Why we wash the head of the aboku in Igbodu

Olofi decreed that Elegua would be the gatekeeper and mouthpiece for all the Orisha. No sacrifice was to be made to any Orisha without Elegua first receiving his due. In addition he was also granted the power to decide if the intended sacrifice would reach the Orisha it was destined for. Of these two gifts given him the former was a show of gratitude and the latter was a recognition of the depth of knowledge Elegua had at his disposal. As the witness to destiny only he and Orunla knew if a particular sacrifice was in line with an individual’s purpose in life. It was an honor meant to show Elegua how greatly Olofi, Orisha, and the people of the world recognized and respected the great burden he had to carry. To know the possible outcome of every decision, for all Orisha, for all people, and to be bombarded constantly with questions on which decisions to make was a heavy burden. It was intended to make him impartial in all things. Who someone offered ebo, adimu, or prayers to mattered not because as Olofi decreed, he must always be appeased first. In this way he could objectively review every petition and decide if it was the right sacrifice, at the right time, given to the right Orisha.

Eventually the burden of his charge began to weigh heavily on Elegua. In spite of his efforts to grant or reject access to the Orisha by way of sacrifice fairly and objectively a great many people and Orisha remain displeased. Initially they would berate him and ask, “If I’ve given you your due, why hasn’t my petition been answered? Why haven’t I received what I desire?” to which Elegua would always reply, “It isn’t meant for you. It is not in line with what you are destined for. In the future, ask me before you offer”.

As is human nature, people would disregard this advice and make sacrifices on a whim. Whenever capriciousness took hold of them they guessed which Orisha best suited the task and offered a sacrifice, ensuring of course that Elegua received his due. When the sacrifice didn’t bear fruit they became disenchanted and cursed Elegua. The Orisha were no better. Whether the sacrifice was proper or not they wanted what was being offered to them, even if the ensuing intervention of that Orisha in that person's life at that particular time would cause a cosmic clusterfuck was of no concern to them. “If my omo wants to destroy his neighbor and take his wife, and he offers me a ram for my help, GIVE ME MY RAM!”, Shango would say to Elegua, “I know best what my omo need!” it continued this same way with Oshun, Oya, Ogun, etc. No Orisha was exempt. Eventually all the Orisha confronted Elegua and accused him of abusing his power. “You eat no matter what happens, Elegua. You always receive your due. While selfishly deciding on a whim when we do or do not eat.” Generation after generation this continued. Eventually Elegua too was disenchanted. What would it take to please them? Why should I even care?

Elegua grew so tired of the disrespect and the ingratitude that he decided if I become exactly that which they accused him to be. Selfish, gluttonous, and power hungry. “You want to offer Obatala hen? Sure. It’ll cost you a goat for me.” Will I give Obatala the hen? Of course, absolutely. Just give me my goat and I’ll take care of it.” Elegua proceeded in this way for some time. Until eventually the order of the world was so out of balance the Orisha had to humble themselves before Elegua and ask him to right the balance once again. He refused. He had endured long enough the disrespect and ingratitude and he was now very comfortable using his ashe to do what he wanted to do, not what it was intended to do. Not even the mighty and patient Obatala could dissuade Elegua and he pompously reminded Obatala, “My ashe is granted me by Olofi, even you can't take that from me.” Fully recognizing his own error in siding with the Orisha and berating Elegua when he acted justly, he now understood that his only recourse was to beseech Olofi to intercede.

Olofi, having heard Obatala and having chastised him and the other Orisha, now visited Elegua. What he found was an Orisha drunk with power, selfish, gluttonous, indifferent, uncaring. When asked by Olofi why he had taken this tack he replied, “When I did the right thing, the just thing, everyone was displeased. When I did the wrong thing, the thing I wanted to do, everyone was still displeased. If there was going to be displeased either way then why not seek to gratify myself? Why not use my ashe to aggrandize myself? So I did, and like it or not they can’t change that.” Olofi heard Elegua and determined he was too far gone to reason with. The lesson he had to teach here would be a harsh one, yet necessary. He gathered all the Orisha and decreed, “Henceforth, all sacrifice performed will go to the intended Orisha. There will be no need to give Elegua anything unless you choose to. Elegua will no longer have the authority to intercede between the Orisha and their omo.” Elegua was outraged! Yet, there was nothing to be done about it.

After a time, having remembered Elegua’ selfishness the people bypassed him entirely and sacrificed only to those Orisha they deemed capable of aiding in their plight. While Elegua grew destitute as a result the world continued in disarray. Orisha haphazardly answered prayers and intervened where they shouldn’t. Oftentimes coming into conflict with one another and being at cross purposes in this or that person’s life. Complete and utter chaos. All the while, Elegua fell deeper and deeper into poverty and despair. No one saw fit to sacrifice anything to him. They didn’t need to be told what they needed, they knew what they wanted. So low did he fall that Elegua could be seen begging at the thresholds of homes for scraps of food and wandering the streets as a beggar.

One day Elegua came begging at the home of Yemoja. While she too had been displeased with him she became unnerved at what she saw standing before her. The once proud and benevolent Orisha had. Even reduced to a being who knew all things about all people, yet could not leverage that knowledge to clothe or feed himself. How horrible it must be to have the foresight of how it would all end, yet not be able to hasten the outcome, one way or the other. Yemoja was moved to tears. There was a maternal instinct in her, a need to
shelter and protect which overrode any past animosity she felt towards Elegua. She brought him inside and said to him, “I may not have the power to restore your ashe, but by the heavens I will help restore your dignity.” She prepared a bath with herbs so she could bathe him and scrub the grime and stench from his body. She brought him to the basin and tore away his old rags, as she washed him with the herbs she sang to him, “Di di di dide, Eshu odara. Dide oku’ o lona. Di di di dide. Bara dideo! Dide oku o lona.”

Once he was clean, she dressed him in fine white robes and sat him on the mat and fed him. He hadn’t been clean or eaten in so long that he was overcome with joy and gratitude. He remained for hours there with Yemoja lamenting his fall and how given another chance he would do things differently. When they were done he prepared to take his leave and Olofi appeared before them both. So moved was Olofi by Yemoja’s genuine attention and selflessness that he decided to restore Elegua to his former state. With the restoration of Elegua’s ashe came a new decree. All people, whose destiny it was to worship and serve as a vehicle for Orisha would be born anew in this way.