Welcome To Consultifa Blog again:
Today We will be teaching you the history of Opele. According to Ogbe Meji; Opele also known as ireree was a slave to Orunmila who bought him from the market to serve as a house help.
His main duty was to clear the grasses, clean Orunmila house, sweep Orunmila compound, get rid of Ebo (sacrifice) waste and servant to Orunmila during ifa divination.
Opele was not a good farmer because he had a problem with his leg which prevented him to be useful in farm work but he was very useful in other areas of life especially in the area of divination.
Opele was very talented in divination; he could forsee future events of clients who visited Orunmila for ikin Ifa divination and spiritual help.
Orunmila who was a great diviner who discovered divination potentials in Opele and permitted Opèle to divine for His clients whenever He was away but unfortunately Opele became arrogant and filled with pride.
He forgot his place as a slave and started acting like a god. When reputable people came for divination, he would talk rudely to them.
One day, the king and his chiefs visited Orunmila for ikin Ifa divination but Orunmila was away and they met Opele who was arrogant and spoke rudely to them. These dignitaries left angrily and vowed never to visit Orunmila again.
When Orunmila came back, he heard of the bad news, he visited the king and chiefs and apologized for what Opele did at his absence. He consulted ikin Ifa for them and carried out the necessary ebo (sacrifice) which was prescribe by IFA.
Orunmila got home, he was expecting Opele to be remorse and apologize for what he did to the king and chiefs at his absence but rather Opele was not remorse and refused to apologize for his wrong doing.
Orunmila was angry and use his Ifa mystical wand to struck Opele who immediately scattered into pieces of small woods.
Instead of Orunmila to throw away the pieces of small woods Opele turned into, Orunmila kept them, he tied those pieces of small woods with ropes and started using them as Opele divination. That is how Opele is used for divination to this day by Babalawos.