Odi Owonrin (Odi Owonrin · Odi Owonrin)

In the land of Oyá Inlé, there lived an Awó named Odoleresin Awo, who was the heir to the powers of a great deceased one — a very famous sorcerer and diviner named Tokun Lade Awo.

Odoleresin was devoted to serving the different figures of the king's court of that land, performing workings to remove curses from them, on account of the many wars that arose in those lands — for its inhabitants were very warlike.

This Awó did not take care of his dead (his eggun), and for that reason, one day he fell ill and could not get out of bed. In that state, barely able to rise, he became Osode; this Odu, Odi Omoni, came out for him, revealing that it was the eggun of Tokun Lade making a claim upon him. With great difficulty he managed to rise, and performed EBO, feeling much better afterward.

After a few days he began to feel ill again, and so performed a head-offering with two hens. When the petition ended, he fell asleep, and dreamed that the one who had been king of that land came to him, bringing in one hand a Shashará rooster and in the other a Shashará hen, and said to him: "So that you may continue serving your people without falling ill, you must dedicate a stone as a Secret with seven arrows, and smoke it in a pipe — and whenever you are going to perform a Paraldo, you must always call on me both before and after, so that it is I, and not you, who works in those ceremonies, and in this way your own body will not be harmed." He also told him that his name was Tokun Lade Awo.

Odoleresin took the Shashará rooster and hen and offered them to the great Secret of Egun of Odi Omoni, singing this song: "The beautiful design will be used in the detail, as prearranged." Then all the egun stopped to eat what Tokun Lade Awo gave them, for it was the spirit of Odi Omoni, and they received the food eagerly; to which Tokun Lade Awo sang to them: "The spirit of the dead is strong, so it weaves through the lives of the living."

From that moment, they ceased to pursue people, and no longer troubled Odoleresin Awo, who belonged to Odi Omoni.

Afterward, Tokun Lade Awo, bidding them farewell, cleansed Odoleresin with a hen's egg, breaking it over the Secret of Egun of Odi Omoni, and sang: "Day of the thick cloth, day of death, day of the new cloth — the sound of the drum is loud and clear."

When Odoleresin Awo awoke, he understood that he had to attend to his guardian eggun, Tokun Lade Awo, in order to continue cleansing all the inhabitants of that land from the malevolent witches and enemies cast upon them; for this he prepared his great Secret, to which he always turned before and after performing the rituals and cleansings that Ifá commanded for his clients. And so Odoleresin Awo of Odi Omoni, through the transfiguration and the power of Tokun Lade, was able to carry out these workings for his clients and had the power to defeat the enemies they faced — and none of those malicious situations touched him.

The patakín of the inherited powers: the consultando whose abilities came from a predecessor must honor that predecessor's eggun continuously. The powers are not owned outright by the inheritor; they are channeled through the eggun's continuing presence, and neglect breaks the channel.

Ebbó: 1 gallo shashará, 1 gallina shashará, 1 cachimba (pipe), 1 cazuela, 7 arrows, everything that is eaten, itana meji, ekó, eku, eja, epó, opolopo owo.

Note (the permanent Secret): The Secret that whoever carries Odi Omoni must prepare, together with the seat of Egun, is the garment/vestment of Tokun Lade; for this, a stone belonging specifically to Egun Tokun Lade is sought and washed with omiero made from Egun's herbs. A large clay pot is placed with a chain and seven arrows, and seven small sticks are added, inscribed with sayings such as "I can do more than you" and "Be quiet" — and a pipe is added, which is what he smokes with, saying "the day has come." This pot is surrounded by seven glasses of water, each holding a small crucifix. All of this — the stone included — is fed a Shashará hen once a week. In addition, a chicken egg is cracked for cleansing, reporting to Egun Tokun Lade all the cleansing that has been done; and when the pipe is smoked, it is said: "a day to begin the celebration of the day."

Note (the standing risk): for this reason, whoever carries Odi Omoni, whenever they perform workings such as Paraldo or Sarayeyé, cannot escape the influence that Egun exerts upon them — which can cause them to suffer transformations of the face.

On this path, Orúnmila and Odùduwà decided to have their children on earth; one was called Amosún and the other Akalá.

Amosún was a farmer and also a diviner; he was a prince, and his task was to carry the messages of the Palace of Olofin, with his great drum, Añá Ilú.

Many years passed. Akalá and his children lived comfortably, while Amosún's household worked hard — yet it was Akalá's family who were rich and powerful. Then one day a bad year came, and hunger spread throughout the Yorùbá land; Akalá and his children began to go very hungry, and out of necessity had to go to Amosún — the very one they had underestimated — to seek him out.

At the reading, this Odu appeared, and marked EBO with: four amulets, one rooster, one dove, entrails, lard, and a great deal of money.

Akalá told Amosún he would obtain yam to make the offering. Amosún replied that he already had yam, but that he would give it to Akalá only on the condition that Akalá surrender his "Ardanaya" (power/office) to carry the messages of Olofin. Akalá accepted, and performed the EBO, saving everyone and returning prosperity to the Yorùbá land.

And from then on, Amosún and his children became the messengers of Olofin, by the power of Odi-Omoni.

The patakín of the underestimated messenger: the one who works quietly and without reward eventually holds the office that the proud, comfortable relative must come begging for. Prosperity surrendered its former office rather than share the burden — and paid for that refusal with the office itself.

Note: a drum is placed for Orúnmila, and four Emuleyé offerings are prepared — the same recipe already given in the front matter's Obras section (fresh yam peeled and ground raw, salt added, wrapped in banana leaf, boiled like a tamale; the leaves softened over a candle flame and stripped of the central vein; once cooled, spread with palm/corojo lard and set before Orúnmila for the days marked, then carried to their destination). This is a repeated, not contradictory, instruction.