History of Iré and Osogbo

Eyeunle tells the story of Iré and Osogbo

Iré and Osogbo were twin siblings, but they lived as rivals. Both coveted supremacy over the land and neither desired equality. At first, they would argue like friends, choosing their words carefully, each not wanting to hurt the other's feelings. As time passed, their words became more passionate, and they grew harsher. The passing of centuries brought battles and wars for power, each era bringing more chaos until there was no peace on Earth. Olofin could no longer bear it, and from the heavens, he exclaimed, "Enough."

The heavens rumbled, the world trembled, and all living beings hid in the shadows. Never before had Olofin raised his voice. When his sound resonated and faded over the Earth, silence followed. Even the air was still, but expectant. Iré and Osogbo fell silent, neither sibling daring to challenge Olofin in his anger.

Taking form between them, Olofin demanded, "This war ends now. He raised a powerful black fist, weathered by age, as he pointed at both of them." Olofin said, "Each of you will perform Ebó, and when you are done, you will come to me. Only I will decide who is greater on the land and who will be the greater one." Olofin's presence wavered in the air before dissolving like a desert mirage. The twins, still stunned, looked at each other with wide eyes. Then they retreated to opposite ends of the Earth.

Once alone, with a sense of superiority, Iré smiled to himself. He looked up at the sky and spoke into the air: "I do not need to do Ebó. No one on Earth desires death, no one desires sickness, no one desires the misfortunes of life. Every living being invites me into their homes and lives with every prayer they offer to the heavens. All the hopes, dreams, and desires of the world begin and end with me." Satisfied that Olofin would make him supreme regardless of his disobedience, Iré settled into a peaceful, comfortable sleep.

Osogbo knew his brother and his arrogance. However, he said to himself, "When goodness is far, I, misfortune, am all that remains. I am everywhere in the world; it is the natural order for things to fail and decay. I will do my Ebó, I will do it twice, I will do it three times. I do not do this because I want to be greater, for I am already the greatest, but because Olofin has commanded it." Osogbo performed Ebó as Olofin ordered, and while Iré continued sleeping, he did it over and over again. Obedience was pleasing to Olofin, and obedient was what Osogbo wanted to be. Satisfied that he had done the best he could, Osogbo recovered and flew to the sky, knocking on Olofin's door.

Olofin was surprised to see Osogbo so soon and was concerned that Iré was not with him. "Where is your brother?" he asked. Osogbo's face broke into an evil grin and he said, "My brother, Iré, did not feel the need to do Ebó. He was tired and went to sleep after you left. He still sleeps on Earth; he sleeps while humans and Orishas pray for his blessings. He sleeps while I, tirelessly, do the work for which I was born."

Olofin's all-seeing eyes scanned the Earth for Iré, and saw that it was true. Iré was asleep, convinced that goodness, despite refusing to do Ebó, would be supreme on Earth. Olofin looked at Osogbo and saw, despite all the evils he embodied, that he was the only sibling who was obedient and who performed Ebó when commanded.

With a powerful wave of his hand, Olofin summoned Iré to appear before him; he wiped the sleep and confusion from his eyes as Olofin spoke: "To end the eternal war between you and your brother, I demanded that both of you do Ebó. After performing your Ebó, I demanded that both of you come before me for my final decree. Iré, you slept while the world asked for your blessings, and your brother, Osogbo, performed his Ebó not once, but three times."

A terrible expression of fear and confusion appeared on Iré's face as Olofin continued: "Osogbo, because you performed Ebó, you are the first in all things. You are not what is desired, but you are what fills the world. You are not what is called, but you are the one who will come. By being obedient, you are the greatest and the most powerful. Humans will only have one chance to ask for a blessing, and if it does not come, you will be all that remains. Humans will only have one chance to grasp that blessing, and if they are not obedient, it will melt away as though it had never been there. You will be all that remains."

Olofin took a deep breath and looked lovingly at Osogbo: "And for your obedience, my son, you must know this: that even though you believe everything you bring to the world is bad, with your misfortunes, it will be very good. For it is human nature to seek blessings, to grow and evolve into something greater. Thanks to you, civilizations will grow and flourish as they try to be created. The weak will be destroyed, and the strong will become stronger. Each generation will become something greater and more powerful because tragedy encourages human nature to grow and persevere, while undeserved blessings cause the heart to become weak and lazy. You will be the catalyst and motivation for my creations to achieve great things."

Iré fell silent. His disobedience cost him greatly.

Since that day, misfortunes have followed humanity always, and those who hope to achieve something great in life must do so with great suffering and sacrifice. Osogbo became the first and the greatest, not because he was sought by those living on Earth, but because, among the two brothers, he was the only one who performed Ebó. This was the beginning of the world's evolution.

That is why it is so important in a reading, when the Orisha says we are in Iré or Osogbo, "We must do Ebó and we must do it quickly." We always have seven (7) days to perform Ebó after a reading, that is the time it took Osogbo to do his three Ebós. The idea that we have been told over the years, that we have twenty-one days to do Ebó after a reading, is false. We have seven days to carry out Ebó. Obedience will always be the best Ebó.

This is why we are alone when we sleep, and also the reason why when we sleep, nothing positive happens, no money comes, we do not talk to anyone, everything is slow and we do not know what is happening around us. It is also the reason why when death comes to find us, we fall into a deep sleep from which we never wake, because when Iré was asked for Ebó, he trusted and went to sleep.

This is why, when we come in Osogbo and do Ebó, we prosper much more than when we come in Iré. This is why people who have itá foré, generally, do not have a financially prosperous and pleasurable life. This is why, even though Iré may come, it is always important for the italero to mark Ebó, and it is much more important to do it when we are in Iré than when we are in Osogbo. Iré lay down to sleep and is still sleeping, and to wake him, it is necessary to invoke him with this prayer:

Iré ni mowa, lowó mi otò Iré le Olódùmarè lo koré wa fun Iré ni Olofin lo kòre wa, o kòre omo wa tun mi. Ashe Bi oyo bala maala, afaila ojo niporipe bi igbin ba fenu, bale a kofa ile wo. Aiya ni binfi, fa gereré yenla enwa ibo wa gereré. Aiya ni binfi fa gerere. Ase so dideo iré umbo ile.

It is good fortune that I am seeking. Go to the house of the extraordinary and bring me good fortune. Spirit of destiny, go to the house of the extraordinary and bring me abundance. Go to the house of the extraordinary and bring me children. So be it.

When the day dawns, I will be rich, unless it does not dawn. When the snail touches the ground with its mouth, it places the Earth's free food inside its shell. The snail crawls slowly across its chest. A great fortune comes toward me slowly. The snail crawls slowly across its chest. So be it.

Obà Oriaté David Alá Aggayú
Lukumí Study Center