Òrùnmìlà Agboniregun And Orisa Iku (Death) ; Tales Of Yoruba Nation And Nígeria
Ọ̀rúnmìlà , Baami Agboniregun was suddenly challenged by Orisa Iku, (death). Òrúnmìlà was shocked , and a date was fixed immediately for them to fight for primacy.
Surprisingly, Iku’s wife, Arun, went to the river to get water. Arun was sick so all the women avoided her except Osunleyo who was Apetebi Ọ̀rúnmìlà.
Osunleyo greeted her cordially and they started talking. “Soon our husbands will fight to death,” said Arun. “You have been so kind to me, I will tell you something about the battle. It will help your husband to win.” Arun concluded
When Osunleyo arrived home, she immediately told Ọ̀rúnmìlà the secret to defeating Iku. He was relieved because the battle was the next day.
Ọ̀rúnmìlà left for Iku’s palace. But right after he left, Osunleyo’s intuition told her to follow him. Eventually, she arrived after Ọ̀rúnmìlà.
As soon as they arrived at Iku’s palace, the battle began. Iku lined up three large terracotta vases and demanded that Ọ̀rúnmìlà reveal the contents of each one. If he failed, Iku would kill Ọ̀rúnmìlà and be hailed as the greatest. But if he was successful, Ọ̀rúnmìlà would be hailed as the greatest and all his devotees would be protected forever.
Ọ̀rúnmìlà was confident because Osunleyo had revealed to him the contents of each pot. But when he sat down to cast Ifa, he looked at the Odu and the pots, but his mind was completely blank! Ọ̀rúnmìlà forgot!!!
Ọ̀rúnmìlà spoke. “Iku, you’re kidding! This challenge is not up to my intellectual level. To show you the depth of my wisdom, I won’t even bother with an answer; my wife will easily reveal the contents of each vase!”
Osunleyo didn’t hesitate. She said, “In one pot you have the legs of a paralyzed man. In another you have the body of a hunchback. In the third you have the head of a madman.
Iku was amazed! “Ọ̀rúnmìlà, you did very well!!! From this day forward, you will be recognized as the one who can avoid the day of death and your devotees will be blessed with longevity.”
And that’s how Osunleyo saved Orunmila’s life and allowed all Orunmila devotees to enjoy longevity.
It is obvious that the sons and daughters of Orunmila will benefit immensely from the deeds of Baami Agbomiregun , they will overcome terrible moments , they shall succeed over Iku (Death ), they shall reach the promise land , Osunleyes shall flourish in the kingdom of Orunmila .
