Obatalá's children had no house, and Obatalá set about finding out where Orunmila lived so as to get them one. He met Elegba and asked him, but Elegba said he did not know, and the same on later occasions. Obatalá thought that if he left him without food, he would tell. After seven days, with a chicken in his hand, he asked again; Elegba agreed, but on condition that he first be allowed to go to the bush, so Obatalá would not need to go to Orunmila's house. In the bush, Elegba sang to Olofin and to Afefe Orun, who loosed a storm whose wind brought down all the palm fronds and branches; Obatalá's children gathered them and built their houses. On his return, Elegba told Obatalá that his children now had houses, though they were very poor ones. One day Elegba saw Ogún with an axe with no handle, ran to warn Orunmila, who saw Otrupon Ka and sent word to the trees to give Ogún not one branch. But the majagua, thinking herself more powerful, gave him the branch; Ogún fitted the handle and told her: «You, majagua, will be the first tree I try my axe on», and singing «Otrupon Ka» he brought her down, and went on with the rest. To the ceiba he said: «I will not fell you, because you are obedient; as long as the world lasts you will be respected.» Meanwhile, as Ogún left Obatalá's house, Obatalá had cursed Elegba: «As long as you live, you will have no house.» That is why Elegba, even with a house, lives outside it.
On this road, Obatalá's children had no house to live in, and Obatalá set about finding out where Orunmila lived, in order to learn the best way to get houses for his children. On this errand he met Elegba and asked him where Orunmila lived; Elegba answered that he did not know, and on later occasions he answered the same.
Obatalá then thought that if he left Elegba without food for a while, he would tell him the place where Orunmila lived. After seven days of keeping Elegba without food, Obatalá, with a chicken in his hand, asked him again about Orunmila. Elegba agreed to tell him, but on condition that he first be allowed to go to the bush, so that Obatalá would not need to go to Orunmila's house.
That being so, Elegba set out for the bush; and when he reached it, he began to sing to Olofin and to Afefe Orun. Afefe Orun heard him and loosed a very strong storm, whose wind began bringing down all the palm fronds and the branches of the trees. Obatalá's children, seeing all that on the ground, gathered it up and built their houses with it.
After seven days, Elegba came back from the bush and said to Obatalá: «Look, I went to Orunmila's house, and your children have houses now.» Obatalá went out and looked, and was satisfied that what Elegba told him was so; but even so he was not entirely pleased, because those houses were very poor ones.
One day Elegba was very near the road that led to Obatalá's house, and he saw Ogún coming with an axe with no handle in his hands; he immediately ran to Orunmila's house and told him what he had seen. Orunmila, astonished, made osode and Otrupon Ka came up, and he told Elegba: «Run and tell the trees to give Ogún not one branch, because if they give it to him, it will be their own destruction.» Elegba ran and carried out Orunmila's order.
As soon as Ogún reached Obatalá's house, Afefe Lerun loosed another storm, and Ogún, frightened, told Obatalá what he had come for, while he heard the storm bringing down all the houses of Babá's children. Then Obatalá gave Ogún two guinea hens to eat, to make him strong, and told him: «Ogún, you will get a handle for your axe.»
When the storm passed, Ogún set out for the bush; and seeing him, Elegba stood at the corner of it and said: «Let us see what this one can do.» Then Ogún went to the first tree he saw and asked it for a branch; the ceiba (aragba) told him she could not oblige him. So Ogún went to the jiquí, the yaya, the guayacán, the jocuma, getting the same answer from all of them, until he came to the majagua, who, thinking herself more powerful and strong, gave him the branch he asked for.
When Ogún had finished fitting the handle to his axe, he looked at the majagua and told her: «You, majagua, will be the first tree I try my axe on.» And Ogún, singing «Otrupon Ka, Otrupon Ka, Otrupon Ka», struck the majagua with the axe until he brought her down. Then he went on bringing down the trees, until he came to the ceiba, to whom he said: «I will not fell you, because you are obedient. As long as the world lasts, you will be respected by every religion.»
While Ogún was doing this, Elegba had already been cursed by Obatalá; for as Ogún left Obatalá's house, Elegba came in, and Obatalá told him: «As long as you live, Elegba, you will have no house.» That is why Elegba, even though he has a house, lives outside it.
Note: when works are done with Ogún on the strength of this Odù, the axe is always washed with ewe.