Iwori Irete (Iwori Irete · Iwori Irete)

Rezo: IWORI ROTE INSO BELEFUN ODARA ARA ERAN ERI BABANI INLE OFO BAGUALO DETIYA INLE INSO BOBO ENI FUN FUN INA YAFRA TUTO NI ERAN ENI ARA ODARA AWO BABINU INSO TOWA INE OZAIN MOYENI OSHALEKE OLAYE ODARA BI IFA LODAFUN ORUN-MILA.

Ebó: owunko fifeshu Elegba, osiadie, insu malu, eran malu, gbogbo igi, atitan ile, gbogbo ewe, gbogbo ileke, opolopo owo.

Inshe: The Ozain inshe is mounted; it carries hairs of all kinds, including that of a person, gbogbo igi, leri of nine mice, nine garabaticos of white mallow, ero, obi kola, aira, obi motiwao. This goes in a wild guirito dressed in beads, ire aye umbo.

Translator's note: This is the same inshe given in Works. Ratones are mice, not rats; garabaticos is retained as unidentified rather than rendered “sprigs.”

Patakin:

On this road Olofin created the world and began to create the aworan (shadows), aworan eni and aworan eran.

He made two people whom he had ordered to govern live together; these were Insu (Hair) and Eran (Flesh). They lived together in harmony, with Hair as the husband of Flesh, and Eshu, seeing that their union was very beautiful, began to sow doubt between them, telling Hair that Flesh wanted to keep him always tied and dominated, and at the same time telling Flesh that Hair wanted to cover her completely so that she would be nothing in the world.

They began to quarrel and grow upset with each other, and although they lived together they no longer got along and were always in stubborn quarrels.

One day the fights were so many that Flesh threw Hair out and remained alone; Hair, being very thin, began to suffer hardships, and Afefe (the wind) carried him from one side to the other and he had no stability.

Eran (Flesh) now thought that she could dominate the world and set out on the road, incited by Eshu, but she kept encountering lands such as Afefe, that of Ina (fire), and where Afefe was of Omi Amayafra (ice); she began to feel bad and to miss Inso, because when she lived with him she did not suffer so much cold nor was she so bothered by heat.

One day she met Ozain, who asked her what was wrong, and why she changed color so much from one land to another, where her children in one land were of one color and in another land of another, and some had Inso and others did not.

Eran began to cry and told Ozain that she was very unfortunate for having been guided by Eshu. Ozain said to her: "Come with me to Orunmila." Eran went, and this Ifá came out for her, where Orunmila told her that in her house they got along well and that afterwards there was much dispute, and that is why you separated from your husband, and now you come because you understood that without him you cannot live, and the same is happening to him. You have to make ebó at the foot of Ozain so that you may have warmth and hair may never be lacking to you.

Then Flesh went and knelt before Ozain, who cleansed her with gbogbo ewe and made Oparaldo for her while singing:

"EGUN SARAYEYE ABERIKU YEYE MOWA NI LONA, AFEFE LONA INSO AFEFE IWA OMO ERAN AFEFE IWA."

Then a very strong wind formed and took Insu, who was weak and sad because he had realized that he could not live without Flesh, and carried him to her. When they saw each other together they joined strongly as before and lived for one another.

Note: Here Hair was born, and moreover all men and women have it on their body, whether white, black, Chinese, etc., where those who were born when Hair and Flesh were quarrelling with each other are the hairless ones (lampiños) who were born in this Ifá. The fur coats with hair are of this Ifá; it also indicates quarrels and marital fights, but they cannot live one without the other; if they separate they come back to join.

Translator's note: Lampiños means hairless or body-hairless, not “bald” in the scalp-only sense. The source alternates between Inso and Insu for Hair; the variant spellings are preserved rather than normalized.

The secret for marriage is a buru buru (white sheet) and another red one. It is covered with the white sheet and at twelve at night with the red one. Put plate shards on Elegba and throw it into the ebó.