The Life of Obara Meji
The continuous biography of this odù's own spiritual evolution — celestial works, then earthly works — told as one unfolding life. Click any title to read it.
The Inversion of Signs and the New Nomenclature
With the seventh Olodu of the genealogical body of Ifá, the confusion and incomprehension that had characterized the first six Olodus (Ogbe, Oyeku, Iwori, Odi, Irosun, Ojuani) was resolved. Until Obara, those signs retained their identity whether read upward or downward. It was with Obara that the inversion of signs began to produce a new nomenclature. If Obara's marking is inverted, it becomes Okonron. And so it is with the nine remaining Olodus of Orunmila.
It was therefore Obara Meyi who ordered that, before giving food to Orunmila, the offerer must beg him to accept it --- whether the food be a rat, a fish, a hen, or a goat. The offerers must kneel before Orunmila and pray that he accept whatever food they offer. It is for this reason that it is said: "It is not difficult to ask a favor of one's own patron divinity."
The Patakín Corpus — 1 to 20
Presented in strict numerical order as in the source Tratado. Click any title to read it.
01Obara Meji Encounters Enemies
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After this incident, Obara Meji naturally became very famous. His fame and popularity soon began to provoke envy and enmity. He would soon realize that success breeds envy, and that envy leads to the animosity that arouses enmity. Generally, people do not fall in love with those who surpass them. The older priests, whom Obara seemed to have outdone, lost no time in planning his fall.
Meanwhile, Obara Meji’s Guardian Angel appeared to him in a dream and gave him a description of the conspirators' machinations. When Obara Meji awoke, he invited two Awos (Priests) to perform divination for him. Their names were:
- Oni Bara, Ola Bara
- Eshishi Bara Eeku Ookii Ku So Otin
- Eye Bara, Kii Ku Si Asi (Uho in Bini)
Their guiding principles were:
- The fly that is not greedy never dies inside a wine vessel.
- The fly that flies high in the air and is not tempted by the bait on the ground is not captured in a glue trap.
They advised Obara Meji to make a sacrifice with a rooster and a hen. He performed the sacrifice, which explains why he triumphed over his enemies after they had tried to defeat him on Earth and failed, and after they had also denounced him to the Elders of Heaven. Meanwhile, a traveling Ifá priest was visiting Ife and stopped at the house of Obara Meji, who extended exquisite hospitality to him.
The name of the Awo was Eroke Ule Abiditirigi. When the man performed the divination of libation, he alerted Obara that a messenger had been sent from Heaven to look for him. He was advised to give a he-goat to Esu and a goat to Ifá. Not only did the Awo perform the sacrifices for Obara, but he also performed traditional absolution (Ono Ifá in Yoruba / Odiha in Bini—meaning "The Path of Ifá" or "Cleansing Ceremony") for him. Likewise, he prepared the relevant medicine that he was to take every day.
Five days later, a Tiokan (a bird of omen / messenger of Death) came from Heaven to arrest Obara Meji. When the Tiokan flew over the roof of Obara's house, it warned him to prepare to go to Heaven. Through an incantation, Obara replied that before his father died, he had told him that he (the father) was going to Heaven to answer the early call that would have otherwise taken him (Obara) from this world. He also said that he would not leave the Earth until a tree called Aro in Yoruba (Uroaro in Bini) had sprouted leaves, and until the roots of a parasitic plant called Ose in Bini (Afuma in Yoruba—referring to Mistletoe/Parasite) that grows in the treetops had touched the ground, and until the Elaa (a plant that stays perpetually green) had shed its leaves. Obara Meji gathered these three plants and gave them to the Tiokan to deliver to the King of Death, who had sent for him from Heaven.
When the Tiokan delivered the message in Heaven to the King of Death, the latter ordered that Obara Meji should "get lost" on Earth without ever knowing his way back to Heaven.
This is why it is said that Obara Meji lived on Earth for about 260 years, and in the end, he had to plead with God to accept him back into Heaven. If the children (followers) of Obara Meji are able to prepare this Ono Ifá (Path of Ifá / Cleansing), they shall live to an advanced age.
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