Osa Ogunda (Osa Ogunda · Osa Ogunda)

Oggun lived stuck to the fire because of the strength he had, but his life was suffocated; he never had any tranquility and was always in a bad mood. The fire almost always punished him, that is, it was burning him, and so Oggun killed everyone, feeding on blood, but this did not take away his heat or his thirst, and so he was always restless, could not sleep, and it was now almost impossible for him to bear that situation, when one night he began to sing:

Obani baye Chango Afefe Ni Olorun, Obani baye Chango Afefe Ni Olorun, Aye Yotum ni Olorun Chango.

On hearing this, Shango said to himself: "Goodness, this must be the one who is to be the king of strength, and who wants to take my kingdom and my power from me, but I am going to turn him into my slave." Shango went out walking and singing:

Ofun Yeye Yanzan omo loye mafun eta.

When he finished singing he saw that Oya was astonished but that she fled from him and did not want to come near Shango. He was displeased at this and commended himself to Olofin, called the wind, and the fire, fanned by it, grew and advanced rapidly, spreading until it enveloped Oya, which Shango took advantage of to trap her.

Shango explained to Oya what he wanted regarding Oggun, and once Oya was informed, the two of them set out for Olofin's house to discuss the matter of Oggun. There Olofin told them: "I have Oggun there because of the character he has and the strength he possesses; he has never drunk water; the only thing he has taken in his life has been blood."

Addressing Oya he said: "I am going to hand you this stone so that Oggun may have a seat, and so that with it he may hold up the earth." Afterwards Shango said to Oya: "You go and find Yemaya so that she is the one who gives water to Oggun." Shango said to Olofin: "My father, you know that Oggun wants to take from me the reign and the power that you granted me, but he will always have to respect me, and in holding up the world he will always do it under my dominion."

Olofin answered him: To Aban Echo. Then Shango and Oya set out on the road and met Yemaya, to whom they told what Olofin had said. Shortly afterwards it began to rain, and Yemaya, with the large jar (tinajón) that she carried, began to collect rainwater and take it to Oggun's house. When they arrived he was very agitated and suffocated because of the fire, and Yemaya gave him water to drink from her jar. Oya sat him on the stone, and right away Oggun fell deeply asleep.

When Oggun woke up, the stone was still buried in the earth. Shango asked him: "How do you feel?" He answered: "Completely different." Shango had brought seven eyele (pigeons), gave them to him to eat, and said to him: "Oggun, as long as the world is the world, if you want to feel well you will have to swear to me that you will be the one who holds up the world with this stone." Oggun swore solemnly, before Oya and Yemaya, to fulfil Shango's wishes. Then Oggun took a jícara (gourd bowl) with which Yemaya had given him water, and with his right hand threw earth and said:

Osi Laguo Oche Egue Le Gueri Iku Amayo.

Afterwards he poured water on his head, and Shango said: "This is the moment to salute all the Orishas, Oggun and Inle. The first thing to do is this that you have done: pour water on the earth, which is the first that must always be saluted."

Right away the heat that he had in himself began to disappear [source: en sí misma, feminine, said of Oggun]. Shango put the jícara in the center of the whole earth and began to sing:

Bogbo Orishas Omi Olorun Omi Achaba Bogbo Orishas Omi Olorun.

All the saints gathered, went, and drank water from the jícara.

Nota: Here was born the custom, and the reason, that to perform any ceremony one must first raise a jícara of omi (water), offer it to the Santísimo (the Most Holy), and then pour water on the earth in the manner indicated.

The process for the crowning of a son of Oggun, when the ota is to be washed: on arriving at the monte [the ota] is taken [source: se coge; the object is not stated] and handed to a daughter of Oya so that she places it in the manigua (undergrowth). Oya is the one who hands the machete to the son of Oggun; inside it must carry a piece of yaya wood or, failing that, yaya leaves [source: dentro debe llevar; what "inside" refers to is not stated].

To wash Oggun an omiero must be prepared with the following egues: leaves of Quiebra Hacha, Jocuma, Guayacán, Jiqui, Jaguey, Álamo. The water prepared for pouring on Oggun in the house is made from meloncillo and oñi; this water is also sprinkled around the house.

The story tells that once there was a boat adrift, its captain being Achaba, and a storm lashed it. Seeing himself at the mercy of the waves and the elements, he begged Olofin to send him something with which to stop the boat, and he received a chain, which was not enough, so he begged again and received an anchor. The anchor joined to the chain managed to make the vessel stop. Ashaba [spelling as in the source; above, Achaba] saved the vessel and his own life.

Nota: If the person is scatterbrained (alocada), she has to settle her head, or she can be tied up at any moment. This Yemaya lives in an amphora (ánfora), inside which she carries 21 chain beads, an anchor, and a thick rope around the base of the amphora. The person is a slave, goes adrift, has no seat in her affairs [the last sentence is ungrammatical in the source: La persona es esclava anda ala deriva no tiene asiento en sus cosas; rendered literally].

The same proverb appears in the Refranes of the sign as "Tie up the boat so that it does not sink."