He Who Fights Knows about War

Growling like a hungry beast, Ogún crept through the streets of Ikoyi, slicing at the air with an iron machete as if clearing brush from the forest. His eyes were glazed with exhaustion and anger, and if he saw the fearful villagers cowering away from him, he did not care. Men grabbed their wives, women grabbed their children, and they cowered in allies and ditches as Ogún thundered by. He spoke, and his voice seemed like thunder in the clear afternoon sky, “Only those who fight know about war!”

It was a bad omen. When Ogún was heated beyond the point of reasoning, everyone knew war was imminent, and until blood ran, there was no cooling the orisha. The King of Ikoyi knew his people had to fight if they were to save themselves, so he went to Elegguá to consult. The orisha marked ebó. “If you want not only to win but also to survive, you must make ebó in the mountain,” he said. “Obatalá is the king of war when it is fought for the sake of peace, and he will save you.” The king agreed that he would make ebó. “But,” said Elegguá, “your most powerful warrior is destined to lose his own life saving yours.”

“Cesto?” asked the king. “Cesto has survived many wars. He is a brilliant warrior, and my best strategist. Are you sure he will die if he does not make ebó?”

“Is my name Elegguá?” asked the orisha.

The king told Cesto about Elegguá's words. He was not pleased. “Me? Die in a war?” Cesto asked. “That's absurd. I am the most powerful man in this kingdom. I am the fiercest fighter in the entire world! I pity the man who tries to take me down; and I will keep you safe, King!”

“But Cesto, Elegguá said you would die saving me.”

“Elegguá is a cheat and a liar. He does not know Cesto.” He thumped on his chest with his fist, and walked away.

Elegguá heard everything; it was his nature to hear everything.

The King of Ikoyi made ebó in the mountain, and when he returned, the war began. Foreign armies invaded his cities, and the first arrow shot plunged into Cesto's chest as he tried to get the king to safety.

Cesto was dead. Elegguá walked to his lifeless body and said, “Now tell me that I am a cheat and a liar!” He walked away from the stunned king, whistling happily.

Still, the king had made ebó, and before the day ended, the invaders lay slain.

As the sun set, an exhausted Ogún walked through the streets calmly, his machete hanging limply at his side. As he walked, he said wearily, “Only those who fight know about war.”

If the king knew nothing else that day, he knew about war.