Odù Ifá Ògbè Ogúndá

Gbengbelekú performed a divination wherever he wanted, and he was the one who divined for Igún¹, Elédùnmarè’s first-born son, on the day he fell ill and his father was solely preoccupied with how to heal him.

〈¹ Igún, the name of the protagonist that denotes a vulture, a bird of prey.〉

Igún, the first-born son of Elédùnmarè, who is Agọ̀tún, the one who turns rain into a source of wealth.
Elédùnmarè did everything in his power to help his son but to no avail. Reaching the point of exhaustion, he opened the door to ayé for him so he could go live there.

Tótó Ìbarà was the one who performed a divination for Ọ̀rúnmìlà as he was crying over the absence of luck in his life. He went to consult his priest to find out if he would have enough money to create a home and raise his children.

This was the reason he went for a spiritual consultation with Ifá. His priests gave him spiritual guidance, instructing him to perform an ẹbọ with five chickens. If he continuously performed the ẹbọ for five days, all the desired wealth would come to him.

He had to sacrifice chickens to his Ẹlẹ́dàá, each one separately, every day for five consecutive days. He had to remove the intestines of every sacrificed animal, put them into a calabash, cover them with red palm oil, and take them to an intersection. He was allowed to eat the meat himself or with the members of his family. On his way to the intersection, Ọ̀rúnmìlà had to sing loudly and melodiously: “May luck come to me! May luck come to me!” He had to repeat this ritual for five days.

Ọ̀rúnmìlà followed the spiritual instructions he received and began to perform the ẹbọ. He sacrificed chickens and took their intestines coated in red palm oil to the intersection. He placed the offering onto the ground and prayed for luck to come to him.

Opposite the intersection was a forest that was a home to Igún, the son of Elédùnmarè. Every time Ọ̀rúnmìlà placed the offering at the intersection and left, Igún came and ate it.

Igún, the son of Elédùnmarè, had five illnesses: his head, arms, and chest were afflicted, and he had a hump on his back as well as paralysed legs.

On the first day when Igún ate Ọ̀rúnmìlà’s offering, he was shocked to find that he was cured of the illness that affected his head. The following day, Ọ̀rúnmìlà repeated the ritual and again brought ẹbọ to the intersection, unaware of the fact that someone ate his offering. As soon as Ọ̀rúnmìlà left, Igún reappeared and ate the offering. Thereafter, he was suddenly able to easily outstretch his arms. On the third day, Ọ̀rúnmìlà continued the process and brought a new offering to the intersection. Just as he placed it, Igún came crawling back and ate it. As soon as he consumed it, the swelling on his chest went down. On the fourth day, Ọ̀rúnmìlà took his ẹbọ to the intersection, singing along the way: “May luck come to me! May luck come to me!” As soon as he placed it down, Igún reappeared and consumed it. The hump on his back disappeared in an instant. On the fifth day, Ọ̀rúnmìlà took his ẹbọ to the intersection to finalise the offerings. On his way, he was singing the same song as the previous days. As soon as he placed the ẹbọ onto the ground, Igún appeared and ate it. At the dawn of the sixth day, his crippled legs were revitalised, and he was able to walk anywhere. This is how Igún was healed of his maladies.

Delighted over the turn of events, Igún stood up and went to ọ̀run to meet Elédùnmarè. He instantly noticed his son was healthy and asked who had healed him.

Igún immediately told Elédùnmarè everything that transpired. He said Ọ̀rúnmìlà had brought the offerings and added that he had been singing the same refrain while doing so: “May luck come to me! May luck come to me!”

Elédùnmarè said he would reward this person generously. He took four àdo² and gave them to Igún to take them to Ọ̀rúnmìlà in ayé. These were the àdo of prosperity (bringing wealth and money), fertility, longevity, and patience.

〈² Àdo, a term that denotes a gift, mercy.〉

Igún told Elédùnmarè he did not know how to reach Ọ̀rúnmìlà’s home, but his father instructed him to ask people for direction upon his arrival to ayé, and they would show him the way. Before Igún left ọ̀run, Elédùnmarè told him that Ọ̀rúnmìlà might choose only one of the four àdo, and the remaining three had to be brought back to him.

Igún returned to ayé with four àdo and went straight to Ọ̀rúnmìlà to show them to him. Ọ̀rúnmìlà was very surprised.

Confused and unsure, he ordered his sons to be summoned so that he could ask them for advice on which àdo to choose. They advised him to select the àdo of longevity so that he would live long.

Ọ̀rúnmìlà then summoned his wives to listen to their advice, and they urged him to choose the àdo of fertility so they could bear many more children.

Ọ̀rúnmìlà summoned his brothers so they could advise him on which àdo to choose, and they told him to select the àdo of prosperity in order to ensure wealth and money.

Then Ọ̀rúnmìlà ordered to summon his best friend. That was Èṣù. When Èṣù came, Ọ̀rúnmìlà told him everything that happened and asked him for advice on what choice to make. The ever-resourceful Èṣù posed the following questions to Ọ̀rúnmìlà:

– Which àdo did your sons advise you to choose?

Ọ̀rúnmìlà said:

– The àdo of longevity.

Èṣù told him not to select this àdo because no person could overcome death, and he reminded him of the fact that even those who managed to lead a long life inevitably died at some point.

Then Èṣù asked:

– Which àdo did your wives advise you to choose?

Ọ̀rúnmìlà said:

– The àdo of fertility.

Èṣù advised him against selecting this àdo because he already had children. He then asked:

– What about your brothers? Which àdo did they advise you to choose?

Ọ̀rúnmìlà answered:

– The àdo of prosperity.

Èṣù advised him against selecting this àdo because if he were to become rich, he would have to alleviate the poverty of the entire family, adding that if his brothers wanted to prosper, they should get to work.

Ọ̀rúnmìlà then asked Èṣù which àdo to choose. Èṣù advised him to select the àdo of patience because his lack of patience prevented him from achieving the desired results in the past. As long as Ọ̀rúnmìlà followed this advice and chose the àdo of patience, all of the other àdo would eventually belong to him as well. Ọ̀rúnmìlà heeded Èṣù’s advice and selected the àdo of patience, returning the remaining three to Igún.

Ọ̀rúnmìlà’s sons, wives, and brothers were not happy with his decision.

Igún headed back to ọ̀run with the three remaining àdo to return them to Elédùnmarè. But soon after they left, the àdo of wealth asked him:

– Where is Patience?

Igún said that it had stayed with Ọ̀rúnmìlà.

Wealth then said that it would return to where Patience was because it only existed next to Patience. Igún said that was unacceptable and that Wealth had to return with him to ọ̀run. Wealth insisted that it only existed where Patience was and that it had no reason to go back to ọ̀run. It soon vanished from Igún’s hand and joined Patience at Ọ̀rúnmìlà’s home.

Fertility asked Igún about Patience as well, and he said that it was at Ọ̀rúnmìlà’s home. Fertility responded that it only existed where Patience was. It got up and soon joined Patience at Ọ̀rúnmìlà’s home.

Longevity also asked Igún where Patience was. He said it was at Ọ̀rúnmìlà’s home, and Longevity went to join Patience as well.

As Igún arrived to ọ̀run, Elédùnmarè asked him where the remaining three àdo were. He explained that all three had wanted to stay at Ọ̀rúnmìlà’s home with Patience and that he was about to return to ayé to find them and bring them back to ọ̀run. Elédùnmarè said there was no need to do that because all àdo belonged to the one who chose Patience. Those who are patient will have Longevity and Fertilty: they will be fertile and lead a good life, and they will prosper as well.

Things turned out well for Ọ̀rúnmìlà in the end, and with all these gifts, he became the king of Kétu. He lived a prosperous and long life with all the àdo. He was so wealthy that he built houses all over the world.

Happy with his achievements, he rode his horse singing: “I got the àdo of prosperity, I got the àdo of longevity, and I got the àdo of patience.” He danced and rejoiced, exalting his priests and his friend Èṣù.

Source: Sàlámì, S. and Ribeiro, I.: Ešu in ureditev univerzuma. Podčetrtek, Duhovna skupnost oriš – energij narave, 2015.