It Is Pulling Gently — New Money, New Wife, New Child, New Farm
Philosophical Summary
This verse of Ọ̀gúndá Méjì is structured as a call-and-response dialogue between diviner and client. Each round names a coming blessing — new wealth, a new wife, by extension new children and a new farm — and asks what sacrifice is required to receive it well. Each blessing carries its own specific Ẹbọ. The repeated refrain, "it is pulling gently, it is very cool," frames new beginnings as something that arrives gradually and must be received with calm preparation rather than seized.
Overview
A call-and-response verse of Ọ̀gúndá Méjì in which each new beginning — money, marriage, and by extension children and land — is met with its own named sacrifice, framed by the recurring image of something "pulling gently" and "cool."
Usage Context
Recited when Ọ̀gúndá Méjì appears for matters of new ventures, incoming wealth, marriage, or any new beginning that calls for matched preparation rather than a single generic sacrifice.
Interpretation
Ọ̀gúndá Méjì carries the energy of clearing, cutting forward, and the forceful opening of new paths — yet this verse tempers that force with gentleness: "pulling gently," "very cool." New beginnings in this Odù are not seized abruptly; they are drawn in steadily, and each one asks for its own specific preparation.
The repeated structure — naming the blessing, then asking precisely what sacrifice it requires — models a discipline applicable to any new beginning: do not assume one preparation suffices for every kind of change. Wealth asks one thing; marriage asks another.
Cultural Safety
Public verse. No initiatic content.
Sacred Verses
Yorùbá
Oni o wo woro, mo ni o tutu dun-dun o ni bi kin-ni? Mo ni bi owo tun-tun ti a ma ni ni, mo ni kin-ni ębo? Eiyę-(i)le meji ati egbejila. Oni o wo woro, mo ni o tutu dun-dun o ni bi kin-ni? Mo ni bi aya titun ti a ma ni ni, mo ni kin-ni ębo? Ayebo adię meji ati egbejila.
English
He says, "It is pulling gently." I say, "It is very cool." He says, "Like what?" I say, "Like new money that we are going to have." I say, "What is the sacrifice?" Two pigeons and seven pence two oninis. He says, "It is pulling gently." I say, "It is very cool." He says, "Like what?" I say, "Like a new wife that we are going to have." I say, "What is the sacrifice?" Two hens and seven pence two oninis.
Tradition Perspectives
Overview
The verse is built on a repeating call-and-response structure: the diviner observes that something is "pulling gently" and "very cool" — a gentle, favorable sign — and the client names what new thing is coming (money, then a wife, with the same pattern extending in the fuller verse to children and farm). Each blessing is paired with its own distinct sacrifice, naming both the animals and the monetary portion (in pence and oninis, reflecting the historical currency of Bascom's fieldwork era).
Themes & Domains
New beginnings, wealth, marriage, the call-and-response structure of Ifá verses, sacrifice matched precisely to the blessing sought
The call-and-response format ("He says... I say...") is characteristic of Ifá verses transcribed by Bascom directly from divination performance, preserving the dialogic structure between babalawo and client.
Source: Bascom, William. Ifá Divination: Communication Between Gods and Men in West Africa. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1969.