Irosun Meyi: the one who sees what is hidden and forgets what he asked for

Irosun Meyi is the fifth of the sixteen major Odus in the order of seniority Abímbọ́lá records (p. 29). The Tratado Enciclopédico de Ifá opens his entry by admitting little: not much is known of the work he did in heaven. But the little that is known is decisive. In heaven he had another name, that of the man able to alter the course of death, and it was at a feast full of caps that this ability showed itself.

This Study retells three patakís from the entry (PDF pp. 3207–3211 and 3234–3235) that speak about one thing only: seeing. Irosun Meyi is the Odu that sees what is hidden, the white hair under the cap, the death that never happened, the illness that does not exist. And it is also the Odu that explains why none of us remembers what we asked for before being born, because the mark of that loss was left in a place the eyes cannot reach.

Along the way there is a race across heaven, a pursuer who cannot be bribed and an outstretched thumb. What it does is what we still carry on our backs.