Ogbe Yeku

There was a dispute over the rule of the town among three contenders: the Lion, the Tiger and the Goat. They decided that whoever managed to bring together more people would win, and each made his own call separately. The Lion summoned people on the plain, the Tiger in the shelter of a tree, and the Goat from the highest part of a hill.

The crowd made its way to the hill. The Lion understood that the Tiger had deceived him to take the people away, and the Tiger thought the same of the Lion. When they met, they accused each other and fought until they destroyed one another. With both rivals gone, the Goat became the ruler of the town.

Ikú, the Coconut, had built his own piece of land, and in it he ruled as Obá. The animals visited his house without any trouble, even the Lion, Quenku. But when Ikú claimed his post, they all turned against him and decided to kill Etú, the Guinea Fowl, inside her cage.

Etú understood that all of them were her enemies and went to Orunmila, who performed an ebbó for her. Then she headed for the cage carrying a gourd and accompanied by Ekun, the Tiger, her friend, who was to protect her. Near the cage, she clung to Ekun without leaving his side. When she noticed that Ikú was eating, she asked what it was. Then it was agreed that, if Etú prepared that same meat for the Tiger, he would save her; she accepted.

Little by little, Ekun moved closer to Quenku. The Lion asked why he was coming near, and Ekun answered that it was for no reason, that he only wanted to hear better. When the Lion was distracted, the Tiger leaped on him and tore him to pieces. The other animals, frightened by what they saw, ran away.

Ekun placed the papers in Etú's hands and asked her to cook the meat that had been promised. She, in turn, asked him to tell the other beasts to leave her in peace. The Tiger declared to them: “I am the one who rules here; let no one bother Etú.” The animals complied and left that place.

When Oduduwa was about to go down to the earth, Orunmila advised him to make an ebbó with two male goats, four kola nuts, white cloth, doves and white hens. Oduduwa did not do it and went down anyway, but he landed on Olofin's back. There the rain fell on him, the sun scorched him from early morning, and he could not calm his hunger.

He suddenly went back up to heaven to see Orunmila and asked him, already too late, for permission to make the ebbó. Orunmila told him that now he had to make it double, and Oduduwa agreed. He did it, returned to the earth and landed once again on Olofin's back.

At that time the land became barren, the rain stopped falling, pregnant women lost their babies and no fruit of the field ripened. Seeing so many misfortunes, Olofin sent for an awó named Gbori Jobi Ogulenu, who is a god of destiny and of medicine. Ogulenu came, took the divination tools that Olofin kept in his house and consulted Ifá. Ogbe Yeku came out. Then he asked Olofin who that stranger was whom he allowed to live on his back, and told him to build the stranger a house and settle him in with dignity. Oduduwa himself built the house.

When the work was finished, Ogulenu told Olofin that, to keep it up, Oduduwa had to be given two female goats, a large quantity of white things, a basket with 101 snails and 101 akará fritters, honey, cascarilla (white chalk), palm oil fat and a great deal of money.

All of this was given to Oduduwa, and it was always done that way, every time he visited the earth. After that the women began to give birth, the rain fell, the fruits ripened, and calm and peace reigned on the earth.