Oyekun Biroso

The earth had no government and the Saints were fighting over who was highest. Olofin sent Abita, and the first thing he did was gather them and tell them to unite; once that was done, the Devil made himself master of the situation and of the earth. One day, while he was giving orders, the Ibeyis appeared and called him a liar and a cheat, saying they were not doing what Olofin had commanded. Abita, who had the shape of a young man, began to change: pointed ears, eyes burning red, long nails, horns and a tail.

All the Oshas knew him and shouted at him to go, but he paid no attention. They went to Orunmila's house, and he saw this Odù and ordered that, when Abita came, they should cleanse themselves with an eyele dundun and do Oparaldo with an akukó so he could not come near. Seeing he could not, Abita vanished. Olofin told them that Abita is a spirit of creation with great powers that he uses for ill, and that he can be anywhere; that is why, whenever his evil influence is felt, the ceremony of the eyele and the akukó is done and the earth is fed, calling on Orun for help.

In a town there was a great onishegun — a herbalist and Oluo Ozain — who healed everyone with the virtues of Ozain and helped the poor. An omolú, annoyed that he was healing the people he was making ill, began to work against him. The onishegun made osode, Oyekun Biroso came out intori Ikú, he made ebbó, gave an abó to his Eggun and prayed his head with eyele meyi.

That night a man arrived with a sick child; the onishegun took the child to treat him with Ifá and Ozain, and gave the father a bottle of otí and told him to watch the door. At midnight Ikú arrived, with the omolú, to take the onishegun; the child's father met her, offered her otí and protested, and the neighbors came out with him, saying it was unjust to take away such a good man. Ikú, talked round — and having tasted the Eggun's food — said: «you have convinced me; but a death is already written and I have to take someone». And she cut off the omolú's head and took him away. The secret is to give alms to the poor and to hang a black rag doll behind the door.

Orunmila ruled the land of Oyekun Biroso together with the Ibeyis. His way of ruling stirred up envy: the people of the place made his life bitter and threw ogú and shepe inside his house, until he had no choice but to take shelter in the bush. He had already been read this Ifá before leaving. There, among the trees, he did the ebbó and fed an akukó dundun to Ozain and to the land itself. Ozain came and let sickness loose on the town that had run him out.

With Orunmila gone, everything fell apart: nothing prospered and misfortunes piled up. The town finally saw what it had lost and sent for him, but Orunmila did not answer the call, since he suspected a trick. It was Oshún then who took the road; when she told him how things were, he agreed to go back, on one condition: that the Ibeyis come for him along with all the children of the town, bringing osadie and eyele for the Ibeyis and didun, the sweets, for the mokekeré. So he came back, with the children all around him, and took up the government again, to everyone's joy. From that it is ordered to hold parties for children: that is what straightens the person's road and makes them more prosperous.