The twins Ada Ilu and Ada Ifa had the same Odù and sixteen children each, but opposite tempers: one proud and working for ill, the other gentle and working for good. The Obá put the first in charge of the sorcery against his enemies: the talisman destroyed them all — and went on killing, until it devoured its own maker's sixteen children. Only Orunmila's ebbó brought the monster to heel.
The diviner of the land of Atoromofe was called Awó Ada Ilu and he was the twin of Awó Ada Ifa. The two of them carried the same Odù, Ojuani Tanshela, and both had sharpness and intelligence to spare, but their character set them apart: Ada Ilu, proud and headstrong; Ada Ifa, easy-going, methodical and calm. Both were Babalawos, and well-known Osainistas, and each one taught his work to the sixteen children he had. What one liked was to work for evil; what the other liked was to work for good.
When the Fon attacked Obá Akishale, the king went to the two brothers. Ada Ifa told him ebbó to save the situation; his brother, to cut off heads. Knowing what this second one was capable of when it came to destroying, the Obá put him in charge of the witchcraft. Ada Ilu then put together a terrible talisman, which stayed underground inside a pot, with a chain and black cloth. He stirred up those devastating powers until Akishale's enemies were wiped off the map; but with the bones of those enemies already bleaching in the sun, the talisman turned against the kingdom itself and swept away people and warriors, until it took the sixteen children of Awó Ada Ilu.
There was nothing left to do but call Ada Ifa, who warned his brother: "This has happened to you because of your hot temper. Be obedient to Orunmila's words and make ebbó, because even though you always beat your enemies, the bad ideas bred by the power of your thought will take shape and come after you." Ada Ilu put himself under Orunmila's protection, made ebbó and managed to subdue the monster of evil that had come out of his own hands, though he had to weep for the children his own hellish power had destroyed. Here the sorcerer's pot is born: an enormous destructive force, handled with care, because in this Ifá it is pride that makes you lose.