The Story of EGUNGUN

The Story of EGUNGUN

According to the myth, EGUNGUN becomes a known deity in two different ways. In the beginning, EGUNGUN was among the great divinities (IRUNMOLES) that came directly from the heaven beyond .The history made us aware that there was once lived a great man whose name was called LAPANPA , he was the one that started the cult of EGUNGUN. According to IFA verse

ONA NI KO TO
TARARA NI MO YA
LODIFA FUN LAPANPA
TI O TI ALADE ORUN
LO RE E MEGUNGUN WAYE
OLODUMARE WA FUN UN LEGUNGUN
EGUNGUN TI ELEDUMARE FUN LAPANPA
KII SE EYI TI O DA ASO BORI
SUGBON O DABI ORI
BI LAPANPA TI GBA KINNI TI O DABI ORI YII
O NPADA BO WA SAYE
OORUN MIMU SI NYO ORI TI LAPANPA MU LOWO
TRANSLATION
The path is not straight
I branch and follow the path
This divine IFA oracle for LAPANPA
That started his journey from the heaven above
To bring the cult of EGUNGUN to the physical world
The believe that, GOD gave him EGUNGUN
The type of EGUNGUN given to LAPANPA by great GOD
Was not the type that covered head with long cloth?
But looks like a Shea-butter
He returned to the physical world
The sun heated the Shea -butter brought by LAPANPA
He thought of what he could do to protect the Shea-butter from melting away, he later hid the remaining ORI (Shea- butter) in his mouth to prevent it from total melting and wasting away. On getting to the physical plain of existence. He wanted to alter a word saying ‘’MO DE TI ,’’O FE KE NI OHUN RE BA YI PADA’’ translating ‘’ I have, before he could altered such a powerful word, his voice change because the Shea-butter had melted and slipped into his throat . His voice changed and resembled not the voice of his contemporaries. He was ashamed of his voice, his character and his life. He was planning what to do to prevent the shame. He decided to cover his own head with cloth. Whenever he wanted to speak out, he noticed a strange voice, completely different from the normal voice of his generation of his days, thus, people became exceedingly grip with fear. People started to revere him that consequently resulted into ‘’EGUNGUN CULT’’. Meaning ‘’ORACLE FROM HEAVEN OR DEITY FROM UNKOWN THAT REPRESENT SPIRITUAL PAST OF THE PEOPLE
The second myth was, there was a great grandchild of ODUDUWA whose name was called OBONBA. This man had three children. The first child was called ALARA, the second was called AJERO , while the third was called ELEKOLE . On reaching adulthood, they lived in different cities far away from IFE. They later, became the king of three different cities in Yoruba land . It was believed that their grand- mother killed their father -0BONBA – because she was a witch , however , as these three children become advanced in age, and they wanted to inherit the exalted position of their father .They were gripped with fear of their grand-mother who had previously killed their father with her witchery . This made them sought spiritual advice in the house of IFA priest, which according to IFA verse came out



PAAFA TEERE NII LEKE OMI
LO DIFA FUN OBONBA TO
TORUNRO WA YE
BABALAWO NI KI WON RU EBO YII
ASO OYEPE MEJI ATI ASO GOGOWU OKUNRIN
ALAWE MERINDINLOGUN
NIGBA TI AWON BABALAWO DE IGBO IGBALE
ENI TI YOO SE ETUTU SO FUN WON PE
OUN RI BABA WON LORUN
O SI SO FUN OUN PE KI OUN KI WON LAYA
ATI WIPE KI WON O MAA RU EBO SI OUN LODOODUN
EYIN TOO JE AMI ATI APEERE IRANTI OUN ATI PE IPA IYA
WON AGBA TABI AJEKAJE KO SI NI KA WON
TRANSLATION
PAAFA TEERE NII LEKE OMI--- PAAFA TEERE IS ALWAYS ON THE SURFACE OF THE RIVER
This divine IFA oracle for OBONBA
Who was coming from the heaven above to the physical world
IFA priest advised them to offer sacrifice
OYEPE cloth two yards
GOGOWU – men cloth sixteen yard
When IFA priest reached the forest of secret (IGBO IGBALE
The man who wanted to offer the sacrifice
Said he saw their father in heaven
Telling him he should helped the three
Children to be brave , strong and vehement
And that they should always offer annual sacrifice to him
As a sign and pact toward ancestral support
As a remembrance of his continue existence
And their grandmother, who was his (OBONBA) mother
Or any other witch would not have influence on their blessing or overcome them
According to the tradition the name of this IFA priest was called BABATUNDE ESA OGBIN, he was the first ,ALAPINNI , the head chief of EGUNGUN cult in the landof Yoruba. These children got all the sacrificial materials, took then to the forest of deities (IGBO-IGBALE) . On getting to the forest of deities, they tailored OYEPE cloth similar to EGUNGUN cloth , they sewed GOGOWU cloth to cover the head of image that look like human structure, and , they did the same with shoes and the socks , BABATUNDE , the first priest of EGUNGUN cult wore the cloth and he went to the house of the grand – mother. On seeing her , that is, their grandmother , she was gripped with fear because she had not seen EGUNGUN in her life . The rumour in the cities was that the dead father of the children came to visit his children on earth. The rumour also reached their grand-mother , and she was filled with awe.
According to the myth, anybody under the attack of the witches and the wizards , IFA priest will invoke the spirit of EGUNGUN to deter such a negative vibration . The children claimed their inheritance and they were installed as the king of three different cities in Yoruba-land . That was how EGUNGUN cult sprouted up in landof Yoruba, from there , the cult gained prominent significant among Yoruba in Diasporas and devotees of IFA all over the world. EGUNGUN becomes a special divinity to be worshipped annually among devotees and also as a sign and pact with the spirit of dead to bring into manifestation the blessing of heaven upon the people of the earth. It is also a remembrance to the spirit and the soul of the dead. It teaches people that their beloved one who has departed to the world beyond should not be totally forgotten but constantly be in their memory through the cult of EGUNGUN


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Apena Fagbemijo Amosun Fakayode
Oyeku Ofun Temple
Santa Rosa, CA
OyekuOfun@yahoo.com
707-583-9432