Oyeku Ofun (Oyeku Ofun · Oyeku Ofun)

Prayer (Rezo):

OYEKU BEDURA MAFUN AGBA BARAGBA MAFUN AGBA OFUN MAYE KUN YANZA LELE FOGUERO MALELE OYEKU FUN MAFUN YEKU BERERE ORI OSHUN MORI YEYEO AYERI IYALODE MORI YEYEO AGBEYAMI LELE OSHUN DEBERA OKANA YELEGUE YELELE OYEKU FUN YEYEBI OYA OMAYIRE AWO BODAWA AWO OBA ERI IFA KAFEREFUN LORI IFA KAFEREFUN ESHU LARUFA.

Ebó: 1 rooster, 1 black hen, 9 pieces of bread, 5 cents, honey, cane syrup, coconut, yam, candles, many necklaces, 3 crowns, jutia and smoked fish, manteca de corojo, toasted corn, a lot of money.

Story.

In this road Eshu Larufa was the son of Ikú and Inle. And from childhood he saw the great powers his father Inle had, because when he went to speak with Ikú, he prayed to her:

"ODARA LELE IKU OFUN KAYEKUN FUN EWEYE BEIFUN IKU YEKU OKUADA LAYEBE IKU MAFUN INLE ABELORUN EWEYE BEIKU FUN MAFUN IKU"

And, at once, Ikú transformed into a shadow that no one saw, and she carried off everyone she found in her path, and thus she came before Inle. She sang to him and he too transformed.

This was the suyere:

"SAWA LELEYE AWA IKU EGUN
 SAWA LELEYE ADIE INLE AWA IKU EGUN ESHU LARUFA AWA NI LORUN"

Ikú sang that to him with a black hen in her hand and began to dance with Inle, believing that her son was asleep, but Eshu Larufa was watching them, and he, who saw all these things, lived very displeased because he had no power to be able to do the same as his parents did.

When Ikú was going to sleep, Inle put a dry coconut as a pillow so that she would rest, since Ikú does not sleep, she only rests; and for Inle it was that Ikú was sleeping. Eshu Larufa said to himself: "So many virtues my parents have and I without any," and so he lived bitter.

Eshu Larufa also saw that, when his mother Ikú was about to leave, she gave the dry coconut to Inle and told him to bury it, and thus he would see how she transformed into different colors and each transformation of hers had a different virtue for the World.

Ikú also said to him: "Never, not even to your son, may you say anything of this."

Eshu Larufa asked his father Inle for permission to go out for a walk. He authorized it and Eshu Larufa went out to visit the land of Belelé, where Oya lived.

He arrived there very sad and worried, and told Oya everything he knew about his parents. Oya answered him: "I am going to bathe you with a little Omiero of herbs, which will serve you as a scrub." And she bathed him with Omiero of hierba fina, canutillo, guengueré, ero, obi, kolá, and sang:

"ESHU LARUFA OMO LERI AWA IKU ORI LERI AWA IKU
 ESHU LARUFA OMO LERI AWA IKU"

Afterwards, Oyá handed him a coconut and a black hen, and said to him: "When you return to your house, without anyone seeing you, you change for your father Inle the hen with which he dances with your mother, and you also change the coconut he puts as a pillow to sleep, and at once you bring it all to me."

When Eshu Larufa returned before Oyá with what she had ordered, she kept him three days in her house and, at the end of them, she took the black hen and gave the blood to Eshu Larufa and she ate too; she took the secret out of the coconut and gave it to Eshu Larufa, and said to him: "Come with me." And both went out to where Inle and Ikú were.

When Ikú began to tell Inle, she saw how her son Eshu Larufa transformed into two figures, one of a man and one of a woman. Ikú was frightened and asked Inle: "Have you noticed the transformation that takes place in the body of our son Eshu Larufa?" Oyá jumped and gave three shouts, and Inle and Ikú threw themselves to the ground. And Oyá said to them: "To children virtues are given so that they may live free of prejudices and so that respect between parents and children may thus endure, and you, Inle, will have to respect your son Eshu Larufa." To. Iban. Eshu

Eshu Larufa, with Oyá's help, became great on Earth.

Source note: Here the son lives with a trauma from having seen his parents performing the sexual act.

Translator's note: "To. Iban. Eshu" is reproduced verbatim as it appears at the close of the source narrative.