The Life of Ogunda Irete
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.
Narrative not yet published for this odù.
The Patakín Corpus — 1 to 19
Presented in strict numerical order as in the source Tratado. Click any title to read it.
00Elegbara, the Fisherman and the Sacrifice That Reaches Heaven
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This oddun speaks of two very important concepts: the role of Elegbara (Eshu) as messenger between human beings and God, and Egungun (the ancestors) as the road by which human beings reach supremacy [source: suprema-cía]. The client is being dominated by a woman.
The fisherman does not know where the sea takes its water, nor the origin of the lake. This was divined for Elegbara, who said that they must supplicate him with a variety of things so that he could carry their sacrifices to Heaven. Orunmila asked how Elegbara would manage things so as to show them that their sacrifices had reached Heaven. Elegbara said that no one whose sacrifices had been accepted would know it.
When people who have never made sacrifice make an offering, they must say, "My sacrifice has reached the sea and the lake." This will be accepted. But someone who has been offering sacrifices that have been accepted must say, "My sacrifice has reached Heaven." Elegbara was asking [people] to sacrifice so that the people of the world could obey him.
Ebbo: a palm tree, a climbing garment (ropa de escalar), a rooster, okete (a large forest rat), 5,600 cowries.
"I listened and I made sacrifice" (Escucho y sacrifico).
00Ogun, Iyalode and the Women Who Punished the Men
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If we want to tell a lie, we must appear agitated; if we want to tell the truth, we must be calm. We cannot deceive one another face to face. This was divined for Ogun, who was to carry out the rituals ordered by Iyalode in the streets; all the women were punishing all the men. Ogun was asked to make sacrifice.
Ebbo: a hat, a dog, 14,000 cowries and some other things unknown to the uninitiated.
"I listened and I made sacrifice."
After this came the mystery of Egungun and of other cults, covering their faces, or their heads, or the whole body [the sentence has no verb in the source]. The women were formerly the controllers of this mystery; they frightened the men with it, and for that reason they did not obey the men much. The men, especially Ogun, discovered a better way to make the women attend to Egungun.
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