Owonrin Odi (Owonrin Odi · Owonrin Odi)

Patakín: Olofin's daughter lived in sadness, and nothing caught her interest. One day she went out with her father, and from a distance she caught sight of a monkey with nine tails. It seized her attention so powerfully that she told her father to offer her in marriage to whoever managed to catch that monkey without harming it.

The hunters of the region set out, but none of them managed even to see the monkey, much less catch it. One of the hunters went to see Orunmila, who marked ebbó for him with a cord; and after the ebbó, he bathed with the blood (eyé) and the bone. Orunmila told him, further, to set the ebbó on a hill and lie down there.

Drawn by the smell of the ham-bone, all the animals came, and among them the monkey of the nine tails; and in the moment it was absorbed and off its guard, the hunter pulled on the cord, snared it, and carried it to Olofin, who then granted him his daughter's hand.

Rezo: Ojuani ni shidi agada beñi koto lodafun pogo simele lodeni.

Ebbó: A rooster, a hen, a pigeon, one arrow (ofá kan), a machete (agadá), and owo la meyo (money that does not diminish).

Suyere: Arin yanya kiya kini lomi sogarekede, arin yanya kiya Shango logue eyiri, arin yanya kiya.

Nota: This is where** Ode had the reputation of being the finest shot** with the akofá (bow), and yet he was not given his due regard; and on one occasion he committed himself to something, and in order to fulfill it he had to go to Orunmila's house for osodé (divination) and make ebbó, so that he could capture alive the Iñagui (Monkey) of the nine tails and enter the city with it.

Nota para cuando hay atraso (Note for When There Is Delay): A rooster, a hen, and two white pigeons, which go directly to Babá (Obatalá); one must ask which day he wants them.

Patakín: Once, Olofin sent for all the hunters, to learn which of them would commit himself to bringing him the Iñagui of the nine tails. Ode was greatly renowned among the archers, and he too went to the gathering; but he was much envied by all, and for that reason, when Olofin saw him arrive, he asked him directly: "Do you commit yourself to bringing me the Iñagui of the nine tails?" — and Ode, without stopping to think, committed himself.

It was only when Ode set out to fulfill his commitment that he realized the magnitude of what he had offered, and he thought: "What promise have I gotten myself into?" But he reflected, and decided to go to Orunmila's house. Orunmila saw this Ifá for him and told him: "You have given your word, and to be able to fulfill it, you must obori eledá (feed the head) and do onishé; also make ebbó with beef (erán), tabakikán, corn tabakikán, cornmeal tabakikán, an akofá, a marowo, a stick, a box, a clay pot marked with osún, and awó monkalá."

They put the food and the beef into the clay pot, and after seven days it had gone rotten. Once this was done, Orunmila again performed rogación over Ode; and Ode dressed himself in his uniform, turned his cap to one side, smeared himself all over his body with what was in the pot, went to a hill, and lay down on the ground, playing dead.

When one of the Iñagui caught the scent of what Ode had smeared on his body, he followed the smell and arrived at the place where Ode lay. Seeing him, he was frightened at first, but seeing that Ode did not move, he said, "He is dead," and ate from what was in the pot, and climbed on top of Ode, singing: "Arin yanka niya."

And the Iñagui began to let his guard down, and he said, "This poor thing has gone bad."

And so the rest of the Iñagui of that pack came, one after another, and did the same, until, trusting that the man was dead, there arrived the Iñagui of the nine tails himself, who was their Obá (king), and he did the same as the others.

Some of the Iñagui said, "Look, he is dead," and others said, "Yes, he has already rotted — he has worms," and they sang to their Obá: "Arun yanya."

But by now they were all slack and off their guard, and Ode did not move — he lay silent. And in that moment of trust, Ode threw himself upon the Iñagui of the nine tails; and it cried out, and the rest fled running.