The Man who Washed Away the Debt
Philosophical Summary
A narrative where a man was pursued by the 'Crushing Debt Spirits.' Ifá taught him to 'Initiate himself into the Earth,' burying his old name and his old debts, and rising as a 'New Man' of Ìretẹ̀.
Summary
A man escapes financial ruin through a spiritual death and rebirth into the stability of the earth.
Interpretation
Ìretẹ̀ Méjì is the Odu of 'Pressing the Earth' and 'Initiation.' It teaches that we are not fixed by our mistakes. Through the 'Wash' of initiation, we can sever the ties to our past failures and stand on the earth with a clean slate.
Sacred Verses
English
A man named Ajagun was so deep in debt that even his ancestors were ashamed. The debt collectors were not men, but spirits that crushed the breath out of him every night. Orunmila cast Ìretẹ̀ Méjì. He told Ajagun: 'The spirits are hunting a man who no longer exists.' He instructed Ajagun to dig a shallow grave in the red clay, lie in it, and be covered with the leaves of forgetfulness. After three days, he emerged. When the debt spirits arrived, they found only the smell of fresh earth. They could not find 'Ajagun' because he had been 'Pressed' (Ìretẹ̀) into the earth and reborn as a man with no history of lack.