Orichas and Powers
One day Olófin gave the command that there would be peace on earth, and so all was calm in the world—for a time.
Eventually Obatalá Ayáguna noticed that Olófin wasn’t paying attention. Although Obatalá is the oricha of peace and tranquility, Ayáguna is the manifestation of Obatalá at his most fierce and warlike. Ayáguna didn’t enjoy disobeying Olófin, but he was too enamored of the warrior life to quit.
One day, Obatalá Ayáguna was waging a particularly bloody battle, cutting off heads left and right with his machete, when suddenly Olófin appeared. Having heard rumors of war, he decided to visit the earth without warning to see if the rumors were true.
When Ayáguna saw Olófin, he quickly wiped his machete across his chest to hide the blood from Olófin. To this day, Obatalá Ayáguna always wears a red sash.
“War will not come to the world if Ayáguna does not give the order.”
The orichas are the gods and goddesses ruling over forces of nature as well as human endeavors. They are also the manifestations of the different aspects of Olófin, who divided many of the powers among each of the orichas. In Yorubaland there are hundreds, if not thousands, of orichas, with some not worshipped or even known outside of the city or town where they are located. While many of the orichas were created directly by Olófin, a few were once human beings who, due to their great acts on earth, rose to the level of oricha upon death. One of the meanings of the saying “Ikú bi oricha (death gives birth to the oricha)” refers to those who became orichas.
However, there are other forces as well. There are the irunmole (forces), who have power much like the orichas but are often more unpredictable and even dangerous. The irunmole includes the orichas and also such forces as ikú and arun. Among traditional Lucumí practitioners, sometimes the gods and goddesses are divided between those who speak through the diloggún, called ochas, and those who speak exclusively through Ifá, referred to as orichas. Then there are what we refer to as powers. These are forces that are considered greater than orichas but less than Olodumare. Ochas are prepared and given exclusively by santeros, while the orichas and Powers are fabricated and given exclusively by the babalawos. There is an exception to this rule: Odudua, or Oddua, who should be prepared by iworos and babalawos working together. During the preparation of Odudua, the iworos and babalawos often work in the same room, separated only by a white sheet.
Of course, the more powerful something is, the more potentially dangerous it is likely to be. This is true whether we are talking about orichas and powers or mundane forces such as nuclear energy or the electrical outlet in your home. Nuclear energy is extremely powerful, powering the sun and stars, but without the proper precautions being taken, the results can be devastating. The same applies to the orichas and powers. That’s why we say “you don’t play with the orichas,” as one takes them lightly at their own peril. Even sweet orichas like Yemayá and Ochún have dangerous sides. Yemayá may be the all-loving Mother, but she is also responsible for sinking the Titanic. The beautiful, coquettish Ochún is loved but also greatly feared. Some say it’s better when she cries than when she laughs, because when she laughs we don’t know whether she is truly happy or angry and about to strike and perhaps kill. The deadly flash flood is also Ochún, and in her path of Ibú Ikolé she is considered the queen of the dark witches. Finally, we see that even Obatalá, the oricha of peace and the mind, has a side to him that is anything but peaceful. The path of Obatalá, known as Ayáguna, is far from peaceful and contemplative, which is Obatalá’s stereotype, and is a powerful warrior rivaling Changó who has a love for fomenting revolution.
When a person receives an oricha, they are usually received in the form of stones, nuts, or a container with a carga, or load, such as the load that is placed in Echu Elegguá’s cement head. It may be hard to grasp that this is an oricha and a living being, not merely a representation like a statue, but just as you and I inhabit our flesh and bone bodies, the orichas are born through ceremonies and brought down to inhabit these stones and ekines. We are then able to care for the orichas in our own homes by feeding them, communicating with them, and so on. Over time we get to know and love our orichas as we build and deepen our relationships with them.
There are two ways to receive orichas. Adimú orichas, which are received without actually becoming a priest, and those that are received as part of the initiation as an oricha priest or a babalawo. Although adimú orichas need to be taken care of for life, they don’t need anywhere near the kind of kind of commitment that becoming a priest requires.
Echu Elegguá
When the world was still young, Echu Elegguá cured Olófin of a grave illness. Olófin asked Elegguá what he wanted in return. Echu, who had suffered hunger and mistreatment in his life, responded, “I wish to always be the first to eat and to live at the door so I will always be saluted first.”
Olófin, remembering the circumstances of Echu’s birth, smiled and responded, “So it shall be my son. Being the youngest and smallest, you will also be my messenger and the greatest on earth and in heaven, and without your approval it will never be possible for anyone, human or oricha, to do anything. To iban, Echu.”
“Echu turns right into wrong, wrong into right.”
With one word, Olófin made Echu immensely powerful—perhaps the most powerful oricha of all. Echu is the owner of all roads and doors in life, and he is the gatekeeper of all aché that created the universe, and he holds the key to the particular aché of each of the orichas. Echu is the gatekeeper standing at the crossroads between the two worlds and he is the messenger entrusted by Olófin and Orula to deliver ebbós to the other world.
He is also extremely unpredictable and complex, making him the most misunderstood of all the orichas. Echu stands at the crossroads of all things—between this world and the other, between good and evil, between light and dark—and offerings are often placed at a crossroads for him. Echu is also an oricha of contradictions; he is young and old, big and small, and good and evil all at the same time. In the odduns he is often seen turning great misfortune into even greater fortune and vice versa. Because of his ability to bring about great misfortune, often through trickery, he is often mistakenly associated with the devil by outsiders.
Echu is the divine enforcer for Olófin and for Orula, and he is the oricha they send to deliver their rewards or their punishments. Echu is everywhere and sees everything, making him invaluable to Orula. In addition, Echu is the form in which Ifá explicitly acknowledges the huge role that randomness, chance, and the unforeseeable play in our lives. Many people dread Echu because the unforeseen can be disastrous and because of his fame for causing incalculable confusion and destruction. He is also well-known for his ability to change the appearances of things so that we are tempted into making bad choices based on those appearances. Some give Echu offerings simply in hopes that he won’t bring ruin into their lives or what they are attempting to accomplish. Chance and the unforeseen can also work in our favor, and Echu is capable of bringing about great good into our lives and changing the worst situation into the best. As unpredictable as he is, Echu is indispensable because without his aid and permission, nothing can come to pass for humans or orichas, and as dangerous as Echu can be, he can also be the most miraculous.
When Orula came to this world, Olófin gave him Echu Elegguá to accompany and aid him, and they have been inseparable ever since. In his infinite wisdom, Orula made Echu his closest personal assistant, and over time he also became Orula’s closest friend. Orula is the only oricha who can keep Echu’s more dangerous tendencies under control, which is why he can only be received in full from a babalawo.
One of the greatest mysteries regarding Echu and Ifá was touched upon at a ceremonial dinner in the 1950s when Bernadito Rojas posed a deeply profound observation, “We don’t know whether Elegguá is Orula or Orula is Elegguá.” His father then countered with an even deeper mystery in response: “We don’t know if Orula is Olófin or Olófin is Orula.” Thus, the two generations of babalawos pointed to the great mystery that is the continuum between Echu, Orula, and Olófin.1
During any ceremony, Echu is the oricha that is saluted first, and he is always given the first offerings. Ceremonies are then closed with the words “to iban Echu (it is sealed, with reverence, to Echu).”
Since Echu personifies the immense role randomness plays in our lives, he plays a huge role in Ifá. He is the implicit randomness that makes divination work, and as Orula’s messenger he is responsible for causing the correct oddun to appear out of the 256 possibilities present each time Ifá is consulted. Also, as Orula’s faithful assistant, Echu can make the unforeseeable work to our advantage and can make even the worst situation end well. Having randomness and the unforeseeable on our side gives us a tremendous edge in life. In Ifá, Echu has many paths, as every oricha has their own paths of Echu who accompany them, and each of the 256 odduns in Ifá has their own Echus. Even our own orí has its own Echu, called Echu n’Ipako.
I am often asked what is the difference between the Echu given by a babalawo and the Elegguá given by a santero. A lot of the confusion comes from the words themselves because Elegguá (or Elegba) is actually one of Echú’s titles, and we often refer to Echu as Elegguá or as Echu Elegguá. In practice, the title Echu is most often used to describe him at his full range of power, which includes him at his most dangerous and unpredictable. There are other differences as well. The Echu a babalawo gives contains a number of ingredients, depending on the particular camino (path) of Echu being given. Each of the hundreds of paths of Echu is made differently and carries a different carga as well as odduns that have been activated and empowered, and each path of Echu has different characteristics and specialties. Without the intervention of Ifá, Echu is simply too powerful and dangerous for a person to receive, much less bring into their home. Since the Echu prepared by the babalawo is much too powerful and dangerous to put to someone’s head, an Elegguá must be prepared by iworos for the initiation of a new santero. The santero’s Elegguá can be thought of as an Echu Lite—calm enough to be suitable for putting to a person’s head. These Elegguás given by the santeros are a subset of Echu, which are all fashioned in essentially the same way, consisting of a specially consecrated stone. The name of that Elegguá is not revealed until the third day of their initiation as a santero if that is their path in life. We also never refer to the santero’s Elegguá as Echu except when we are referring to the name of the particular path of Elegguá. Some santeros refuse to have anything to do with the Echus prepared by babalawos out of fear of Echu’s immense power and ability to wreak havoc when angered.
May Echu always open our roads for us and guard them well.
To iban Echu.
The Guerreros: Echu Elegguá, Oggún, Ochossi, and Osun
Orunmila
One day Obatalá wanted to test Orunmila to see if he really had the wisdom to be the advisor to Olodumare and all the orichas. After all, Orula was a very young oricha.
He went to Orula and asked him to make the best food in the world to serve him and his children. Orula agreed and went to the market and bought all the ingredients for the dinner. After cooking all day, he served the dinner to Obatalá and his children, who were truly enchanted with the meal. When the father of the orichas asked Orunmila what he had served, Orunmila replied that it was tongue.
“Why is that?” Obatalá inquired.
“Because with the tongue you can say everything good, and besides it is with the tongue that you give aché,” responded Orula.
“I see.”
The next day Obatalá asked Orunmila to cook the absolute worst food in the world. Again, Orula agreed and headed off to the market. That night the response of the diners was far different. They were all grumbling and spitting the food out of their mouths. When the meal was done, Obatalá asked Orula what he had cooked that was so awful, to which Orunmila replied, “Tongue.”
Surprised, Obatalá said to Orula, “I see. And what did we have last night for the best food in the world?”
“Tongue.”
“And why is that?”
“Because with a bad tongue you can disgrace yourself, and with a word you can start a war and bring down a nation. And with a good tongue you can save humanity.”
With that, Obatalá gave his approval, and Orula was made advisor to Olodumare and all the orichas.
Orunmila, often shortened to simply Orula, is the oricha of wisdom, knowledge, and divination. He was given the title Elerí Iküín because he is the only oricha who knows all destinies including those of every human being, the orichas, and the universe. His name means “only the other world knows who will be saved,” referring to his role of divining and saving as well as his knowledge of the destiny of everything that exists coming from his direct connection to Olófin. As the oricha of Ifá and divination, Orunmila knows everything, whether it is in the past, present, or future. Orula is the omniscience of Olodumare. Also known as Ifá, he is the system of divination personified. In the oddun Ogbe Funfunló Orula heals a broken world, but the world is perpetually breaking just as Orula is perpetually healing it again.
Osun
Olófin’s babalawos habitually got together to hold councils to solicit from Olófin all the things they needed to best perform their tasks as administrators on earth. At one of these councils, Olófin asked what they needed most, already knowing that they had a lot of enemies in the world who constantly attacked them with black magic. All of them sat there not knowing what to say and then started to say many things, but they could not manage to fully comprehend the true scope of what Olófin was asking them.
When it was Ika Roso’s turn to speak, he began to outline that what they needed was someone to warn them of any abnormalities when they appeared on earth.
Olófin’s interest was piqued. “Just what would this thing that you suggest be like?”
Ika Roso replied, “Osun could warn us of anything abnormal coming.”
Olófin smiled and responded, “To iban Echu,” and from that day forward, thanks to Ika Roso, the babalawos have Osun.
Osun is the messenger of Olófin and Orula, and when received with the warriors is a short staff with a bird and bells hanging from the cup holding the secret ingredients on top. This staff of Ifá protects your life, your health, and your luck, and it is your first line of defense. In the 1980s, Ifá songs used by babalawos to praise Osun in Ijebuland were found to be identical to those used in Cuba.
Osun has a stand and is kept in a high spot in the home. If Osun falls, it should be taken very seriously. The owner should immediately go to their babalawo godfather so Osun can be fed and have their situation investigated through Ifá to ascertain the nature of the threat and what measures are necessary to protect the life and health of the person. As Lydia Cabrera notes in her book El Monte, a few santeros began constructing their own versions of Osun in the 1950s, but these Osuns are hardly traditional since Osun is an oricha who resides squarely in the realm of Ifá.
Osain/Osayín
Osain was a powerful and fearsome sorcerer who lived alone in the wilderness and knew the deepest and darkest secrets to all the plants living there. He jealously guarded his knowledge, and the powers he had gained in the wilderness made him extremely dangerous.
One day Osain decided to go to war against Orula, and before long Osain made life impossible for him. Finally sick of suffering, Orula decided to see what could be done. He saw himself with Ifá, and it was revealed that a fearsome sorcerer had gone to war against him. He needed to make an ebbó to Changó with twelve oil lamps and twelve odduara, or thunder stones, sacred to the oricha of fire for his aid in the upcoming battle.
While Orula was making the ebbó, Osain was gathering his most powerful herbs in order to finish off Orula once and for all. Orula lit the lamps, and as soon as he began the accompanying invocation from the oddun, a huge lightning bolt struck the wilderness where Osain was searching for plants, starting a huge inferno.
Osain soon found himself trapped and surrounded on all sides by the inferno. The screams could be heard all through the forest as the flames consumed Osain, leaving him horribly disfigured with only one arm, one leg, and one eye. Soon after, Orula heard plaintive sobs and whining, and when he went to investigate he saw the horribly burnt Osain. At that moment he knew who his enemy had been all along. Then and there he demanded Osain must serve Ifá, share his secrets with him, and give him permission to use all the plants of the forest. Osain immediately agreed, and since then Osain has worked closely with Ifá.
Osain is the oricha of plants and their magic. He carries within him all the secrets of the wilderness and the powerful magic found there. Osain is indispensable in Ifá and Lucumí religion in general because virtually everything sacred in the religion has been washed in omiero, the powerful and sacred lustral liquid made from the plants belonging to Ifá and the orichas.
The Osain received from babalawos is very similar to Palo Monte’s prenda or nganga, the containers that serve as the foundation of the palero’s (priest) magic and is sometimes called the babalawo’s prenda. Like the palero’s nganga, the Osain contains special plants, animals, dirts, and bones. It is the babalawo’s defense against powerful witchcraft such as that used by paleros, who work the negative side of their religion.2 The containers housing Osain’s secrets can take several shapes depending on what Ifá calls for during divination.
Babalawos use their Osains when they need to go to war for themselves, for their godchildren, or for their clients. Because Osain is the owner of all the palos (sticks), it is not surprising that their construction is very similar to the palero’s nganga and can be used for positive or negative works when necessary.
Babalawos also prepare amulets, called oniche Osains, that are used to defend a client or bring them good fortune. Some are also prepared for the orichas to strengthen them and to use as tools. Women are not allowed to receive Osain in any form until after they have stopped menstruating, for the protection of the woman’s health.
Olokun
When Olófin commanded that children be made in the world, Olokun sent down his daughter Aje, who was very ugly but had all the riches in the world. When he arrived, Olokun turned her over to a group of men who lived on the seashore, but they simply ignored her and went on their way, forgetting about Olokun and his daughter. Annoyed, Olokun went in search of the men, and the same waves that had announced riches now announced death and destruction.
Orunmila was very poor, and Elegguá went to visit him. Afterward, they went to a secret location to take a look at Olokun’s riches. Orunmila wanted to pick the most beautiful items, and Echu advised him that he could choose all he wanted but could not take anything. Aje passed by and told him to pick one, so Orula did.
Echu turned to Orunmila and said, “You have ruined me!” All the riches were pulled into the sea, and now they were both penniless.
Meanwhile, Echu left Orunmila’s side and went to Olokun’s house. When the riches returned to the depths of the sea, Olokun wondered why they had come back. Then it hit him “Where was Aje!?”
Echu said to Olokun, “Don’t worry. She’s at Orunmila’s house and she’s just fine.” The news pleased Olokun to no end, and he decided he would reward Orula handsomely. From that instant, Orunmila was astoundingly rich and had many healthy, strong children, thanks to Olokun.
Olokun, whose name simply means “owner of the sea,” is not properly a Yoruba deity but instead hails from Edo people in the kingdom of Benin. He is the owner of the depths of the sea and is an exceptionally powerful and mysterious oricha. Incalculably rich, he lives surrounded by the dead in the darkest depths of the ocean. He is unknown and unknowable and is the keeper of unfathomable secrets. Over the years Olokun became incorporated into the Yoruba pantheon and traveled to Cuba with both Edo and Yoruba slaves. The crocodile, the python, and the manatee are Olokun’s most sacred animals, and to this day, on occasion, a crocodile is sacrificed to the oricha by babalawos in Cuba in order to gain Olokun’s blessings and protection.
Olokun can be received from a babalawo or an iworo, but the Olokun that the santeros give is a path of Yemayá called Mayelewo (Agana Erí in the Matanzas area) who is extremely close to Olokun and has a deep rapport with him. Physically the two types of Olokun are quite different. The Olokun de santero lives in a terra cotta or ceramic pot that is filled with water. On the other hand, the Olokun de babalawo lives in a pot covered in seashells and is accompanied by members of Olokun’s royal court, each in their own tiny pot that hangs from the larger pot. Also the Olokun de babalawo comes with his own Echu. The ceremony for receiving this Olokun is also much more involved and intense, and includes a full itá where Olokun gives his advice through an oddun that accompanies the initiate for life. This itá is performed using the Table of Ifá with four babalawos present to interpret the odduns that are revealed. The santero’s Olokun is much simpler; being composed much like any oricha received from a santero. Two of the greatest differences between the two are when one receives an Olokun de santero. There is no itá received with an Olokun received from a santero, and the Olokun de santero must always be kept full of water, whereas the Olokun born in Ifá has an itá and is kept dry or almost dry. This does not mean that the Olokun de santero is not effective, for it most certainly is, and some feel the added expense and effort in receiving the babalawo Olokun is not necessary.
There is a ceremony where Olokun is fed at a deep spot in the sea, but it is extremely dangerous. There used to be a ceremony in Cuba where Olokun was fed at sea, followed by the dancing of Olokun’s masks to the rhythms of Olokun’s special drums. Each time this ceremony was performed, a babalawo was expected to die as a result. This ceremony ceased being observed after Tata Gaitán died soon after performing the ceremony in 1944.
Oddua/Oduduwa
In the earliest days of putting the world in order, Orunmila and Oddua were two brothers who were exceptionally close and lived in Ifé, where they were experiencing a lot of misery. One day they decided they would travel to other lands to see if they could find something to help Ifé. They also decided that each would leave their daughter with the other. Orunmila brought Poroyé and Oduduwa brought Aloshé, both daughters of Ochún. After passing through many lands they came to a forest. Orunmila and his daughter began to feel hungry, but since they had no food Oduduwa said, “Take care of Aloshé so I can go out and try to find something to hunt.”
But Oduduwa couldn’t find anything to hunt so he said to himself, “I can’t let my beloved brother and his daughter suffer from hunger.” He then grabbed his tongue and with a knife cut off a big chunk of his tongue. He then dumped a little iyefá in his mouth, lit a fire, and cooked his tongue covered with herbs and brought them to Orunmila so that he and his daughter could eat.
As Orunmila was so hungry, he decided it must have been a miracle from Olófin.
Afterward, Oduduwa stuffed a piece of coconut in his mouth and was able to speak perfectly! Then they continued on their journey until they came to a very arid spot, but Oduduwa was losing blood fast and fatigue was debilitating him, so he had to tell Orunmila, “My brother, I am injured and have lost a lot of blood, so you take the road and keep checking the Niger River. When I feel better, I will catch up with you.”
“Let me see the wound; perhaps I can cure it.” At seeing what was once his brother’s tongue, Orunmila suddenly understood his sacrifice and began to cry inconsolably. Orunmila then went into action. He grabbed a piece of coconut and whittled it down to the same size and shape as the old one. He then sat and marked a number of odduns to cure his brother, activated them with their prayers, and stuffed the iyefá into Oduduwa’s mouth. Soon the bleeding stopped and they went to the Niger River together.
There Orunmila turned to his brother and said, “Since your tongue is now made out of coconut, I will speak for you and for me. I am going to go far and find my fortune. I will leave my daughter Poroye with you to take care of.” And, grabbing his ecuele, he was off in an instant.
As time passed, Oduduwa began to hear of his brother Orunmila’s fame as a diviner and was very happy for this, but as it turns out one day Poroye became gravely ill and died. Oduduwa, despairing from the events facing him, cried out, “Oh, how great is my pain! Well then, my daughter will also die so that my pain will accompany him.” Seizing a knife, he killed his very own daughter. Oduduwa then set about making a great tomb on the west side of a ceiba tree and buried the two daughters, crying bitterly the entire time.
The very next day Orunmila came to visit. Shocked by Oduduwa’s mood, he began to ask about his daughter Poroye—almost before saluting his brother.
Oduduwa’s words came pouring out of him. “Oh, my brother! What a great pain I feel! Yesterday your daughter died of an unknown disease, and I … thinking about the pain you would feel when you would be informed about this … I killed my own daughter to accompany her so I could suffer just the same as you.”
Orunmila responded, “Take me to where they are buried.” Upon arriving, Orunmila said to Oduduwa, “Do you agree how powerful we are when we bond together?” Oduduwa nodded solemnly.
“Now let us call our brother Orun, Ikú’s husband.” Orunmila prepared his Table of Ifá and Oduduwa his agogó bells and they both called Orun, who appeared immediately and asked the brothers what they wished.
They replied in unison, “We need you to return our daughters to life.”
Orun then responded, “Okay, then. You will have to do this and this and this and this …” (Nobody but Orun, Orula, and Oduduwa know exactly what was done to bring the two girls back to life.)
When they opened the grave back up, both of their daughters were alive! Whereupon Orunmila and Oduduwa made a pact to always have mutual respect and never do anything to harm the other, and to seal the pact they made a special teja marked with odduns on it.
From that day forward, they have respected each other and been united, and that is why Oduduwa only speaks through Ifá.
Oduduwa, also known as Oddua, is the oricha who presides over the secrets of life and death and rules the line between the two. Oddua often manifests as a formless, spiritual mass of enormous power that lives in the deepest, darkest shadows of the night. Oduduwa is one of the greatest mysteries we have. Oddua is responsible for creating the first land out of the waters that covered the early world when Obatalá, who was originally sent by Olófin to do the job, drank too much palm wine and fell asleep. The first land created was Ilé Ifé itself.
A lot of confusion surrounds Oduduwa as the human founder of the city–state of Ifé and of the Yoruba people who had the same name, which has caused many people to mix the two over time. Others have concluded that they are one and the same, and that Oduduwa is a deified ancestor. Every year in Ilé Ifé, the Ooni’s ekin nuts for Oduduwa are fed as part of Orunmila’s yearly festival.
Olófin/Odun—God in My Closet
One day Odun decided to come to the world to visit Orunmila, but the form she took upon arrival was very, very strange. Her skin was extremely pale, almost translucent; she had no arms or legs, and she was nearly blind. In fact, she appeared more like an albino snake than a woman.
When she arrived on earth, the first women she encountered teased her mercilessly for her looks. There were no bounds to the cruelty they heaped upon what they thought was a helpless cripple. Little did they know about the terrible and wonderful power hidden within her—a power allowing anything she said to come to pass; with a word she could make a planet blow up or give birth to a new star. Their actions hurt Odun deeply and instilled in her a terrible impression of women that would lead to consequences lasting to this very day.
Meanwhile, Orunmila was being seen with Ifá by two babalawos. One was named If You Teach Someone to Be Intelligent, They Will Become Truly Intelligent and the other babalawo’s name was If You Teach Someone To Be Stupid, They Will Become Truly Stupid. They told Orunmila a woman was arriving with a terrible power in her hands. They told him he should make her his wife but he must first make ebbó quickly so Odun would not kill the people of earth out of anger. Orunmila immediately made an ebbó, and when Odun arrived, eating the ebbó calmed her. This was truly fortunate, as the women had angered her so much she was on the verge of killing everyone on earth.
She asked, “Who made this ebbó with all my favorite foods?”
Echu responded, “It was Orunmila. He wishes to marry you.”
Odun responded with a faint smile, “Not bad. He knows me.” Odun arrived at Orunmila’s home to tell him that she would marry him.
“I have many, many powers. I will fight your battles for you and I will never let you suffer, but there are conditions that you must meet. First I must live in a round house without light because the light hurts my sensitive eyes. And you must never allow any woman to look upon me or be in my presence.”
She told Orula that if he agreed to all her conditions she would protect him from all harm, she would bestow all kinds of good on him, and she would share the secrets of her immense power with him. She would change his burdens into blessings, and if anyone tried to harm him she would annihilate them completely. Finally, she gave Orunmila a stern warning: “Do not trifle with me. Do not let your children, the babalawos, trifle with me. I am not to be played with.”
She continued, “Without my presence at initiation, that person does not have Ifá and may not divine with Ifá. And a babalawo will finally be complete when he receives me. To iban Echu.”
Orula immediately agreed, and Odun became his most important wife and the true source of his power—and, in turn, the power of his priests, the babalawos.
Olófin is the Creator of everything in the universe.3 Although extremely remote, Olófin is considered the least distant of the three manifestations of the Supreme Being in our tradition. Olófin is also known as Odun, and as such, she is considered by many to be the wife of Olodumare. Their relationship is sometimes depicted as two calabashes sealing and containing the universe. Many consider Olófin to be just another title of Olodumare, and that the Olófin/Odun received in Cuba actually contains both genders, and what babalawos receive in Cuba is that closed calabash of Olodumare (Olófin) and Odun.
Odun is the mother of all the odduns that make up Ifá and the universe as the ultimate source of the babalawos’ power, which is why Odun is sometimes referred to as Igba Iwá Odun (Odun, the calabash of all existence). The only way a person can work with odduns is through her, which is why her presence is indispensable for the initiation of an Ifá priest in Afro-Cuban Ifá, as well as in the areas of Yorubaland, which haven’t lost this secret. Besides the patakí above, there is another oddun where Ifá flatly states that anyone who attempts to be initiated without her igba (receptacle) present will accomplish nothing and Orula will not recognize that person as his priest. As explained earlier, Odun was so crucial for Ifá initiations that Adechina was willing to risk life and limb to return to Africa, receive her, and smuggle her back into Cuba so Ifá might survive on the island. The patakí above also illustrates how dangerous Odun can be when she is angered. She can blind or kill those who trifle with her in any way. Olófin should only be received by babalawos who are elder in years and knowledge and have proven themselves to be worthy of this tremendous responsibility.
Olófin is physically received by very few babalawos chosen by Ifá who show their elders they are experienced and have good character. They are then known as Olofistas or omo Odun, and make up the highest grade of babalawos. Those babalawos with whom she lives with must follow strict rules regarding how she is cared for. She must be kept in her own area, usually a small, dark, specially prepared room or closet, locked away from the prying eyes of the uninitiated.
Orí Eledá
Once there was a man who was always asking for help from the orichas and his Orí but never gave anything in return. One day the man went to be seen with Ifá and was told to make ebbó to avoid being taken from the world, but he refused. Not long after, his Orí came for him and began to unceremoniously drag him, kicking and screaming, from his house by his feet.
As they passed Ogún’s house, he screamed for help. “Ogún, save me!” But Ogún, seeing that it was Orí dragging him away, merely shrugged his shoulders, as he could do nothing to help. As they passed Changó’s house, he screamed for help again, but Changó couldn’t help him either. This happened with each of the orichas, and none of them could do anything to help.
Finally, as they passed by Orula’s house, the man cried out one last time. Orula came out and asked Orí whether he would release the man if he could guarantee he would make the necessary offerings. Orí hesitated, for he was extremely angry, but finally relented and agreed. And from then on, the man always made his offerings on time.
Orí (also Erí or Lerí) literally means head, but in Ifá it is much more than just the container we keep our brain in. Often referred to as Orí Eledá, or Orí the creator, your orí is your own personal creator who creates and rules over every aspect of your life. This includes your talents, your personality, everything you are, and everything you are going to be. One’s orí is a piece of Olodumare that resides in each of us.
Even more, your orí is an exceptionally powerful deity in its own right. More powerful than the orichas themselves, as we saw in the patakí above, your orí can affect every part of your being, including your health, your luck, and the way your life unfolds. In another patakí, the orí is responsible for giving the orichas their roles and placing them on earth. Your orí is your spiritual DNA, so to speak, and for those whose destinies include becoming initiated as olorichas, the initiation fuses their orí with their tutelary oricha that accompanies them to this world, allowing them to attain greater balance, alignment, and power.
We all have a spirit double who lives in the other world as well. This is our orí in its purest form, and the more we are attuned to this undiluted version of ourselves, the greater and more fulfilled we become. Offerings made to your orí, usually made in the form of the ritual known as keborí eledá, are shared with your double in the other world.
There is another manifestation of orí that resides wholly in Orun, the other world. Known as orí acueré, it is the archetype from which all orís are born. This quintessential orí rules over and controls the destinies of everything that has an orí, whether it be a bird, a human being, an oricha, or Odun herself. Everything in the universe has a destiny and orí rules over them all.
In Africa it used to be that only elder babalawos and kings were allowed to receive Orí Acueré. This should not be confused with the orí often seen in Africa consisting of a leather cone with sand that has had the oddun Ofún Bile marked in it and forty-one cowries attached to it. This is a shrine to our Orí inú, or personal orí, and not Orí Acueré. It is unknown if they still have the older one in Yorubaland, but in Cuba this deified archetypal Orí Acueré can only be received by elder babalawos who have already received Olófin/Odun, illustrating Orí’s immense importance in Afro-Cuban Ifá.
One way of understanding this is to consider your personal orí as your individual consciousness, and the archetypal Orí Acueré as a kind of Cosmic or Absolute Consciousness from which all consciousness emanates and spans the universe. It is possible for a person whose personal orí is fully in alignment with Orí Acueré to apprehend the information constituting the universe directly. From there the person can direct their consciousness, allowing them to play a much bigger part in the day to day creation of the universe around them. Or, as Ifá tells us in the refrán from the oddun Baba Eyiogbe, “Wisdom, understanding, and thought are the forces that move the world.”