Once there was a famous warrior, the most feared of his time. In a clash with the neighboring tribe, this warrior, named Ngema Eshugo, killed one of its principal chiefs. A brother of the dead man took charge of the tribe, and from that day he thought only of how to destroy the powerful town of Osumo.
To do this, he decided to gather some of the most notable warriors of the friendly tribes. He went first to the Bisha Bifos tribe, where he won the support of the feared Ekang Ngomo. Then he visited Buere Sue Sue, of the Esheg tribe, another warrior admired for his deeds, who agreed to take part on the condition that Ohomombue, of the Obang tribe, and Nnanlel Milak, of the Yebon family, both very well known men, would also join.
The brother, full of rage, managed to unite all these chiefs. Four days later they met, each at the head of his people, at an agreed place to study the plan of battle. So began the great offensive against Osumo. The invaders marched toward the town of Ngema Eshugo and camped nearby. As custom required, they sent messengers to the people of Osumo to warn them that, if they did not surrender within a short time, the invaders would enter and plunder the town by force.
When the news reached Osumo, a much remembered warrior, Beko Bense, gathered the people and promised that he alone would face the invasion. Beko Bense was famous not only for his skill with weapons but also for the power given to him by the marvelous secrets that he kept. The people listened with doubt, and to show what he could do he carried out several tests.
First he asked for the largest ram to be found, a bunch of the finest plantains, a tortoise, and a pot big enough to cook so much food. He shut himself alone in a house, with guards at the door, prepared the ram and the plantains, and that same night ate all of it, leaving not the slightest sign of the enormous feast. The next morning, those who entered the guarded house were greatly astonished.
Then, with all the men gathered, he asked for a large basket and they went to the river. There he put the basket into the water and lifted it out full, without a single drop escaping through its many holes. With that water he had everyone wet their arms and legs, and the crowd did so, convinced that this powerful man could withstand the announced invasion alone.
He did still more. He took a very fine plantain fiber and tied it high up from one side of the street to the other. He stepped back a good distance and threw his spear at it, and the spear split it into two exactly equal halves. The people, astonished, believed in him.
The next day the announced invasion arrived, but it was stopped by the thick, strong fence around the town. Olofonbue demanded that Beko Bense open the gates of the fence, and Beko Bense told him that first the invaders had to move back to a safe distance. They did so, and Beko Bense opened one of the narrow passages, where only one person could fit abreast. When they tried to go through one by one, the first four foreign chiefs were pierced from a distance by spears, thrown with the same accuracy with which he had split the fiber before. So the chiefs of the invasion died.
Seeing what had happened, the other warriors fled in fear to take refuge in the nearest forest, where they spent the rest of the day looking for revenge. When they saw that they could do nothing against Osumo with weapons, they decided to set the town on fire and escape.
When night fell they did it, but Beko Bense, who had already defeated the chiefs, used the water that the basket held to put out the flames that threatened to destroy the town, and so he also defeated those who wanted to destroy it.
This path speaks of the great power of Shangó, who is Beko Bense, and of his union with Oshún. It is said: Maferefún Shangó and Kaferefún Oshún.
A person with true power shows it through deeds before the fight comes. Preparation and ingenuity can sustain a whole town when force alone would not be enough. The path joins the power of Shangó with the presence of Oshún.
Animals: two akukó, one abó, two adié and one ayakuá (jicotea). Other items: three oguedé (plantains), a spear, a basket, river water, a lit firebrand, a fiber taken from a plantain stalk, atitán ilé (earth from the house), atitán nibe (earth from the wilderness) and owó medilogun.
When the ebbó is finished, the awó gives Shangó the abó, the ayakuá and the two akukó, and gives Oshún the two adié.
Maferefún Shangó, Kaferefún Oshún.