Ogunda Trupon

A young man had a girlfriend and used to visit her. His mother sent him to Orunmila, who did osode and found Oggunda Trupon. The message was that he must make ebbó, because he was in danger of dying.

Just after he left, a friend stopped him and wanted to know what was happening to him. The young man answered that nothing was wrong: he had gone to see Orunmila and had to do a rogación. The friend mocked him and called him naive; according to him, Orunmila was a sorcerer who took advantage of people, and it was better to go drink liquor.

They went together. As soon as the young man tasted the drink, he felt without strength. Later, in another tavern, the friend encouraged him to take another drink.

Meanwhile, at the girlfriend's house, a place inhabited by women who worked as prostitutes, they were holding a draw to decide who would kill the last person to arrive. The one who was going to carry it out was Ogún Alaguedé.

The young man, completely drunk, stopped halfway along the road. His mother, worried by the delay, went to Orunmila and made the ebbó for her son herself.

When the young man finally appeared at his girlfriend's house, they held him and put him in a room. He struggled until he freed himself from the ties and hid behind the door while they looked for him outside. Earlier he had noticed the place where Ogún kept his machete. He took it, went out quietly, and with it killed Ogún's horse. When they saw the blood, everyone began to sing.

The young man mounted his own horse and escaped. When crossing the river, he took oyú oro, the water flower, and covered his body with it; in this way Ogún's anger faded and the people calmed down. He went to see Orunmila and was safe. Orunmila ordered him to give moforibale to his mother, because her ebbó had saved his life.

From this comes the custom that the mother can perform the ebbó or any other ceremony on behalf of her children.

Obekukako, a son of Ogún and a blacksmith, lived in the land of Añakabi Obe Igí with his younger brother, the clever Omotuto. Their father had given them an agadá with a secret, and thanks to it they led a comfortable life. They venerated it with ceremonies and nourished it, accompanied by songs. That secret was the source of their energy for work.

One day Omotuto decided to fend for himself. Without telling his brother, he began forging a knife that Obatalá had asked of him. At that time human beings could not speak, because their lips were closed. Omotuto opened them without Obatalá's authorization, and Obatalá had to grant them speech. Even so, he sent his messenger, Adan Kolaye, to destroy the two brothers' house. But Adan Kolaye was also a brother of Obekukako and, on arriving, he merely let the guinea fowl loose. The bird went into the house and everyone went out to chase it; Omotuto, distracted, hurt his hand on the agadá and died.

Meanwhile Obekukako was consulting with Orunmila and the sign Oggunda Trupon came out. Ifá told him that in the blacksmith's house there would be a wooden knife. It also marked an ebbó for him. Obekukako set out for Ilé Loya to obtain what was needed and on the way met Adan Kolaye, who offered him help and explained that the misfortune came from his brother wanting to be equal to Obatalá. Now it was necessary to perform a ceremony for the knife to prevent further harm, and first to make an offering to Egun Iyaniwa; Adan Kolaye sang meanwhile.

Then he guided him through the ceremonies, each with its song. With them an inshé was prepared that Obekukako would always carry with him against trouble. This path has that inshé, but its elements and its steps are in the complete treatise. Then he asked him to gather what had been offered and present it to Obatalá with the knife, since Obatalá would give him a secret. The two set out singing.

Obatalá was cleansing his eyes with ewe dundun, also called ewe tetendaye, and did the same to them with that herb. They knelt. Obatalá placed his hands on the head of the awó Obekukako, blessed him and gave him what was needed to charge the handle of the knife and told him how to keep it. Adan Kolaye prepared it, gave it to Obekukako and warned him that with it he would never kill anything.

Finally he gave him three wooden agadás, with instructions on where to leave each one. With them he would have no trouble in his life, but first he must have great respect for Obatalá and for Orunmila, to avoid a tragedy in the world. From here comes the charge of the knife handle of the kuanaldo.

Ikú lived in a land where she never ate: however much she searched, she found no food. Seeing herself like this, she went to consult with Orunmila, who did an osode for her, and this Ifá came out, Oggunda Trupon. Ifá told her she had to make an ebbó, that she had to leave that land or town, and that she should only eat ripe fruit.

Ikú followed Ifá's advice and went to a land where everyone was born sick, and she fed on them. So she was happy, with plenty of food.

In that land there was a married couple in which the woman was pregnant. When she realized her condition, she began to think and said: “I am going to consult with Ifá.” In the consultation, Orunmila told her to make an ebbó. The woman left Orunmila's house determined, but she had no money to do it. She then took up a collection among her relatives and family, and with that she prepared the ebbó. When she finished, Orunmila ordered her to take it to the cemetery without looking back. On her return, Orunmila asked Oniborí to go with her and stay at her side, and to protect the child when it was born so that Ikú would not eat her.

Emere was born, and Oniborí stayed alert so that she would not die and to free her from Ikú. When the relatives learned what the collection had been for, they began to protest. Elegba, who had heard everything, was displeased and left. At that moment the mother said: “What will become of Emere without me?”

One day, at nightfall, fever seized Emere. She began to sweat, her body filled with water and she could not look. Her mother cried and cried on seeing her that way. At last she sought out her relatives to pray to the sky. Oniborí said: “This is very good,” and took the girl away.

The girl was a maiden, she was Abikú: when she thought, her head hurt, and she had short sight, although she saw well at a long distance. When she turned 15, Oniborí told her: “I am going to take you to your mother, but first we will go to Obatalá's house.” On leaving Obatalá's house, Oniborí took Emere to her iyaré's house, and Ikú could not eat her.