This story is about the Ibeji. As you know, the Ibeji are twins. They definitely take after their parents… One is stubborn, adventurous, and always ready for a good party, like his father. The other is gentle, spontaneous, and playful, like her mother.
Whenever they go, they bring good fortune with them… or, at the very least, they liven things up…
Though Shango certainly wouldn’t be nominated for a Father Of The Year award any time soon, he loved the Ibeji and they loved him. While spending time with Shango, the twins would occasionally get into some interesting situations…
One of these situations involved Obatala.
Now, most people hear the name Obatala and think wisdom, patience or maybe even justice. But another aspect of Obatala is his generosity.
If Obatala saw someone begging for food by the side of the road, the beggar would be fed, but also taught what he needed to provide for himself.
Obatala could afford to be generous. He didn’t spend money on big parties and drummings like Shango. He didn’t spend money on clothes and jewelry like Oshun. When he spent money, he chose wisely. The rest, he saved.
That posed a problem for him, though. The more he saved, the more others tried to take it from him. Obatala needed a safe place to hide his money when he wasn’t around.
Obatala hid the money under his mattress. Thieves broke in and stole the money… and the mattress.
Next, he hid his money under a large mat on the floor. That didn’t work, either. When the thieves broke in and stole the money, they also stole the mat.
He even tried burying the money in his backyard. When he came home, there was a large hole where the money had been. Not only had they taken his money, but they had ruined his yard. This had to stop.
Obatala came up with a plan, but for it to work, he’d need help.
Just then, Ochosi passed by, heading home after a long day in the forest. Seeing Obatala deep in thought, Ochosi approached and asked what was wrong. After hearing Obatala’s story, he shook his head in disbelief. Having no tolerance for thieves, himself, Ochosi quickly volunteered his services. Obatala’s request was as simple as it was bewildering. He wanted Ochosi to bring him the tallest ladder in the world and the larges sack he could find. Ochosi told him it would be ready the next day, and set off to find what Otbatala had requested.
The next day, he arrived with the ladder and a large sack. Looking at the ladder on the ground, it seemed to disappear into the horizon. It was indeed the tallest in the world. The sack next to it was equally impressive. It seemed big enough that the whole village might fit into it, still with room for more.
“Yes,” Obatala said, “These will do perfectly.”
As he gave his thanks to Ochosi, the twins had snuck up from behind to see what was going on. “Neat!” one exclaimed, as he wrapped the sack around him like a giant blanket. “What’s this for?” asked the other, while hopping from one step of the ladder to the next. Obatala was patient, but even he didn’t have time to entertain the children until they became bored on their own. Reaching into his pocket, he held out his hand to the curious Ibeji. “I need to go now, children,” he explained, “but here are a few pieces of candy for you to enjoy when you get home. I know how much you like sweets.” The children nodded, with their big wide eyes focused intently on the candy. With stately eloquence, Obatala explained to the children that it wasn’t safe for them to wander about by themselves. He convinced them to let Ochosi walk them home. Caring only about the candy at this point, the Ibeji had no interest in finding out what Obatala was up to.
Once they were no longer in sight, Obatala grabbed all of his money and put it in the sack. He pulled money from flower pots, kitchen cabinets, and everywhere the thieves hadn’t yet searched. With a groan, Obatala hoisted the bag over his shoulder. With the ladder in tow, he set off for the thickest part of the jungle.
He traveled day and night until he reached Iroko, the great tree whose branches hold up the sky and whose roots hold together the world.
With a deep thud, he propped the ladder against the thick tree trunk. Obatala struggled under the weight of the sack, but continued up the ladder until he reached the top of Iroko. Sweating, but satisfied, Obatala tied the sack to the highest branch. “With the money up so high and secure,” Obatala thought, “I no longer need to concern myself with such trivial matters.”
Unfortunately for Obatala, the Ibeji were there. He was so exhausted from his climb, he hadn’t even seen them.
They left the forest unnoticed, just as they had arrived. The Ibeji headed towards the thumping sounds of drums in the distance. They knew that’s where they would find their father, Shango.
Sure enough, he was there, just like always — surrounded by beautiful women and intoxicated by the music as much as the liquor.
The moment he saw them, he recognized their mischievous grin. “I don’t have time for games right now, you two,” Shango scolded, “so find somewhere else to play.” In mock indifference, one of the Ibeji told the other, “I guess he doesn’t want to know, after all.” Irritated, Shango growled, “Know what?” Turning from Shango and beginning to walk away, the other Ibeji said, simply, “We know where Obatala has hidden all of his money.”
Shango’s mood instantly changed. His expression turned to one of absolute seriousness. “You’ve done well. You’ll bring me to it” he told them, in a tone that let the twins know that it would be in their best interest not to draw things out much longer.
“Let’s go,” he told them. With a firm grip on their shoulders and saying his farewells to everyone else, Shango instructed the children to lead him to the money.
After they had walked a bit, the twins stopped. “Give us candy!” they demanded. Shango promised to give them as much candy as they wanted, but only after they had shown him where the money was
hidden.
The Ibeji remained firmly planted where they stood. They were afriad that Shango would “accidentally” forget the promise that he made them once he got what he wanted.
Finally, Shango’s greed and impatience forced him to give in to their demands. They went to the nearest market. True to his word, Shango bought them all the candy they could eat. It took a while, but — eventually — the Ibeji couldn’t eat any more candy. They stuffed their pockets full with what was left and sighed contentedly. “I’ve held up my end of the deal,” Shango said to the children, “Now it’s your turn.”
Though a hike through the forest was the last thing the Ibeji wanted to do at this moment, they knew that they had to. Slowly, they made their way back through the forest to where they had seen Obatala.
Once Iroko was in view, the twins pointed to where it seemed to disappear into the clouds. “It’s there,” one said. “That’s where he hid his money,” the other agreed.
When Shango approached the tree, though, wild animals came charged towards him, ready to tear him to pieces. As a warrior, Shango was confident that he could handle himself in battle — even against so many wild creatures. The twins were with with him, though. He needed to get them to safety. The fury of the animals was nothing in comparison to Oshun’s wrath if one of the children was trampled by the stampede heading towards him. He latched onto the twins and sprinted towards the jungle thicket they had come from. Once they were far enough away that they could no longer see Iroko, they noticed that the animals had given up their pursuit. “Is this a trap set by Obatala?” Shango wondered.
It was. While the Ibeji had gone off to the drumming to find Shango, Obatala had decided to add an extra bit of protection for his money. That’s why there had been so many wild animals now, where there hadn’t been any before. Obatala had given them orders to attack anyone who got too close to Iroko.
Shango tried to come up with a solution. He couldn’t fend off the animals while carrying such a large sack of money. And if he focused only on keeping the animals subdued, the sack would be too heavy for the twins to try to carry, even together. The only solution was to find another way to keep the animals busy.
“Do you still have that candy I bought you?” Shango asked. Taking a step back, mistrustfully, the twins nodded, but reminded Shango it was their candy — not his. “Never mind that!” he snapped, “Once I’ve got that money, I can buy you candy each and every day!” The twins considered the offer and then agreed. They handed him the remaining candy.
As they walked back towards Iroko, the animals — again — charged towards them, snarling and growling with teeth bared. Shango was ready this time. He tossed the candy on the ground. They hesitated. Sure, Obatala had ordered them to protect the tree, but a little snack wouldn’t hurt. They began to eat.
Shango wasted no time. As soon as the animals stopped attacking, he began his climb. Though it had taken Obatala a great deal of time to reach the top, Shango was in much better shape. He bolted up to the top without breaking a sweat. With a firm grasp on the sack of money, he made his way back down to the ground.
At the base of the tree, the twins were standing guard against the animals. With all of the candy the animals had eaten, though, they were no longer much of a threat. The children watched one nearby make awkward movements as it tried, in vain, to stop the candy from sticking to the roof of its mouth. Most, though, were already fast asleep.
They walked calmly through the crowd of sleeping animals, who no longer had interest in Shango or the sack of money he was carrying.
When they got back to town, Shango bought the twins enough candy to last them morning, noon, and night. They quickly got tired of it, though, and went off in search of new adventures.
With the rest of the money, Shango was able to have drummings every night and have as much liquor and women as he could handle. He never did seem to get tired of that…
All in all, not much changed, except for Obatala… All of his savings were gone. “Still, you can’t worry about losing what you don’t have,” he admitted. He’d inevitably start saving up money again, but — at least for now — he could sleep soundly without having to worry about thieves.
