Star Apples for Eye — Cast for Eye Going to the Market
Philosophical Summary
This verse from Òfún Méjì was cast for Eye ("Bird" in one translation, or the "eye" as a persona) going to become king of the market. The opening images of star apple picking — running then walking to reach the same tree — capture Ofun's teaching about how acquisition works: hurry and patience both reach the same fruit, but only those with someone already at the tree can pick it ripe. Eye made the sacrifice and was crowned.
Overview
A verse of Òfún Méjì for Eye going to become king of the market — opening with the image of star apple picking to teach about timing, preparation, and what separates those who receive ripe fruit from those who always eat it unripe.
Usage Context
Recited when Òfún Méjì appears for matters of commerce, market success, sought-after titles or positions, or situations where the seeker is perpetually arriving too late. Also relevant to teachings on the importance of spiritual preparation before seeking external rewards.
Interpretation
Òfún Méjì is the Odù of completion and the birth of new cycles — the sixteenth Odù whose end is also a beginning. The star apple image captures this: fruit ripens, then falls, then the tree fruits again. The question is always whether you are there at the right moment. That moment is not random — it is created by having made the right sacrifice, by having stationed Eshu (or a human equivalent) at the place of ripening before you arrive.
Eye's kingship of the market is not given for longevity or skill — it is given because he made the prescribed sacrifice. The verse connects spiritual preparation directly to market success, authority, and recognition. What Eshu does for Eye in the accompanying patakí (making his goods visible and calling the market to his stall) is the ripening: Eye's sacrifice stationed the right force at the tree.
Cultural Safety
Public verse. No initiatic content.
Sacred Verses
Yorùbá
A sa-re a ka-(o)san a fi-(i)rin gbęrę-gberę ka-(o)san, a ki ni ęni ni (i)m(u)-osan k(i)-a m(u)-ai-pon a da fun oju ti onlo j(ę)-o-l(i)-oja l(i)-arin ara...
English
We run to pick star apples, we walk leisurely to pick star apples; but since we don't have anyone at the place where star apples grow, we always have to eat them unripened — cast Ifá for Eye when he was going to be made king of the market among the people.
Tradition Perspectives
Overview
The verse opens with an image of fruit-picking: whether you run or walk to the star apple tree, if you have no one already stationed there, you always arrive too late for the ripe fruit. The star apple (Chrysophyllum cainito, called "agbalumo" or "udara" in Yorùbá) ripens quickly and falls; those without access to the tree before it's harvested eat unripe fruit. The verse frames Eye's quest for kingship of the market through this lens: without spiritual preparation and the right relationships (sacrifice, Eshu's cooperation), you arrive to pick, but the good fruit is gone.
Themes & Domains
Market kingship, the timing of acquisition, spiritual preparation as the difference between ripe and unripe reward, Ofun as completion and the beginning of a new cycle
The star apple image is locally resonant — agbalumo/udara is a beloved fruit in Yorùbá culture and its seasonal availability makes it an ideal metaphor for timing and access. The verse's patakí (Eye Becomes King) is catalogued separately.
Source: Bascom, William. Ifá Divination: Communication Between Gods and Men in West Africa. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1969.