1The farmer and Eshu
A farmer refused Eshu some vegetables from the crop everyone envied. The next day Eshu came back dressed in court clothes announcing that the king had ordered every crop destroyed; the farmer, in a rage, did not wait: he took his machete and finished his own. The king had never ordered any such thing — it was Eshu's mischief, and he was hungry.
There was a farmer with a great crop of chard, cabbage and malanga that everyone envied. One day Eshu came and asked him for some vegetables to eat; since the farmer did not know who he was, he answered: «I do not grow my crop to give it away», and Eshu withdrew.
The next day Eshu came back dressed in the clothes of the king's court, proclaiming: «The king has ordered every crop destroyed, because they are bad for people's health». The farmer, hearing it, flew into such a rage that he said: «The king said that? Well, I am not waiting for him to wreck my crop» — and he took his machete and finished it off. The next day he realized he should not have done it without seeing the king first; he went to the palace, and the king answered: «I ordered no such outrage. That was Eshu's mischief, because he was hungry». On this road a rooster must be given to Eshu so there is no disaster — and when the Odù comes foré, the one who comes in from the street is the one who brings the trouble.
2Eshu set two friends fighting
Eshu dressed in clothes that were clean and pressed on the right side, and filthy and patched on the left — his hair combed on one side only, the same way — and walked between two friends without speaking to them. One saw the well-dressed man, the other the ragged one: the argument grew until they came to blows, and the friendship was broken.
Once Eshu set out to make two friends fight. He dressed in clothes whose right side was clean, pressed and unpatched, while the left side was crumpled, filthy and mended; he combed his hair neatly on the right and left the left side wild.
He made his way to the corner where the two friends were talking and, addressing neither of them, walked between them. Remarking on his rudeness, one said: «How well dressed and well combed he was!», and the other insisted: «But he was filthy and unkempt!». The argument grew so heated that they came to blows and fought, and the friends were left parted. That is why this Ifá speaks of two great friends parting company: there are people who want to see them fight.
3The three thieving monkeys
Orunmila hunted without a sack: he left his kills at the foot of a tree, and somebody was stealing them. Ifá marked him an ebbó with a black rooster, two doves and two arrows. Going back to the tree, he looked up: three monkeys were the thieves. He shot and killed two; the third got away. That is why three monkeys cannot be together.
Orunmila was a hunter and, when he went out to work, never carried a sack for his kills: he left them at the foot of a tree and went on hunting. He noticed that, while he hunted, his kills were being taken.
He decided to be read by Ifá and this Odù came out, which marked him an ebbó with a black rooster, two white doves — for the praying of the head — and two arrows. Once the ebbó was made, he went out to his usual work and Ifá lit the way for him: on reaching the foot of the tree he looked up and saw the three monkeys who had been robbing him. He quickly loosed his arrow and killed two; the other got away. So he was rid of the thieves, who were also his enemies. That is why three monkeys cannot be together: if there is one female and two males, they fight.
4The arm of the sea🔒 Babalawo
5Ojuani and his friend Eyiogbe🔒 Babalawo
6The three difficulties🔒 Babalawo
7When the good lived alongside the bad🔒 Babalawo
8The foolish man and the basket of water🔒 Babalawo
9Where the glass in spectacles came from🔒 Babalawo
10The pact with the Devil🔒 Babalawo
11The king who stopped feeding his protector🔒 Babalawo
12Eshu Fekun, the tiger skin🔒 Babalawo
13The jar and the borrowed necklace🔒 Babalawo
14Queen Obeleja and bitter Olu Oge🔒 Babalawo
15The friend called money🔒 Babalawo
16The divine seeds of Ifá🔒 Babalawo
17Stupidity that never ends🔒 Babalawo
18The farmer and the snake🔒 Babalawo
19The wise man and the charlatan🔒 Babalawo
20The fruits of greed🔒 Babalawo
21The antelope and the tree🔒 Babalawo
22The destruction of the kingdom🔒 Babalawo
23A lie is lame🔒 Babalawo