“As documented under Oturupon Meji, during the life of the primeval deities, there was an occurence which Ifa termed ile n mi; the shaking of the Mother Earth, or Ile n ri, the Earth has become submerged; we translate this to earthquake or tremor. It was happening too incessantly and the result was death and destruction. Tress were falling on people, houses were collapsing, humans were being burned alive, farmlands were submerged, it was disaster everywhere. Similar reports came from all over the world where Orunmila used to travel to teach Ifa and perform divination. ‘It is happening in our own lands too,’ they were reporting to Orunmila as they cried about their loved ones.

Orunmila at the inception of man used to make trips to Orun to give updates to Olodumare about developments on Earth. In Heaven, Orunmila would ask for those things that he felt would make life of mankind better, or he would request for removal of the things that he felt were making life difficult. But in this particular escapade, as recorded in Ogbe Osa, corroborating the Oturupon Meji, people asked Orunmila to stop the shaking of Mother Earth. Upon the cast of Ifa, he was told that the deity that would save this situation was on the way. Orunmila reassured the people and told them that Olodumare would send us someone to mend this situation. But the people, especially those of Ile Ife, felt that the coming of this deity would take too long. ‘Ogun is here. Which other deity would come from Heaven? What is he coming to do that Obatala and the others cannot achieve?’ The people wondered. Thus they did not make any preparation for the deity whom Orunmila said would come from Heaven.

However, soon after, Abala (masqueraders) in their multitudes came from Heaven and headed straight for the palace of King Oduduwa. They told the king what their missions were and demanded to know the areas affected by the quakes. After a short entertainment, the Abalas left for Orunmila’s house to cast divination and take final instructions before mapping out their plans. Afterwards, Ifa says they went to Iko, Awusi, Odoromu Awise, Mereetelu, Meseakaruba, Ojugbomekun Eseji, and all the places where tremors were recorded. They made all the necessary amendments and corrections to the Earth by burying some items to stabilize the faults. When they were satisfied that the tremors had either stopped or subsided; they returned to Ile Ife, their primary place of call. But on their arrival they could not find anyone to welcome them since the inhabitants were already prejudiced even before the arrival of these deities. In fact, they were not given place to sleep neither do they have land to build on. Orunmila took on the challenge of single-handedly housing and feeding them all but when the pressure was too much on him, the Abalas left Ile Ife to resettle in another place. This same Ogbe Osa reveals that the city founded by the Abalas was known as Oje until some decades ago the city was renamed to Aha. This town is in northern part of Oyo, Oyo State of Nigeria. This is why the cult and practice of Egungun is not grounded in Ile Ife. The few Egungun found there may have come as a result of Ifa divination or personal inclination of individuals to possess one.”

-Chief Ayo Salami (Iba e), found in his book “The Worship: Yoruba Theology and Tradition”