfather🔒 Babalawo
28Yemayá's revenge🔒 Babalawo
29The goat of the rotten roads🔒 Babalawo
30Orunmila refuses to marry a princess🔒 Babalawo
31The virtue of the ten dwarfs🔒 Babalawo
32The bacteria (the ebbó put off)🔒 Babalawo
33The children who turned out well (Eshú, the son who is never full)🔒 Babalawo
34The eye of Ifá, or council🔒 Babalawo