Okana Yabilé

When he was about to leave heaven, his Guardian Angel warned him not to be so sour and scolding on earth, so as not to run the risk of a mental disorder and paranoia, and warned him to sacrifice: a great many cowries, cascarilla, white cloth and a pigeon for Olokun, the divinity of the water; a goat for Eshu; a dog and a rooster for Ogún; and a castrated goat for his Ifá and his head together. He made every sacrifice, and afterwards asked Ogún to come with him into the world — Ogún agreed; Olokun, on the other hand, refused to go with him. On reaching the world he began to work as a priest of Ifá, but he was not very effective: his predictions and sacrifices did not come true or show themselves, people stopped coming to see him, and he became poor. One night he dreamed that his Guardian Angel warned him to go for a reading: he visited other Awoses, who told him he had to repeat the sacrifice made in heaven. Since he could not afford it, he borrowed the money. Afterwards he began to practice Ifá in the town market: that was how he was able to gather the money to settle his debts, his practice became more effective, and clients began to trust him.

One day he saw Olokun's daughter at the market and fell in love with her, but she refused him, since he was too rough for her taste. When he got home dressed in white, he gave another goat to Eshu and did what he had been told in heaven: the next time he made advances to her, she agreed to become his wife. Near the market she followed him home, and they began to live as husband and wife. She went a long time without becoming pregnant: he called the Awoses in again, and they warned him to serve Olokun with a pigeon, white cloth, parrot feathers, cascarilla and cowries, and Ogún with a dog. After this, Olokun's daughter settled down and stopped treating him mockingly; later she became pregnant and gave birth to a boy they called Money, and she went on working. After the birth, he became very prosperous, married other wives and had many children: the first was more famous than his parents. In Igbodu: develop a calm temperament, since you must keep the wife who will make you prosperous at your side in spite of your explosive temper; you will have a child who will bring you fame and fortune, as long as you carry out the sacrifices.

He had prospered so much that he was able to found his own town and become its king. In his town there were two disabled people, neighbors of his: one had a hernia and the other a tumor in her throat. The two were always bringing complaints and asking for justice before the king; whenever the king asked the cause of the quarrel, they answered «ask the other one». The king warned them to stop, but without fail they went home only to come back to the palace the next day. One day, the man with the hernia and the woman with the tumor took each other to the palace once again: she, in tears, explained that the man mocked her ailment because it was out in the open; he explained that he mocked her because she was the first to mock his stomach trouble — his ailment was covered by his clothes, while there was no way to hide the woman's. The king calmed them and ordered an investigation into the real cause of the quarrels: the next morning, the detective saw the man with the hernia sit in front of his house, the woman with the tumor do the same, the woman make circles with both hands in front of her private parts, and the man react by pointing out her tumor with both hands at his throat — and the woman burst into tears, and off they went to the palace.

Once the king was told, he persuaded them to stop mocking each other; even so, he decided to make a reading for them: the man was warned to serve his dead father with a ram; the woman, to serve her head with a hen, without calling anyone. They both gave thanks and went to arrange their sacrifices. Since the man was strong enough to kill the ram on his own, he took hold of it — but the ram kicked him with its hind leg in his private parts, and the hernia burst and began to drain the pus: the accident left him unconscious, and when he came round, his hernia was gone. The same thing happened to the woman: when she was trying to kill the hen to serve her own head, the hen dug its claws deep into the tumor, the pus began to come out, and she felt relieved. The next morning, the two went together, on friendly terms, to thank the king, who was happy to see the end of their quarrels. In Igbodu: be careful of someone who suffers from a hernia; serve your Ifá with a ram, give a goat to Eshu and serve your head with a rooster; your house should be opposite a woman's. In an ordinary reading: a rooster to Ogún and a goat to Eshu, to avoid trouble with neighbors or associates.

Okonron wain wain, Babalawo aja, odifafun aja: he made the reading for the female dog, warning her that she had to make sacrifice in order to have pups. She was also warned to make a second sacrifice, to avoid fighting with her pups after having them. She made the sacrifice so she could have pups, but failed to carry out the second.

The result was that the pups, after growing up and going their separate ways, would fight with their mother whenever they met. This became a peculiarity of the canine race to this day. In an ordinary reading: you have a disposition for fighting, and you should keep this tendency in check.