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Secrets Again: Ajuangan, Companion to Babalú-Ayé

There is an interesting story in the odu Irete-Oyekun that speaks of powers buried in the Earth.

The King of Hebieque was called Disu, and he had a twin brother, Ajuangan, who was a sorcerer, a witch, and just terrible. He fed himself and his shrine objects with human blood. When the King found out about his twin brother’s evil deeds, he made a great hole in the Earth and placed Ajuangan there with every kind of food imaginable. He closed the hole and in that way consecrated Ajuangan as a fodún (oricha) so that he could do no more harm. When the King thought his brother had regenerated himself, he stood before the hole and said:

Vitse dokpo meyi Ajuangan kuko

No one can cut Ajuangan, I defend him.

The next morning, Ajuangan turned back into a man and more of a sorcerer than ever before, and he named himself Akpodjivodu-Kombo-Kumku-Mabo (meaning, “He who has no friends”). He continued to kill people, and so they made a great hole in the Earth, filled it with dry wood to make a big fire, and threw Ajuangan into the flames. The next morning Ajuangan was born again. Oni, the chief of the king’s warriors, cut the trunk of a palm tree, put Ajuangan inside, and buried it deep in the Earth. The next day, Ajuangan was born again and started to kill more people. The King called the diviner, who consulted the orichas and saw this sign. The diviner said that Ajuangan has three sorcerer spirits, and to transform him into a source of protection, the King should close him up inside a tinaja, and bury it. So that’s exactly what the King did, and he fed the pot with a goat, a rooster, a guinea, and palm oil. And over this tomb, he planted a cactus, so that they could always feed Ajuangan there singing:

Shatsha jesu zoguedebo soume deangho bejouse adan tomó depomafan sumuse Ajuangan bokon iwa sakpsone

The elders say that here a person must receive Babalú-Ayé and consecrate Ajuangan in the patio of the house. They say you must use caution when you work with it, because it is dangerous.

It is intriguing that the tinaja with the cactus over it closely mimics the form of the kiti described in Oyekun-Ojuani. The secrets are closed up in the vessel that is planted in the Earth, and a cactus marks the spot both for future visits and as a venue associated with Babalú-Ayé. In this case, unlike the case of the kiti, it is explicit that this is a fodún or oricha. In this way, it resembles the Dahomean Aizan in form and function.

In the story, the King buries his twin brother to turn him into a fodún. In the traditional ritual prescribed in the sign, Babalú-Ayé is received and lives in the house, while Ajuangan is buried in the patio. This is the same lay-out seen in the house of Armando Zulueta, where Babalú lives inside and the secret lives outside. In fact, I have heard elders wonder aloud if the fundamento at Armando´s could be used to cure disease, while the secret could be used to cause disease.

King : brother::
Babalú-Ayé : Ajuangan::
Curing : infecting

If these are all analogous, does that mean that Ajuangan is the destructive twin of Babalú-Ayé? Is that why he is thought to be so dangerous to work with?

(Sorry, but I have never seen Ajuangan, let alone photographed him.)
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  1. hugo de varaJanuary 11, 2013 at 10:13 PM

    ase o, si hay varios lugares de la provincia de matansa que el secreto principal de asojanu o babalu aye esta enterrado, hay ceremonias que primero lo entierran tres dias antes, para que el secreto valla con la fuersa y el poder de la tierra, para nosotros nada que ver esta ceremonia con el catolisismo, safalu

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