A moral tale where a wealthy man refused to acknowledge the spirits that guided his success. Like a lizard that stops nodding, he became 'stiff' and eventually lost his ability to move through the world, teaching the necessity of humility and acknowledgment.
Arrogance turns a successful man into a rigid statue, proving that survival requires a flexible spirit of acknowledgment.
Acknowledgment (the 'Nod') is a spiritual requirement. It teaches that we must always recognize the unseen support that keeps us stable. In Òdí Méjì, rigidity is death; only the one who can 'bow' can remain seated on the throne of success.
The Lizard was once a powerful merchant who attributed all his wealth to his own cleverness. He stopped nodding to the elders and stopped pouring libations to his Ori. Slowly, his body began to harden. He realized he could no longer bend his neck or turn his head to see opportunity. He was 'stiffened' by his own pride. He eventually prayed for mercy and was turned into the small lizard, doomed to nod continuously at the ground as a perpetual sign of humility and acknowledgment of the Source.