Diloggún Tales of the Natural World By Och’ni Lelle

Description

Diloggun Tales of the Natural World: How the moon fooled the sun and other Santeria stories
By Och’ni Lelle

Since ancient times Yoruba of West Africa created sacred stories- patakis- to make sense of the world around them. Upon arrival in the New World, the Yoruba religion began to incorporate elements from Catholic and native traditions, evolving into Santeria, and new patakis were born, adding to the many chapters already found in the odu of the Diloggun – the sacred oral teachings and divination systems of the Yoruba, Lucumi, faith. Comfortable to the myths of ancient Greece and Rome and rich with jewels of wisdom like the AI Ching, these Santeria stories are as vast as the Hindu Vedas and as culturally significant as the parables of the Torah, Talmud, and Christian Bible.

Diloggun Tales of the Natural World presents more than 40 patakis that shed light upon the world view of Santeria. Each story in this collection, reassembled from the oral tradition of the African diaspora, is centered on a spiritual principle in nature: the waxing and waning of the moon, solar and lunar eclipses, the phenomenon of shooting stars, the separation of sky and earth, and the origins of the animals and birds who play key roles in Santeria’s symbology. Revealing the metaphysics, theology, and philosophy of the Yoruba people, this volume shows these stories to be as powerful and relevant to day as they were in the ancient Yoruba who once safeguarded them.

Och’ni Lelle (1966 – 2019) was immersed in the underground cultural of Orisha worship in 1989. He made oak Cha in 2000 and was crowned a priest of Oya. His other books include Teachings of the Santeria Gods, The Secret of Afro Cuban Divination, Obi: Oracle of Cuban Santeria, and the Diloggun: the Orishas Proverbs, sacrifices, and prohibition of Cuban Santeria.

Diloggun Tales of the Natural World Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction: the importance of patakís

Chapter 1: Patakís from the composites of Okana
The Separation of Heaven and Earth
The Separation of Sky and Earth
The Story of Maja
Obatalá’s Favorite Dove, or, How the Cat Lost His Dinner
The Birth of the Dead Sea
How Osain Became an Herbalist

Chapter 2: Patakís from the Composites of Egyok
The Story of Rain and Drought
The Birth of Rain
The Sickness of the Swamp

Chapter 3: Patakís from the Composites of Ogundá
Why the Cat is Chased but not Caught
How the Cat and the Ferret Became Enemies
Where the Foat was First Sacrificed

Chapter 4: Patakís from the Composites of Irosun
The Sun, the Moon, the Fire, and the Water
The War Between Fire and Water
The Cat, the Rat, and the Fish

Chapter 5: Patakís from the Composites of Oché
Poverty and Hunger
The Birth of Menstruation
How the Humming Bird was Born
Even a Woman can Hunt

Chapter 6: Patakís from the Composites of Obara
The mountain
Money is Trouble, and Trouble is Death
How the Rosary Bead Plant got its Ashé
The Kingdom of Earth, the Kingdom of Heaven

Chapter 7: Patakís from the Composites of Odí
Iroko, the Tree of Life
How the Birds Got Their Wings
How the Maraca was Born
The Pact of the Hand and the Anus

Chapter 8: Patakís from the Composites of Unle
The Rock and the Cactus
How the Moon Fooled the Sun and Saved the Earth
The Waxing and Waning of the Moon
Ekún fails to Make Ebó
The Tail of Cotton
The Calabash of Ashé

Chapter 9: Patakís from the Composite of Osá
How the Frog got its Poison
The Birth of Red Blood Cells
How the Turtle Won the Race
Why Butterflies Stay in the Country
Why the Sea is Salty

Chapter 10: Patakís us from the composites of Ofún
How the Pigeon was First Sacrificed
Why Orúnmila Eats Hens, and Not Roosters
Ananagú: How Osogbo was Freed in the World

Chapter 11: Patakís from the Composites of Owani
The Old Woman and the Leopard
The Osogbos (Misfortunes) and the Àkùko (Rooster)
The Earth and the Wind

Chapter 12: Patakís from the Composites Ejila Shebora
The lands of Lesa and Mogue
The Hunter and the Leopard
The Tale of the Spiders

Glossary
Index