Blood, Weeping, Laughter, and Patience

All of these concepts—choice, agreement, destiny, companions, accomplishments, and the ultimate forgetfulness of all these things when we take the journey to earth—are summarized in a patakí found in the corpus of the odu Unle Ogundá in the diloggún. This story, which I have titled “Blood, Weeping, Laughter, and Patience,” examines, by means of metaphor, many of these teachings.

After making the first humans from the mud of the earth, Olódumare decreed that the mortal race would repopulate itself, male and female; no longer would they be molded by Obatalá’s hands from the clay and given Olódumare’s own sweet breath. Instead, they would be molded in the mother’s womb and would take their first breath from the air around them. Spirits waited in heaven for the new gate of life to be opened; none knew, however, that the gate lay between the legs of women.

Olódumare unfolds all mysteries in his own time.

When the time was ripe for the first soul to incarnate, there was both fear and excitement; patiently, Ajala and Olódumare waited for the first brave soul to ask to make the journey. After days of waiting, it was a woman with a heart brave enough to kneel before Ajala and ask, “I want to be born on earth; what must I do?”

So important was this first-born child-to-be that Olódumare himself came to counsel her. “Choose, choose your destiny wisely,” he cautioned. Still kneeling before Ajala, who was busy carving heads, and with Olódumare watching, she pondered the life before her and what she wanted to accomplish. Finally she said, “I do not want to go alone. May I have four companions to take with me?”

“And who might those companions be?” asked Olódumare. Ajala was molding her head in silence.

“Blood, Weeping, Laughter, and Patience. Those are the four companions I want in the world.” Olódumare considered this, and with a smile on his face he accepted her request. A great cry of triumph could be heard on earth—the first child was on its way.

All the spirits of heaven watched as the mysteries of conception and pregnancy were revealed. They watched the woman’s orí descend into the mother’s womb, sleeping; they felt her memories of life in heaven melt away, making her mortal mind a blank slate for new experiences.

The four principles chosen to be her companions were in awe. Blood, Weeping, Laughter, and Patience—they could not fathom why she had chosen them as companions. Each went to the diviners to have their future on earth divined. “New mysteries unfold,” they said, “and each of you will play a role in their creation. Your purposes will only unfold as you make ebó, and iré will come when the child matures and you make ebó once more.”

Odu was closed, and with its closure came the cries of the mother. So great were her pains that all in heaven heard the screaming. Blood quickly made his sacrifice as others were stunned by this sound; immediately, he found himself beside the mother. It was then that his mystery unfolded.

The mother bled from her womb as it contracted, blood heralding the emergence of new life. Some women who watched bled as well, but their wombs were dry, lifeless, for there was nothing therein. Others held their blood; their wombs filled with new life. All watched in awe as the first girlchild was born with the mystery of Blood. Olódumare saw these things and knew that they were good. He decreed that without blood, no mother would give birth. There was the blood of the menses, telling a woman her womb was barren but would soon be ready again for new life. There was the blood withheld to nourish the conceived infant. There was the blood that came with the pain before new life could come into the world. These blood mysteries were born with the first sacrifice in Obeyono,*28 and this blood is always watched for, always caught, and always measured. It is feared by men and prayed for by women. It is life, the giver of life, and the cleanser of life.

Weeping watched all these things unfolding on earth; once the girl-child began to emerge from the womb, Weeping remembered to make her sacrifice. It was then that she joined both mother and child on earth. The mother no longer screamed dryly; she cried tears of pain as Weeping came to her side, helping the infant with her birth. Women began to cry in fear, for they knew not how to help with the mystery. Some cried because they knew that they, too, would suffer the travails of labor, while others who bled cried that their own wombs were barren. The baby was born, and she, too, cried in pain and fear while the mother wept in joy. Tears flowed freely that day. Olódumare saw these things and knew that they were good. He decreed that from that day forth, without tears, mortal offspring could not live.

With the second sacrifice in Obeyono was born the honor of weeping. Having arrived in the flow of blood, a child will cry and wail, and those in attendance will hear the cries ascending to heaven. They, too, will begin to weep in joy. The mother will cry tears of joy and pain with the arrival of her offspring. Devoid of tears, the infant will be spanked to make it weep; if it does not, all there cry tears of sadness, for there is no life. Thus were the predictions of odu fulfilled: Blood and Weeping followed the birth of children everywhere.

With the arrival of humanity’s first child came a flood of new births as women everywhere had begun to conceive and ripen. Laughter and Patience watched in awe as each new child came with Blood and Weeping. So powerful were those mysteries that they could not bear to look away; they were overwhelmed. Once the first girl-child reached her fortieth day of life, Laughter, wanting the same blessings as Blood and Weeping, realized he had not yet made ebó. Quickly, he went to the diviners to make his offering, but he was told that because he took so long to come back, his ebó was doubled. Laughter did not care; he made ebó.

Immediately, Laughter found himself on earth.

Before him was the girl-child, the one who had requested that the principle of Laughter be her companion. When she saw him, a faint memory flickered in her mind but then was gone; still, she smiled. The smile grew into a short giggle. The sound was pleasing, and she laughed. Her parents were the first to hear this, and the sound was contagious. Soon, the entire household was caught up in laughter. Olódumare saw that this was good and gave her blessings to Laughter. As each child on earth came to the fortieth day, each was accompanied by laughter. The spirits of heaven looked down at this new mystery and saw that it was good. They gave their own ashé to the blessing. Soon, the entire world was caught within Laughter’s grasp.

For nine months, Patience watched these blessings unfold throughout the earth and saw the goodness created by Blood, Weeping, and Laughter, for each had ashé and purpose in life. She wanted to be a part of these mysteries as well. Having been overwhelmed by what she saw, and having been the most patient of the four, she was slow in offering ebó. The diviners told her, “Patience, you waited far too long. Your ebó must be offered five times over.” Wanting to go to earth, she made the sacrifices.

It was then that she saw the girl-child face-to-face for the first time.

When Patience arrived, the toddler looked at her and smiled. She then stood, reaching out for the principle. She fell. She tried again and fell again. Wanting to reach her new companion, she stood again. For a moment she had balance, and then she tried to take her first step. She fell. The child’s mother saw these things, and sensing Patience in the room, she said, “Have patience, my child.” With that principle as her guide, she learned to walk, to talk, to run, to skip, to jump. Laughter came with each new skill mastered, while Patience slowly helped her learn. Children everywhere learned new skills and grew into maturity with Laughter and Patience as their guides. Olódumare saw that these things were good and all the denizens of heaven increased his blessings.

Because the sacrifices of Laughter and Patience were larger, their blessings were greater, and when earth’s first child matured into adulthood, they made the final ebós prescribed by Obeyono. Blood and Weeping became bitter over the years, for while they were the first mysteries to unfold, they were always less desired. Bitterness led to anger, and they refused to make ebó. The odu was sealed. Humans over the earth knew that they came to this world amidst blood and weeping, but they prayed for laughter and patience, looking for goodness and joy among the finer things in life. Their prayers were sincere, from the heart. Everyone on the earth prayed, “Let us not leave this world as we came to this world, through blood and weeping. Let us leave this world through laughter and with patience.” Olódumare saw that this was good and gave her consent. So has it been ever since.