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Why is Eleguá the only one with 21 snails in the Osha? Pataki

Eleguá snails

In the land Osha Ora, Agbanukue (Elegua Agbanukue belongs to land Arará, guardian of the Ilé) had three children, the oldest was a woman, called Ninona, the other two were men, the middle one was called Orobi and the youngest Elegua.

Three brothers set out on their way to the kingdom

Eleguá and his brothers

All three were engaged in the trade of funeral services. One day the king of the Adyaminako kingdom (Land of Cowbells) was walking through their lands and suddenly he died.

The three brothers were called to transfer him to their kingdom and do the funeral honors.

They set out togetherañatwo of their spouses and they were so tired that in order to get rid of the burdens (spouse in this case), the woman, Ninona, determined to kill her husband by cutting open his belly and piercing his intestines.

The medium Orobi, cut off his wife's head and Eleguá smashed his head with a piece of heavy cane.

Once freed from this travel impediment, they headed to the Land of Cowbells to perform the funeral services of their king. Each one was singing and playing their respective drum until they arrived and performed the services, where they made a lot of money.

Olofi's daughter and her suitor

olofi He had married his eldest daughter with the Oba of those lands but it turns out that he could not do Ofikale trupon (sexual act) because he was impotent, he was so ashamed that he killed himself and before doing so he left his wife to his son Olomu Ota for her to marry him.

When they buried the Oba, they consulted Ifá through Awo Shaketa who was the Awo (Babalawo) of those lands and Ifá said that Elegguá's appearance was needed, then he received the call and came accompaniedañado of his sister Ninona and his brother Orobi.

Olomo Ota the eldest son of the late king and the heir spoke to the Awo Shaketa (Babalawo) and commented that he wished to be happy in union with Olofi's daughter.

He also asked him to give him a powder so that his sexual potency would increase and Awo Shaketa replied that he would give it to him in three days.

Elegguá was the guardian of the apo (sack) of Awo Shaketa with all the utensils, and in his sack he had two kinds of powders:

  • one was white which facilitated great virile potency and
  • a red one that made men powerless.

Then Awo Shaketa orders Elegguá to hand over the white powders to Olomu Ota so that he can put on Odara (well) manly.

Eleguá delivers the powder and receives the snails as payment

Elegguá makes a town sterile

Instead of delivering the white powders, Elegguá gave him the red ones, a job where Elegguá was economically well paid.

In those days, jobs were paid with Ayé (snail) and when they were distributed among his brothers, there were three Ayé left over and Awo Shaketa left them to be distributed among them.

Each of them took 18 Ayé and as there were three left over to distribute, the disagreement began, since none wanted an Ayé for each one, but only 3 because the one with the 21 snails would be different from the others.

  • Ninona said that the 3 Ayé belonged to her because she was the oldest of the siblings.
  • Orobi said that they corresponded to him because he was the second of the brothers and older than Elegguá, his other male brother.
  • Elegguá said that it belonged to him because he was the smallest.

In the end the brothers did not agree and continued on their way.

Seeking justice along the way ...

Elegguá asks the women of the way

They meet a woman on the road who was collecting firewood to sell in the square and they tell her about their problem and the woman asks:

  • Which of you is the oldest?
  • Ninona immediately replies that it was her.
  • The woman comments that in her land what is left over is given to the oldest of the brothers.

Upon hearing this, Orobi cuts off the woman's head, Elegguá crushes her head with his stick and they then bury her in the mountains.

But before burying her without her brother noticing, Eleggua makes Ofikale trupon with the deceased.

They continue the road, meeting another woman who was carrying a jar (Apoto) of water to the Oba's house and they also tell her about their problem.

  • This question: Which of you is the second?
  • Orobi responds right away that he.
  • The woman says: by the law of my house what is left over from an inheritance or profit belongs to the second of the brothers.

Hearing this, Ninona opens her belly, piercing her intestines and Elegguá crushed the second woman's leri (head) with her cane.

Then Ninona and Orobi were looking for a place to bury the body and Elegguá took advantage and made a sexual act with the deceased.

They continue on the road and run into a third woman, they also tell her about their problem.

  • She asks: which of you is the youngest?
  • And right away Elegguá tells him it's me and he's very happy.

Then Ninona opens her belly, piercing her intestines and Orobi cuts off the woman's head and, in an oversight by her brothers, Elegguá goes to bed with the deceased. Then the third woman is buried.

They continue on their way arguing and Eleggua leaves his brothers and goes into the mountain and from the Apo (sack) of Awo Shaketa he takes out a wooden figure and sings:

Eleriye unko san koro Elegua tande ñangaro iboru tande kaima kaima miosahkuta kuruma Eleggua tande shakuta kuruka iboru tande

Suddenly the figure becomes Ayá (dog), while Ninona and Obori were looking for Eleguá, they find him next to the dog and he tells them:

What is left belongs to Baba Egguns.

He opens a joro joro (hole) and places the three Ayé inside, gave it jio jio (little chick) and then covers it with dirt.

Ninona and Orobi were satisfied, but Eleguá behind them went and uncovered the hole and took the three Ayé and killed the guard dog because he was afraid it would give him away.

To finish, he takes out the heart of the dog and buries it in the hole where he had the Ayé and with a gún gún (long stick) and the head of the dog makes an Inshe (amulet) and covers it with beads and keeps it in the sack by Awo Shaketa.

Eleguá makes an entire kingdom impotent   

The three brothers returned to the palace, where King Olomu Ota who was powerless to take the red powders he had received from Eleguá, could not live with Olofi's daughter.

Olofin communicates that the okuni (man) who could ofikale trupon with his daughter, offered him half of his kingdom.

All the men began to visit Awo Shaketa (Babalawo) to prescribe the powders for impotence and Eleguá, having to give the white powders, gave them the red powders and rendered all the men of that kingdom impotent.

Olofi receives the demands of all men for such a scam and Eleguá escapes and goes to the land of Obalita Oba Kete who was Olofin's secret wife.

Obalita Oba Kete looked like a dead woman wrapped in fine fabrics in which only her eyes and teeth were visible and Eleguá lives with her without wasting time.

They find Eleguá to pay in front of Olofi

eleguá and engaña with its powders

One day Elegguá is caught and brought before Olofi to account.

  • Olofin asks him:
  • Eleguá what powder have you given all men to drink?
  • To which Eleggua replies: I gave all the red powders to odasile odara (they were fine).

When the men hear him, they accuse him of being a liar and reveal that he had killed three women.

Eleguá defends himself and says that he killed them because he wanted the three Ayes for himself.

Then he tells Olofin about the dog and takes out the Inshe Ozain from the Apo from the Awo Shaketa (Ozain's Amulet from the Babalawo's sack) and turns into a dog and everyone sees that Eleguá was telling the truth.

Olofi asked Eleguá again about the red powders in the Awo Shaketa's sack and Eleguá takes in front of all those powders and says:

  • Look, it's the same powder that I gave everyone, the same that I take for virile potency.

Then she offered her powder to all the men present and they all got well again and believed in Eleguá.

But Eleggua being so cunning, before he was caught he had dyed the white powder with a red tint in order to get rid of the war that was already on him.

Eleguá is appointed the guardian by mandate of Olofi

21 snails for Eleguá

Olofin ordered that from that day on Eleguá was the guardian of all men, women and all Oshas and Orishas.

Eleguá let her sister Ninona live in the Obinis' house and her brother Orobi with the men.

Olofi sends for Eleguá again and asks if he had lived with Obalita Oba Kete (secret wife) and Eleguá answers yes.

Olofi tells him:

The position you have I have already offered it to you and now I cannot take it away from you, but because it is scandalous and does not respect anyone or anything you cannot live inside the house, so you will live outside it.

Previously, when Elegguá made everyone impotent, he also lived with Olofin's daughter, and he offered him half of his kingdom, then Eleggua gave Orunmila Awo Shaketa that half that belonged to him and said to everyone present:

  • Never forget that I have been legal with everyone and that the red powder that I gave you to drink is the same that I take to be powerful.

It is with those words of Elegguá that Olofi realizes all the deception of those men, but he could no longer go back, and tells him:

Eleguá you are one more Osha, but from today you will have the right to use three diloggunes, you have earned them by being clever and you will always be the first one they will have to receive to consecrate Ifa and the other Osha.

In addition, all men, women and children will have a personal Eleguá as guardian and the dog will always be remembered as the animal that saved Eleguá from the discord of his brothers. To Iban Eshu.

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