Oshe Meyi

Before being born, Oshe Meyi left heaven without consulting anyone or offering any sacrifice. His parents were old when they had him, and he came into the world with gray hair. As a child he lost them both. He did not devote himself to Ifá or to any respected trade; he lived as a traveling wrestler. In combat he defeated sixteen kings of the earth, among them the Alara, the Ajero, the Olowo and the ruler of Ado. Even so, every time he went home without profit, with barely enough to feed himself.

He consulted three priests of Ifá. They told him that his hunger came from not carrying out on earth the task for which he had been born. They also announced that at the end of his journey he would have well being, as long as he first offered a sacrifice, and that this sacrifice had to be made in heaven. Oshe Meyi did not believe them: how was he going to go up to heaven to offer it? For at that time Eshu had cut the passage between the two worlds. The priests added that he should not expect rewards from the rivals he defeated. They recommended that he give whatever he had at hand to his late father. Oshe Meyi went back home, killed a rooster for his father and begged him to guide him toward his destiny.

In heaven, the father went to Oshe Meyi's guardian angel to lament that his son was doing badly on earth. The angel answered that the cause was his quarrelsome character. They agreed, then, to try to make the blessings of heaven go and see him.

There is a custom: when day breaks and the rooster crows, the good things of life (children, peace, wealth, housing, money, health, prosperity) leave heaven to travel around the earth, and first they pass through the hall where the guardian angels of all human beings live. The father spent the night in the angel's house. At dawn, after the rooster crowed, the good things took leave of the angels and asked whether they wished to send any message. Oshe Meyi's angel asked them to go and see his protégé. All of them answered together that they did not dare, since he would annihilate them. They reminded him of the reputation for quarreling that Oshe Meyi had in heaven and the scandal he caused before fleeing to earth. They declared that good and evil meet only to fight, and that heat does not mix with cold, nor light with shadow. As long as he kept humiliating those who could help him, they would not go to his house. Having said this, they went down to earth.

Afterward the father began to weep, seeing his son's case as hopeless, and begged the angel again. The angel confessed that he had kept him there that night so that he would hear everything with his own ears, and that for years he had been trying to convince those good things, always without success and for the same reasons. Since the father would not give in, the angel thought of another way. He asked him to go home and promised him that before the rooster crowed the next day he would see his son. The father did not understand that promise.

As soon as the father left, the angel looked for Sickness, the wife of the King of Death, and gave her kola nuts as a present. Like the good things of heaven, she travels around the earth every day, though she does not go in person: Death sends out his messengers. The angel persuaded her to approach his protégé and invite him to come up to heaven, claiming that he had something important for him. The old woman promised to carry the message that same day.

Down below, Oshe Meyi suddenly fell ill, which was unusual, since he had never felt unwell. As the night went on, he grew worse and lost consciousness. Nobody esteemed him, so nobody looked after him; those who found him in that state even mocked him. Shortly before midnight he died. Nobody knew, because he lived alone, with no wife or children.

At the instant his life left him, he found himself in heaven before his angel. The father was already there, since the angel had told him to return at nightfall, and he understood what that promise had meant. The two welcomed Oshe Meyi before the rooster crowed, and the angel sent him to hide behind a screen he had set up.

When the rooster crowed, the good things of heaven went through the angels' houses. At the door of Oshe Meyi's angel, the angel named them one by one (children, friendship, wealth, prosperity, money and the rest) and begged them again to go and see his protégé, who was suffering on earth. They answered that they did not change their minds depending on whether they were coming in or going out. They said the wrestler was too resentful to receive them with respect and that they had sworn not to go near his street. They added that they did not visit someone who could destroy them, and that a man who threw kings, princes and divinities to the ground would crush them with his fingers.

Then the father shouted that the man behind the screen should hear what the envoys of fortune were saying. Oshe Meyi heard it and realized that he had been pursuing mistaken goals.

When the good things had left, he came out and asked his angel and his father how to proceed. They told him to perform the sacrifice he had left undone before leaving heaven: a goat for Eshu, who would cleanse his head and back to weaken his physical and harmful strength. He did it without delay, since the goats he had there had multiplied. He also offered his angel the largest cow for the banquet of the celestial police. Then the angel pointed out a special road for his return. As soon as he stepped on that path, he blinked and was already on earth, with his consciousness restored.

Three years later he was already a good man, but, although he remembered clearly what he had lived through, he made ready to take up wrestling again. First he prepared one of his goats for his father, gave a ram to his Ifá (the earthly image of his angel) and held a great feast with them. The neighbors did not understand why he looked different, since nobody knew of his sacrifices. He also gave a goat to Eshu. Two days later he set out for the palace of the Alara. On the road he was stopped by an old priest of Ifá, who was really Eshu transformed and turned out to be a diviner. He told him that he was going to a wrestling tournament and that, although he could win, he should pretend to fall when he gripped each rival, and watch what happened, since he would not regret it. The signal would be the wrestling cry: when he shouted it, he should act as if he were falling.

At the Alara's palace he shouted the wrestling cry and the king came out. When they locked in combat, Oshe Meyi threw him, but at once let himself drop to the ground, before the king could fall on top of him. Following the advice, he did not get up.

Meanwhile Eshu unleashed in the town a disorder never seen before. There was total darkness and the earth shook. The roosters laid eggs and the hens crowed like them. Pregnant women felt false labor pains. Wild animals came into the town to eat in disorder, and the domestic ones escaped to the countryside.

The frightened Alara begged him to get up. The old priest appeared again and told the Alara that a son of Orunmila was forbidden to fall to the ground; for him to stand, he had to be appeased with a hundred strong men, unmarried girls, cows, goats, roosters, hens, bags of money and other goods. The Alara did not hesitate: he ordered every household to contribute to the reparation. When everything was gathered, Oshe Meyi stood up. The old man prepared divination powder and tossed it into the air; at once light, peace and calm returned, and the darkness, the disorder and the confusion went away. Oshe Meyi ordered the people who had been handed over to be taken to his home in Ifé, and new houses to be started before his return.

The next day he went to the palace of the Ajero Kin Osa, and the same thing was repeated; afterward he visited the Orágun, the Olowo, the Ooni, the ruler of Ado and others, and all of them paid in a similar way. When his tour was over, he was an extremely rich man: prosperity had finally reached him.

From this comes the custom of paying money for divinations. Throwing the ókpele to the ground recalls Oshe Meyi's fall before the kings, who had to compensate him.

Oshe Meyi made his living by wrestling. He defeated kings, princes and deities, and yet he went hungry. After a divination, the priests of Ifá explained to him that his hunger came from not devoting himself to the task for which he had been born. They promised him prosperity at the end of that task, although first he had to make a sacrifice that could be made only in Heaven. Oshe Meyi did not believe them: how was he going to go up to Heaven? Besides, Eshu had by then blocked the road that joined Heaven and Earth. The priests added that he should not expect rewards from his defeated rivals, and recommended that he offer whatever was within his reach to his father, the last one who had come to his aid. Back at his house, Oshe Meyi sacrificed a rooster for that father and begged him to guide him toward his destiny.

Meanwhile the father, who was in Heaven, appeared before Oshe Meyi's guardian Angel to complain that Oshe Meyi was not doing well on Earth. The Angel answered that the cause was his warlike character. Then the two agreed to ask the good things of Heaven to go and see Oshe Meyi.

By custom, at dawn, when the rooster crows, the good things of life (children, peace, wealth, a good home, money, health and prosperity) leave Heaven to go to those on Earth who can welcome them. Before that they pass through the hall of Heaven where the guardian angels of all earthly people live. That night the father slept in the house of his son's Angel. After the rooster crowed, the good things announced that they were leaving for the Earth and asked whether any guardian had a message for them. Oshe Meyi's Angel begged them to visit his protégé. They all answered together that they did not dare, since he would finish them off. They reminded him how warlike Oshe Meyi had been in Heaven and the uproar he caused before escaping to the Earth. They declared that good and evil come together only to fight, just as heat and cold cannot live together, nor light and shadow. Since Oshe Meyi was set on attacking and humiliating those who could favor him, they would not go to meet him. And they set off for the Earth.

Soon afterward the father burst into tears, in despair over his son, and turned once more to the Guardian Angel. The Angel revealed that he had lodged him that night so that he could witness everything that had happened since Oshe Meyi went down to the Earth: for years he had been trying to persuade the good things of Heaven, and they always refused for the reasons he had just heard. Since the father kept insisting, the Angel thought of another plan. He asked him to go back to his house and assured him that before the rooster crowed the next day he would see his son. The father did not grasp the meaning of those words.

As soon as the father left, the Angel visited Sickness, wife of the King of Death, and brought her kola nuts. Sickness, like the good things, goes down to the Earth every day, though not in person: Death sends wandering messengers. The Angel persuaded her to go and meet his protégé and invite him to Heaven, because he had something important to do for him. The old woman promised to carry out the task that same day.

On Earth, Oshe Meyi suddenly fell ill, which was unheard of for him. As the night went on he got worse and lost consciousness. Nobody cared for him, so nobody looked after him, and some even mocked him when they found him that way. Shortly before midnight he died. Nobody learned of his death, because he was alone, with no wife or children.

At the very moment he left his body, Oshe Meyi was in Heaven, facing his Guardian Angel. His father was there too, whom the Angel had told to go back to his house after nightfall, and at last he understood that promise of seeing his son before the rooster crowed. The two welcomed Oshe Meyi before the rooster crowed, and the Angel asked him to hide behind a screen set up beforehand.

Soon after the rooster crowed, the good things of Heaven began their round of the houses of the guardian angels. At the entrance of Oshe Meyi's, the Angel named them one by one (children, friendship, wealth, prosperity, money and the rest) and again begged them to go and see Oshe Meyi, who was suffering on Earth. Once more they refused: they described him as a wrestler too resentful to welcome any of them well; they said they had sworn never to set foot on his street and never to visit one who would destroy them, and that a man who threw down kings, princes and deities in combat would crush them without effort.

Then the father exclaimed that the man hidden behind the screen had to hear what the envoys of fortune were saying about him. Oshe Meyi, who was hidden there, understood at that moment that all his life he had been chasing mistaken goals.

When the good things had passed, he came out of his hiding place and asked his Angel and his father what he should do. They told him to carry out the sacrifice he had omitted before leaving Heaven: a goat for Eshu, who would cleanse his head and back and so lessen his physical and evil strength. He offered it without delay, since the goats he had left in Heaven had now become very many. He also promised the Angel to give the biggest of the cows to the celestial police, for a banquet. Then the Angel pointed out a special path for his return. As soon as he set foot on it, he opened his eyes on Earth and regained consciousness.

Three years later he was healthy. Although he remembered his time in Heaven well, he began again to prepare his round of wrestling matches. Before leaving, he prepared one of his goats as an offering for his father, gave a ram to his Ifá, which represents his guardian Angel on Earth, and held a great feast with them. Those who knew him wondered what had improved his appearance, since no sacrifice of his was known. He also gave a goat to Eshu. Two days later he set out for the palace of the Alara. On the way he found an old priest of Ifá, who was Eshu transformed and turned out to be a diviner. The old man told him that he was heading to a contest and that he would defeat his rivals, but that when he seized them he must pretend to fall to the ground and watch what happened, for he would not regret it. He told him to do so as soon as he gave the wrestling cry.

He arrived at the palace of the Alara, gave the wrestling cry and the Alara came out to meet him. They grappled, and Oshe Meyi threw him down, but he threw himself to the ground before the king could crush him and did not get up, just as the old man had told him.

Meanwhile Eshu caused a disorder in the town the like of which had never been seen. Darkness covered everything and the earth shook. The roosters began to lay eggs and the hens to crow like them. Pregnant women felt false labor pains, the animals of the wild came into the town to feed, and the domestic animals ran off toward the wild.

The Alara, seeing this, begged Oshe Meyi to get up. At that moment the old priest appeared out of nowhere and spoke: a son of Orunmila was forbidden to fall to the ground, and for him to stand up he had to be calmed with one hundred sturdy men, unmarried young women, cows, goats, roosters, hens, sacks of money and other goods.

The Alara did not hesitate: he ordered every household in the town to contribute what was asked. With everything gathered, Oshe Meyi got up; the old man prepared a divination powder and scattered it by blowing it into the air. At once light, peace and calm returned, and the darkness and disorder went away. Oshe Meyi ordered the human gifts to be sent to his home in Ifé and new dwellings to be built there before his return.

The next morning he repeated the feat at the palace of the Ajero Kin Osa. He proceeded in the same way with the king of Ado, the Ooni, the Olowo and the Oragun, among others, and from all of them he received similar payments. By the end of his round he was an extremely rich man: prosperity had finally reached him.

This is how the custom of charging for divinations began. When the okpele, the divination instrument, is thrown to the ground, it recalls Oshe Meyi's fall before the kings, who paid for it with those compensations.

For this reason, if Oshe Meyi appears in a consultation, the person is advised to refrain from acts that lead him to show off his strength. He is warned that he is not advancing in life and will not advance until he changes his way of acting, with prudence and discretion in all his tasks.

In heaven, Oshe Meyi was one of the four chief apostles of Orunmila. He had great power, but also bad faith. As a child he set his younger brothers against each other; that is how Olugbodo, the divinity of childhood, was left crippled. When he grew up, his fame came from carrying disputes to every corner of heaven. His name was Ajakadi.

On the day of his birth, his father made medicines with an axe and a rooster's comb and embedded them in his head; for that reason he became a wrestler whom no one could beat. He had been told to offer Eshu a goat together with the spine of a snake so that his strength would reach maturity. However, trusting in his own strength, he did not do it. This is why the children of Oshe Meyi are advised not to eat snake meat.

Every morning he left his heavenly house to challenge some divinity to a wrestling match, and he always came out the winner. First he defeated Ogún without effort, and then the others. The problem was that he hardly managed to get food, because the good divinities of heaven were afraid of him.

His guardian angel, unhappy with this situation, resolved to weaken him so that he could make progress. He presented himself to Eshu with a goat and the spine of a snake and begged him to subdue Ajakadi. Eshu devoured the goat and devised a stratagem.

When the yearly wrestling tournament of heaven came around again, the heavenly hosts gathered and the divinities took their places according to seniority. Ajakadi arrived first, once more, expecting someone to challenge him. He stood for a long time without anyone daring. By custom, if no one challenged the wrestler, he chose his opponent himself. He pointed at Ogún, the divinity of war, the oldest and strongest, and challenged him to the first bout.

Ogún had no way to refuse the challenge. As soon as he advanced toward the arena, Ajakadi gripped him and hurled him upward with all his force. As he let him go, Eshu fixed his mysterious gaze on him and, by a miracle, Ajakadi collapsed to the ground before Ogún landed on him. Ogún himself did not understand how his opponent had been the first to fall.

Lying on the earth, Ajakadi asked Ogún to cut off his head with his sword. He lamented not having fallen earlier in a fight, and the shame of rising again was unbearable to him. When Ogún drew his sword, Eshu stepped in: he warned that whoever dared to behead Ajakadi would unleash an endless calamity in all of heaven. To prove it, he shook the ground of heaven. Heaven and its earth began to come together and everything went dark at once.

Olodumare noticed the disorder and shouted, asking who was disturbing the peace of heaven. He was told that Ogún had made Ajakadi fall, the undefeated wrestler, during the yearly tournament. Olodumare immediately ordered that Ajakadi be calmed, because calm had to return. Eshu spoke again: he declared that Ajakadi could not be left fallen on the ground and that, to calm him, a compensation had to be given to him: two hundred units of each of these, men, women, cows, goats, rams, dogs, and bags of money, and in addition two hundred valuable items from what each one owned.

The compensation was delivered at once, and Eshu whispered to Ajakadi to accept it. As soon as Ajakadi stood up, heaven and earth returned to their places, the light came back, and calm spread again over the four winds.

Back at his house, with his new wealth, Ajakadi thanked Eshu for his help with a sturdy goat. To his guardian angel he gave the biggest cow and also the biggest goat and ram. Then Oshe Meyi understood that his time as a wrestler in heaven had ended and that he had to go to Earth, where he solemnly promised to keep holding his fights.