Irosun Discovers His True Friends

The afternoon sun hung high in the sky, filling the world with a heat that was almost stifling. But Irosun and his friend Elegguá felt cool; they lounged beneath a huge tree with thick leaves and branches blocking the sun's rays, and all they felt was a cool eastern breeze that evaporated the sweat from their shiny black skins. There, in the shade of the tree, they chatted.

“I am such a blessed man, Elegguá,” bragged Irosun. He smiled at the orisha, who lay back against the trunk with his straw hat pulled over his eyes. Elegguá's chest rose and fell lazily; he wasn't sure if the orisha was awake or napping, but still, he talked. “For not only are you my best friend, but also I have so many good friends. If friends are wealth, then I am a rich man!”

Elegguá lifted his hand and pulled off his straw hat; with the back of his wrist, he wiped beads of sweat off his brow before putting his hat back on his head. “Irosun,” Elegguá said, “I am probably your only friend, and your best one at that.”

“No,” Irosun argued. “Well, yes, you are my best friend. But I have so many other friends it's amazing. All the odu are my friends, and all my neighbors adore me, especially when I divine for them. I am surrounded by friends.”

“No, you're not.” Elegguá sat up and looked Irosun in the eyes. “You think all those people are your friends, but they aren't. They only use you for your ashé, and what you have to give. If you were a common man with no skills or talents, none of them would give you the time of day.”

His words stung Irosun like a wasp; his mouth fell open, and he stood. “How can you say such a thing to me? You're jealous. Say it isn't true. You're jealous because you are not my only friend!”

Elegguá stood to match Irosun's incredulous stare. “I'm sorry if I've hurt your feelings, Irosun, but you know nothing escapes me. The other odu are only friendly to your face; they laugh behind your back. And humans only come to see you when they need something from you. You have no true friends . . . except me. I like you . . . because . . . I like you.”

“Since you know so much, prove it. Prove I have no true friends except you.”

Elegguá smiled. He thought, “This won't be hard.” Instead, he said, “Irosun, no one knows what lies at the heart of a man, but there are ways to make them show their true faces. I can prove to you who your friends are, and who they aren't. I want you to give a party.”

Irosun smiled. “A party for all my friends—that will be nice, indeed.”

“Yes, but with a twist.” Quietly, so not even the tree could hear his words, Elegguá whispered his plans into Irosun's ears. It was devious, but Irosun agreed. After all, he wanted to show Elegguá that he was wrong.

While Irosun sent his servants out and about to make preparations for the party, Elegguá went to each odu and all the humans and announced, “Irosun is having a dinner party, and everyone is invited. There will be food, and music, and dancing all night!” Everyone was amazed; Irosun had never thrown a party before, but Irosun was a generous man, and everyone knew that the dinner would be amazing.

The day of the party came, and people arrived in droves. One by one they crowded into Irosun's house until it was filled, and still, there were more outside waiting to come in. There was music. There was dancing. There were servants carrying trays of finger foods.

But there was not enough for everyone who came.

The guests began to grumble. “Where is the food?” they asked. “Where is the drink?” they cried. “We are hungry. When is dinner?”

“Dinner?” Irosun asked, nervously. He looked to Elegguá, who was standing by his side. “This wasn't meant to be a dinner party. It was meant to be . . . a gathering of friends!”

Grumbles and sighs came up among the assemblage, and angrily, each began to denounce Irosun and their foolishness at coming to his party. Irosun's mouth hung open in shame, and Elegguá consoled him, putting his hand on his shoulder and giving a friendly squeeze. “If these were your friends,” Elegguá said, “they would not be so quick to denounce you, and even quicker to leave.”

“No,” Irosun agreed, “they wouldn't.”

“Do you see now that among all your acquaintances and clients, you have only one true friend, and that friend is me?”

Irosun hugged Elegguá tightly. “Yes,” he said. “And I'm sorry I ever doubted your wisdom.

Since that day Irosun and Elegguá have been the best of friends, and when others came seeking favors from the odu, he treated them as clients, and no more.